The world's most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data

A NEW commodity spawns a lucrative, fast-growing industry, prompting antitrust regulators to step in to restrain those who control its flow. A century ago, the resource in question was oil. Now similar concerns are being raised by the giants that deal in data, the oil of the digital era. These titans--Alphabet (Google's parent company), Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Microsoft--look unstoppable. They are the five most valuable listed firms in the world.