Newspaper Page Text
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.
