The grim signal that Apple just delivered to the markets

Amid all the coverage of Apple's first dividend in years, came some rather worse news for the world's biggest company. Bengt Saelensminde explains what it is, what it means for the markets – and what it means for your investments.

For much of the last 20 years, the prize for the biggest business on the globe has alternated between Microsoft, Exxon Mobil and General Electric. But now one company towers over everyone else: Apple.

Last week it was announced that the value of Apple is now roughly the same as the whole US retail sector. Think about that for a second: there are some big businesses in the US retail sector and Apple is worth the same as all of them put together!

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Bengt graduated from Reading University in 1994 and followed up with a master's degree in business economics.

 

He started stock market investing at the age of 13, and this eventually led to a job in the City of London in 1995. He started on a bond desk at Cantor Fitzgerald and ended up running a desk at stockbroker's Cazenove.

 

Bengt left the City in 2000 to start up his own import and beauty products business which he still runs today.