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Stock futures hold steady in overnight trading after a strong tech rally on Wall Street An artist name Theodore Tsinias who wrapped himself next to the Charging Bull to show his attention about world's behavior amid Covid-19 pandemic in Lower Manhattan, New York City, United States on May 25, 2020. Tayfun Coskin | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images Stock futures were flat in overnight trading on Monday after a strong performance in technology shares pushed the S&P 500 in positive territory for the year. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose about 10 points, while the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq 100 futures were little changed. The overnight action followed a strong performance in technology shares that pushed the Nasdaq up 2.5%. Amazon led the gains in popular tech names with a 7.9% jump on Monday, its best day since December 2018. The Nasdaq 100, which consists of the 100 biggest non-financial companies in the composite, popped 2.8% for its biggest one-day gain since April. IBM gained 4.7% in extended trading after the company reported better-than-expected second-quarter earnings. Notably, IBM improved gross margins in three of its five units in the past quarter. "We expect robust growth-company balance sheets and low interest rates to support higher valuations for growth stocks than for value stocks in the near term," Ken Johnson, Wells Fargo's investment strategy analyst, said in a note on Monday. The market also cheered a slew of positive news on the vaccine front. Pfizer and BioNTech reported early positive data on a joint coronavirus vaccine. Meanwhile, another candidate from Oxford University and AstraZeneca showed a positive immune response in an early trial. With Monday's gains on Wall Street, the S&P 500 turned green for 2020 with a 0.6% gain on the year, while the Nasdaq has risen 20% this year. The 30-stock Dow lagged, however, down 6.5% for 2020. Investors are also monitoring the talks in Washington on the next coronavirus relief bill. Lawmakers face pressure to pass legislation before the end of the month, when the $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit is set to expire. "I believe the stock market would benefit from news of a stimulus package coming to fruition," Kristina Hooper, Invesco's chief global market strategist, said in a note on Monday. "In times like this, despite a massive and rising budget deficit for the US, I believe big government is likely to be good news for the stock market." More companies will report quarterly earnings on Wednesday. Coca-Cola and Philip Morris are set to drop results before the bell, while United Airlines will report after the close. Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world. wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr/
© Illustration: George Wylesol for Bloomberg Businessweek This image can only be used with attached article for period of 90 days from publication
Lawmakers will be sorely tempted to ask about topics such as hate speech and misinformation, which, while important, are easily batted away by the West Coast giants. But it’s essential that they focus on competition and get to the heart of the problem—business models.
Here’s one key question they should ask each exec and why they should ask it:
Alphabet Inc. CEO Sundar Pichai: “If I were to place the winning bid for a painting at Sotheby’s, I would know the size of the next highest offer. So when brands want to serve me an ad on one of Google’s platforms, why don’t they know the value of competing bids?”
When brands say how much they’re willing to pay to have Google users see their ads, they have no bargaining power. That’s partly because they have no idea what kind of prices they’re bidding against, and partly because Google controls so much of the online advertising ecosystem. And higher ad costs get passed on to consumers.
Facebook Inc. CEO Mark Zuckerberg: “If I sign up for Facebook or a Facebook platform like Instagram, why must I give permission to let you track my other internet browsing activity?”
This gets at the argument that Facebook is able to impose onerous terms that aren’t in the interests of its users because of its market dominance. And while you can opt out of ad targeting, you can’t refuse to allow Facebook to gather the data.
Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook: “Because Apple charges a 30% commission when people sign up for a service through the iPhone, the likes of Netflix and Spotify instead redirect new customers to their websites. What costs does Apple incur to justify such a royalty charge?”
The workaround to avoid the so-called Apple Tax means it’s easier for iPhone users to sign up for Apple’s competing streaming video and music services. That may mean Spotify and Netflix lose prospective customers.
Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos: “If a company such as Duracell already sells batteries using your platform, why does Amazon need to offer its own competing product?”
Amazon Marketplace, which sells third-party goods, gives the company deep data on pricing and customer demand. Critics say it uses that to introduce competing, cheaper products, which it then features more prominently in search results. While lower costs might ostensibly be good for customers, reduced competition ultimately leads to less consumer choice and wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr/ wedding sr/ wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr wedding sr