Wednesday Morning Reads

House panel urges tackling of tech ‘monopoly power’

The House antitrust subcommittee has released its report on Big Tech after a 16-month investigation, concluding that four tech giants - Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL), Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN), Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL), and Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) - enjoy “monopoly power” and that antitrust laws need changes that might result in business separations. The near-450-page report features a swath of recommendations, including imposing structural separations and prohibiting dominant platforms from entering adjacent business lines - what subcommittee Chairman David Cicilline has called a "Glass-Steagall" law for the Internet.

Apple sets iPhone launch for next week

Apple (AAPL) has confirmed the iPhone event will happen on October 13 with the tagline "Hi, Speed" likely referring to the 5G smartphone lineup. The digital-only event starts at 10 AM PDT. The lineup will likely be called the iPhone 12 with some models bearing "mini" in the title for the first time. Potential pricing is likely to range from $659 for the Mini to $1,099 for the Pro Max.

GE failed to keep a sharp eye on its insurance business – WSJ

General Electric (NYSE:GE) disclosed yesterday that the SEC is considering civil action against the company for possible securities law violations. The SEC and Department of Justice have been investigating GE's accounting for two years after the company disclosed a surprise $6.2B charge related to an insurance portfolio of long-term care policies and said it would pay $15B over seven years to fill a shortfall in reserves. Former GE employees have said the company was lax in its oversight of the insurance business and did not internally acknowledge that its results were getting worse, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Labor Department questions Microsoft, Wells Fargo plans to hire Black employees

The U.S. Labor Department has contacted Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), questioning the companies' plans to hire more Black employees. Each company said in June that it planned to double Black leadership in the coming five years, but each last week received a letter from the agency overseeing federal contractors raising the question of whether the pledges violate federal race discrimination laws. Federal contractors are required to address areas of potential discrimination, and at least in Microsoft's case the company has been asked to prove its actions are not illegal.

SpaceX nabs missile-warning system contract

SpaceX (SPACE) hauled in another notable defense contract, with the Pentagon issuing the company a $149M award from the Space Development Agency to help supply part of a proposed Pentagon missile-warning system. The SDA contract covers an early version of a small satellite system intended to identify and monitor a new generation of hypersonic missiles. SpaceX will use its Starlink assembly plant in Redmond, Washington to build four satellites fitted with a wide-angle infrared missile-tracking sensor supplied by a subcontractor. The system is seen as a countermeasure to potential new weapons from Russia and China. The contract is said to highlight the rapid gains made by SpaceX to gain credibility in emerging tech around advanced, low-orbiting sensor networks.

Universal pushes latest 'Jurassic World' into 2022

The hits keep coming - or rather, getting delayed - for the movie industry, with Universal Pictures (NASDAQ:CMCSA) the latest to push back a major release. The studio is moving Jurassic World: Dominion a year later, to June 2022. While that's different from recent delays of in-the-can films that were set for fall releases (the film was scheduled for June 2021), it demonstrates the havoc the COVID-19 pandemic is playing with film production schedules. The latest Jurassic World sequel was about three weeks away from completing principal photography in the UK.

AT&T pushes forward with DirecTV sale, though bids are low – report

AT&T (NYSE:T) is moving forward with plans for an auction of DirecTV, The New York Post says, even though a first round drew bids less than a third of what the telecom giant paid for the satellite broadcaster five years ago. A handful of suitors has been invited to a second round of bidding, though the opening figures came in around 3.5 times EBITDA of about $4.5B - implying valuation of about $15.75B, the Post reports.

What else is happening...

Exxon (NYSE:XOM) planned for surging carbon emissions in leaked documents – Bloomberg.Southwest (NYSE:LUV) flight attendants push back against call for pay cuts.Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Board Chairman will retire in December.