Archive for category: Business

Google’s parent company, Alphabet, said on Tuesday that revenue in its most recent quarter increased sharply from the same period a year ago, boosted by strong demand for online advertising on its search results and YouTube videos and by continued growth at its cloud computing arm.

Alphabet posted revenue of $55.31 billion, up 34 percent from a year earlier, and net profit more than doubled to $17.93 billion in the first quarter. It was the third straight quarter of record profit for the company. The results came in above analysts’ expectations. Shares of Alphabet rose more than 4 percent in after-hours trading.

Like the other technology conglomerates, Alphabet has thrived during the pandemic. After a pullback in travel-related advertising during the first few months of the pandemic, Google’s advertising business has rebounded with gusto. Businesses are spending money with Google to target consumers who are spending more time online.

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FLINT, Mich. (WJRT) – On Monday night bars and restaurant owners say they were happy to allow customers back for indoor dining. But the new health restrictions from the state could impact their business.

Rodney Ott, the owner of The Loft in downtown Flint, said even though the new restrictions changes the way he runs his nightclub, he will do whatever it takes in order to bring back some sort of normalcy to the Flint community.

“It’s just time to open back you know, with restrictions and also you just have to be like COVID conscious you know what I mean? We use hand sanitizer at the door, we’re wiping down the tables, we have a sign in check-in list and it’s just, I mean, time to reopen. It’s just time to reopen with caution,” said Ott.

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Business and health groups were largely at odds Tuesday as the state Assembly’s health committee heard public testimony about a brand-new, GOP-backed proposal to respond to COVID-19 in Wisconsin.

Republicans are lauding the wide-ranging bill, which includes more than 44 provisions, as a long-awaited response to the virus’ social and economic effects across the state, while Democrats point out it includes numerous provisions Gov. Tony Evers has called “poison pills.” Those provisions include stricter requirements on schools that want to provide virtual instruction and limits on local health officials’ power. The bill would also provide legal immunity for businesses that don’t follow local, state or federal requirements aimed at curbing the spread of coronavirus.

During testimony, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, who is sponsoring the plan, said it would provide “much-needed relief to the citizens of our state.”

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Are the employees at your neighborhood restaurant wearing masks? Is your grocery store vigilant about keeping customers 6 feet apart?

Now you can pass along feedback — both positive and negative — via Yelp to clue in prospective customers, just as you might offer commentary on the helpfulness of the store’s staff or the quality of the takeout meal you ordered.

In a blog post Tuesday, the San Francisco-based review website announced that it will start displaying crowdsourced feedback on whether customers “observed, or did not observe, the enforcement of social distancing and staff wearing masks.”

It’s part of an effort to instill consumer confidence, so Yelp is requiring plenty of others to agree on your assessment.

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