Newspaper Page Text
Jeff Gill | Business reporter
770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Saturday, November 3, 2018
BUSINESS
US economy strong heading into midterm elections
BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - For a U S.
economic expansion now in its
10th year, hiring remains robust,
growth has picked up and the out
look is a mostly bright one on the
eve of congressional elections.
On Friday, the government
reported employers added a strong
250,000 jobs in October and that the
unemployment rate remained 3.7
percent, the lowest level in nearly
50 years. Pay also rose at a healthy
pace. Consumers are confident,
spending freely, fueling brisk eco
nomic growth and encouraging
employers to keep hiring.
Yet one surprising element of
the midterm campaign season has
been how little the sunny economic
picture appears to be benefiting
Trump and Republican congres
sional candidates. Polls show that
while voters broadly approve of
the economy, they give low ratings
to Trump. Many appear motivated
by non-economic factors.
Wages rev up
Many employers have long com
plained that they can’t find enough
workers to fill jobs. But in recent
months it appears they have
finally taken the step economists
have long recommended: Pay
more. Average hourly earnings
rose 3.1 percent in October from
a year earlier, the sharpest year-
over-year gain since 2009.
Inflation has also increased in
the past year, eroding the value of
the increase. And a drop in aver
age wages a year ago, resulting
from Hurricane Harvey, helped
inflate October’s gain. Still, the
growth suggests benefits of a
healthy economy are reaching
more people.
More jobs at higher pay
With the unemployment rate
so low, many economists have
expected hiring to decline as busi
nesses face a dwindling supply of
unemployed people. Yet that hasn’t
happened. Average monthly hiring
this year is above the pace of 2017.
The proportion of people without a
high school diploma working is the
highest on records dating to 1992.
Consumers spending more
More jobs at higher pay have
helped underpin a burst of con
sumer spending. The Trump
administration’s tax cuts have
likely also contributed. Ameri
cans increased their spending by
4 percent in the July-September
quarter, the biggest acceleration
in nearly four years. That spend
ing helped the economy grow
at a 3.5 percent annual rate last
quarter.
Yet Americans are still saving
a decent chunk of their income,
with little sign that most people
are amassing a risky level of debt.
Savings equaled roughly 6.4 per
cent of income in the third quar
ter, up from a low of 2.5 percent
in 2005.
ALAN BERNER I Associated Press
Google workers take part in a protest against what they said is the tech company’s mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations
against executives Thursday, Nov. 1, in Seattle.
Unrest a growing trend in tech
Among issues: Handling of sexual harassment, discrimination in workplace
BY MATT O’BRIEN
AND MAE ANDERSON
Associated Press
NEW YORK — When Google employ
ees staged a global walkout Thursday
to protest the company’s treatment of
women, they made themselves the most
visible example of a surprising trend:
high-paid engineers emerging from their
comfortable bubbles to speak out.
For much of the past two years, elite
technology employees have been stirring
and in some cases organizing —first in
internal workplace meetings and messag
ing boards, then in signed protest letters
and ultimately in company walkouts such
as Thursday’s street demonstrations.
Among the issues they’ve championed:
Better handling of workplace sexual
harassment and discrimination, opposi
tion to the Trump administration’s travel
ban, and avoiding harmful uses of the
products they’re helping to build and sell.
“For tech workers, I think the dreams
about what it means to work in Silicon
Valley — to disrupt, to innovate, to con
nect people and make the world a better
place — have crashed up against a much
bleaker reality,” said Kade Crockford,
who tracks how new technology affects
civil rights for the ACLU of Massachusetts.
Worker unrest helped scuttle Google’s
Maven project to help the U.S. military
scan battlefields using drones and artifi
cial intelligence. Workers have also pro
tested Google’s plans to launch a censored
search engine in China, and work by Ama
zon and Microsoft to assist police agen
cies and federal immigration agents with
facial recognition and other tools.
It is, in many ways, a Revolt of the
Haves. One that would have been unthink
able just a few years ago at cheery cor
porate campuses best known for flexible
work schedules, free meals and snacks,
and Wi-Fi equipped shuttle buses, where
software engineers can earn $125,000 or
more right out of school.
“These people are not easily replace
able and as a result they have a significant
amount of power,” Crockford said. Much
of their “political awakening,” she said,
stems from President Donald Trump’s
election, including concerns that his
administration will misuse tools built by
the tech industry.
Microsoft executives, who have sought
to position their company as a moral
leader, have defended the company’s
immigration contract despite a protest let
ter that circulated through the company
over the summer and tough questions for
CEO Satya Nadella at an employee meet
ing. “We don’t see unplugging government
agencies in America from email as a step
that’s likely to make the country better,”
Microsoft President Brad Smith said in an
interview with the Associated Press ear
lier this fall.
Hundreds of Google workers marched
on a mild Thursday in New York to a
nearby park to hear speeches, hold signs
and show solidarity, joining similar office
walkouts from Tokyo to Europe to the San
Francisco Bay Area. Signs reading “90
million reasons for change” expressed dis
content about a New York Times report
that executive Andy Rubin received a $90
million severance package in 2014 after
Google concluded that sexual misconduct
allegations against him were credible.
Organizers noted that while many of the
protesters are privileged, they walked out
in solidarity with contract employees and
others with less influence.
Walkout co-organizer Meredith Whit
taker, who researches artificial intelli
gence for Google, said in an interview that
workers’ demands for better treatment at
the company are intertwined with their
larger concerns about a “general abuse of
power” that includes how Google’s busi
ness ventures affect society.
“This is part of a pattern of unethical
decision-making,” she said.
STEPHEN B. MORTON I Associated Press
A rubber tire gantry moves a shipping container
in the container yard, July 5, at the Port of
Savannah.
US trade gap
grows to $54B
BY PAUL WISEMAN
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Record imports expanded
the U.S. trade deficit for the fourth straight
month in September, as the politically sensitive
trade deficit in goods with China hit a record.
The Commerce Department said Friday that
the gap between what America sells and what it
buys abroad climbed to $54 billion, up 1.3 per
cent from $53.3 billion in August and the highest
level since February.
Imports climbed 1.5 percent to a record
$266.6 billion, led by an influx of telecommu
nications equipment and clothing. Exports
also rose 1.5 percent to $212.6 billion, led by
increases in shipments of civilian aircraft and
petroleum products.
President Donald Trump has made a prior
ity of reducing America’s huge, persistent trade
deficits. Despite his tariffs on imported steel
and aluminum and on Chinese goods, the defi
cit so far this year is up 10.1 percent to $445.2
billion. The goods deficit with China rose by 4.3
percent in September to a record $40.2 billion.
China and other countries have counter-
punched with import taxes on American prod
ucts. U.S. exports of soybeans, targeted for
retaliatory tariffs by China, dropped 29.4 per
cent in September.
Trump sees the lopsided trade numbers as
a sign of U.S. economic weakness and as the
result of bad trade deals and abusive practices
by U.S. trading partners, especially China.
Mainstream economists view trade deficits
as the result of an economic reality unlikely
to yield to changes in trade policy: Americans
buy more than they produce, and imports fill
the gap. The strong U.S. economy also encour
ages Americans to buy more foreign products.
U.S. exports are also hurt by the American
dollar’s role as the world’s currency. The dol
lar is usually in high demand because it is used
in so many global transactions. That means the
dollar is persistently strong, raising prices of
U.S. products and putting American companies
at a disadvantage in foreign markets.
In September, the U.S. ran a $23.2 billion
surplus in the trade of services such as bank
ing and tourism. But that was offset by a $77.2
billion deficit in the trade of goods such as cell
phones and cars.
Stock Exchange Highlights
V
NYSE
12,321.80 -34.70
B Nasdaq
W' 7,356.99 -77.06
Gainers ($2 or more)
Name Last Chg %Chg
EmergeES 3.
SelMedHId 19.
US Cellular 56.
Jianpu n 6.
Hornbeck 4.
NewellRub 18.
TelData 34.
Moog B 84.
MaxarTc n 16.
QuakerCh 203.
+.70
+3.37
+8.49
+.81
+.52
+2.44
+4.38
+9.14
+1.68
91 +21.09
+28.7
+20.6
+17.9
+15.5
+14.8
+14.7
+14.6
+12.1
+11.5
+11.5
Losers (S2 or more)
Name
Last Chg %Chg
AmAxle 11.49
CooperStd 72.46
Advansx n 25.31
ShakeShk n47.19
Terex 31.18
Vonage 11.53
RemaxHId 35.13
Realogy 17.76
RyersonH 8.59
Kaman 59.07
-4.23 -26.9
-23.00 -24.1
-4.14 -14.1
-7.61 -13.9
-4.82 -13.4
-1.65 -12.5
-4.82 -12.1
-2.31 -11.5
-.99 -10.3
-6.44 -9.8
Most Active ($1 on more)
Name Vol (00) Last Chg
GenElec
2586477
9.29
-.29
BkofAm
689898
27.89
+.08
EnCana g
634410
8.55
-.41
FordM
483977
9.38
+.09
Alibaba
456639 147.59
-3.66
ChesEng
387252
3.49
-.08
AT&T Inc
329691
30.52
+.03
NewellRub 283620
18.99
+2.44
SnaplncAn267890
6.82
-.38
KapStoneP 244257
34.95
-.05
Diary
Advanced
Declined
Unchanged
Total issues
New Highs
New Lows
Volume
1,220
1,589
84
2,893
24
71
4,174,014,781
Gainers ($2
Name Last
OR more)
Chg %Chg
PacBiosci 7.56
ChnalntNt n 2.14
AcaciaC n 44.75
Cardtronic 33.96
EIPolLoc h 15.42
ConatusPh 5.12
Vivus rs 4.08
EnrgyRec 9.18
Foster 20.05
GuardntH n 40.11
+3.05 +67.6
+.48 +28.9
+8.27 +22.7
+6.20 +22.3
+2.77 +21.9
+.84 +19.6
+.67 +19.6
+1.41 +18.1
+3.07 +18.1
+5.88 +17.2
Losers ($2 or more)
Name
Last Chg %Chg
PumaBiotc 20.07
Inpixon rs 5.03
ConstAlp un11.00
AdamasPh 11.89
WtWatch 48.13
AdverumBi 3.34
GoPro 5.44
Carbonite 26.97
UnivDisp 103.06
Purpllnv n 5.25
-18.53 -48.0
-2.37 -32.0
-5.04 -31.4
-5.08 -29.9
-20.36 -29.7
-1.21 -26.6
-1.74 -24.2
-8.54 -24.0
-26.59 -20.5
-1.28 -19.6
Most Active ($1 or more)
Name Vol (00) Last Chg
AMD 1234979
PacBiosci 974456
Apple Inc 910409
Starbucks S454664
CaesarsEnt395267
Microsoft 375901
MicronT 336096
Intel 306298
SiriusXM 269740
GoPro 268232
20.23 +.01
7.56 +3.05
207.48 -14.74
64.32 +5.69
9.53 +.68
106.16 +.24
40.32 +.20
47.11 -1.11
6.11
5.44 -1.74
Diary
Advanced
Declined
Unchanged
Total issues
New Highs
New Lows
Volume
1,511
1,400
137
3,048
44
72
2,756,982,529
Stocks of Local Interest
Name Ex
YTD
Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg
AFLAC S
1.04
2.4
13
42.90
+.03 0.0
Hershey
2.89
2.7
23
105.84
-1.50
-6.8
AT&T Inc
2.00
6.6
6
30.52
+.03 -21.5
HomeDp
4.12
2.3
23
179.93
-.53
-5.1
AbbottLab
1.12
1.6
30
70.19
+.04 +23.0
Intel
1.20
2.5
18
47.11
-1.11
+2.1
AMD
20.23
+.01 +96.8
IBM
6.28
5.4
9
115.67
-1.16
-24.6
Altria
3.20
5.0
20
63.67
... -10.8
JohnJn
3.60
2.6
20
140.68
-.14
+.7
Apple Inc
2.92
1.4
24
207.48
14.74 +22.6
KapStoneP
.40
1.1
12
34.95
-.05 +54.0
ATMOS
1.94
2.1
17
92.14
-.80 +7.3
Lowes
1.92
2.0
20
96.82
-.62
+4.2
AutoZone
16
760.49+14.62 +6.9
McDnlds
4.64
2.6
27
176.75
+1.87
+2.7
AveryD
2.26
2.4
26
92.42
-.66 -19.5
Merck
2.20
3.0
27
72.27
-.85 +28.4
BB&T Cp
1.62
3.3
14
49.17
-.03 -1.1
MicronT
4
40.32
+.20
-1.9
BP PLC
2.38
5.7
22
41.60
-1.05 -1.0
Microsoft
1.84
1.7
50
106.16
+.24 +24.1
BkofAm
.60
2.2
13
27.89
+.08 -5.5
NewellRub
.92
4.8
5
18.99
+2.44
-38.5
BarnesNob
.60
9.0
6.70
+.35 0.0
NorflkSo
3.20
1.9
25
168.59
+.25 +16.3
Boeing
6.84
1.9
33
357.75
-5.32 +21.3
OfficeDpt
.10
3.7
8
2.68
+.05
-24.3
BrMySq
1.60
3.2
50
50.69
-1.44 -17.3
PacBiosci
7.56
+3.05+186.4
CA Inc
1.02
2.3
21
44.44
+.03 +33.5
Penney
26
1.56
+.07
-50.6
CSX
.88
1.3
10
69.18
-.41 +25.8
PepsiCo
3.71
3.3
32
111.17
-.34
-7.3
CaesarsEnt ...
9.53
+.68 -24.7
Pfizer
1.36
3.2
17
42.93
-.74
+18.5
CampSp
1.40
3.8
13
36.88
-1.06 -23.3
PhilipMor
4.56
5.1
22
88.75
+.40
-16.0
Caterpillar
3.44
2.7
12
125.79
+1.09 -20.2
Primerica
1.00
.9
14
113.47
+.87
+11.7
ChesEng
6
3.49
-.08 -11.9
ProctGam
2.87
3.2
22
89.81
+.22
-2.3
Chevron
4.48
3.9
51
114.73
+3.56 -8.4
RealGSol h
.43
+.08
-70.9
Cisco
1.32
2.9
23
45.48
-.17 +18.7
RegionsFn
.56
3.2
15
17.26
+.05
-.1
Citigroup
1.80
2.7
11
65.92
+.54 -11.4
SiriusXM
.05
.8
34
6.11
+14.0
CocaCola
1.56
3.3
91
48.00
+.26 +4.6
SnapIncAn ...
6.82
-.38
-53.3
Comcast s
.76
2.0
18
37.66
-.29 -5.6
SouthnCo
2.40
5.4
21
44.74
-.16
-7.0
ConAgra
.85
2.4
17
35.00
-.62 -7.1
Starbucks s1.44
2.2
29
64.32
+5.69
+12.0
Cummins
4.56
3.2
40
141.83
-.36 -19.7
SunTrst
2.00
3.2
11
62.49
-.01
-3.3
Disney
1.68
1.5
15
115.18
-.92 +7.1
SynovusFn 1.00
2.6
14
37.95
-.20
-20.8
DowDuPnt
1.52
2.6
18
57.73
-.54 -18.9
3M Co
5.44
2.8
27
192.81
+.59
-18.1
EnCana g
.06
.7
14
8.55
-.41 -35.9
Torchmark
.64
.8
7
84.73
-.61
-6.6
Equifax
1.56
1.5
18
103.86
-.88 -11.9
Twitter
34.30
-.32
+42.9
ExxonMbl
3.28
4.0
18
81.95
+1.28 -2.0
Tyson
1.20
1.9
11
61.56
-.80
-24.1
Facebook
28
150.35
-1.40 -14.8
UtdCmBks
.60
2.4
15
25.28
+.16
-10.2
FordM
.60
6.4
5
9.38
+.09 -24.9
UPS B
3.64
3.4
18
105.99
-1.53
-11.0
GenElec
.48
5.2
9.29
-.29 -46.8
VerizonCm
2.41
4.3
7
56.63
+.58
+7.0
GenuPrt
2.88
3.0
21
97.02
-.81 +2.1
Vodafone
1.82
9.4
19.45
-.35
-39.0
GoPro
5.44
-1.74 -28.1
WalMart
2.08
2.1
24
101.34
+.76
+2.6
HP Inc
.56
2.3
9
24.63
+.14 +17.2
WeisMk
1.24
2.7
22
45.70
+.52
+10.4
Haverty
.72
3.4
22
21.17
+.75 -6.5
WellsFargo 1.72
3.2
13
53.61
+.05
-11.6
HeliosM rs
.02
...-100.0
YumBrnds
1.44
1.7
31
86.90
-1.09
+6.5
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, 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: 25,270.83
Change: -109.91 (-0.4%)
27,200
26,400
25,600
24,800
25,600
24,860
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
25,270.83
-109.91
-.43
+2.23
+7.36
11,623.58
9,420.16
Dow Transportation
10,366.32
-2.20
-.02
-2.32
+6.27
778.80
647.81
Dow Utilities
724.85
-4.26
-.58
+.20
-3.79
13,637.02
11,820.33
NYSE Composite
12,321.80
-34.70
-.28
-3.80
-.41
8,133.30
6,630.67
Nasdaq Composite
7,356.99
-77.06
-1.04
+6.57
+8.76
1,309.73
1,118.69
S&P 100
1,210.74
-9.06
-.74
+2.33
+5.89
2,940.91
2,532.69
S&P 500
2,723.06
-17.31
-.63
+1.85
+5.23
2,053.00
1,769.25
S&P MidCap
1,862.40
+.74
+.04
-2.01
+1.44
30,560.54
26,293.62
Wilshire 5000
28,177.01
-156.05
-.55
+1.38
+4.84
1,742.09
1,436.43
Russell 2000
1,547.98
+3.00
+.19
+.81
+3.55
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 247,729
251.76
-6.7
+7.6/A
+11.3/A
NL
10,000
Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl
LB 199,057
67.93
-6.7
+7.2/B
+10.9/A
NL
10,000
Vanguard TtlSMIdxinv
LB 127,316
67.90
-6.7
+7.1/B
+10.8/B
NL
3,000
Vanguard TtlnSIdxinv
FB 126,316
16.20
-6.1
-7.5/C
+2.4/B
NL
0
Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns
LB 119,661
67.94
-6.7
+7.2/B
+10.9/A
NL 5
000,000
Vanguard Insldxlns
LB 116,372
248.38
-6.7
+7.6/A
+11.3/A
NL 5
000,000
Vanguard InsidxInsPlus
LB 101,648
248.40
-67
+7.6/A
+11.4/A
NL100,000,000
Vanguard TtlnSIdxinsPlus
FB 94,240
108.36
-6.1
-7.4/C
+2.5/B
NL100,000,000
Fidelity Contrafund
LG 91,385
12.77
-9.1
+7.8/D
+12.2/B
NL
0
Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl
Cl 85,528
10.22
-1.1
-2.5/C
+1.8/C
NL
10,000
Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm
LB 84,712
95.27
-6.7
+7.6/A
+11.4/A
NL
0
Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl
MA 84,654
70.92
-4.2
+2.4/B
+77/A
NL
50,000
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.