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<ul><li>The COVID-19 pandemic created over 40 new billionaires in the pharmaceutical sector in the last two years.</li><li>Pharma companies have been stashing away their profits to avoid paying taxes, according to a new <keyword id="6412407" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="oxfam" source="Orion">Oxfam</keyword> report.</li><li>Researchers have identified over 100 factories across the world which are capable of producing lifesaving mRNA vaccines, which can save around 1.5 million lives.</li></ul>A monopoly on vaccines, tests, treatments, personal protective equipment kits (PPE) and everything that was extensively used during the pandemic has created <keyword id="14007796" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="40-new-pharma-billionaires" source="Orion">40 new pharma billionaires</keyword>. Vaccine-producing giants like <keyword id="44612" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="pfizer" source="Orion">Pfizer</keyword> and <keyword id="4912868" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="moderna" source="Orion">Moderna</keyword> are making over $1,000 per second from vaccines alone, according to an Oxfam report. And, they priced these life-saving vaccines aggressively at around 24 times the cost of producing them. The COVID-19 pandemic took around 20 million lives worldwide. Over half of these deaths have been in low and lower-middle-income countries, with the vaccination rates in these countries being as low as 13%. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="The COVID-19 pandemic created 40 new pharma billionaires" comment="subhead" text="The COVID-19 pandemic created 40 new pharma billionaires">The COVID-19 pandemic created 40 new pharma billionaires</cmsannotation> The COVID-19 pandemic helped create 40 new pharma billionaires. Four of those 40 come from US-based biotech major Moderna, which made a pre-tax margin of 70% on its vaccines. “It (Moderna) has been immensely successful at converting public funding into private wealth, turning $10 billion in government funding from the US (including vaccine pre-orders) into around $12 billion in vaccine profits to date,” the report said. The report also criticized Moderna’s refusal to engage with a South African vaccine maker trying to create an mRNA vaccine based on its code while choosing to maximize its profits. “Moderna’s cooperation could reduce the time to approval for this vaccine by at least one year, helping to save lives, reduce the risk of variants, and reduce the pandemic’s economic toll. It is also among the pharmaceutical companies accused of stashing away profits in tax havens to avoid paying fair taxes,” Oxfam said. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Dirty tactics, lobbying, stashing profits apart from vaccine profits" comment="subhead" text="Dirty tactics, lobbying, stashing profits apart from vaccine profits">Dirty tactics, lobbying, stashing profits apart from vaccine profits</cmsannotation> Drug major Pfizer too used dirty tactics to boost profits, including funding misinformation about the Oxford University-AstraZeneca vaccine – also known as Covishield in India. It also insisted on clauses in contracts that can be used to silence critics, apart from demanding state assets as collateral, and controlling delivery dates. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="Removing monopolies can save 1.5 million lives, says Oxfam report" comment="subhead" text="Removing monopolies can save 1.5 million lives, says Oxfam report">Removing monopolies can save 1.5 million lives, says Oxfam report</cmsannotation> Researchers have identified over 100 factories that could produce lifesaving mRNA vaccines around the world, and over 100 countries are calling for intellectual property (IP) rules that protect the profits of pharmaceutical corporations to be lifted to improve access to these medical tools. “Removing their monopoly and their ability to dictate market prices would inevitably see vaccine prices plummet and the billions of dollars in guaranteed revenue eroded. No wonder then that more than 100 drug lobbyists were dispatched to Washington and €36m was spent in Brussels to fight against the proposed waiver,” the report said. The Oxfam report further suggested that the only way to tackle this monopoly problem is to put a ‘wealth tax’ on millionaires. “An annual wealth tax on millionaires starting at just 2 percent, and 5 percent on billionaires, could generate $2.52 trillion a year,” said the report. <cmsannotation type="cmsannotation" annotationid="1 billionaire every 30 hours, 1 million extreme poor every 33 hours" comment="subhead" text="1 billionaire every 30 hours, 1 million extreme poor every 33 hours">1 billionaire every 30 hours, 1 million extreme poor every 33 hours</cmsannotation> Billionaire wealth rose exponentially in the last two years and created 573 new billionaires — one in every 30 hours. In a stark contrast, one million people crashed into extreme poverty every 33 hours, the report added. “The extremely rich and powerful are profiting from pain and suffering. This rising wealth and rising poverty are two sides of the same coin, proof that our economic system is functioning exactly how the rich and powerful designed it to do,” said Gabriela Bucher, executive director of <keyword id="226811" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="oxfam-international" source="Orion">Oxfam International</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/news/rising-food-prices-made-62-new-food-billionaires-and-the-dynasties-could-get-richer-this-year/articleshow/91738259.cms">Rising food prices made 62 new food billionaires and the dynasties could get richer this year</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/billionaire-wealth-rose-more-in-2-years-than-in-the-last-23-years-combined/articleshow/91734674.cms">Billionaire wealth rose more in 2 years than in the last 23 years combined</a>

Vaccine makers are making over $1,000 per second and furiously holding on to their monopolies

European countries will be told to prepare a vaccination plan to tackle the spiralling monkeypox outbreak, as Denmark became the latest country to be struck down. EU authorities are set to publish a risk assessment, which will advise all member states to draw up an inoculation strategy to control the spread of the tropical virus, <keyword id="35773" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="daily-mail" source="Orion">Daily Mail</keyword> reported. No monkeypox-specific vaccine exists but smallpox jabs which were routinely offered to Brits until the virus was eradicated four decades ago, is 85 per cent effective, Daily Mail reported. The strategy likely to be recommended is the same already deployed in Britain. Officials were attempting to contain the spread by vaccinating all close contacts of the 20 confirmed monkeypox cases, including <keyword id="135579" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="nhs" source="Orion">NHS</keyword> workers. The strategy, called ring vaccination, involves jabbing and monitoring anyone around an infected person to form a buffer of immune people to limit the disease's spread. It comes as experts warn nations could bring in travel restrictions to control the spread of the illness, if the <keyword id="43588" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="world-health-organization" source="Orion">World Health Organization</keyword> (WHO) declares the outbreak an emergency. But the vaccine, called Imvanex and made by Denmark-based drugmaker Bavarian Nordic, has not been authorised for use against monkeypox in <keyword id="28249" type="General" weightage="100" keywordseo="europe" source="Orion">Europe</keyword> or the UK, Daily Mail reported. The <keyword id="114599" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="european-medicines-agency" source="Orion">European Medicines Agency</keyword> approved the jab for use against smallpox in 2013, while the <keyword id="6356255" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="us-food-and-drug-administration" source="Orion">US Food and Drug Administration</keyword> greenlit the injection for both infections in 2019. And there is no data available on how safe it is for immunocompromised people or youngsters, the groups at highest risk from the outbreak. It comes as WHO bosses had been informed of 92 confirmed cases by Saturday and 28 suspected infections, most of which have been detected in Europe. But the true toll will be many times higher, with top scientists warning community transmission means some of the spread is inevitably going undetected, Daily Mail reported. A disproportionate number of cases are in gay and bisexual men. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/former-twitter-india-head-is-looking-to-wind-down-his-metaverse-college-in-less-than-six-months/articleshow/91743472.cms">Former Twitter India head is looking to wind down his metaverse college in less than six months</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/vaccine-makers-are-making-over-1000-per-second-and-furiously-holding-on-to-their-monopolies/articleshow/91743852.cms">Vaccine makers are making over $1,000 per second and furiously holding on to their monopolies</a>

Europe on red alert for monkeypox as EU health chiefs ask nations to prepare vaccination strategies

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Nine people have become "vaccine <keyword id="6393637" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Billionaires">billionaires</keyword>" since the start of the pandemic, a report said.</li><li>They include Moderna and BioNTech's CEOs, plus execs at Chinese vaccine maker CanSino Biologics.</li><li>Their wealth could pay to vaccinate 776 million people in low-income countries, the report said. </li></ul>The successful development of COVID-19 vaccines has created at least nine new billionaires since the start of the pandemic, according to a <a href="https://www.oxfam.org.nz/news-media/media-releases/covid-vaccines-create-9-new-billionaires/">new report by the People's Vaccine Alliance</a>.These include a range of scientists and executives at vaccine makers including <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/moderna-designed-coronavirus-vaccine-in-2-days-2020-11">Moderna</a>, CanSino Biologics, and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pfizer-biontech-fda-vaccine-approval-coronavirus-2021-5">BioNTech</a>, the report said.It said soaring stocks in pharma giants - fueled by investors who expect huge profits from COVID-19 vaccines - had driven the surge in wealth.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/behavioral-science-holds-the-key-to-getting-more-americans-vaccinated-2021-5">Anti-vaxxers aren't the problem. Why our plan to get the rest of America vaccinated is wrong - and what we should be doing instead.</a>According to the report, which used data from Forbes, the nine new vaccine billionaires are:<ol><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-vaccine-waiver-moderna-ceo-says-didnt-lose-sleep-2021-5">Stéphane Bancel</a>, the CEO of American vaccine maker Moderna, who is now worth $4.3 billion.</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/ugur-sahin-scientist-behind-pfizer-vaccine-not-sold-biontech-shares-2021-4-1030321960">Ugur Sahin</a>, the CEO and co-founder of German vaccine maker BioNTech, which worked alongside Pfizer on its COVID-19 vaccine. Sahin is now worth $4 billion.</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/moderna-stock-bet-turns-harvard-professor-into-billionaire-amid-virus-2020-4-1029123653">Timothy Springer</a>, an immunologist and founding investor of Moderna, who is now worth $2.2 billion.</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/meet-noubar-afeyan-chairman-cofounder-of-moderna-coronavirus-vaccine-fda-2020-12">Noubar Afeyan</a>, Moderna's Chairman, who is now worth $1.9 billion.</li><li>Juan Lopez-Belmonte, the Chairman of ROVI, a Spanish biotech company with a deal to manufacture and package the Moderna vaccine, who is now worth $1.8 billion.</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/moderna-stock-price-biggest-shareholders-scientists-executives-investors-coronavirus-vaccine-2020-5-1029212351">Robert Langer</a>, a scientist and founding investor in Moderna, who is now worth $1.6 billion.</li><li>Zhu Tao, a co-founder and chief scientific officer at Chinese vaccine maker CanSino Biologics, who is now worth $1.3 billion</li><li>Qiu Dongxu, a co-founder and senior vice president at CanSino Biologics, who is now worth $1.2 billion</li><li>Mao Huinhoa, also a co-founder and senior vice president at CanSino Biologics, who is now worth $1 billion</li></ol>The nine new billionaires have a combined net wealth of $19.3 billion, the Alliance said, which it claimed was more than enough to fully vaccinate 776 million people the UN says live in low-income countries. These countries have around 10% of the world's population - but have only received 0.2% of the global supply of vaccines so far, the Alliance said. The group, whose members include health, humanitarian, and human-rights organizations, as well as world leaders, health experts, and economists, is pushing for intellectual property protections to be removed from COVID-19 vaccines, so that they can be made available globally for free.Anna Marriott, <keyword id="6412407" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Oxfam">Oxfam</keyword>'s health policy manager, said in a press release that the creation of new billionaires while billions of people remain unvaccinated "a testament to our collective failure to control this cruel disease.""These billionaires are the human face of the huge profits many pharmaceutical corporations are making from the monopoly they hold on these vaccines," she said. "These vaccines were funded by public money and should be first and foremost a global public good, not a private profit opportunity."Earlier this month, the Biden administration said it would support <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-administration-supports-waiving-ip-rights-for-covid-19-vaccines-2021-5">waiving intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines</a>. The move, sought by developing nations, would allow other countries to manufacture vaccines from Johnson &amp; Johnson, Pfizer, and Moderna without fear of sanctions at the World Trade Organization, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-administration-supports-waiving-ip-rights-for-covid-19-vaccines-2021-5">Insider's Charles Davis reported</a>.

Soaring stocks in pharma giants has minted these 9 new 'vaccine billionaires,' according to a report

<keyword id="24754" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="snap" source="Orion">Snap</keyword>, the parent company of <keyword id="6358096" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="snapchat" source="Orion">Snapchat</keyword>, is slowing down on hiring this year, as tech companies' stocks go through rough weathers amid challenging macro-economic environment globally. Snap CEO <keyword id="1659524" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="evan-spiegel" source="Orion">Evan Spiegel</keyword> told employees that the company plans to hire 500 people this year, versus 2,000 it hired over the past 12 months, after warning investors that its revenue wouldn't grow as fast as expected, reports The <keyword id="6765301" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="verge" source="Orion">Verge</keyword>. "We expect to hire more than 500 new team members between now and the end of the year, representing nearly 10 per cent company-wide headcount growth over the next seven months," <keyword id="206580" type="General" weightage="80" keywordseo="spiegel" source="Orion">Spiegel</keyword> was quoted as saying. "This is in addition to over 900 offers already accepted this year, up 41 per cent year-over-year, and the roughly 2,000 people added to our team in the trailing 12 months," he added. Like many companies, Snap continues to face rising inflation and interest rates, supply chain shortages and labour disruptions, platform policy changes, the impact of the war in <keyword id="6355101" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="ukraine" source="Orion">Ukraine</keyword>, and more. "As a result, while our revenue continues to grow year-over-year, it is growing more slowly than we expected at this time," said the Snap CEO. "We will slow our pace of hiring for unopened roles for the remainder of the year, as well as push some planned hiring into next year." The company will also evaluate the remainder of its 2022 budgets and leaders have been asked to review spending to find additional cost savings. The Big Tech companies have seen big selloffs in the past couple of weeks after the <keyword id="6355253" type="General" weightage="50" keywordseo="federal-reserve" source="Orion">Federal Reserve</keyword> interest hike and Covid lockdowns in <keyword id="1334" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="china" source="Orion">China</keyword>. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/foreign-investors-have-pulled-out-more-money-this-year-than-they-brought-in-between-2009-2021/articleshow/91747269.cms">Foreign investors have pulled out more money this year than they brought in between 2009-2021</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/vaccine-makers-are-making-over-1000-per-second-and-furiously-holding-on-to-their-monopolies/articleshow/91743852.cms">Vaccine makers are making over $1,000 per second and furiously holding on to their monopolies</a>

Snapchat's parent company Snap slows down hiring process amid rising inflation rate, labour disruptions, and Ukraine

There's a mystery lurking in America's national medicine cabinet.Americans pay the highest prices in the world for lifesaving medicines — roughly triple what people in the world's other big economies pay for the same name-brand, on-patent drugs. The cost of producing a medicine generally doesn't vary much — so it stands to reason that the US's big pharmaceutical companies should therefore earn far more in the US than they earn elsewhere. Simple math.But take a look at the corporate disclosures of America's largest pharmaceutical companies, and a puzzling hole opens. The six major US pharmaceutical firms that provide fairly detailed data reported making $215 billion worth of sales in the US for 2022. Given America's systematically higher prices, their sales abroad were logically more modest — totaling $170 billion. Despite this discrepancy, the companies reported earning very, very little in profits — in some cases, absolutely nothing — in the US. Of their $100 billion combined profit, the companies said $90 billion was made abroad, while a paltry $10 billion came from their US operations. That comes out to a profit margin of 5% in the US and a margin of over 50% abroad. What's going on?Tax avoidance, of course. When questioned, pharmaceutical companies inevitably respond that they pay all the tax that they legally owe. A Merck representative, for example, said that Merck "complies with all tax rules on a worldwide basis." But these explanations are a smoke screen. Most of America's major pharmaceutical companies have simply perfected the art of legally shifting the profit on their US sales out of the country to low-tax jurisdictions.It is undeniably allowed by the tax law, but it is still an outrage. Americans are not only paying through the nose for their prescriptions but also receiving none of the benefits from having a robust "American" pharmaceutical industry. The tax revenues from US sales are being paid abroad, rather than being reinvested in new research at the National Institutes of Health. Pharmaceutical-manufacturing jobs are being created abroad, rather than at home. While the battle to lower drug prices is likely to drag on for years, there are clear ways for the US to prevent this sort of profit shifting that will not only make the tax system fairer but also allow Americans to recapture some of the value they're creating for these giant companies.<h2>Pay no attention to the profits behind the curtain</h2>To get a sense of just how much money these pharmaceutical companies are moving around, it's useful to look at a case study. Take AbbVie, the producer of the blockbuster immunosuppressive drug Humira, which is used to treat a variety of conditions, including arthritis and Crohn's disease. An investigation by Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon found the company booked 99% of its profit abroad in 2020, despite generating only three-quarters of its sales overseas. More recently, AbbVie claimed it's actually losing money in America: The company reported a $5 billion loss on its US operations in 2022, while generating a $18 billion profit outside the US. Rather remarkably, AbbVie reported only $12 billion in non-US sales, meaning its reported profit outside the US exceeded its revenue.AbbVie is an especially poignant example, but it's hardly alone. Merck, the maker of the blockbuster (and expensive) drug Keytruda, reported earning only $1 billion in profit on its $27 billion in US sales in 2022, while reporting that it earned $15 billion abroad on its $32 billion in sales overseas.Pfizer, which famously produced the first mRNA coronavirus vaccine, now reports — unlike in the past — making a bit of money in the US. Even then, the discrepancy is quite large: $5 billion in the US in 2022 and $30 billion abroad. Before the surge in revenues and profits associated with its successful vaccine, Pfizer somehow always seemed to lose money in the US.At this point, profit shifting is the industry norm: Of the eight biggest US pharmaceutical companies, only Gilead reports earning the majority of its income in the US. The other seven companies appear to have paid the US government just over $2 billion on their $108 billion global profit in 2022 (this sum includes Eli Lilly, which reports the distribution of its tax payments but not the distribution of its earnings). Governments outside the US actually collected more tax revenue from these seven "American" pharmaceutical companies than the US government: $11.5 billion.<h2>Large legal loopholes</h2>The offshore migration of these pharmaceutical companies' profits may seem egregious, but the tax gymnastics are generally legal. In fact, the US corporate-tax code effectively incentivizes American pharmaceutical companies to play this game.On paper, America's corporate-tax rate is 21%, but the country's largest and most profitable pharmaceutical companies don't pay anything close to that. The effective tax rate for most of the big pharmaceutical companies on the profits they keep in the US is much closer to 10%. But since most of their profits are shifted overseas, the eight largest US pharma companies end up paying only about 3% of their global profit to the US Treasury. Most average American households have a far-higher tax burden.Companies' ability to keep their US tax bill low is made possible by the US's treatment of money made overseas. Through 2017, US companies were allowed to indefinitely defer US tax payments of profits earned offshore. Many companies, unsurprisingly, found ways to move profits to no-tax jurisdictions in the Caribbean and Europe. The most common way to do this was by parking their intellectual property — such as the patents that give them a legal monopoly to sell a drug they've developed — in no- or low-tax jurisdictions. Add in overseas manufacturing, and almost all profits earned on US sales were shifted to the low-tax jurisdictions. AbbVie, for example, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/senate-report-hits-abbvies-bermuda-tax-structure-for-u-s-humira-sales-11657184401" target="_blank" rel="noopener">located the right to profit from Humira</a> in its Bermuda subsidiary and manufactured the drug in Puerto Rico, which is considered outside the US for tax purposes since the island is a territory rather than a state. So all the profit for the drug was technically attributed to the division in no-tax Bermuda. Even though the profits were being legally booked as profits in the Caribbean or Irish subsidiary of a US firm, in many cases, these companies kept the funds in a US bank account or invested in US bonds. The firms could even take out a loan in the US using the overseas cash as collateral, so clearly the money wasn't "trapped" offshore. The overall result was a mess, and there was no doubt that the corporate-tax code needed to be reformed.But instead of solving the problem, the 2017 Trump corporate-tax reform made it worse. The law imposed a special 10.5% tax rate on profits made outside the US. This would seem to solve the issue — money parked in other countries was still subject to collection from the Treasury. But the new rules allowed companies to blend all of their foreign profits together in one big pot: A company with some profits in a high-tax country such as Germany could use its mandatory payments there to offset some of the earnings attributable to no-tax jurisdictions such as Bermuda. It couldn't do the same with its US profit. So with a bit of accounting, companies could avoid paying the minimum tax on their offshore income. The overall result was an "America last" tax code: US pharmaceutical firms got a big tax cut, while the incentive to move production of new drugs to low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland remained.US trade data corroborates this story. The US has a large trade deficit in pharmaceutical products with other countries — a bulk of the imports are coming from low-tax jurisdictions such as Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, and Belgium. Even the companies themselves report to their shareholders that they pay low effective rates because of tax-haven countries. Merck's latest annual 10-K report explained that the differentials in tax rates were due to "operations in jurisdictions with different tax rates than the US, particularly Ireland and Switzerland, as well as Singapore and Puerto Rico." None of this is particularly hidden.What's more, the superlow rate enjoyed by American pharmaceutical companies isn't necessary for these firms to be internationally competitive. Denmark's Novo Nordisk reports paying tax at about the Danish corporate rate (22%), and it pays that tax mostly in Denmark, even though its biggest market is the US. Even Switzerland's Novartis pays the majority of its tax in Switzerland.To add insult to injury, in many cases, these profits come from drugs developed through research made possible by National Institutes of Health funding and US tax credits for research and development. Despite this support, the US gets neither the biopharmaceutical-manufacturing jobs nor the tax revenues from medicines brought to market by US companies — it gets stuck with only the tab. If that sounds like a raw deal, that's because it is.<h2>A spoonful of medicine to make the taxes go down</h2>America's pharmaceutical companies have made great contributions to medicine. But there's no reason to think that they wouldn't make the same contribution to human health if they actually paid US taxes on the profits from their US sales. Economic theory and global practice show that any increase in their income taxes would be absorbed by the shareholders of the big pharmaceutical companies, not those buying their drugs — the pharmaceutical companies already charge the absolute maximum possible on their patent-protected medicines, and they certainly aren't doing so to cover the cost of their nonexistent US tax bill.Common-sense reforms can help end this practice. One idea is to subject all overseas profits to a 15% minimum tax, assessed on a country-by-country basis to avoid accounting tricks. Another is to place limits on pharmaceutical firms' ability to claim tax credits for research on the development of drugs when the intellectual property is then shifted outside the US — this would also eliminate the incentive to offshore pharmaceutical production and US jobs. The net result would be more biopharmaceutical investment in the US, more tax revenues for the US Treasury, and, ultimately, a more resilient and more innovative US economy.<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/brad-setser">Brad W. Setser</a> is the Whitney Shepardson senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/author/tess-turner">Tess Turner</a> is a research associate at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).

Big Pharma rakes in $215 billion a year in America &mdash; yet pays almost no taxes

Welcome back, readers. A judge has ruled the FTC can move forward with <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-judge-rejects-facebook-request-dismiss-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit-2022-01-11/">an antitrust lawsuit against Facebook</a>, and we compared Ford's F-150 Lightning and Chevy's Silverado EV to figure out <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-electric-f150-lightning-vs-chevy-silverado-ev-range-price-2022-1">which one reigns supreme.</a> Let's get started. If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter/10-things-in-tech">sign up here</a>. Download Insider's app – click <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id554260576">here for iOS</a> and <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.freerange360.mpp.businessinsider">here for Android</a>.<a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-judge-rejects-facebook-request-dismiss-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit-2022-01-11/"></a>1. A judge has rejected Facebook's request to dismiss an antitrust lawsuit. The US Federal Trade Commission has been working to prove that Facebook abuses a monopoly position in social media. Yesterday, a US judge dealt the FTC a win by rejecting Facebook's motion to dismiss the lawsuit, and allowing the case to move forward.<ul><li>This isn't the first time the FTC has tried coming for Facebook. The agency filed the first version of its antitrust case in 2020, which sought to unravel Facebook's acquisitions of WhatsApp and Instagram. </li><li>But last summer, the judge dismissed its first complaint, ruling there was insufficient evidence for the FTC's primary claim: that Facebook has monopoly power. The FTC was allowed to amend its complaint and try again. </li><li>In <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/21177063-memorandum-opinion">an opinion</a> issued yesterday, the judge determined the FTC's case now offers facts that are "more robust and detailed than before" — allowing the agency to continue its case against the <keyword id="6358815" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="tech" source="Orion">tech</keyword> giant.</li></ul><a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/us-judge-rejects-facebook-request-dismiss-ftc-antitrust-lawsuit-2022-01-11/">Here's what you should know about the lawsuit. </a>In other news:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-faces-second-union-vote-bessemer-alabama-warehouse-workers-nlrb-2022-1"></a><div type="image" title="clerk at amazon prime warehouse" height="4000" width="5333" msid="88855898" hostid="261"></div>2. Amazon faces a second union vote next month. After the NLRB determined the company interfered with the first election, 6,000 workers at Amazon's Bessemer, Alabama warehouse will be able to vote again. Voting will begin on Feb. 4. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-faces-second-union-vote-bessemer-alabama-warehouse-workers-nlrb-2022-1">More on that here.</a>3. Elizabeth Holmes' conviction casts a shadow on female health startup founders. After the Theranos founder's conviction on four counts of fraud, female founders are facing questions about her case during investment meetings. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/female-health-startup-founders-response-elizabeth-holmes-theranos-2022-1">Founders explain how such high-profile fraud cases "make it harder for us."</a>4. Facebook will require COVID-19 vaccine boosters. All of Facebook's in-person employees must receive a booster by late March, making it one of the largest companies to implement such a requirement. Plus, the company has delayed its reopening until March. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-require-covid-19-boosters-for-all-in-person-employees-2022-1">See the company's latest COVID-19 protocols.</a>5. Reef is closing about one-third of its ghost kitchens. Leaked documents reveal the startup is temporarily closing 95 of its underperforming food trailers, though they didn't say when the trailers would reopen. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/reef-ghost-kitchens-abruptly-closes-nearly-100-locations-2022-1">More on the decision.</a>6. Web3 startups are poaching staff from some of tech's biggest names in the US. Now, the same trend is about to kick off in Europe as the prospect of a decentralized internet and inflated pay packages lure staff away. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/web3-projects-europe-starting-lure-staff-from-big-tech-firms-2022-1">Here's why tech talent is defecting to Web3.</a>7. AWS plans to "completely re-imagine" how its network is managed. According to a new job posting, Amazon Web Services is searching for someone to rework how its network is managed with new control plane services — a project the company expects <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-web-services-new-project-reimagine-network-job-posting-2022-1">will be critical to "Amazon as a whole."</a>8. Video game developers weigh in on unrealistic metaverse expectations. Many metaverse aficionados are anticipating a future where users can seamlessly take things — like costumes purchased for avatars — from one video game to another. But game makers are warning that it won't be that simple. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/video-game-makers-explain-why-main-metaverse-promise-is-false-2022-1">They explain why that's an unrealistic fantasy.</a>9. A former Google CEO paid $65 million for a vacant lot in Beverly Hills. Eric Schmidt purchased the "Enchanted Hill," a vacant site that once belonged to Microsoft's Paul Allen. Spanning 120 acres, the property has room for multiple guest houses, a sports complex, and luxury facilities like a winery. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/paul-allen-beverly-hills-property-for-sale-photos-2019-10">Take a look at the lot.</a>10. Chevy's Silverado EV vs. Ford's F-150 Lightning. We compared the two electric pickups to see which one reigns supreme, and found the Silverado EV beats the F-150 Lightning in range, power and price — but only slightly. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ford-electric-f150-lightning-vs-chevy-silverado-ev-range-price-2022-1">See how the trucks stack up.</a>What we're watching today:<ul><li>Micromobility World, a virtual summit exploring how small vehicles <a href="https://micromobility.io/mmworld">can improve the world</a>, takes place today. </li><li>Justworks is expected to announce final IPO pricing. </li><li>It's Jeff Bezos' birthday, and Amazon workers and activists are expected to call on Amazon to recognize unions. </li></ul>Event invite: Join Insider for our live webinar, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-marketers-are-preparing-for-the-metaverse-2021-12">"Marketing in the Metaverse,"</a> taking place on Jan. 18 at 11 a.m. EST. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-marketers-are-preparing-for-the-metaverse-2021-12">Register here.</a>Curated by Jordan Parker Erb in New York. (Feedback or tips? Email <a href="mailto:jerb@insider.com">jerb@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/jordanparkererb?lang=en">@jordanparkererb</a>.) Edited by Michael Cogley in London.

10 things in tech you need to know today

Welcome to 10 Things Before the <keyword id="117488" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Opening-Bell">Opening Bell</keyword>. If this was forwarded to you, <a href="https://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/10-things-opening-bell">sign up here.</a> Plus, download Insider's app for news on the go - <a href="https://apps.apple.com/app/apple-store/id554260576?pt=385758&amp;ct=06292021_newsletters&amp;mt=8amp;mt=8">click here for iOS</a> and<a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.freerange360.mpp.businessinsider"> here for Android</a>.Let's get into it.1. The S&amp;P 500 closed at another record high as jobless claims fell for the third week in a row. The latest jobs report shows Americans are getting back to work and the labor market is bouncing back from the pandemic. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-news-today-august-12-sp500-record-labor-recovery-2021-8">See the latest numbers moving on the market.</a>2. Stay bullish on stocks, says JPMorgan chief global <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword> strategist. Strong earnings, among other indicators, should quiet concerns over the spread of the Delta variant. In addition to cautious market positioning among investors, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-4-reasons-remain-bullish-jpmorgan-marko-kolanovic-2021-8">see the chief strategists' four reasons to keep buying into the market. </a>3. Kumar Sadaram has bought more than 50 homes in less than a decade. He got into real estate to quit his 9-5 and achieve financial independence. The "buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat" strategy worked for Sadaram - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/real-estate-investing-strategy-how-to-start-little-no-money-2021-8">read the rest of his tips and tricks to becoming a real estate mogul. </a>4. On the docket: China Merchants Bank, Samsung Life Insurance, and JX Holdings, all <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/earnings-calendar">reporting.</a>5. Famed short-seller Carson Block says he'll never bet against Tesla. In a letter to investors, Block said he's come to the realization that "a certain amount of bullsh*t is necessary." <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/carson-block-tesla-short-selling-commentary-why-wont-bet-against-2021-8">Read his full comments.</a>6. Large-cap fund managers are cutting ties with Chinese stocks - but China is still calling for tighter regulations. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/china-tech-regulation-crackdown-tougher-legislation-key-industries-2021-8">China's tech crackdown will likely persist</a>, as new laws are set to enter sectors such as national security, monopolies and education. Now, Bank of America says<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-trends-analysis-fund-manager-buying-selling-bofa-survey-2021-08"> investors are shedding their Chinese stock shares in favor of stay-at-home stocks.</a>7. Fun fact: cheese prices have come down because lumber has been up. As lumber costs soared this year, some cheesemakers switched to barrels instead of wooden boxes. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/commodities/lumber-cheese-price-today-cme-wood-barrel-box-real-estate-2021-08">Read how that reduced demand sent cheese prices to a 15-month low.</a>8. Retail investors made Moderna their most-bought stock leading up to Wednesday's 16% plunge. The drop came after a note from Bank of America called the shares overvalued, and as the EU said it would investigate vaccine side effects. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/moderna-stock-retail-traders-biontech-pfizer-vaccine-makers-bank-america-2021-8">See where fellow vaccine-maker Pfizer landed on the most-bought list.</a>9. The first bitcoin mutual fund's top investment strategist is all about safe crypto exposure. The Bitcoin Strategy ProFund launched in late July, and the chief strategist says the fund invests in front-month bitcoin futures, instead of the coin itself. He shared why he opts for building a bitcoin mutual fund instead of starting a digital wallet - <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-investing-strategy-crypto-coins-mutual-fund-manager-simeon-hyman-2021-8">and broke down safety measures for digital currency investors. </a>10. English Premier League teams are jumping into the NFT market. Five soccer teams, including Manchester City, are launching blockchain fan tokens on the Socios platform, which will offer supporters exclusive content. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/epl-cryptocurrency-blockchain-nft-arsenal-city-villa-everton-leeds-socios-2021-8">Here's how the move mimics the NBA's "Top Shot" NFTs. </a>Compiled by Phil Rosen. Feedback? Email <a href="mailto:prosen@insider.com">prosen@insider.com</a> or tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/philrosenn">@philrosenn</a>.Sign up for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/subscription/newsletter">more Insider newsletters here</a>.

10 things before the opening bell

<ul class="summary-list"><li><keyword id="25931" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="billionaire">Billionaire</keyword> <keyword id="424838" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Jack-Ma">Jack Ma</keyword> is no longer <keyword id="1334" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="China">China</keyword>'s <keyword id="42159" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Richest">richest</keyword> person after his empire came under regulatory scrutiny.</li><li>He dropped to fourth place "after China's regulators reined in <keyword id="9541717" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Ant-Group">Ant Group</keyword> and <keyword id="302749" type="COMPANY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Alibaba">Alibaba</keyword> on anti-trust issues," the <keyword id="2721202" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Hurun-Global-Rich-List">Hurun Global Rich List</keyword> said.</li><li>Bottled-water maker Zhong Shanshan nabbed the number one spot for the first time with a wealth of $85 billion.</li></ul>Business magnate Jack Ma has lost the title of China's richest person, according to a list published Tuesday, as his business empire came under regulatory scrutiny.Ma, the billionaire founder of Alibaba and Ant Group, held the top spot on China's <a href="https://www.hurun.net/en-US/Info/Detail?num=LWAS8B997XUP">Hurun Global Rich List</a> in 2019 and 2020, but has fallen to fourth place after bottled-water maker Zhong Shanshan, Tencent's Pony Ma Huateng, and e-commerce company Pinduoduo CEO Colin Huang Zheng.Ma's rank dropped for the first time in three years "after China's regulators reined in Ant Group and Alibaba on anti-trust issues," a report accompanying the list said.Ma's <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-mas-ant-group-plans-shrink-after-china-demands-wsj-2021-1#:~:text=Jack%20Ma%20plans%20to%20shrink,down%20by%20the%20Chinese%20government&amp;text=Billionaire%20Jack%20Ma's%20Ant%20Group,financial%20regulatory%20system%20last%20year.ear.">confrontation</a> with state regulators peaked when he criticized China's financial regulatory system on October 24, as Ant Group was gearing up for an IPO.He said lawmakers <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-ma-financial-regulations-ant-group-alibaba-2020-10">enforcing global financial rules</a> were part of "an old people's club" and existing rules aren't well-suited to Chinese tech innovation.Ant's $34 billion IPO, the largest in history, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-is-ant-group-china-jack-ma-digital-payment-2020-7">was suspended</a> after regulators found "major issues" that could not qualify it for a listing.Subsequently, the state <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/alibaba-antitrust-jack-ma-ant-group-beijing-regulators-2020-12#:~:text=China%20launches%20an%20antitrust%20investigation,Jack%20Ma's%20tech%20empire%20continues&amp;text=Beijing%20will%20investigate%20e%2Dcommerce,stricter%20financial%20regulations%2C%20regulators%20said.aid.">launched an anti-monopoly investigation</a> into Alibaba and introduced a series of new regulations for the fintech sector. Ma, whose personal wealth stands at $55 billion, disappeared from public view for almost three months after his comments about global financial rules. He <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/jack-ma-alibaba-video-call-2021-1">resurfaced in a quick 50-second</a> video clip on January 20, addressing 100 rural teachers across China. Zhong, China's current richest person, nabbed the top spot for the first time with a wealth of $550 billion yuan ($85 billion), owing to the share performance of his bottled-water company and vaccine maker Beijing Wantai Biological Pharmacy Enterprise, which he also controls, according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-alibaba-jackma/jack-ma-loses-title-as-chinas-richest-man-after-coming-under-beijings-scrutiny-idUSKBN2AU0QL">Reuters</a>.Zhang Yiming, the 38-year-old founder of TikTok parent company ByteDance, broke into the top 5 with a personal wealth of around $54 billion after the app surged in popularity.

Jack Ma is no longer China's richest person after his confrontation with the state's financial regulators

Hello, and welcome to this week's edition of the Insider Tech <keyword id="621414" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Newsletter">newsletter</keyword>, where we break down the biggest news in tech, including:<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tanium-wiz-lawsuit-court-texts-hindawi-cybersecurity-2021-7">Tanium's texting tech bros</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7">Silicon Valley's 'gag order for life'</a></li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-board-meeting-attendee-tests-positive-covid-19-infects-others-2021-7">Uber's infectious board meeting</a></li></ul><h4><a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-tech">Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here.</a></h4><h2>This week: Big Tech's monster profits and the backlash danger</h2>It's been an action packed week in tech, with earnings, IPOs and ongoing pandemic problems. In what may be a first, several tech companies posted financial results that were too good.<ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-earnings-q2-2021-eps-profit-revenue-growth-warning-stock-2021-7">Facebook</a>, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-earnings-q3-2021-revenue-iphone-eps-profit-analysis-2021-7">Apple</a> and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-alphabet-earnings-q2-2021-revenue-eps-profit-analysis-2021-7">Alphabet</a> all <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/apple-q3-earnings-reaction-wall-street-analysts-iphone-aapl-2021-7">blew past Wall Street targets</a>, earning a combined $39 billion in profits in Q2. But with critics arguing that Big Tech companies are powerful monopolies that need to be broken up, the super-sized results and <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/youtube-revenue-google-earnings-technology-2021-7">seemingly effortless growth </a>are not likely to help the tech counterargument.</li><li>The only Big Tech company that missed targets was <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/amazon-earnings-q2-2021-revenue-eps-profit-2021-7?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">Amazon, whose $2 billion revenue shortfall</a> won't really hurt its business prospects, but at least keeps it out of the latest newscycle. </li></ul><keyword id="1268253" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Robinhood">Robinhood</keyword> <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/robinhood-ipo-stock-offering-price-filing-hood-valuation-trading-debut-2021-7">had its long-awaited IPO this week.</a><ul><li>The stock trading app, infamous for causing <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/robinhood-ceo-vlad-tenev-ipo-retail-investors-meme-stocks-reddit-2021-7">wild fluctuations in so-called meme-stocks,</a> experienced its own turbulent debut, with shares of <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/robinhood-stock-price-first-trades-volatile-ipo-trading-debut-hood-2021-7">HOOD climbing 6% and then tumbling 12%</a> on its first day out.</li></ul>And the pandemic continues to upend the best laid plans for tech companies to bring their workers back to the office. <ul><li><keyword id="6354576" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="facebook">Facebook</keyword> and <keyword id="6355629" type="DEFINITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="google">Google</keyword><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-google-netflix-tech-companies-require-vaccines-employees-office-return-2021-7"> announced they will require employees to be vaccinated</a> if they want to work at the office.</li><li>Uber, meanwhile, experienced the new challenges first-hand after <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/uber-board-meeting-attendee-tests-positive-covid-19-infects-others-2021-7">a person who attended a recent board meeting at its San Francisco headquarters tested positive for Covid</a> and later infected several other employees (all suffered only mild cases, thankfully).</li></ul><h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tanium-wiz-lawsuit-court-texts-hindawi-cybersecurity-2021-7">Tanium's Tech Bro Trial</a></h2>Cybersecurity company Tanium is in a bitter legal fight with another security startup called Wiz, which poached four of Tanium's top sales employees. Among the many interesting tidibits revealed in the case are text messages among the departing Tanium employees on their way out.Employee 1: He asked if any other reps were leaving...I said I don't know...going to be awkward when 4 guys leave for Wiz lolEmployee 2: Hahaha oh yes it is.--------Employee 2: I wonder who else is going to leave that we don't know aboutEmployee 1: Bro who would stay??<h3>Read the full story here:</h3><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/tanium-wiz-lawsuit-court-texts-hindawi-cybersecurity-2021-7">Texts from former Tanium employees surface as the $9 billion startup sues them and the firm that poached them.</a></h3><h2>From the curious file:</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tunnels-boring-company-tesla-drivers-las-vegas-techcrunch-2021-7"><div type="image" title="Elon Musk" height="2007" width="2505" msid="84922725" hostid="261"></div></a><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-tunnels-boring-company-tesla-drivers-las-vegas-techcrunch-2021-7">Rules for talking about Elon Musk:</a> A training manual for drivers piloting Teslas in Musk's Las Vegas tunnel provides instructions on how to answer passengers' questions about the boss. "Be as brief as possible and do your best to shut down such conversation." If a rider persists? Simple, reads the script: "Yup, he's a great leader. He motivates us to do great work!" </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/hydrofoiling-board-larry-page-mark-zuckerberg-watersport-google-facebook-2021-7">The sport of kings: </a>It may not be an Olympic sport yet, but hydrofoiling is all the rage among tech moguls, from Larry Page to Mark Zuckerberg. If you want to be like Zuck, hop on board (and don't forget to <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-sunscreen-surfing-photo-hide-from-paparazzi-facebook2021-4">lather on the sunscreen</a>).</li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/steak-umm-twitter-facebook-misinformation-media-literacy-science-public-2021-7">Thus spoke Steak-umm:</a> You know the world is in a bad place when Steak-umm, the maker of frozen, sliced sandwich meat, is the voice of reason. And yet there's something heartening in seeing the frozen aisle-fixture fulminate on the front lines of Twitter against the dangers of conspiracy theories and misinformation. To quote the packaged meat sage, it's imperative that we find "some semblance of mutually agreed upon information before we splinter into irreconcilable realities."</li></ul><h2>The Big Read</h2><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7">How Silicon Valley turned employment agreements into 'gag orders for life'</a></h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7"><div type="image" title="Anonymous woman with a NDA-labeled duct tape over her mouth with Google, Apple, Pinterest, and Riot Games logos behind her on a red to black gradient background" height="1726" width="2300" msid="84922727" hostid="261"></div></a>If you work in tech, chances are you've signed a nondisclosure agreement. Maybe you've signed a non-disparagement agreement, as well. But do you know whether your agreement is likely legally enforceable? Or how it compares to your friends'?To understand how these agreements became the foundation of Silicon Valley's vaunted culture of secrecy, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Insider reviewed 36 NDA's from tech workers</a>, ranging from multi-billion dollar publicly traded firms that are household names to small <keyword id="6362513" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="startups">startups</keyword>. The result is the most comprehensive portrait yet of the scope and legality of NDAs, a subject of intense debate in the wake of the #MeToo movement and amid recent <a href="https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/article/Silicon-Valley-likes-to-use-NDAs-A-California-15934275.php">proposed legislative changes in employment law. </a><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/silicon-valley-tech-workers-nda-culture-silence-2021-7">Click here to read the full story</a></h3><ul><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/read-nda-show-how-facebook-google-apple-enforce-worker-silence-2021-7">And if you really want to geek out, check out the actual NDAs Insider got ahold of</a></li></ul><h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-building-metaverse-billionaire-space-raice-2021-7">Quote of the week:</a></h3><div type="image" title="mark zuckerberg" height="1349" width="1800" msid="84922730" hostid="261"></div><h3>"Within the metaverse, you can build a hang out, play games with friends, work, create and more. You're basically going to be able to do everything that you can on the Internet today, as well as some things that don't make sense on the Internet today like dancing."</h3>- Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, during Facebook's Q2 earnings call, discusses his plan for Facebook to evolve <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-building-metaverse-billionaire-space-raice-2021-7"> from being a social media company to a "metaverse" company. </a><h3>Recommended readings:</h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/cisco-permanent-remote-work-for-all-workers-productivity-cost-savings-2021-7">Here's how Cisco decided that none of its 75,000 employees ever have to return to the office</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-ends-deal-workday-hr-software-partnership-2021-7">Exclusive: Amazon's companywide deal to use Workday's HR software ended after about 3 years. Workday shares slump.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-facebook-misinformation-moonshot-pitch-deck-7m-2021-7">This startup works with Facebook and Google to steer internet users away from misinformation. Get an exclusive look at the pitch deck it used to land $7 million from VCs.</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/apple-repair-workers-sweatshop-csat-solutions-2021-7">Your Apple laptop is probably repaired at a facility workers say is a 'sweatshop'</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/pet-dna-startup-embark-softbank-vc-masayoshi-son-vc-seriesb">How SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son's dog helped two brothers fetch $75 million for their pet DNA startup</a><h3>Not necessarily in tech:</h3><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/millenial-campaign-operatives-shaping-the-future-of-us-democratic-politics-2021-7">These 20 millennial Democratic campaign operatives are reshaping politics in the US</a>Thanks for reading, and if you like this newsletter, <a href="http://newsletter.businessinsider.com/join/4np/insider-tech">tell your friends and colleagues they can sign up here to receive it</a>.- Alexei

Texting tech bros and the danger of earnings blowouts

<ul><li>US stocks slid on Wednesday as investors mulled the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/federal-reserve-fears-slowing-economic-rebound-july-fomc-meeting-minutes-2020-8-1029518162">cautionary remarks</a> from <keyword id="6355253" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="federal-reserve">Federal Reserve</keyword> officials.</li><li>Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes showed policymakers fearing a slowdown in the economy's recovery. Members also refrained from issuing forward guidance on when it would enact new policies.</li><li>The <keyword id="123873" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="SP-500">S&amp;P 500</keyword> finished lower after reaching an intraday record high for a second straight day. On Tuesday, the benchmark index closed at its first all-time high since February.</li><li>Investors also weighed signs of mild stimulus progress. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested on Tuesday that Democrats might nix some facets of their proposal to expedite a relief package and reconsider passing those elements after November's elections.</li><li>Oil slightly declined as new virus outbreaks abroad stoked demand worries. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti" target="_blank" rel="noopener">West Texas Intermediate crude</a> slipped as much as 1.2%, to $42.36 per barrel.</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/indices">Watch major indexes update live here</a>.</li></ul>US equities slid on Wednesday as <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/federal-reserve-fears-slowing-economic-rebound-july-fomc-meeting-minutes-2020-8-1029518162">wary remarks</a> from the Federal Reserve's latest minutes overshadowed strong earnings reports. Central bank officials raised concerns about the economic recovery sputtering out during the Federal Open Market Committee's July meeting, the minutes showed. Members "agreed that the ongoing public health crisis would weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term."The S&amp;P 500 edged higher to a second consecutive intraday record before sliding on the Fed's comments. In a reversal from recent trends, the <keyword id="156451" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Nasdaq-Composite">Nasdaq composite</keyword> lagged behind its peers as tech shares underperformed cyclical plays.Here's where US indexes stood at the 4 p.m. ET market close on Wednesday:<ul><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/s&amp;p_500?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestts&amp;utm_medium=ingest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">S&amp;P 500</a>: 3,374.85, down 0.4%</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/dow_jones?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestsource=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dow Jones industrial average</a>: 27,692.88, down 0.3% (85 points)</li><li><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/index/nasdaq_composite?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestsource=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nasdaq composite</a>: 11,146.46, down 0.6%</li></ul>Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stocks-to-buy-5-companies-set-for-gains-economy-reopens-2020-8">A $5 billion chief market strategist shares 5 post-pandemic stocks to buy now for gains as COVID-19 cases level off — and 2 big-tech winners to start cashing out of</a>Retail stocks were boosted by strong earnings from <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/tgt-stock?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">Target</a> and <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/low-stock?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">Lowe's</a>. The former leaped <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/target-stock-price-q2-earnings-crushing-record-same-store-sales-2020-8-1029516829">after beating Wall Street estimates</a> and reporting record same-store sales growth. Lowe's similarly gained after reporting that growing interest in do-it-yourself projects drove 30% revenue growth.Investors also mulled new signs of progress in reaching a stimulus deal. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested on Tuesday that Democrats might cut down its fiscal relief proposal to speed up negotiations, adding that measures removed from the smaller bill would be reassessed after November's elections.Republican leaders also hinted at resuming talks. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Pelosi's decision to strike $25 billion in Postal Service funding was enough to restart negotiations. The Senate is on recess until September but could reconvene should lawmakers reach a compromise.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/small-cap-stock-picks-global-investing-strategy-jpmorgan-eduardo-lecubarri-2020-8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A JPMorgan equity chief sees stocks staying rangebound for another year, even if there's a vaccine breakthrough — but says investors can still get big returns in these 11 regions and sectors</a>Hopes for an expedited deal were somewhat offset by fears about schools and colleges starting new terms as virus cases remain elevated. Several universities have pivoted to fully online classes after on-campus coronavirus outbreaks. Experts worry that some schools' lax enforcement of social-distancing measures could fuel a new wave of virus hot spots in the US.The S&amp;P 500 <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-news-today-sp500-record-close-tech-rally-housing-2020-8-1029514487">closed at its all-time high on Tuesday</a> following the index's multiple attempts in recent weeks to retrace its virus-driven losses.<a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/stocks/aapl-stock?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">Apple</a> became the first US-based company to <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/apple-stock-price-market-cap-valuation-hits-2-trillion-milestone-2020-8-1029517431">reach a $2 trillion intraday market cap</a> before paring gains and falling below the threshold. Oil titan Saudi Aramco became the <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/saudi-aramco-stock-price-2-trillion-company-after-a-second-day-surge-2019-12-1028757956?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingest#est#">first company to reach the $2 trillion level</a> after its December IPO.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-picks-to-buy-back-to-school-big-returns-jefferies-2020-8">Jefferies says buy these 7 back-to-school stocks for big returns with much of the US going remote</a>Tire-maker <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/goodyear-stock-price-president-trump-tweets-boycott-maga-ban-tire-2020-8-1029518025">Goodyear tumbled</a> after President Donald Trump told his Twitter followers to boycott the company, saying it was banning employees from wearing his signature MAGA hat. Goodyear said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/goodyear/status/1296111292827283462" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> the slide was not "created or distributed" by Goodyear corporate.In deal news, <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/momenta-pharmaceuticals-stock-price-johnson-johnson-acquisition-deal-autoimmune-drugs-2020-8-1029516671">Momenta Pharmaceuticals soared</a> after the biotech company agreed to a $6.5 billion acquisition by Johnson &amp; Johnson. The deal valued Momenta shares at a 70% premium and is expected to close in the second half of 2020, a press release said.Oil pared some declines after tumbling on continued demand risks. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?type=wti" target="_blank" rel="noopener">West Texas Intermediate crude</a> fell as much as 1.2%, to $42.36 per barrel. <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/commodities/oil-price?utm_source=markets&amp;utm_medium=ingestgest">Brent crude</a>, oil's international benchmark, slid 1.4%, to $44.81, at intraday lows.Now read more <keyword id="31671" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="markets">markets</keyword> coverage from Markets Insider and Business Insider:<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/genz-millennial-day-trading-investing-discord-server-eagle-investors-profile-2020-8">Inside Eagle Investors, the 20,000-member online community run by 2 Indiana University students that's helping spearhead the Gen Z day-trading revolution</a><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/monopolies-worsen-wealth-income-inequality-financial-stability-federal-reserve-research-2020-8">Monopolies drive income inequality, financial instability, and debt growth, Fed economists say</a><a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/stock-market-outlook-contested-presidential-election-volatility-boost-gold-treasurys-2020-8-1029514343">A disputed US presidential election would fuel wild stock market volatility and possibly boost gold, UBS says</a>

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