The Week in Business: Getting Rich Off the Pandemic

On the Spot

The chief executives of the tech industry’s “Big Four” — Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google — faced a blistering round of questions (via video, awkwardly) from a congressional antitrust panel on Wednesday. The hearing was a culmination of a yearlong investigation into monopolies in the digital market, and those in the hot seat — Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook, Mark Zuckerberg and Sundar Pichai — struggled to defend claims that their companies had broken antitrust laws by exploiting their size to consolidate power and thwart rivals. Lawmakers vowed to tighten regulations, but how they’ll do that remains to be seen. And the companies continue to rake in money as the pandemic makes consumers more reliant on digital services. Apple, Amazon and Facebook all reported blockbuster revenue this past week, and Google reported better earnings than expected.

What’s Next? (Aug. 2-8)

Not So Fast

Congress may talk a big game about reining in big tech, but European Union leaders are actually doing it. In the past, European officials have been notoriously aggressive about trying to hit American tech companies where it hurts — with higher taxes and business restrictions — with varying success. Now, they are pursuing a handful of new laws that would narrow the scope of what digital businesses can do and sell. One would make it illegal for Amazon and Apple to steer customers toward their own products instead of those made by rivals. Another would establish stricter rules against hate speech on social networks. If any of these proposed laws come to fruition, they could push the platforms to change their behaviors worldwide.

Deadlocked

Millions of workers (roughly one in five) are still out of work in the United States, and they’re about to get desperate. Until the end of July, they were receiving supplementary unemployment benefits (an extra $600 a week) from the federal government as part of the CARES Act that was passed in March. But that provision expired on Friday, and efforts to extend or replace parts of it stalled in Washington this past week when President Trump put the kibosh on negotiations for a broad relief package. (His chief of staff summed things up: “We’re nowhere near a deal.”) Lawmakers are now scrambling to find a quick Band-Aid, like another round of direct payments to Americans, many of whom are facing the threat of eviction.

Where Are the Jobs?

The July employment report comes out this Friday, and analysts are split on where things stand. Most economists expect the numbers to show another increase in payrolls for the third consecutive month (good!), but say that it will be modest — after all, several big states have paused and even reversed their reopenings as the number of virus cases increases (bad). Others think payrolls may have even declined. One thing we do know for sure: The number of new jobless claims is on the rise again for the second week in a row, which doesn’t paint a promising picture.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/02/business/the-week-in-business-technology-companies-congress.html