Big Tech earnings are in, and BIG remains the operative modifier. Apple saw its profits almost double in Q2, Microsoft had its most profitable quarter ever, and Alphabet’s revenue rose an incredible 62% compared to a year ago—a “level of increase unseen since the company’s rapid growth around 2005, when it was still a start-up” - NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch and TechCrunch
While we’re on the topic, as if Silicon Valley’s cash and cache weren’t enough, now the widespread acceptance of work-from-home policies in tech means that Valley heavyweights are squeezing out start-ups in the smaller tech hubs scattered throughout the country. Put simply, “the democratization of tech jobs is broadening Silicon Valley’s reach and influence, rather than diminishing it” - WSJ
The Fed wraps its July OMC meetings today. The Delta variant, potential tapering of bond purchases, and the ghosts of 2013 are all likely on the table for the central bank - NYTimes and WSJ
The Times checks in with a spate of once-ascendant digital media companies (BuzzFeed, Vox, Vice) and finds them nearly all looking to SPACs and the prospect of a splashy public offering as a way to combat the return of the very old-school institutions (NYT, the Post, the Journal) that the upstarts were thought to have destroyed - NYTimes
The IMF is keeping its global growth outlook at 6%, but that figure is the result of an offset between advanced economies (which are projected to do better than first thought) and emerging economies (which are expected to struggle more due to low vaccination rates) - NYTimes
Beijing’s regulatory crackdown isn’t just cratering markets in China—it’s pushing shares of U.S.-listed Chinese companies down as well. Stocks on Nasdaq’s Golden Dragon China Index, for example, “have seen $829 billion in value erased since hitting a record high in February with the benchmark being nearly halved” - Bloomberg and Barron’s
Not all pandemic winners are carrying their success into this middle-Covid period. While tech continues to boom, shipping giants, old-school food packaged goods companies, mask-makers, and the disinfectant industry are all seeing a dramatic reversal of fortune from a year ago - WSJ
Facebook’s popular Instagram app is revising its advertising and privacy policies in an effort to better protect teens “following years of criticism that the photo-sharing site has not done enough to prevent underage users from sexual predators and bullying.” Among the changes announced is a measure aimed at reducing “hyper-targeted ads to teens” - NYTimes and WSJ and Mashable
Credit Suisse is reportedly set to release an internal investigation as early as this week examining the “breakdown that led to massive losses from family office Archegos Capital Management.” That timeline means the report could coincide with the Swiss bank’s Q2 earnings - WSJ and Bloomberg
A jury in Washington state returned a massive $185 million verdict against chemical giant Monsanto in favor of three teachers who claimed that toxic chemicals “were left in light fixtures at their school and caused them brain damage” – Law360
Bit of back story on at least one strain of inspiration for Cleveland’s long-overdue MLB name change—the Art Deco “Guardians of Traffic” statutes that grace the bridge that spans the Cuyahoga River - Bloomberg
We’ll be on the road for a spell, so have a good rest of the week, and we’ll see you back here soon. Until then, stay safe, and get vaxxed,
MDR
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