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SAN FRANCISCO >> Google will begin using its Chrome browser today to eradicate ads it deems annoying or otherwise detrimental to users. It just so happens that many of Google’s own most lucrative ads will sail through its new filters.
The move, which Google first floated back in June, is ostensibly aimed at making online advertising more tolerable by flagging sites that run annoying ads. Chrome will start blocking all ads — including Google’s — on offending sites.
There’s some irony here, given that Google’s aim is partly to convince people to turn off their own ad-blocking software. These popular browser add-ons deprive publishers (and Google) of revenue by preventing ads from displaying.
Uber’s loss widens to $4.5B after rocky year
SAN FRANCISCO >> Ride-hailing giant Uber’s full-year net loss widened to $4.5 billion in 2017 as the company endured a tumultuous year that included multiple scandals and the replacement of its CEO.
The results also showed that Uber cut its fourth-quarter net loss by 25 percent from the third quarter as its new CEO moves to make the company profitable before a planned public stock sale sometime next year.
ON THE MOVE
Abbey J. Zhou has joined Starn O’Toole Marcus & Fisher as an associate. She will focus on the areas of commercial transactions and real estate. Zhou previously served as a financial audit associate with KPMG’s Shanghai office.
Kobayashi Group, a leading investment and real estate development firm in Hawaii, has announced the following:
>> Kathy Inouye, a founding partner of the firm, will assume the role of senior adviser. Inouye has more than 30 years of real estate development experience.
>> Alana Kobayashi Pakkala has been named chief operating officer. Pakkala previously worked with Inouye in all aspects of project management and led some projects on her own.
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