Amazon and Apple posted better than expected sales, reassuring investors that the tech giants will be able to weather slowdowns in global economies. Amazon forecast in a trading update that higher fees for its Prime membership would boost its bottom line, while Apple said demand for its all important iPhone remained strong. Both firms said they were making progress controlling running costs, despite prices rising at rapid rates. The updates sent shares soaring. The quarterly updates from Apple and Amazon are closely watched as indicators of how customers are reacting to the economic climate. On Thursday, official figures revealed the US economy shrank for the second quarter in a row, a milestone that in many countries would be considered an economic recession, but not in the US, which uses additional data to make that call.(BBC)…[+]