Apple's stock continued to rise Monday closing at an all-time high of US$411.63. The company is now worth almost as much as Microsoft and Google combined.

"Questions about [Steve] Job's continued role at Apple clearly were creating a drag on the stock the last six to nine months," one long-time Apple investor told "Business Insider" (http://macte.ch/DLHN2). "While in the past, Apple did not handle questions regarding Steve's health very well, this time they did and a question that had been keeping many from investing in the stock has been cleared away."

The stock increase also reflects the financial community's faith and comfort in the executive leadership that Jobs has put in place over the past few years, the article adds.

Also, Apple's $380 billion market cap makes it the most valuable company in the world, "head and shoulders above Exxon," "Business Insider" Jay Yarow says (http://macte.ch/UNoG3). But it also does something even more impressive: it puts Apple in position to become as valuable as Microsoft and Google combined, notes MG Siegler on his blog, parislemon (http://macte.ch/U5tjE). Right now Apple's market cap is $20 billion away from matching their value, he notes.