Goog Wow.
Google shares cracked through the $500 barrier for the first time today, hitting a high of $505.72 in mid-morning trading. Google's market capitalization is now a staggering $153.5-billion. According to Bloomberg, there are six other companies trading above $500, including Berkshire Hathaway Inc. and Washington Post Co.
    So what does $500 mean other than being a really, really big number? For one, it provides Google with the "currency" to make a major acquisition, although the biggest deal made by Google so far is the recent $1.6-billion purchase of YouTube. For some perspective, Google's market cap is larger than eBay ($47-billion), Yahoo ($36.7-billion), IAC/Interactive Corp. ($10-billion) combined. $500 also makes a lot of smart institutional investors, who shunned Google's $85 a share IPO, look pretty silly. (Can anyone believe Google was forced to drop its IPO pricing to $85 to $95 from its original goal of $108 to $135?!) I guess The only downside about $500 is it's an expensive stock to purchase, which could see Google to do 10:1 or 5:1 stock split.
Update: Somebody better watch Jim Cramer; his enthusiasm for Google may cause some heart woes., while the New York Times reports there are only 13 companies worth more than Google.