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Big Tech loses 1/4 trillion

Big Tech has lost $278 billion in stock-market value since the Facebook data-harvesting revelations two weekends ago, per the Financial Times (subscription):

By the numbers: Facebook: $75 billion ... Amazon: $61 billion ... Apple: $54 billion ... Alphabet, parent of Google: $62 billion ... Microsoft $26 billion.

"Investors have been nervous for months that the growing political backlash against Big Tech would lead to a new wave of regulations or taxes, though they did not have anything specific to attach their fears to. Now they do," the Financial Times reports:

  • "Rising political anger, a worry that the Big Tech boom will soon have run its course and the sense that an economic turning point may have been reached in the US have combined this week to threaten one of the underpinnings of the stock market boom."
  • But, but, but: "Big Tech’s loyal army of fans among Wall Street analysts remained bullish. ... For Facebook, 44 of 48 analysts recommend buying the stock, according to Bloomberg data. Forty-eight of the 51 analysts covering Amazon rate it a buy."

Behind the curtain ... A tech company's chief Washington lobbyist says that in group discussions with tech execs, "everyone says, ‘We have to stick together.' But then everyone goes out there and says, ‘It’s Facebook’s problem, not ours.'"

Big Tech backlash