The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, October 31, 2018, Image 11

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The times., October 31, 2018, Image 11

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Newspaper Page Text0D BUSINESS Jeff Gill | Business reporter 770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Wednesday, October 31,2018 Slow recovery from storm ALYSSA POINTER I Associated Press Branches of a damaged cotton tree are seen in Newton. When Hurricane Michael tore through Georgia’s cotton crop, it set in motion a grim future for rural areas that depend on agriculture. Hurricane Michael wrought hard times on rural Georgia BY JEFF MARTIN Associated Press ATLANTA — Hurricane Michael left a snowy landscape of ruined white cotton on Georgia’s red clay, destroy ing a crop and likely bringing hard times to the region’s many small com munities built on agriculture. When the storm struck, most of the cotton was still in the fields, “wide open and susceptible to the wind,” said farmer Ron Lee of McCleskey Cotton Co. in hard-hit southwest Georgia. “Everything was just ready to har vest, so it couldn’t have been a worse time,” Lee said. Georgia is the No. 2 cotton-producing state in the nation, trailing only Texas, U.S. Department of Agriculture statis tics show. Just 12 to 18 percent of Georgia’s cotton crop had been harvested when Michael invaded Georgia on Oct. 10, said Richey Seaton, executive director of the Georgia Cotton Commission. The powerful storm entered Georgia as a Category 3 hurricane and then tracked near the heart of the state’s cotton country. “Every row looked like snow on the ground,” recalled Andy Lucas of the Georgia Farm Bureau, who went to south Georgia shortly after the storm to witness the damage. Before the storm struck, Lee was looking at the best cotton crop he’d seen in more than two decades, he said. He was still assessing the damage, but estimated a 50 to 70 percent loss. That could cost him $2.5 to $3 million. But farmers to the south of him lost their entire crop, he said. “These little towns like Dawson where I’m from, it’s just a poor area of the state,” he said. “Agriculture is the lifeblood of what’s left.” Statewide, storm damage to Geor gia’s cotton crop amounted to $550 to $600 million, University of Georgia agriculture officials estimated. Overall, Michael’s damage to Geor gia agriculture amounted to nearly $3 billion, Georgia Agriculture Commis sioner Gary Black said one week after the storm. Michael wrecked many pecan trees, which take an entire decade to mature and begin producing nuts. Georgia’s pecan crop sustained an estimated $560 million loss in the storm, Black said. Vegetable crops, including sweet corn, cucumbers, squash, peppers and peas, took an estimated $480 million hit, the state Agriculture Department reported. Many tall corn stalks were blown to the ground. “It’s just a green carpet, ” Lucas said. Georgia’s peanut harvest was some where around 45 to 50 percent com plete, Lucas said. Officials were still assessing damage to buildings where peanuts are stored and dried, he said. Repair costs will be key in the final loss estimates for the peanut crop, the Agri culture Department reported. Early estimates of losses to the peanut crop range from $10 million to $20 million. Georgia’s poultry industry also sus tained an estimated $25 million in losses, which includes the loss of 97 chicken houses and more than 2 mil lion chickens, state agriculture officials said. However, most of the state’s poultry production is in north Georgia, which escaped the worst of the storm. The damage was in areas further south, home to about 30 percent of the state’s poultry industry, said Mike Giles, presi dent of the Georgia Poultry Federation. With mobile pay, go without a wallet at checkout BY MARGARETTE BURNETTE Associated Press When you’re at the checkout line this holiday season, you could juggle your bags and dig into your purse or billfold for your credit or debit card. Or you could use that phone you’re already clutching, or that new smartwatch strapped to your wrist. Many stores now accept mobile wallets, a technology that lets cus tomers make payments via smartphone or watch. Mobile wallets come in different digital forms. There are device spe cific platforms, such as Apple Pay and Samsung Pay, which are compat ible with Apple and Sam sung devices, respectively. Google Pay works with multiple platforms, includ ing Android devices. There are also merchant apps, such as those from Starbucks and Walmart, that have mobile wallet capabilities but can be used only at specific stores. About one-third of smart phone owners who access mobile wallets use those downloaded from spe cific retailers, says Karen Augustine, a manager of primary data services at Mercator Advisory Group, a payments and consulting research firm. Still, many consum ers are sticking with their cards due to concerns about safety or the familiarity of good old plastic. But if you’re ready to give mobile wallets a try, here’s what you need to know to get started. Shoppers who don’t want to carry physical wallets and cards — or who are scared of losing a card — may find mobile wallets helpful. Many early adopt ers have been young adults who wear smartwatches or carry phones nearly every where and are willing to try new forms of payment, Augustine says. Those who want an easier way to track store rewards might also benefit from mobile wallets. A mobile wallet can keep track of rewards program infor mation, making it easier to get credit for qualifying purchases. Merchants and credit card issuers might also offer promotional bonus rewards for mobile wallet transactions. To start, you’ll need to load your bank information onto your preferred mobile wallet device. That gener ally means entering a credit card or debit card number and security code, and accepting the terms and conditions in the mobile app. When it’s time to make a payment, show your device at the checkout. You com plete the transaction by placing the device near the terminal and scanning a barcode or using a bio metric reader that may, for example, scan your fin gerprint to sign off on the purchase. BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS NEW YORK iPads, Macs get new screens as Apple pushes creativity Apple’s new iPads will more closely resemble its latest iPhones as they ditch a home button and finger print sensor to make more room for the screen. As with the latest iPhone models — the XR and XS —the new iPad Pro will use facial-recognition tech nology to unlock the device and to authorize app and Apple Pay purchases. Apple also unveiled new Mac computers, including an overdue refresh of the MacBook Air laptop, now with a high-resolution screen. Better screens come with price increases for both iPads and Macs. Tuesday’s announcements took place at an opera house in New York, where the company empha sized its products’ ability to create music, video and sketches. Neither the Mac nor the iPad generates as much revenue for Apple as iPhones. Tablet sales have been declining overall, though Apple saw a 3 percent increase in iPad sales last year to nearly 44 million, commanding a 27 percent market share, according to research firm IDC. Apple has been promoting its high-end iPad Pro as ideal for artists, photographers and other creators. D.A. Davidson Co. analyst Tom Forte said Apple did “a nice job of rolling out next-generation devices with features customers want to sustain momentum” in iPad sales growth. The smaller of the two new Pros will have a wider display than before when held horizontally. Its screen is 11 inches rather than 10.5 inches, measured diag onally. It starts at about $800, or $150 more than the 10.5-inch version. For the larger, 12.9-inch model, Apple is fitting the same-size display into a smaller device — about the size of a standard sheet of paper. That starts at about $1,000, a price hike of $200. The new iPads will have an LCD screen similar to the iPhone XR rather than the more vibrant one found in the top-of-the-line iPhone XS models. The displays on the new iPads don’t run to the edges as much as they do on iPhones. An updated pencil, still at $99, will attach magneti cally to the iPad for storage and charging. Apple is bringing a high-resolution display to its low-end MacBook Air, something until now limited to pricier models such as the MacBook Pro products. But the starting price goes up $200 to about $1,200. The Air also joins higher-end Pros in sporting a fin gerprint sensor, something the iPad just lost. Apple also announced an updated desktop com puter, the Mac Mini, starting at about $800. The company said both Macs will use aluminum left over from producing iPads and other products. The new MacBook Air and iPad Pros will now use a standard, oval-shaped connector called USB-C. That means accessories using the iPad’s old Light ning port will need adapters, sold separately. The change will allow people to charge their iPhones through the iPad. The Air also loses the slot for camera memory cards. An adapter costs $39. ATLANTA Coke rides high on sales of healthier drinks Strong sales of “premium” water and sugar-free sodas powered third-quarter earnings for Coca-Cola Co. Coke President and CEO James Quincey said enhanced waters like the smartwater, vitaminwater and Topo Chico brands helping turn around a slump in water sales at the company. Sales of water and sports drinks jumped 5 percent in the July-September period, with particularly strong growth in China and Mexico. Coke says it will launch smartwater in 20 markets by the end of this year, bringing it to a total of 32 countries. Global sales of sparkling soft drinks grew 2 percent, led by low-calorie and no-calorie versions of Sprite and Fanta. Quincey said Coca-Cola Zero Sugar diet soda had its best quarter in 10 years. Coke said sales of juice, dairy and plant-based drinks dropped 3 percent due to declining sales in the Middle East and Africa. Tea and coffee sales were also down 2 percent. Rising demand for Fuse tea failed to offset softness in markets like Turkey. Quincey noted the unusual pace of acquisitions and investments in the quarter. That will likely slow in coming quarters, but acquisitions will continue to be an important tool for the company, he said. Associated Press Stock Exchange Highlights ft NYSE 12,129.94 +187.43 Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg PionEnSvc UndrArm s UnAr C wi IntPotash VulcanM MarineMx Oi SAC Kemet Instructre n Chegg 2.96 +.72 23.23 +5.04 20.97 +4.16 3.90 +.59 98.93 +14.73 22.00 +3.03 3.76 +.52 20.54 +2.79 35.50 +4.75 26.32 +3.33 +32.1 +27.7 +24.7 +17.8 +17.5 +16.0 +16.0 +15.7 +15.4 +14.5 Losers (S2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg ElevCr n 3.90 EvoquaWt n 9.02 AccoBrds 7.95 VenatorM n 6.47 ResidioTc n 21.06 AACHIdgs 5.46 Shutterstk 39.01 DxSOXBr rs13.84 ChesEng 3.27 CmtyHIt 2.81 -2.45 -38.6 -4.78 -34.6 -2.02 -20.3 -1.53 -19.1 -4.76 -1.08 -5.64 -1.97 -18.4 -16.5 -12.6 -12.5 -.45 -12.1 -.37 -11.6 Most Active ($1 on more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 3448246 ChesEng 1190662 Weathflntl 1108538 BkofAm 789775 FordM 580331 Praxair 573741 Ambev 529300 AT&T Inc 490531 Twitter 431282 Petrobras 412643 10.18 3.27 1.26 26.78 9.46 164.50 4.29 30.47 -.98 -.45 -.28 +.17 +.18 -.99 +.17 +.83 33.86 +1.47 16.41 +.85 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 2,012 816 66 2,894 25 311 5,030,792,376 Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg ElectSci HeidrkStr AptevoTh n Veracyte C00IHI rs AmkorTch AkamaiT ChampO hrs11.50 RiseEdCy n 12.00 Colmbus 35.16 28.53 36.37 3.59 11.56 4.28 7.17 72.55 +13.60 +7.01 +.68 +2.12 +.74 +1.14 +10.50 +1.66 +1.70 +4.92 +91.1 +23.9 +23.4 +22.5 +20.9 +18.9 +16.9 +16.9 +16.5 +16.3 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg ElecVeh n 3.31 vTvTherap 2.35 IronwdPh 13.18 EaglePhm 47.50 SundEng n 5.27 FUR Sys 46.36 GoldBull n 6.33 NuCana n 17.12 RealmTh n 2.55 BioSigTc n 3.65 -1.24 -27.3 -.55 -19.0 -2.91 -18.1 -9.40 -16.5 -.98 -15.7 -6.88 -12.9 -.89 -12.3 -2.36 -12.1 -.35 -12.1 -.50 -12.0 Most Active ($1 or more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg AMD 986650 Microsoft 652638 SiriusXM 474831 Facebook 445894 Intel 439386 CaesarsEnt375900 Comcast s 366085 Apple Inc 364653 MicronT 351302 Cisco 258266 17.20 103.73 5.86 146.22 47.76 8.13 37.71 213.30 36.01 44.58 +.35 -.12 +.24 +4.13 +2.36 -.08 +1.72 +1.06 +1.35 +.74 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 1,998 925 141 3,064 19 215 2,532,632,875 Stocks of Local Interest Name Ex YTD Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC S 1.04 2.4 13 43.14 +.86 0.0 HomeDp 4.12 2.3 23 176.24 +3.04 -7.0 AT&T Inc 2.00 6.6 6 30.47 +.83 -21.6 Intel 1.20 2.5 18 47.76 +2.36 +3.5 AbbottLab 1.12 1.6 29 68.00 +.69 +19.2 IBM 6.28 5.4 9 115.40 -4.24 -24.8 AMD 17.20 +.35 +67.3 JohnJn 3.60 2.6 20 140.75 +3.20 +.7 Altria 3.20 4.9 21 65.87 +1.28 -7.8 Lowes 1.92 2.0 20 94.74 +1.88 +1.9 Apple Inc 2.92 1.4 25 213.30 +1.06 +26.0 McDnlds 4.64 2.6 27 178.49 +5.26 +3.7 ATMOS 1.94 2.0 18 94.80 +.31 +10.4 Merck 2.20 3.0 27 72.87 +1.42 +29.5 AutoZone 16 747.40 +.35 +5.1 MicronT 3 36.01 +1.35 -12.4 AveryD 2.26 2.5 26 90.59 +1.20 -21.1 Microsoft 1.84 1.8 49 103.73 -.12 +21.3 BB&T Cp 1.62 3.4 14 48.28 +.51 -2.9 Netflix s 285.81 +.97 +48.9 BP PLC 2.38 5.6 22 42.21 +1.18 +.4 NorflkSo 3.20 1.9 25 166.31 +5.22 +14.8 BkofAm .60 2.2 13 26.78 +.17 -9.3 OfficeDpt .10 3.9 7 2.58 +.05 -27.1 BarnesNob .60 9.4 6.40 +.17 -4.5 Oracle .76 1.6 52 48.57 +1.55 +2.7 Boeing 6.84 2.0 33 349.91+14.32 +18.6 Penney 23 1.40 +.04 -55.7 BrMySq 1.60 3.2 50 50.02 +.29 -18.4 PepsiCo 3.71 3.3 33 113.77 +.88 -5.1 CSX .88 1.3 10 68.81 +3.12 +25.1 Pfizer 1.36 3.2 17 42.89 -.34 +18.4 CaesarsEnt ... 8.13 -.08 -35.7 PhilipMor 4.56 5.0 22 90.47 +.01 -14.4 CampSp 1.40 3.7 13 38.24 +.65 -20.5 Praxair 3.30 2.0 33 164.50 -.99 +6.3 Caterpillar 3.44 2.9 11 117.46 +3.48 -25.5 Primerica 1.00 .9 13 109.68 +.92 +8.0 ChesEng 5 3.27 -.45 -17.4 ProctGam 2.87 3.2 22 89.19 +.95 -2.9 Chevron 4.48 4.0 49 110.85 +1.92 -11.5 RegionsFn .56 3.4 14 16.52 +.09 -4.4 Cisco 1.32 3.0 22 44.58 +.74 +16.4 SiriusXM .05 .8 33 5.86 +.24 +9.3 Citigroup 1.80 2.8 11 64.53 +.18 -13.3 SnapincAn ... 6.43 +.44 -56.0 CocaCola 1.56 3.3 90 47.63 +1.17 +3.8 SouthnCo 2.40 5.2 22 45.82 -.07 -4.7 Comcast s .76 2.0 18 37.71 +1.72 -5.5 SunTrst 2.00 3.2 11 61.94 +1.76 -4.1 ConAgra .85 2.3 18 36.38 +.42 -3.4 SynovusFn 1.00 2.7 13 37.04 +.14 -22.7 Cummins 4.56 3.4 37 134.40 +3.02 -23.9 3M Co 5.44 2.9 26 189.81 +4.02 -19.4 DenburyR 3.36 +.04 +52.0 Torchmark .64 .8 7 84.78 +1.74 -6.5 Disney 1.68 1.5 15 114.76 +1.72 +6.7 Twitter 33.86 +1.47 +41.0 DowDuPnt 1.52 2.9 17 52.63 +.56 -26.1 Tyson 1.20 1.9 11 62.10 +.54 -23.4 Equifax 1.56 1.6 17 99.03 +2.41 -16.0 UndrArm s 40 23.23 +5.04 +61.0 ExxonMbl 3.28 4.2 17 78.78 +1.73 -5.8 UtdCmBks .60 2.4 15 24.90 +.13 -11.5 Facebook 27 146.22 +4.13 -17.1 UPS B 3.64 3.4 18 107.07 +1.94 -10.1 FstData n 9 17.84 -.17 +6.8 VerizonCm 2.41 4.1 7 58.18 +1.70 +9.9 FordM .60 6.3 5 9.46 +.18 -24.3 Vodafone 1.82 9.7 18.86 +.07 -40.9 GenElec .48 4.7 10.18 -.98 -41.7 WalMart 2.08 2.0 24 102.42 +2.62 +3.7 GenuPrt 2.88 2.9 21 98.33 -1.42 +3.5 Weathflntl 1.26 -.28 -69.8 HP Inc .56 2.4 9 23.67 +.65 +12.7 WeisMk 1.20 2.5 23 47.81 +1.62 +15.5 Haverty .72 3.5 21 20.77 +.45 -8.3 WellsFargo 1.72 3.3 13 52.69 +.46 -13.2 HeliosM rs .02 -.00-100.0 YumBrnds 1.44 1.7 31 86.43 +.96 +5.9 Hershey 2.89 2.7 23 108.04 +2.04 -4.8 Zynga 61 3.67 +.05 -8.3 Name Ex YTD 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, usualiy 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: 24,874.64 Change: 431.72 (1.8%) 27,200 26,400 25,600 24,800 24,000 25,840, 24,980 24,120 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 24,874.64 +431.72 +1.77 +.63 +6.41 11,623.58 9,420.16 Dow Transportation 10,175.57 +279.46 +2.82 -4.12 +4.27 778.80 647.81 Dow Utilities 742.58 +2.34 +.32 +2.66 -1.41 13,637.02 11,820.33 NYSE Composite 12,129.94 +187.43 +1.57 -5.30 -1.71 8,133.30 6,630.67 Nasdaq Composite 7,161.65 +111.36 +1.58 +3.74 +6.45 1,309.73 1,118.69 S&P 100 1,193.70 +16.01 +1.36 +.89 +5.00 2,940.91 2,532.69 S&P 500 2.682.63 +41.38 +1.57 +.34 +4.17 2,053.00 1,769.25 S&P MidCap 1,819.53 +30.94 +1.73 -4.26 -.85 30,560.54 26,293.62 Wilshire 5000 27,669.64 +441.57 +1.62 -.45 +3.40 1,742.09 1,436.43 Russell 2000 1,506.64 +29.33 +1.99 -1.88 +.26 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 265,379 247.98 -7.8 +6.2/A +11.0/A NL 10,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 214,061 66.74 -8.4 +5.7/B +10.5/A NL 10,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 135,625 66.72 -8.4 +5.6/B +10.4/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv FB 134,124 15.73 -9.4 -9.4/C +1.6/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxins LB 128,089 66.76 -8.4 +5.7/B +10.5/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 126,438 244.65 -7.8 +6.3/A +11.0/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard InsIdxinsPlus LB 108,769 244.67 -7.8 +6.3/A +11.0/A NL100,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 101,686 12.43 -11.8 +5.3/D +11.5/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInsPlus FB 100,878 105.25 -9.4 -9.3/C +1.7/B NL100,000,000 American Funds GrfAmrcA m LG 94,075 50.35 -11.2 +5.1/D +10.9/C 5.75 250 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 88,474 70.53 -4.4 +2.2/A +7.5/A NL 50,000 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 85,309 10.27 -0.6 -1.9/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.