Alphabet approves $70B stock repurchase.
Alphabet's board of directors authorized $70 billion in share repurchases, which could represent a continuation of last year's pace. The company will take into account the stock price and market conditions when deciding when to buy back its own shares of both Class A and Class C stock. Share repurchases have become a hot topic in Washington DC, with some politicians criticizing the practice as a bad use of company profits over alternatives like pay raises.