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- More Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) drama, Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) set itself up for another event, and Alibaba's (NYSE:BABA) Jack Ma showed up in Hong Kong for the first time in months. It was another active week in the tech sector heading into the next big round of earnings reports.
- Facebook (FB) wasted little time staying in the spotlight, as a second whistleblower came forward with claims about how the social media giant targets the use of its products toward young people. By the end of the week, Facebook's shares had fallen 1.6%, and brokerage Evercore ISI added the company to its Tactical Underperform list ahead of Facebook's third-quarter results, due on October 25.
- Apple (AAPL) was also busy, as the company said it would hold an event on October 18. While Apple didn't say what it had in store, it is widely believed that the company will unveil some sort of upgrade to its line of Mac computers, including the MacBook laptop.
- But, Apple also made waves following a report that the company will cut its iPhone 13 production by 10 million units over the rest of the year due to shortages in communications chips from suppliers Broadcom (NASDAQ:AVGO) and Texas Instruments (NASDAQ:TXN).
- And, there was a sign that Apple might be bending to some of the pressure from Chinese officials following a report that the company removed a popular Koran app from its App Store in China.
- Speaking of China...Alibaba (BABA) Chairman Jack Ma was seen spotted in Hong Kong for the first time in a year, or since he made some critical comments about Chinese business regulators in October 2020. Ma has kept a largely low profile for much of this year.
- And along with China's pressure on tech companies and their operations, Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) said it would shutter its LinkedIn operations in the country due to ongoing heavy handed regulations.
- Back to the ongoing shortage in computer components...Taiwan Semiconductor (NYSE:TSM) had some good news, as it delivered a positive quarterly report and outlook, and said it will build a new chip-equipment production plant in Japan. Shortly after Taiwan Semi's announcements, Wall Street threw its weight behind chip-equipment makers like Teradyne (NASDAQ:TER) and Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS), and brokerage Piper Sandler initiated coverage on several chip-equipment companies, including Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) and KLA (NASDAQ:KLAC).
- In-flight Internet service provider Gogo (NASDAQ:GOGO) flew a little higher after it signed on private-aviation company JetEdge as its 5G wireless technology launch customer. However, Gogo then saw what can happen when Elon Musk speaks, as the Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) and SpaceX boss said SpaceX was looking at possibly bringing its Starlink satellite Internet service to commercial airplanes.
- Big Tech might be about to hear more from congress, as Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) are planning to introduce a new antitrust bill that takes aim at the practices of some of the largest American tech companies.
- Is Groupon (NASDAQ:GRPN) still a thing? Apparently, it is. And the provider of online discounts and deals said Chief Financial Officer Melissa Thomas was leaving the company.