During a three-hour Senate hearing yesterday, Facebook came under fire from lawmakers who were upset about the revelations brought to light by The Wall Street Journal's "Facebook Files." Internal documents showed that Instagram makes body image issues worse for a substantial minority of teen girls and was blamed for increases in anxiety and depression. With the company on the defensive (and minimizing its own research), it looks to be signaling new enthusiasm among Senators for regulatory proposals that had stagnated a bit.

It was set to be the second biggest tech deal of the year, but Zoom Video Communications and Five9 are calling off their $14.7B merger. Zoom had hoped the all-stock transaction would build on the explosive growth it experienced during the pandemic. Last week, Zoom also disclosed that a DOJ-led panel has been investigating the agreement over national security risks given Zoom's ties to China.

Investment banks are raking in record sums, with fees surging past $100bn in the first nine months of the year thanks to a rush of dealmaking.  Wall Street’s top banks and leading boutique advisers have benefited from the boom in mergers and acquisitions as well as hot equity capital markets. Fees for both are at the highest level since records began two decades ago and have hit $60.6bn in the year to date, according to Refinitiv.