Newspaper Page Text
ESI BUSINESS
Jeff Gill | Business reporter
770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Saturday, October 27, 2018
Google unveils app made to fight press censors
BY SCOTT SMITH
Associated Press
CARACAS, Venezuela —
Google has unveiled a tool meant
to help fight press censorship
around the world, testing it first
in Venezuela, where journalists
say they’re battling a government
bent on burying online stories that
expose corruption and human
rights abuses.
News junkies in Venezuela click
ing on links to independent web
sites have been frustrated in recent
years by messages on their screens
saying the pages don’t exist — a
problem most blame on govern
ment moves to block access to criti
cal information.
“It’s very hard to get news to the
people,” said Melanio Escobar, a
Venezuelan journalist and social
activist who tested the Intra app
before it was launched this month.
“We promote this and other tools,
but it’s not easy.”
The government controls the
internet as owner of CANTV, the
largest internet service provider
with more than 2.5 million custom
ers, and Escobar said smaller, pri
vate providers follow its directives
to stay in business.
The Press and Society Institute
of Venezuela, a press freedom
group, says that news websites crit
ical of the government have been
increasingly targeted since 2014.
A four-day test trying to access
53 websites hundreds of times
each day in August found roughly
half were blocked, according to
researchers. Venezuela’s commu
nications ministry didn’t respond
to a request for comment by The
Associated Press for this story.
The Android-only app Intra is
designed to frustrate that tactic by
connecting users’ phones directly
to Google servers that access the
domain name system — a phone
book of the internet. That bypasses
any blocks set up by local internet
providers, making it harder for
governments or other interlopers
to deny access certain websites.
The once-wealthy oil nation is
plummeting into a deepening polit
ical and economic crisis under two
decades of socialist rule and Presi
dent Nicolas Maduro’s government
has increasingly squeezed or shut
down opposition media he often
accuses of taking cues from the
U.S. and other foreigners conspir
ing to overthrow him.
Venezuelan journalists work
under the threat of jail or crushing
lawsuits, driving several abroad
fearing for their personal safety.
A pro-government constitutional
assembly created last year to
bypass the opposition-controlled
congress has passed a law decree
ing up to 20 years in prison for pub
lishing material deemed hateful.
Jared Cohen, founder and CEO
of Jigsaw, a unit of a Google’s par
ent company, said his team created
the app out of an ongoing conversa
tion with journalists and tech-sawy
Venezuelans over obstacles they
confront disseminating their work.
Intra launched worldwide on Oct. 3
after a test run in Venezuela.
Cohen, a former U.S. diplomat
who advised both Condoleezza
Rice and Hillary Clinton on free
dom of expression issues in their
tenures as secretary of state, said
he and his team of engineers saw
opportunity for its use around the
world.
The country’s last-remaining
opposition newspaper, El Nacional,
has been frequently blocked as has
CNN’s Spanish-language affiliate.
“Our investigative journalism
and reporting contains elements
that, as we see it, put the govern
ment in very uncomfortable situ
ations,” said Cesar Batiz, news
director of El Pitazo.
“While our website traffic is
diminished, we’ve won recogni
tion because people see that we’re
fighting for human rights and dem
ocratic liberties,” he said. “That is
what we want to do.”
GM proposes fuel standard
MARK HUMPHREY I Associated Press
A General Motors dealer’s sign stands in Nashville, Tenn., April 25, 2017. General
Motors says it will ask the federal government for one national gas mileage standard,
including a requirement that a percentage of auto companies’ sales be zero-
emissions vehicles.
BY TOM KRISHER
Associated Press
DETROIT — General Motors says it
will ask the federal government for one
national gas mileage standard, includ
ing a requirement that a percentage of
auto companies’ sales be zero-emissions
vehicles.
Mark Reuss, GM’s executive vice
president of product development, said
the company will propose that a certain
percentage of nationwide sales be made
up of vehicles that run on electricity or
hydrogen fuel cells.
“A national zero emissions program
will drive the scale and infrastructure
investments needed to allow the U.S. to
lead the way to a zero emissions future,”
Reuss said.
GM, the nation’s largest automaker,
spelled out the request Friday in written
comments on a Trump administration
proposal to roll back Obama-era fuel
economy and emissions standards, freez
ing them at 2020 levels instead of gradu
ally making them tougher.
California Gov. Jerry Brown, whose
state was one of many opponents to the
mileage rollbacks filing objections to the
Trump plan, stood in front of Interstate
5 in Sacramento on Friday to urge the
cause of cleaner cars and condemn the
administration’s proposal.
“Foolishly, it mandates gas guzzlers
instead of clean and zero-emission vehi
cles,” Brown told reporters as trucks and
passenger traffic roared past. “Wrong
way to go, Donald. Get with it. Bad.”
Under a regulation finalized by the
Environmental Protection Agency at the
end of the Obama administration, the
new automobiles would have to get 36
miles per gallon by 2025,10 miles per gal
lon higher than the current requirement.
But the Trump administration’s pre
ferred plan is to freeze the standards
starting in 2021. Administration officials
say waiving the tougher fuel efficiency
requirements would make vehicles more
affordable, which would get safer cars
into consumer hands more quickly.
GM on Thursday said it doesn’t support
the freeze, but wants flexibility to deal
with consumers’ shift from cars to less-
efficient SUVs and trucks.
Its proposed requirement would be
based on current standards now required
in California and nine other states. Under
those rules, GM must sell a minimum of
around 2,200 fully electric vehicles in
California this year, or about 1.1 percent
of the roughly 200,000 cars, trucks and
SUVs that it normally sells in the state
each year.
California sets the requirements based
on a complex formula that considers the
total number of vehicles sold by an auto
maker and gives credits for fully electric
vehicle sales and partial credits for plug
in gas-electric hybrid vehicles. Credits
can be banked or sold to other automak
ers that need them.
GM’s proposal would set lower zero-
emissions vehicle requirements than
California, but spread them to the entire
nation. The requirements would gradu
ally increase until 2025.
Reuss said GM’s proposal is a start
ing point for discussions on one set of
national fuel efficiency and zero-emis
sions vehicle standards.
“We want really one national set of
standards,” hesaid. “Engineering to mul
tiple standards is very costly and frankly,
unnecessary.”
Federal and California gas mileage
standards have been the same since 2010.
But if President Donald Trump’s admin
istration ends up relaxing the require
ments, it could create two standards, one
for California and states that follow it,
and another for the rest of the nation.
California, whose unique authority to
set its own vehicle emissions standards
would be rolled back under the adminis
tration’s proposal, submitted more than
400 pages of analysis rejecting the plan
and the research behind it.
California argues freezing emissions
standards for six model years would
exacerbate climate change, depress
research in cleaner technologies and
lead to higher spending on gasoline. It
also says the plan endangers the U.S. auto
industry by allowing other countries to
take the lead in developing affordable
electric vehicles and batteries.
“I think a lot of the car companies
know they’ve got to build clean, electric
or hydrogen cars,” Brown said at Fri
day’s interstate news conference. “If
they don’t, they’ll be working for Chinese
companies.”
Separately, 21 attorneys general and
five cities signed a letter saying the
administration’s proposal is illegal.
Trump could challenge California’s
power to set its own standards, granted
under the Clean Air Act, and that could
set up a lengthy legal battle since Cali
fornia has pledged to defend its quest to
reduce pollution.
The EPA’s acting administrator,
Andrew Wheeler, has said he wants a sin
gle mileage standard nationally. Wheeler
“has pledged to work in earnest with
states and stakeholders to find a solution
as we take comments on the new pro
posal,” agency spokesman James Hewitt
said Friday.
Roundup found
in cereal products
BY JOSEPHINE MARC0TTY
Tribune News Service
A national environmental research and advocacy
group Wednesday issued a second report document
ing traces of the herbicide Roundup in popular oat
cereals such as Cheerios, saying that its presence in
food creates an unnecessary cancer risk to children.
It is the latest development in a raging contro
versy over the most widely used herbicide in the
world, which most government regulators and food
industry leaders say poses no health risk in the
amounts that people get in their food.
“No question, our foods are safe,” said Michael
Siemienas, spokesman for General Mills, the maker
of Cheerios.
The Environmental Working Group (EWG),
which uses science to advocate environmental
policy changes, tested 28 food products containing
oats. It found that all but two contained traces of
Roundup, an herbicide made by Monsanto that is
widely used on everything from food crops to back
yard weeds.
The levels, though, were far below the concentra
tions deemed unsafe by state and federal regulators.
The products included items made by Quaker
Oats, a subsidiary of PepsiCo., and seven different
kinds of Cheerios.
Scientists at EWG
say the amounts it
found are higher than
the level they believe is
safe for children —160
parts per billion per
serving. But that level is
much lower than other
recommendations
in the United States,
including the one set
by the Environmental
Protection Agency.
“The EPA level is
outdated and much too
high to be protective of
children’s health,” said
Tasha Stoiber, a senior
scientist with EWG.
But the question of how much of the herbicide in
kids’ food is too much — and whether it’s a carcino
gen at all — has become hotly debated among scien
tists and regulators around the world, with no clear
answer. The EPA, sets a legal limit of 30 milligrams
per kilogram in food; the Minnesota Department of
Health recommendation is much lower, though that
covers safe drinking water, not food.
The controversy began in 2015 when the World
Health Organization’s International Agency for
Research on Cancer, or IARC, declared glypho-
sate a probable carcinogen. Monsanto launched a
public-relations campaign in response, arguing that
its product is safe, and that the organization had
ignored other studies that proved it.
“Glyphosate has a more than 40-year history of
safe and effective use,” the company, owned by
Bayer Crop Science, said in a statement Wednesday.
‘The EPA level
is outdated
and much
too high to
be protective
of children’s
health.’
Tasha Stoiber
Senior scientist, EWG
Stock Exchange Highlights
V
NYSE
11,976.95 -141.90
B Nasdaq
W' 7,167.21 -151.12
Gainers (S2
Name Last
OR MORE)
Chg %Chg
Kadmon n 2.36
Std Motor 50.52
TimknSteel 12.81
GormanR 34.60
VoceraCm 34.75
GolLinhs s 9.97
GraniteC 45.22
CustomBcp 21.08
Cemig pf 3.28
CentElecBr 6.44
+.36 +18.0
+6.47 +14.7
+1.58 +14.1
+4.01 +13.1
+3.89 +12.6
+1.03 +11.5
+4.66 +11.5
+1.88 +9.8
+.29 +9.7
+.55 +9.3
Losers (S2 or more)
Name
Last Chg %Chg
Mohawk 115.03
EllieMae 64.26
Aquantia n 8.79
PacifCstOil 2.28
BoydGm 26.01
BrcEnEu n 115.94
Ber Gl Rs n 24.00
FBHmSec 41.58
Intelsat 28.59
SnapIncAn 6.28
-36.04 -23.9
-15.34 -19.3
-1.87 -17.5
-.32 -12.3
-3.58 -12.1
-15.48 -11.8
-3.00 -11.1
-5.19 -11.1
-3.46 -10.8
-.71 -10.2
Most Active ($1 on more)
Name Vol (00) Last Chg
GenElec 1175600 11.30 ^50
FordM 1006097 8.98 -.01
BkofAm 910721 26.39 -.20
Snaplnc A n796845 6.28 -.71
AT&T Inc 776213 29.09 -.89
Twitter 476871 32.36 +.56
NokiaCp 461146 5.58 +.26
Ambev 443437 4.13 +.09
Weathflntl 422708 1.98 -.08
Petrobras 408958 16.24 +.67
Diary
Advanced
Declined
Unchanged
Total issues
New Highs
New Lows
Volume
753
2,055
75
2,883
9
501
4,751,312,031
Gainers ($2 or more)
Name Last Chg %Chg
YulongE rs
ArtsWay
WinsFin
OrignAg rs
NF EngSv
Atlanticus
ENDRA n
DMC Globl
Natlnstrm
Mellanox
7.18 +2.86
2.58 +.45
41.90 +6.90
7.99 +1.31
5.16
3.54
5.10
+.83
+.53
+.74
37.64 +5.42
50.11 +7.22
83.30 +10.53
+66.2
+21.1
+19.7
+19.6
+19.1
+17.6
+17.0
+16.8
+16.8
+14.5
Losers ($2 or more)
Name
Last Chg %Chg
Flex Ltd 7.09
CentAI 7.72
WDigital 44.19
Ultragenyx 48.62
Lantronix 3.45
SyndaxP n 5.01
Flexstl 22.75
Ardelyx 2.87
OneStopS n 2.42
Proofpoint 83.55
-3.82 -35.0
-1.76 -18.6
-9.82 -18.2
10.74 -18.1
-.72 -17.3
-1.03 -17.1
-4.66 -17.0
-.58 -16.8
-.48 -16.5
15.44 -15.6
Most Active ($1 or more)
Name Vol (00) Last Chg
AMD 1194334
Flex Ltd 705191
Intel 672471
Microsoft 554799
Apple Inc 471895
Comcast s 424210
MicronT 412269
SiriusXM 367498
Cisco 317858
Facebook 312287
17.63 -1.64
7.09 -3.82
45.69 +1.38
106.96 -1.34
216.30
35.24
35.40
5.67
44.25
145.37
-3.50
-.60
-1.38
-.12
-1.22
-5.58
Diary
Advanced
Declined
Unchanged
Total issues
New Highs
New Lows
Volume
930
1,996
135
3,061
18
416
2,758,739,030
Stocks of Local Interest
YTD
Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg
AFLAC S
1.04
2.5
13
41.70
-.49 0.0
Hershey
2.89
2.8
22
102.52
-.32
-9.7
AK Steel
17
3.81
-.41 -32.7
HomeDp
4.12
2.4
22
172.23
-6.84
-9.1
AT&T Inc
2.00
6.9
6
29.09
-.89 -25.2
Intel
1.20
2.6
17
45.69
+1.38
-1.0
AbbottLab
1.12
1.7
28
66.99
-.68 +17.4
IBM
6.28
5.0
9
124.79
-1.66
-18.7
AMD
17.63
-1.64 +71.5
JohnJn
3.60
2.6
19
136.97
-1.50
-2.0
Altria
3.20
5.1
20
63.09
-.07 -11.7
KindMorg
.80
4.8
21
16.59
+.01
-8.2
Apple Inc
2.92
1.3
25
216.30
-3.50 +27.8
Lowes
1.92
2.0
20
93.78
-4.17
+.9
ATMOS
1.94
2.1
17
93.62
-2.01 +9.0
McDnlds
4.64
2.7
26
173.34
-1.97
+.7
AutoZone
16
743.57 +3.57 +4.5
Merck
2.20
3.1
26
70.40
+.44
+25.1
AveryD
2.26
2.6
25
88.12
-.88 -23.3
MicronT
3
35.40
-1.38
-13.9
BB&T Cp
1.62
3.5
13
46.48
-.53 -6.5
Microsoft
1.84
1.7
51
106.96
-1.34
+25.0
BP PLC
2.38
5.8
22
41.10
-.49 -2.2
NorflkSo
3.20
2.0
24
161.94
-2.30
+11.8
BkofAm
.60
2.3
13
26.39
-.20 -10.6
OfficeDpt
.10
3.9
7
2.54
-.04
-28.2
BamesNob
.60
9.6
6.24
-.21 -6.9
Penney
23
1.38
-.05
-56.3
Boeing
6.84
1.9
33
359.27
-4.50 +21.8
PepsiCo
3.71
3.4
32
110.45
-2.40
-7.9
BrMySq
1.60
3.2
50
50.43
+1.22 -17.7
Pfizer
1.36
3.2
17
42.60
-.81
+17.6
CSX
.88
1.3
10
65.92
-.47 +19.8
PhilipMor
4.56
5.1
22
89.00
-1.63
-15.8
CampSp
1.40
3.8
13
36.73
-1.22 -23.7
Praxair
3.30
2.0
37
164.94
-.06
+6.6
Caterpillar
3.44
3.0
11
115.05
-.58 -27.0
Primerica
1.00
.9
13
107.24
-1.03
+5.6
ChesEng
6
3.82
-.18 -3.5
ProctGam
2.87
3.3
22
87.86
-1.14
-4.4
Chevron
4.48
4.0
50
111.53
-.05 -10.9
RegionsFn
.56
3.5
14
16.06
-7.1
Cisco
1.32
3.0
22
44.25
-1.22 +15.5
SiriusXM
.05
.8
32
5.67
-.12
+5.8
Citigroup
1.80
2.8
11
64.21
-.76 -13.7
SnapIncAn ...
6.28
-.71
-57.0
CocaCola
1.56
3.4
87
45.92
-.59 +.1
SouthnCo
2.40
5.3
21
44.86
-.41
-6.7
Comcast s
.76
2.2
17
35.24
-.60 -11.7
SunTrst
2.00
3.4
10
59.56
-.81
-7.8
ConAgra
.85
2.4
17
35.42
-.95 -6.0
SynrgyPh
.43
-.97
-80.7
Cummins
4.56
3.5
36
128.77
+.40 -27.1
SynovusFn 1.00
2.7
13
36.62
-.56
-23.6
Disney
1.68
1.5
15
113.19
-.97 +5.3
3M Co
5.44
2.9
26
184.95
-.04
-21.4
DowDuPnt
1.52
2.9
17
52.00
-.92 -27.0
Torchmark
.64
.8
7
82.69
-.38
-8.8
Equifax
1.56
1.6
17
97.19
-1.12 -17.6
Twitter
32.36
+.56
+34.8
ExxonMbl
3.28
4.2
17
77.53
-.78 -7.3
Tyson
1.20
2.0
11
60.47
-1.21
-25.4
Facebook
27
145.37
-5.58 -17.6
UtdCmBks
.60
2.5
14
23.78
-.01
-15.5
FstData n
11
21.60
-.54 +29.3
UPS B
3.64
3.5
18
105.31
-2.51
-11.6
Flex Ltd
7
7.09
-3.82 -60.6
VerizonCm
2.41
4.3
7
55.51
-.92
+4.9
FordM
.60
6.7
5
8.98
-.01 -28.1
Vodafone
1.82
9.8
18.62
-.29
-41.6
FrptMcM
.20
1.7
7
11.50
+.25 -39.3
WalMart
2.08
2.1
24
98.94
-.24
+.2
GenElec
.48
4.2
11.30
-.50 -35.3
Weathflntl
1.98
-.08
-52.5
GenuPrt
2.88
2.9
21
98.56
-2.04 +3.7
WeisMk
1.20
2.8
21
43.48
-.76
+5.0
HP Inc
.56
2.4
8
23.13
-.66 +10.1
WellsFargo 1.72
3.4
12
51.25
-.61
-15.5
Haverty
.72
3.6
21
19.94
-.48 -12.0
WDigital
2.00
4.5
5
44.19
-9.82
-44.4
HeliosM rs
.02
-.00-100.0
YumBrnds
1.44
1.7
31
85.78
-1.14
+5.1
YTD
Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg
Stock Footnotes: g = Dividends and earnings in Canadian dollars, h = Does not meet continued-listing standards. If = Late filing
with SEC. n = New in past 52 weeks, pf = Preferred, rs = Stock has undergone a reverse stock split of at least 50 percent within the
past year, rt = Right to buy security at a specified price, s = Stock has split by at least 20 percent within the last year, un = Units, vj
= In bankruptcy or receivership, wd = When distributed, wi = When issued, wt = Warrants. Fund Footnotes: m - Multiple fees are
charged, usually a marketing fee and either a sales or redemption fee. Source: The Associated Press. Sales figures are unofficial.
Stock Market Indexes
Dow Jones industrials
Close: 24,688.31
Change: -296.24 (-1.2%)
27,200
26,400
25,600
24,800
24,000
25,840
25,140
24,440 10 DAYS
M
J
J
A S
O
52-Week
Net
YTD
12-mo
High
Low
Name
Last
Chg %Chg
%Chg
%Chg
26,951.81
23,242.75
Dow Industrials
24,688.31
-296.24 -1.19
-.13
+5.35
11,623.58
9,420.16
Dow Transportation
9,965.67
-126.14 -1.25
-6.09
+.34
778.80
647.81
Dow Utilities
729.72
-12.65 -1.70
+.88
-2.91
13,637.02
11,957.13
NYSE Composite
11,976.95
-141.90 -1.17
-6.49
-3.15
8,133.30
6,517.93
Nasdaq Composite
7,167.21
-151.12 -2.07
+3.82
+6.95
1,309.73
1,118.69
S&P 100
1,189.06
-22.05 -1.82
+.50
+4.30
2,940.91
2,532.69
S&P 500
2,658.69
-46.88 -1.73
-.56
+3.01
2,053.00
1,770.19
S&P MidCap
1,795.10
-19.30 -1.06
-5.55
-2.39
30,560.54
26,293.62
Wilshire 5000
27,427.14
-470.32 -1.69
-1.32
+2.27
1,742.09
1,436.43
Russell 2000
1,483.82
-16.58 -1.10
-3.37
-1.62
Mutual Funds
Name
Total Assets
Obj ($Mlns) NAV
Total Return/Rank
4-wk 12-mo 5-year
Pet
Load
Min Init
Invt
Vanguard 500ldxAdmrl
LB
265,379
245.75
-8.4
+5.8/A
+10.8/A
NL
10,000
Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl
LB
214,061
66.11
-9.0
+5.1/B
+10.3/A
NL
10,000
Vanguard TtlSMIdxinv
LB
135,625
66.09
-9.0
+5.0/B
+10.1 /B
NL
3,000
Vanguard TtlnSIdxinv
FB
134,124
15.64
-10.6
-9.4/C
+1.4/B
NL
0
Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns
LB
128,089
66.12
-9.0
+5.1/B
+10.3/A
NL 5
000,000
Vanguard Insldxlns
LB
126,438
242.44
-8.4
+5.8/A
+10.8/A
NL 5
000,000
Vanguard InsidxInsPlus
LB
108,769
242.46
-8.4
+5.8/A
+10.9/A
NL100,000,000
Fidelity Contrafund
LG
101,686
12.51
-11.1
+8.0/C
+11.6/B
NL
0
Vanguard TtlnSIdxinsPlus
FB
100,878
104.67
-10.5
-9.3/C
+1.6/B
NL100,000,000
American Funds GrfAmrcA m
LG
94,075
50.39
-10.9
+7.2/D
+10.9/C
5.75
250
Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl
MA
88,474
69.99
-5.1
+1.7/B
+7.3/A
NL
50,000
Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl
Cl
85,309
10.30
-0.3
-1.2/C
+1.8/C
NL
10,000
Cl -Intermediate-Term Bond, FB -Foreign Large Blend, IH -World Allocation, LB -Large Blend, LG -Large Growth,
LV -Large Value, MA -Moderate Allocation, WS -World Stock, Total Return: Chng in NAV with dividends reinvested.
Rank: How fund performed vs. others with same objective: A is in top 20%, E in bottom 20%. Min Init Invt: Minimum
$ needed to invest in fund. Source: Morningstar.
