About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 2018)
BD BUSINESS Jeff Gill | Business reporter 770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Thursday, November 1,2018 Canada hits weed pothole CHRIS YOUNG I Associated Press A man smokes multiple joints in a Toronto park as they mark the first day of legalization of cannabis across Canada, Oct. 17. Demand has outstripped supply since legalization of recreational pot BY ROB GILLIES AND TRACEY LINDEMAN Associated Press TORONTO — The name of the store is High North, but it might as well be named High and Dry because for all but about four hours of the first two weeks since marijuana was legalized in Canada, there was no pot to sell. Trevor Tobin, one of the owners of the Labrador City shop in Newfoundland and Labrador, said they went 10 straight days without supply. “The producers keep saying there will be some bumps in the road, but right now it’s not a bump in the road. It’s a big pot hole,” he said. His mother, Brenda Tobin, is a part- owner and said that after she tells cus tomers there’s nothing to buy, “a lot of them are saying, ‘Oh well, I guess it’s back to the black market.’” Legalization arrived Oct. 17, and Can ada became the world’s largest national marketplace for so-called recreational marijuana. But for now, it’s a superlative in name only. The first weeks have felt more like a soft opening with few retail outlets oper ating and rampant supply shortages. It’s not because Canada can’t produce enough cannabis products — licensing those producers has been slow, and the federal government is taking steps to speed up the process. The provinces are handling the sales and most of the regulations. Reports from around the country are similarly discour aging when it comes to supply. Quebec closed its government-run shops for three days this week because of a lack of pot and will continue to keep them shut Mondays through Wednesdays until availability is stabilized. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries said it expects product shortages in both brick-and-mortar and online stores could last six months. Ontario, Canada’s most populous prov ince, won’t have any stores open until April at the earliest as the new conser vative government writes regulations. Meantime, police have shut down at least 11 illegal dispensaries in the province. Ontario residents who want to make legal purchases are flooding the online government store. At least 150,000 orders arrived in the first week, more than all other provinces combined, and the store can’t keep up. Contributing to the delivery problem is a strike by workers at Canada Post, the nation’s postal service that handles online marijuana orders, legal countrywide. British Columbia, the third-largest prov ince by population and a place that histori cally supplied of much of the country’s illegal weed, still has just one retail store. Across Canada, people are returning to the black market. And some never left. Corey Stone, a 32-year-old bar-restau rant manager in Montreal, and his friend were first in line at Quebec’s government- run cannabis store on Oct. 17, but he hasn’t been back because of the supply problems and has been getting his pot illegally. In the capital of Ottawa, Ontario Capital Buds is one of the last holdouts after most of the illegal dispensaries in town closed on Oct. 16 so they could file for legal oper ating licenses. Business is booming — at 11 a.m. on a recent chilly, gray day, the waiting room was packed. Blake Murchison, 62, was among the customers. He didn’t try visiting the gov ernment’s online store. “Why? There’s a postal strike!” he laughed. “I’m not patient. It’s a matter of convenience, really. Or inconvenience.” Devyn Stackhouse, a 30-year-old stu dent at Ottawa’s Algonquin College, did go to the government website on Oct. 17 and placed two orders for five pre-rolled joints and a gram each of four cannabis strains. After waiting more than a week to get a delivery, Stackhouse went to an illegal dispensary. “If (the government) were serious about access, serious about smothering the black market, then more resources would have been allocated to the OCS,” Stackhouse said, referring to the Ontario Cannabis Store website. Private and government retailers are dependent on licensed producers to send them products. But so far, of 132 mari juana producers approved by Health Canada, only 78 have sales licenses. BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS GM offers buyouts after posting strong profit DETROIT — As General Motors reported a healthy $2.5 billion third-quarter profit, the Detroit automaker ramped up cost-cutting efforts by offering buyouts to 18,000 white-col lar workers. The company, while acknowledging it’s in good shape now, said Wednesday it needs to be smaller to prepare for tougher times that might be ahead as it continues to get ready for a future of electric and autonomous vehicles. “Even with the progress we’ve made, we are taking proactive steps to get ahead of the curve by accelerating our efforts to address overall business performance,” GM said in a state ment. “We are doing this while our company and economy are strong.” The earnings and buyout news drove GM shares higher in Wednesday afternoon trading. The stock was up 8.6 percent to $36.43, after mostly falling since June. Buyout offers were made Wednesday to sala ried workers in North America with 12 or more years of service. GM spokesman Patrick Mor rissey wouldn’t say whether the company has a target number for employee reductions, nor would he say if there will be layoffs if too few employees take the buyouts. “We will evaluate the need to implement after we see the results of the voluntary pro gram and other cost reduction efforts,” he said. Workers have until Nov. 19 to make a deci sion, and they would leave the company by the end of the year, GM said. The company has 50,000 salaried workers in North America. Justices weigh $8.5M class- action settlement against Google WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court strug gled Wednesday over what to do about an $8.5 million class-action settlement involving Google and privacy concerns in which all the money went to lawyers and nonprofit groups but noth ing was paid to 129 million people who used Google to perform internet searches. The justices considered objections to the settlement in a case involving Google searches people do of themselves. The lawsuit argues that Google sends website operators potentially iden tifying information when someone clicks on a link produced by a search. The suit says the prac tice violates users’ privacy under federal law. The issue at the court concerns the rare instances in which courts approve a “cy pres” settlement, roughly translated as near as pos sible, and find it’s impractical to send money to the very large class of affected people. Google agreed to settle the class action for users of its search function between 2006 and 2014. Of the $8.5 million, $2.1 million went to lawyers, $ 1 million paid administrative costs and $5.3 million was set aside for six organizations that deal with internet privacy issues. Four of the groups are affiliated with universities. The other two are the World Privacy Forum and AARP. Associated Press Interior design made affordable with new websites Image provided by Wayfair I Associated Press Design of a space done with design services. Several sites have made it affordable to get design help without anyone stepping inside your home. BY JOSEPH PISANI Associated Press NEW YORK — Hiring an inte rior designer is expensive, and the chances of an HGTV host bursting through your doors are slim. But several sites have made it afford able to get design help without any one stepping inside your home. Havenly, Wayfair and others are charging less than $100 a room to connect users with an interior designer who can pick out a sofa, show you how to rearrange furni ture or offer other design help. The sites also make money if you buy the furniture and other goods that the designers recommend. Even though you’ll have help from a designer, make sure you have a sense of what you like. The sites depend on your responses to come up with a design plan. Who it’s for Those who need help filling an empty room or sprucing up a den or bedroom with new lighting or pillows. It’s not for those who are seeking help with major renova tions, like a kitchen remodel. What it costs A flat fee is typically charged per room. Prices differ: Haven- ly’s fees start at $55 for a design refresh and then up to $169 for a full room makeover. Wayfair offers a $79 and $149 option, and another site, Decorist, charges $299 a room. Do an internet search for coupon codes since the sites often offer discounts to new users. Both Havenly and Decorist also allow people to ask designers ques tions for free through their sites, a good way to test the type of advice you’ll get before buying. And make sure to read what you’ll be getting. Some may not offer revisions, phone chats with designers or 3D layouts of what the items will look like in your room. How it works After a quiz where you pick out styles and colors you like, you’ll be asked for room measurements, photos or videos of the room. You’ll be matched with a couple of interior designers and be able to look at pictures of their past work and select one of the designers. A budget can be set so designers will know how much you’re willing to spend on new items. The sites say they vet the designers, many of whom already have their own design firms and are looking to make extra cash or boost their cli- ental through the sites. The Market in Review Stock Exchange Highlights A NYSE S 12,208.06 +78.12 1 Nasdaq 7,305.90 +144.25 Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg JonesEngy rs3.19 +.73 +29.7 Systemax 32.31 +6.01 +22.9 DonlleyRR rs5.87 +1.06 +22.0 Seaspan 8.94 +1.61 +22.0 CAIIntl 24.91 +4.43 +21.6 CheetahM 9.53 +1.37 +16.8 AerojetR 35.32 +5.06 +16.7 NACCO 34.54 +4.92 +16.6 Evertec 26.08 +3.58 +15.9 IntIGmeTn 18.55 +2.54 +15.9 Losers ($2 or more) Intersectns 3.54 +1.81+104.6 AEtem g rs 2.18 +.88 +67.7 StrgbrBio n 6.40 +2.35 +58.0 PyxisTnkr 2.64 +.75 +39.7 Performnt 2.08 +.49 +30.8 Accuray 4.49 +1.05 +30.5 Veracyte 14.85 +3.29 +28.5 PingtanM 2.96 +.60 +25.4 Dennys 17.35 +3.20 +22.6 Gravity s 29.31 +5.21 +21.6 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg MaxarTc n 14.91 -12.16 -44.9 OwensMin 7.90 -6.30 -44.4 ContainStr 5.91 -4.14 -41.2 3D Sys 12.08 -4.88 -28.8 QuadGrph 15.43 -2.82 -15.5 WalkerDun 41.96 -7.00 -14.3 CBLAsc 3.30 -.41 -11.1 SauICntr 47.76 -5.48 -10.3 NewMedia 14.05 -1.58 -10.1 OrionGpHI 4.72 -.50 -9.6 Most Active ($1 on more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg SpartnMot 6.73 -4.49 -40.0 ClovisOnc 11.63 -4.98 -30.0 ParingaR n 7.48 -2.90 -27.9 NxtGenHI 14.77 -4.84 -24.7 CardiovSys 28.05 -6.87 -19.7 Shutterfly 50.00 -10.54 -17.4 Big 5Sprt 3.51 -.73 -17.2 Aegion 19.36 -3.49 -15.3 Sanfilp 63.06 -10.88 -14.7 IntegLfSc s 53.57 -8.75 -14.0 Most Active ($1 or more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 1989286 10.10 -.08 BkofAm 921419 27.50 +.72 FordM 684311 9.55 +.09 ChesEng 460247 3.51 +.24 AT&T Inc 448041 30.68 +.21 Weathflntl 400603 1.35 +.09 GenMotors 377616 36.59 +3.05 Ambev 374365 4.33 +.04 Sprint 330724 6.12 +.44 Twitter 330361 34.75 +.89 AMD 1103256 18.21 +1.01 Facebook 599820 151.79 +5.57 Microsoft 510501 106.81 +3.08 MicronT 440213 37.72 +1.71 Apple Inc 380117 218.86 +5.56 SiriusXM 355927 6.02 +.16 IQIYIn 341718 19.64 -2.56 Zynga 336382 3.64 -.03 Intel 333420 46.88 -.88 eBays 285168 29.03 +1.61 Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Diary 1,698 1,125 73 2,896 15 122 5,012,087,802 Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Diary 1,798 1,144 133 3,075 44 133 2,781,390,251 Stocks of Local Interest YTD YTD Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC S 1.04 2.4 13 43.07 -.07 0.0 Hershey 2.89 2.7 23 107.15 -.89 -5.6 AT&T Inc 2.00 6.5 6 30.68 +.21 -21.1 HomeDp 4.12 2.3 23 175.88 -.36 -7.2 AbbottLab 1.12 1.6 29 68.94 +.94 +20.8 IQIYI n 19.64 -2.56 +26.3 AMD 18.21 +1.01 +77.1 Intel 1.20 2.6 18 46.88 -.88 +1.6 Altria 3.20 4.9 21 65.04 -.83 -8.9 IBM 6.28 5.4 9 115.43 +.03 -24.8 Apple Inc 2.92 1.3 26 218.86 +5.56 +29.3 JohnJn 3.60 2.6 20 139.99 -.76 +.2 ATMOS 1.94 2.1 17 93.08 -1.72 +8.4 Lowes 1.92 2.0 20 95.22 +.48 +2.5 AutoZone 16 733.47 -13.93 +3.1 McDnlds 4.64 2.6 27 176.90 -1.59 +2.8 AveryD 2.26 2.5 26 90.72 +.13 -21.0 Merck 2.20 3.0 27 73.61 +.74 +30.8 BB&T Cp 1.62 3.3 14 49.16 +.88 -1.1 MicronT 3 37.72 +1.71 -8.3 BP PLC 2.38 5.5 23 43.37 +1.16 +3.2 Microsoft 1.84 1.7 51 106.81 +3.08 +24.9 BkofAm .60 2.2 13 27.50 +.72 -6.8 NorflkSo 3.20 1.9 25 167.83 +1.52 +15.8 BamesNob .60 9.5 6.33 -.07 -5.5 OfficeDpt .10 3.9 7 2.56 -.02 -27.7 BarrickG .12 1.0 70 12.55 -.16 -13.3 Penney 25 1.47 +.07 -53.5 Boeing 6.84 1.9 33 354.86 +4.95 +20.3 PepsiCo 3.71 3.3 32 112.38 -1.39 -6.3 BrMySq 1.60 3.2 50 50.54 +.52 -17.5 Pfizer 1.36 3.2 17 43.06 +.17 +18.9 CSX .88 1.3 10 68.86 +.05 +25.2 PhilipMor 4.56 5.2 21 88.07 -2.40 -16.6 CampSp 1.40 3.7 13 37.41 -.83 -22.2 Primerica 1.00 .9 13 109.74 +.06 +8.1 Caterpillar 3.44 2.8 11 121.32 +3.86 -23.0 ProctGam 2.87 3.2 22 88.68 -.51 -3.5 ChesEng 6 3.51 +.24 -11.4 RegionsFn .56 3.3 15 16.97 +.45 -1.8 Chevron 4.48 4.0 50 111.65 +.80 -10.8 SiriusXM .05 .8 33 6.02 +.16 +12.3 Cisco 1.32 2.9 23 45.75 +1.17 +19.5 SnapIncAn ... 6.61 +.18 -54.8 Citigroup 1.80 2.7 11 65.46 +.93 -12.0 SouthnCo 2.40 5.3 21 45.03 -.79 -6.4 CocaCola 1.56 3.3 90 47.88 +.25 +4.4 Sprint 4 6.12 +.44 +3.9 Comcast s .76 2.0 18 38.14 +.43 -4.4 SunTrst 2.00 3.2 11 62.66 +.72 -3.0 ConAgra .85 2.4 17 35.60 -.78 -5.5 SynovusFn 1.00 2.7 13 37.56 +.52 -21.7 Cummins 4.56 3.3 38 136.69 +2.29 -22.6 3M Co 5.44 2.9 26 190.26 +.45 -19.2 Disney 1.68 1.5 15 114.83 +.07 +6.8 Torchmark .64 .8 7 84.66 -.12 -6.7 DowDuPnt 1.52 2.8 17 53.92 +1.29 -24.3 TurqHilIRs 16 1.71 +.07 -50.1 eBay s 14 29.03 +1.61 -23.1 Twitter 34.75 +.89 +44.7 Equifax 1.56 1.5 17 101.44 +2.41 -14.0 Tyson 1.20 2.0 11 59.92 -2.18 -26.1 ExxonMbl 3.28 4.1 17 79.68 +.90 -4.7 UtdCmBks .60 2.4 15 24.87 -.03 -11.6 Facebook 28 151.79 +5.57 -14.0 UPS B 3.64 3.4 18 106.54 -.53 -10.6 FordM .60 6.3 5 9.55 +.09 -23.5 VerizonCm 2.41 4.2 7 57.09 -1.09 +7.9 FrptMcM .20 1.7 8 11.65 +.24 -38.6 Vodafone 1.82 9.6 18.93 +.07 -40.7 GenElec .48 4.8 10.10 -.08 -42.2 WalMart 2.08 2.1 24 100.28 -2.14 +1.5 GenMotors 1.52 4.2 36.59 +3.05 -10.7 Weathflntl 1.35 +.09 -67.6 GenuPrt 2.88 2.9 21 97.92 -.41 +3.1 WeisMk 1.24 2.7 22 46.15 -1.66 +11.5 HP Inc .56 2.3 9 24.14 +.47 +14.9 WellsFargo 1.72 3.2 13 53.23 +.54 -12.3 Haverty .72 3.6 21 20.28 -.49 -10.5 YumBrnds 1.44 1.6 32 90.41 +3.98 +10.8 HeliosM rs .02 +.00-100.0 Zynga 61 3.64 -.03 -9.0 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: 25,115.76 Change: 241.12 (1.0%) 24,120 10 DAYS 27,200 26,400 25,600 24,800 24,000 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 25,115.76 +241.12 +.97 +1.60 +7.17 11,623.58 9,420.16 Dow Transportation 10,191.18 +15.61 +.15 -3.97 +4.16 778.80 647.81 Dow Utilities 733.84 -8.74 -1.18 +1.45 -2.02 13,637.02 11,820.33 NYSE Composite 12,208.06 +78.12 +.64 -4.69 -1.25 8,133.30 6,630.67 Nasdaq Composite 7,305.90 +144.25 +2.01 +5.83 +8.77 1,309.73 1,118.69 S&P 100 1,208.84 +15.14 +1.27 +2.17 +6.03 2,940.91 2,532.69 S&P 500 2,711.74 +29.11 +1.09 +1.43 +5.13 2,053.00 1,769.25 S&P MidCap 1,825.10 +5.57 +.31 -3.97 -.27 30,560.54 26,293.62 Wilshire 5000 27,980.90 +311.26 +1.12 +.67 +4.42 1,742.09 1,436.43 Russell 2000 1,511.41 +4.77 +.32 -1.57 +1.25 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 265,379 250.68 -6.8 +7.3/A +11.3/A NL 10,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 214,061 67.45 -7.4 +6.6/B +10.8/B NL 10,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxinv LB 135,625 67.43 -7.4 +6.5/B +10.7/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinv FB 134,124 15.91 -8.4 -8.7/C +1.9/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 128,089 67.47 -7.4 +6.6/B +10.8/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 126,438 247.31 -6.8 +7.3/A +11.3/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard InsidxInsPlus LB 108,769 247.33 -6.8 +7.3/A +11.3/A NL100,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 101,686 12.72 -9.7 +7.5/D +12.1 /B NL 0 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinsPlus FB 100,878 106.45 -8.3 -8.6/C +2.0/B NL100,000,000 American Funds GrfAmrcA m LG 94,075 51.26 -9.6 +6.7/D +11.4/C 5.75 250 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 88,474 70.87 -3.9 +2.7/A +7.7/A NL 50,000 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 85,309 10.26 -0.7 -2.0/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: Momingstar.
