5 things to start your day

[Bloomberg]( Big Tech in focus, Fed day and delta variant delivers reality check. Tech skepticism Big Tech reported double-digit growth again amid [skepticism]( about the sustainability of earnings ahead. Three of the world’s largest companies -- [Apple Inc.](, [Microsoft Corp.]( and [Alphabet Inc.]( -- posted about $57 billion in combined profit in a record-busting quarter, riding a resurgence in consumer and business spending. Apple shares were lower in pre-market trading though after the firm [warned]( sales growth may be slowing and supplies are getting tight, putting a damper on investor excitement following a record-setting third quarter. Google meanwhile delivered [turbocharged]( sales growth thanks to an advertising surge in the pandemic. Microsoft beat on sales and profit for a 10th straight quarter, despite continued fears of slowing growth in the software giant’s Azure cloud-computing business. Fed day The Federal Open Market Committee is seen holding rates near zero at the end of their two-day policy meeting on Wednesday, and repeating a vow to keep buying bonds at the current $120 billion monthly pace. With the delta virus variant raging, the case for delaying an exit from stimulus is [clear](, while the stock and bond markets have all but [priced out]( inflation risks in the economy. No forecasts are scheduled to be released at this meeting. Sponsored Content [The highest living penthouse in Europe]( [Penthouse in Federation Tower]( is a unique property for sale in Moscow, Russia. Penthouse located on the 95-97th floors covered with a glass dome. It will be a new starting point for a person who has reached all imaginable heights. Federation Tower is the best complex in the world. [Worthy of your status.]( Sotheby's International Realty Delta drag The White House has told [staff](that they must again wear masks as President Joe Biden weighs a requirement for federal workers to get vaccinated. The delta variant is putting Biden’s “summer of joy” in [danger](, with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention advising people to wear masks indoors in public regardless of vaccination status in places where the virus is rapidly spreading. Meanwhile Tokyo is bracing for more cases, while South Korea and Thailand both [announced]( record daily infections as the coronavirus continues to spread in Asia. Markets mixed Stocks fluctuated as investors weighed Beijing’s regulatory [crackdown]( and earnings from U.S. tech majors. Overnight the MSCI Asia Pacific Index was down 0.2% while Japan’s Topix index closed 1% lower. In Europe the Stoxx 600 Index had gained 0.6% by 5:10 a.m. Eastern Time. S&P 500 futures were slightly higher, the 10-year Treasury yield was at 1.26%, [oil rose near $73 a barrel]( and gold was up. Coming up... All eyes will be on the Fed's latest policy statement at 2 p.m. ET, followed 30 minutes later by Chair Jerome Powell's press briefing. The latest weekly MBA mortgage applications data is due at 7 a.m., followed by crude oil inventories at 10:30 a.m. Facebook Inc., McDonald's Corp., Boeing Co. and Pfizer Inc. are among the many companies reporting earnings today. What we've been reading Here's what caught our eye over the last 24 hours. - Trump and aides under [pursuit](in House Capital Riot inquiry. - Bitcoin eyes longest [winning streak](in 2021. - Spiraling debt crisis [confronts]( Evergrande billionaire — and Xi. - Rise of [digital yuan]( brings new challenges for China tech giants. - [AI](could dramatically speed up climate action. - CFA pass [rate]( plummets. - The most detailed 3-D [map]( of the universe. And finally, here’s what Joe’s interested in this morning It's time to stick a fork in the idea that the end of expanded Unemployment Insurance will suddenly make it easier for businesses to hire. We've had enough time now, with various states having cut back early, to see that the effect is marginal at best. [Yesterday we got the latest reading of the Dallas Fed's Texas Service Sector Outlook Survey](. And if you read the commentary from businesses, it's clear that things are still very tough, despite the fact that the UI expansion ended over a month ago. All the commentary is worth reading, but this one from someone in the restaurant/bar business really stood out. We are hiring a few employees after the federal [unemployment] subsidy ended but continue to lose others oftentimes because they say they don't want to work or decide to attend a social function and walk off. They know they can get hired again by walking down the street. Hire three, lose four. Hire two, lose one. I have never seen anything like this in my almost-40 years of working. We continue to turn away business due to lack of employees. Raw product prices continue to significantly increase. It is difficult to raise prices, but we will have to soon. Our downtown area remains sparsely populated with little activity, which is critical to our business. Anecdotes aside, the data seems to be showing this too. [Economist Arindrajit Dube looked at some early data]( and shows that any effect of moving from unemployed to employed in the states that shrunk UI early has been modest at best. Of course it's still early, and over time things may ease or "normalize" further. But this deep into it, when it comes to the frustrations of employers, UI seems to be only a marginal factor. Joe Weisenthal is an editor at Bloomberg Like Bloomberg's Five Things? [Subscribe for unlimited access]( to trusted, data-based journalism in 120 countries around the world and gain expert analysis from exclusive daily newsletters, The Bloomberg Open and The Bloomberg Close. Follow Us Before it’s here, it’s on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can’t find anywhere else. [Learn more](. You received this message because you are subscribed to Bloomberg's Five Things - Americas newsletter. If a friend forwarded you this message, [sign up here]( to get it in your inbox. [Unsubscribe]( [Bloomberg.com]( [Contact Us]( Bloomberg L.P. 731 Lexington Avenue, New York, NY 10022