Alphabet's 2Q earns soar despite rising 'moonshot' losses

Business is booming at Google's parent company, Alphabet, even as it loses billions of dollars on kooky-sounding projects that may never produce any revenue. Most of the losses are concentrated in Alphabet's'X'' lab, a wellspring of far-out ideas that has become known as a'moonshot factory' since Google co-founder Sergey Brin launched it about six years ago. The lab is responsible for some once-zany projects, such as Google's self-driving cars, that matured into potentially revolutionary technology. FILE - In this Monday, Feb. 1, 2016, file photo, electronic screens post prices of Alphabet stock at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York. Business is booming at Google¿s parent company, Alphabet Inc., even as it loses billions of dollars on risky projects that may never produce any revenue.