About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 21, 2018)
BD BUSINESS Jeff Gill | Business reporter 770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Wednesday, November 21,2018 Renault board meets after CEO arrest BY MARI YAMAGUCHI AND ELAINE GANLEY Associated Press PARIS — Renault’s board of directors was holding an emer gency meeting Tuesday to con sider its next moves after its CEO Carlos Ghosn was detained in Japan amid allegations he mis used assets of partner Nissan Motor Co. and under-reported mil lions of dollars in income. Japanese prosecutors were con sidering Tuesday whether to file formal charges against Ghosn, Nissan’s chairman. The arrest of Ghosn after a whistleblower disclosed the alleged misconduct stunned many in Japan and France, where for years he’s been a superstar among industrialists, known as a relent less cost-cutter and innovator — but who appears to have spent lavishly on himself. Japanese prosecutors said they were holding Ghosn, 64, for allegedly collaborating to falsify securities statements and underreport $44.6 mil lion in income from 2011 to 2015. A second Nissan executive, Greg Kelly, was also suspected of col laborating with him. Ghosn runs Renault, Nissan and the Renault- Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance that he helped turn into the world’s biggest car-seller last year, and both France and Japan want to keep it intact. In France, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said authorities have examined Ghosn’s tax situa tion in France but have found no wrongdoing. Still, Le Maire said Tuesday he wants Ghosn replaced while he faces accusations in Japan. But he and Japanese Economy Minister Hiroshige Seko said in a joint statement that the alliance is “one of the greatest symbols of Franco-Japanese indus trial cooperation.” They expressed “their shared wish to maintain this winning cooperation.” Le Maire told broadcaster France-Info that Ghosn is not in a position to lead the Renault Group because of the accusations. He urged the board to name a tempo rary leadership instead. France holds 15 percent of Renault. “It’s extremely regrettable,” Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters. “We will watch developments closely.” There was no word from Ghosn himself. Prosecutors have refused to say where he was being held. The prosecutors, who report edly arrested Ghosn after ques tioning him upon his arrival by private jet at Tokyo’s Haneda airport, have 48 hours from the time of Ghosn’s arrest Monday to decide whether to press charges. They can hold a suspect for up to 20 more days per charge if they decide they need more time. The scandal has thrown into question Ghosn’s future as leader of the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alliance, which sold 10.6 million cars last year, more than any other manufacturer. Nissan’s board was due to meet Thursday to consider dismiss ing Ghosn and Kelly. Earlier this year, Ghosn signed a contract that would have run through 2022. Ghosn officially still leads the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi alli ance as CEO and chairman. Of French, Brazilian and Leba nese background, Ghosn also is a towering corporate figure in France, where Renault is one of the heavyweight industrial sur vivors. He has met repeatedly with the past four French presi dents; no major economic event in France was held without Ghosn. Ghosn Gov’t questions student loan practices WILLIAM BRETZGER I Associated Press Headquarters of student loan debt collector Navient Corporation, April 2,2014, in Wilmington, Del. BY KEN SWEET Associated Press NEW YORK - One of the nation’s largest student loan servicing companies may have driven tens of thousands of borrowers struggling with their debts into higher-cost repayment plans. That’s the finding of a Department of Education audit of practices at Navi ent Corp., the nation’s third- largest student loan servicing company. The conclusions of the 2017 audit, which until now have been kept from the public and were obtained by The Associated Press, appear to support federal and state lawsuits accusing Navient of boosting its profits by steering some borrowers into the high- cost plans without discussing options that would have been less costly in the long run. The education department has not shared the audit’s find ings with the plaintiffs in the lawsuits. In fact, even while knowing of its conclusions, the department repeatedly argued that state and other federal authorities do not have jurisdiction over Navi- ent’s business practices. “The existence of this audit makes the Department of Education’s position all the more disturbing,” said Aaron Ament, president of the National Student Legal Defense Network, who worked for the Department of Education under President Barack Obama. The AP received a copy of the audit and other docu ments from the office of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massa- chusetts, who has been a vocal critic of Navient and has pub licly supported the lawsuits against the company as well as questioning the policies of the Department of Education, currently run by President Trump’s Secretary of Educa tion, Betsy DeVos. Navient disputed the audit’s conclusions in its response to the Department of Education and denied allegations in the lawsuits. The company states its contract with the education department doesn’t require its customer service represen tatives to mention all options available to the borrower. “This (audit), when viewed as a whole, as well as dozens of other audits and reviews, show Navient overwhelmingly per forms in accordance with pro gram rules while consistently helping borrowers choose the right options for their circum stances,” said Paul Hartwick, a company spokesman. However, the five states suing Navient — Illinois, Pennsylvania, Washington, California and Mississippi — say the behavior breaks their laws regarding consumer pro tection. The Consumer Finan cial Protection Bureau says in its own lawsuit the practices are unfair, deceptive and abu sive and break federal con sumer protection laws. Of the five states that filed lawsuits against Navient, only Illinois and Pennsylva nia were aware of the audit, and said they did not receive copies from the Department of Education. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau declined to say whether it had a copy of the report. The Department of Educa tion said withholding the report was inten tional, repeating the argument it has made in court and in public that only it has juris diction over student loan servicing issues, through its Federal Student Aid division, or FSA, which over sees student loans. “FSA performed the review as part of its own contract oversight, not for the benefit of other agencies,” said Liz Hill, a Department of Educa tion spokeswoman. When student borrowers run into difficulties making payments, they can be offered forbearance, which allows them to delay payments for a set period of time. But under a forbearance plan, in most instances, the loan continues to accumulate interest and becomes a more expensive option in the long run. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau alleges in its lawsuit against Navient that between 2010 and 2015 Navi- ent’s behavior added nearly $4 billion in interest to student borrow ers’ loans through the overuse of forbear ance. It is a figure that Navient disputes. A 2017 study by the Government Accountability Office estimates that a typi cal borrower of a $30,000 student loan who places their loan into forbear ance for three years — the maximum allowed for eco nomic-hardship forbearance — would pay an additional $6,742 in interest on that loan. “This finding is both tragic and infuriating, and the find ings appear to validate the allegations that Navient boosted its profits by unfairly steering student borrowers into forbearance when that was often the worst financial option for them,” Warren wrote to Navient last week. Warren Toys R Us forms hardship fund for displaced workers BY ANNE D’INNOCENZIO Associated Press NEW YORK — Two private equity owners of the iconic Toys R Us toy chain have set up a $20M hardship fund for the former workers left jobless after the chain was liquidated in June. KKR and Bain Capital announced Tuesday the creation of the fund aimed at helping the 30,000 workers affected by the store closures, a move that followed efforts by worker-backed groups. The fund wasn’t legally required, and the groups call it an “unprecedented” step toward helping families caught up in the store closures and bankruptcies that have roiled the fast-changing retail industry. Workers are pushing to get an additional $55 million they believe they’re owed and are look ing to other firms that had a stake in Toys R Us and that they believed played a role in the chain’s demise. “This is an amazing first step, but the goal is to keep the pressure on,” said Ann Marie Rein hart, of Durham, North Carolina, who worked at Toys R Us for 29 years, most recently as a store supervisor. She said she hasn’t been able to find work that pays health insurance since she was laid off early this past summer. While the iconic toy retailer was liquidating its hundreds of stores in June, workers were informed they would not get severance. They began protesting outside the New York offices of the retailer’s former owners KKR, Bain and Vornado Realty Trust, firms that loaded the company with debt, helping push it into bank ruptcy in the fall of 2017. Then, they showed up at more than a dozen pension meetings around the country over the last few months, exerting pressure on them to push the equity owners they invest in to do right by workers and act more responsibly. Since late summer, Toys R Us workers have been pressuring pension funds to in turn push a group of hedge firms that owned the retail er’s secured debt in a bid to get the remaining money they say is owed to them. These secured creditors, including Solus Alternative Asset Management and Angelo Gordon, were the ones that ultimately pushed for the liquidation as they looked to get returns for their investors. The groups that organized the Toys R Us workers — Organization United for Respect, along with Private Equity Stakeholder Proj ect and the Center for Popular Democracy — say that the hardship fund is being structured to allow the other firms to contribute, pav ing the way for Solus, Vornado and others to contribute. KKR and Bain said the fund was established in response to the “extraordinary set of circum stances” that led to Toys R Us being shuttered. Stock Exchange Highlights ■ NYSE 12,048.66 -232.25 V Nasdaq W 6,908.82 -119.65 Gainers ($2 or more) Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg NoahHIdgs 44.77 Agilent 67.52 NuvCA V2 n16.40 Cementos 9.93 PPDAI n CampSp ProsHldg CmtyHIt SaulCtpfD 21.93 EquusTR 2.12 5.75 40.55 30.27 3.61 +3.97 +9.7 +4.91 +7.8 +1.09 +7.1 +.56 +6.0 +.31 +5.7 +2.10 +5.5 +1.59 +5.5 +.15 +4.3 +.87 +4.1 +.08 +4.0 Losers (S2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg OiSAC 2.01 Etr SP MLP31.92 CgpVelLCrd 15.98 PSCrden 23.98 UBS 3xLCr 15.32 USCF Oil n 29.47 Jianpu n 4.47 L Brands 28.43 Seadrill n 14.01 DxSPOGBI S16.13 -.74 -26.9 -11.33 -26.2 -4.19 -20.8 -6.29 -20.8 -3.96 -20.5 -7.61 -20.5 -.98 -18.0 -6.12 -17.7 -2.43 -14.8 -2.65 -14.1 Most Active ($1 on more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 1411419 BkofAm 923193 ChesEng 435430 AT&T Inc 412486 FordM 351007 Square n 348270 EnCanag 321604 SwstnEngy 262770 Petrobras 254493 NokiaCp 234487 7.65 -.19 27.38 -.37 3.20 -.28 29.42 -.93 9.06 -.19 61.82 -1.15 7.06 -.54 5.05 -.35 13.98 -.87 5.51 -.21 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 433 2,416 51 2,900 32 538 4,277,681,696 Sphr3D grs 6.61 NF EngSv 8.80 DgssIntAn 2.60 Inpixon rs 4.15 Pinduodou n23.14 Tesaro 42.48 TSR Inc 5.32 Purpllnv n 6.43 ReadglntB 30.45 Autolusn 41.20 +3.91+144.8 +2.36 +36.6 +.60 +30.0 +.80 +23.9 +3.30 +16.6 +5.65 +15.3 +.64 +13.6 +.72 +12.6 +3.30 +12.2 +4.40 +12.0 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Microbot rs AquestTh n EastsDist n LivaNova n Limbach n RaPhrm n SutroBio n AirT Inc B Comm Uxin Ltd n 2.36 13.19 6.05 98.04 4.85 14.27 9.93 28.04 9.70 4.50 -.60 -20.2 -3.16 -19.3 -1.39 -18.7 -22.12 -18.4 -1.05 -17.8 -2.45 -14.7 -1.63 -14.1 -4.46 -13.7 -1.36 -12.3 -.60 -11.8 Most Active ($1 or more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg AMD 1095669 Apple Inc 674958 Microsoft 632564 Nvidia 420826 Facebook 418793 JD.com 412809 MicronT 382919 SiriusXM 335048 CaesarsEnt298779 Comcast s 291346 19.21 +.10 176.98 -8.88 101.71 -2.91 149.08 +4.38 132.43 +.88 19.49 36.12 5.87 7.84 36.76 -1.62 -.71 -.18 -.41 -1.42 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 701 2,245 120 3,066 12 362 2,594,328,546 Stocks of Local Interest Name Ex YTD Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC S 1.04 2.3 14 44.29 -.82 0.0 Hershey 2.89 2.7 23 106.48 -1.15 -6.2 AT&T Inc 2.00 6.8 6 29.42 -.93 -24.3 HomeDp 4.12 2.4 18 169.05 -4.54 -10.8 AbbottLab 1.12 1.6 29 69.06 -1.48 +21.0 Intel 1.20 2.5 18 47.39 -.61 +2.7 AMD 19.21 +.10 +86.9 IBM 6.28 5.4 9 117.20 -3.11 -23.6 Altria 3.20 5.8 18 55.63 -.05 -22.1 JohnJn 3.60 2.5 20 146.45 -1.28 +4.8 Apple Inc 2.92 1.6 21 176.98 -8.88 +4.6 L Brands 2.40 8.4 11 28.43 -6.12 -52.8 ApIdMatl .80 2.2 10 35.77 +1.35 -30.0 Lowes 1.92 2.2 18 86.18 -5.17 -7.3 ATMOS 1.94 2.0 18 98.20 -1.14 +14.3 McDnlds 4.64 2.5 28 183.71 -3.01 +6.7 AutoZone 17 793.11 -36.24 +11.5 Merck 2.20 2.9 28 74.78 -1.57 +32.9 AveryD 2.26 2.4 26 92.30 -.14 -19.6 MicronT 3 36.12 -.71 -12.2 BB&T Cp 1.62 3.2 15 50.94 -.70 +2.5 Microsoft 1.84 1.8 42 101.71 -2.91 +18.9 BP PLC 2.38 5.9 12 40.10 -.82 -4.6 NorflkSo 3.20 2.0 25 162.75 -7.78 +12.3 BkofAm .60 2.2 13 27.38 -.37 -7.2 Nvidia .64 .4 28 149.08 +4.38 -23.0 BarnesNob .60 9.2 6.50 -.26 -3.0 OfficeDpt .10 3.4 8 2.91 -.02 -17.8 Boeing 6.84 2.2 30 317.70 -3.24 +7.7 Penney 1.29 +.02 -59.2 BrMySq 1.60 3.0 53 53.52 +.04 -12.7 PepsiCo 3.71 3.2 33 116.00 -3.01 -3.3 CSX .88 1.3 10 69.22 -2.86 +25.8 Pfizer 1.36 3.1 17 43.53 -.65 +20.2 CaesarsEnt ... 7.84 -.41 -38.0 PhilipMor 4.56 5.3 21 86.55 -1.08 -18.1 CampSp 1.40 3.5 14 40.55 +2.10 -15.7 Pinduodou n ... 23.14 +3.30 -13.3 Caterpillar 3.44 2.8 11 122.27 -3.71 -22.4 Primerica 1.00 .9 14 112.56 -3.81 +10.8 ChesEng 5 3.20 -.28 -19.2 ProctGam 2.87 3.1 23 92.10 -1.19 +.2 Chevron 4.48 3.9 24 116.10 -3.32 -7.3 RegionsFn .56 3.5 14 15.83 -.30 -8.4 Cisco 1.32 3.0 22 44.49 -1.26 +16.2 SiriusXM .05 .8 33 5.87 -.18 +9.5 Citigroup 1.80 2.9 11 62.53 -2.09 -16.0 SouthnCo 2.40 5.1 22 46.66 -.38 -3.0 CocaCola 1.56 3.2 93 49.38 -1.13 +7.6 SwstnEngy 6 5.05 -.35 -9.5 Comcast s .76 2.1 18 36.76 -1.42 -7.8 Square n 61.82 -1.15 +78.3 ConAgra .85 2.6 16 33.23 -.19 -11.8 SunTrst 2.00 3.2 11 61.73 -1.36 -4.4 Cummins 4.56 3.2 40 143.17 -2.55 -18.9 SynovusFn 1.00 2.8 13 35.93 -.99 -25.1 Disney 1.68 1.5 15 111.87 -3.55 +4.1 3M Co 5.44 2.7 28 200.51 -5.07 -14.8 DowDuPnt 1.52 2.7 18 56.37 -1.43 -20.9 Torchmark .64 .7 7 85.67 -1.32 -5.6 EnCana g .06 .8 12 7.06 -.54 -47.0 Transocn 8.97 -.78 -16.0 Equifax 1.56 1.5 17 100.89 -.63 -14.4 Tyson 1.20 2.0 11 58.82 -.60 -27.4 ExxonMbl 3.28 4.3 14 76.97 -2.25 -8.0 UtdCmBks .64 2.5 15 25.10 -.33 -10.8 Facebook 25 132.43 +.88 -25.0 UPS B 3.64 3.4 18 108.51 -2.78 -8.9 FordM .60 6.6 5 9.06 -.19 -27.5 VerizonCm 2.41 4.1 8 59.46 -1.16 +12.3 FrptMcM .20 1.8 7 10.88 -.63 -42.6 Vodafone 1.74 8.9 19.51 -.32 -38.8 GenElec .48 6.3 7.65 -.19 -56.2 WalMart 2.08 2.2 54 94.16 -2.62 -4.6 GenuPrt 2.88 2.9 21 99.52 -2.14 +4.7 Weathflntl .65 -.11 -84.3 HP Inc .64 2.8 8 22.61 -.94 +7.6 WeisMk 1.24 2.7 11 45.81 -.72 +10.7 Haverty .72 3.4 22 21.28 -.36 -6.0 WellsFargo 1.72 3.3 13 52.54 -.78 -13.4 HeliosM rs .01 ...-100.0 YumBrnds 1.44 1.7 31 87.19 -.94 +6.8 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: 24,465.64 Change: -551.8 (-2.2%) 27,200 26,400 25,600 24,800 26,280. 25,320 24,360 10 DAYS M J J A s 0 N 52-Week Net YTD 12-mo High Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg 26,951.81 23,344.52 Dow Industrials 24,465.64 -551.80 -2.21 -1.03 +3.71 11,623.58 9,456.16 Dow Transportation 10,212.94 -321.52 -3.05 -3.76 +6.22 773.78 647.81 Dow Utilities 727.65 -4.64 -.63 +.59 -4.00 13,637.02 11,820.33 NYSE Composite 12,048.66 -232.25 -1.89 -5.93 -2.72 8,133.30 6,630.67 Nasdaq Composite 6,908.82 -119.65 -1.70 +.08 +.68 1,309.73 1,118.69 S&P 100 1,169.94 -23.55 -1.97 -1.12 +2.19 2,940.91 2,532.69 S&P 500 2,641.89 -48.84 -1.82 -1.19 +1.65 2,053.00 1,769.25 S&P MidCap 1,807.92 -31.08 -1.69 -4.87 -2.75 30,560.54 26,293.62 Wilshire 5000 27,202.93 -499.33 -1.80 -2.13 +.68 1,742.09 1,436.43 Russell 2000 1,469.01 -27.53 -1.84 -4.33 -3.28 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 247,729 244.64 -4.4 +4.3/B +10.4/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 199,057 65.81 -4.4 +3.5/B +10.0/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 127,316 65.78 -4.4 +3.4/B +9.9/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinv FB 126,316 15.70 -3.3 -9.8/C +1.8/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 119,661 65.82 -4.4 +3.5/B +10.0/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 116,372 241.36 -4.4 +4.3/B +10.4/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard InsidxInsPlus LB 101,648 241.38 -4.4 +4.3/B +10.4/A NL100,000,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinsPlus FB 94,240 105.04 -3.2 -9.7/B +1.9/B NL100,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 91,385 12.04 -7.7 +1.5/D +10.8/B NL 0 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 85,528 10.28 +0.4 -1.7/B +2.0/C NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm LB 84,712 92.58 -4.4 +4.3/B +10.4/A NL 0 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 84,654 70.70 -1.0 +2.7/A +7.4/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.
