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What a difference three months can make. At the end of August, Apple Inc seemed on top of the world. Fresh off a resounding $1.05 billion U.S. legal victory over arch-foeSamsung Electronics Co Ltd , the company was gearing up to launch the fifth iteration of its iconic iPhone. Just a week prior, its market value had surpassed Microsoft Corp’s and it became the most valuable technology company in history. That was then. Since winning a landmark U.S. patent infringement case in August, its stock has dived 18 percent, wiping $108 billion from its value. But the shares of defeated party Samsung have surged, rising 16 percent. The dramatic reversal has sparked raging market speculation. Some pundits say concerns are growing about the seemingly inexorable advance of GoogleInc’s Android, the rival software championed by Samsung. Others say fears about higher capital gains taxes have prompted investors made rich by Apple’s stock-price growth to sell. But it is the Appl...