#big-tech

#big-tech

Big Tech and other superstars of the U.S. stock market are rallying on Monday, as Wall Street recovers most of its loss from last week. The S&P 500 climbed 1.3% to claw back three-quarters of its drop from last week, which was its first weekly loss in four. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 245 points, or 0.5%, as of 1:15 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 2.1% higher. Nvidia was by far the strongest force lifting the market and rallied 4.8%.

President Donald Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" is handing out billions in tax breaks, and a new analysis from Senator Elizabeth Warren's (D-MA) office is demonstrating just how substantial those sums are. Under the law, Google's parent company, Alphabet, will save around $17.9 billion in taxes this year, an amount that Warren's office found could've paid for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits for 7.5 million Americans.

We need to take a deep breath and understand it's like a meteor coming,

Since the start of 2025, many prominent big tech companies have publicly scaled back their DEI programs, in response to shifting requirements by the US government. Within days of taking office, President Trump signed an executive order prohibiting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies within federal departments and sending a message and demanded civil investigations into companies that have such programs in place.

Amazon led the way after jumping 10.3%. The retail giant was by far the strongest force pushing upward on the market after reporting profit for the latest quarter that blew past analysts' expectations. CEO Andy Jassy said growth for its booming cloud-computing business has reaccelerated back to a pace it hasn't seen since 2022. Because Amazon is so massive, worth roughly $2.4 trillion, its stock movements carry more weight on the S&P 500 than almost any other company's.

The U.S. stock market seems to be steadying on Friday, as banks recover some of their sharp losses from the day before. The S&P 500 slipped 0.2% in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 23 points, or 0.1%, as of 11:30 a.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 0.5% lower. All three indexes drifted between gains and losses through the morning, but the moves weren't as jarring as the big hour-to-hour swings they had earlier in the week.

Facts are becoming less sacred by the day in Donald Trump's US, where many of his supporters now deny the very existence of truths. To them, inconvenient evidence is by definition bias. His followers and those who fear his fist are falling into line: media, universities and that infamous regiment of tech zillionaires who stood right behind him on inauguration day.

There is pressure, fair enough, but this is not about US companies, but about the misuse of market power, no matter where the headquarters are,

European laws have helped civilise the online landscape, but now we can only look on in envy at some new features launched by Apple that are not available to users here We said we wanted Big Tech to be regulated. But is it worth losing out on features and services? Maybe, maybe not. But there's now a gap opening between us and places like Britain and the US in mainstream services we can get from our tech because of new EU regulation.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Dana Schoolsky, a 24-year-old working in monetization strategy and operations at TikTok in New York City. It's been edited for length and clarity. When I worked in investment banking as an analyst, everything felt urgent, as if a fire alarm was going off at all times. I felt on edge even after leaving the office, never knowing when I might be called to action to do more work, which took a toll on me.

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground.

The tech industry's embrace of President Trump has left many of us asking the same question: What the hell happened to Silicon Valley? Is this merely a Big Tech ploy to negotiate favorable business circumstances, or does it point to a long-term ideological shift? On Tuesday, WIRED's panel of experts will discuss the impact that Trump has had on tech, and vice versa.

vocal and growing group of conservatives who are fundamentally suspicious of the benefits of technological innovation,