Business news in brief
By The Associated Press
Google dropping plan to remove ad-tracking cookies on Chrome
LONDON | Google is dropping plans to eliminate cookies from its Chrome web browser, making a sudden U-turn on four years of work to phase out the technology that tracks users for ad purposes.
The company had been working on retiring so-called third-party cookies, which are snippets of code that log user info, as part of on overhaul to tighten up privacy on Chrome. But its proposal, known as Privacy Sandbox, had shaken up the online advertising industry over fears that any replacement would leave even less room for online ad rivals.
In a blog post on Monday, Google said it decided to abandon the plan after taking into account the impact on publishers, advertisers and “everyone involved in online advertising.”
Visa’s fiscal third-quarter profits rise 9%
NEW YORK | Payment processing giant Visa Inc. said its fiscal third-quarter profits rose 9% on an adjusted basis as it benefits from consumers and businesses moving their payments from cash to credit and debit cards.
The San Francisco-based company said it earned $4.87 billion, or $2.40 a share, compared to a profit of $4.16 billion, or $2.00 a share, in the same period a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, Visa earned $2.42 a share, which was slightly better than what analysts had expected, according to FactSet.
Rushed railcar inspections, ‘stagnated’ safety record reinforce concerns
Rail unions say that inspections continue to be rushed and a new federal study reinforces that concern with railroads routinely allowing less than two minutes per car for inspections. There are nearly 200 things to check on every railcar and the Transportation Communications Union that represents workers say there’s no way to do that in the time allotted.
The head of the Federal Railroad Administration testified at a House hearing Tuesday that railroad safety has stagnated over the last decade and more needs to be done. But it’s not clear if Republicans will support any rail safety reforms even after the disastrous East Palestine derailment that prompted the hearing.
—From AP reports
