About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 2018)
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.
