Movers & Shakers: July 17, 2019

Wall Street poised for modest gains as second-quarter earnings heat up. The top three equity benchmarks are pointing to a higher open on Wednesday as investors prepare to digest a parade of earnings starting with Bank of America, which reported mixed results. Later this morning United Airlines will hold its earnings call and Netflix reports after Wall Street closes. Additionally, the Fed's Beige Book at 2pm ET may reinforce Chair Powell's recent signals of a looming rate cut.

Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross urges Democrats to pass USMCA. The new trade deal is the "biggest and best trade deal this country has ever seen" said Ross during an appearance on Mornings With Maria. He urged Democrats to pass the deal that will improve the agreement formerly known as NAFTA.

Facebook to face the second day of grilling on Capitol Hill over its new digital currency. David Marcus, who heads the social media giant's digital wallet, Calibra, will appear before the House Financial Services Committee after a heated hearing in the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. Despite attempts by Marcus to address widespread hesitation over the offering, both Republican and Democratic lawmakers continued to raise serious concerns over Libra and how consumers will be protected.

The global battle over 'Big Tech' continues. Silicon Valley giants are facing growing pressure across the globe for potentially monopolistic behavior. A new probe by the European Union into Amazon's relationship with third-party sellers is the latest escalation for the industry. The issue was also front-and-center at a hearing in the House antitrust panel, where Amazon's associate general counsel argued the e-commerce giant doesn't use seller data to compete with third-party entities in a heated exchange with Rep. David Cicilline, D-RI.

Elon Musk details latest venture and he's already testing the product on monkeys. The Tesla founder previewed a new product from his startup Neuralink Corp. that tries to better connect the human brain with machines. The company is planning to seek federal approval to begin human testing of its implantable chip that aims to stimulate nerve cells to potentially help cure diseases like Alzheimer's. The product is already being tested on monkeys, according to Musk, and one was able to "control a computer with its brain." The 48-year old entrepreneur did not elaborate on that claim.