Google says it will buy back US$70-billion in shares

News Snapshot:

Google parent Alphabet GOOGL-Q said it would buy back $70 billion worth of shares as it reported first-quarter profit above Wall Street expectations on Thursday. Shares jumped 4% in extended trading, adding about $75 billion to the company’s market value. Alphabet beat quarterly revenue estimates, benefiting from steady growth in its digital advertising business, which helped offset muted growth at its cloud computing unit. U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade policy has triggered worries of an economic downturn, prompting companies to rethink their spending on advertising. But analysts say the digital ad market still held its ground in the first quarter....