0D BUSINESS
Jeff Gill | Business reporter
770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Tuesday, November 27, 2018
GM to lay off up to 14K
FRANK GUNN I Associated Press
A worker checks the paint on a Camaro at the GM factory June 10, 2011, in Oshawa, Ontario. General Motors is closing a
Canadian plant at the cost of about 2,500 jobs, but that is apparently just a piece of a much broader, company-wide restructuring
that will be announced soon.
5 plants may close as company focuses on electric, autonomous cars
BY TOM KRISHER
Associated Press
DETROIT — General Motors will cut
up to 14,000 workers in North America
and put five plants up for possible clo
sure as it abandons many of its car mod
els and restructures to focus more on
autonomous and electric vehicles, the
automaker announced Monday.
The reductions could amount to as
much as 8 percent of GM’s global work
force of 180,000 employees.
The restructuring reflects changing
North American auto markets as manu
facturers continue to shift away from
cars toward SUVs and trucks. In October,
almost 65 percent of new vehicles sold in
the U.S. were trucks or SUVs. That figure
was about 50 percent cars just five years
ago.
GM is shedding cars largely because
it doesn’t make money on them, Citi
analyst Itay Michaeli wrote in a note to
investors.
“We estimate sedans operate at a sig
nificant loss, hence the need for classic
restructuring,” he wrote.
The reduction includes about 8,000
white-collar employees, or 15 percent of
GM’s North American white-collar work
force. Some will take buyouts while oth
ers will be laid off.
At the factories, around 3,300 blue-col
lar workers could lose jobs in Canada and
another 2,600 in the U.S., but some U.S.
workers could transfer to truck or SUV
factories that are increasing production.
The company also said it will stop oper
ating two additional factories outside
North America by the end of next year,
in addition to a previously announced
plant closure in Gunsan, South Korea.
General Motors Co.’s pre-emptive
strike to get leaner before the next
downturn likely will be followed by Ford
Motor Co., which has said it is restruc
turing and will lay off an unspecified
number of white-collar workers. Toyota
Motor Corp. also has discussed cutting
costs, even though it’s building a new
assembly plant in Alabama.
GM isn’t the first to abandon much of
its car market. Fiat Chrysler Automo
biles got out of small and midsize cars
two years ago, while Ford announced
plans to shed all cars but the Mustang
sports car in the U.S. in the coming years.
Shares of GM, the largest automaker
in the U.S. which sells the Chevrolet,
Buick, Cadillac and GMC brands, rose
nearly 6 percent on the news to $37.98 in
Monday afternoon trading.
GM doesn’t foresee an economic
downturn and is making the cuts “to get
in front of it while the company is strong
and while the economy is strong,” CEO
Mary Barra told reporters.
She also noted that tariffs on imported
aluminum and steel have hit the com
pany, but she stopped short of saying they
had anything to do with the restructuring.
After the morning announcement,
Barra was to head for Washington to
meet with White House economic adviser
Larry Kudlow in what was described as a
previously scheduled meeting, according
to a White House official who spoke on
condition of anonymity because the offi
cial is not authorized to discuss the meet
ing publicly.
President Donald Trump said his
administration and lawmakers are exert
ing “a lot of pressure” on GM.
FDA to overhaul
criticized medical
device system
BY MATTHEW PERR0NE
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - U.S. health officials said Mon
day they plan to overhaul the nation’s decades-old
system for approving most medical devices, which
has long been criticized by experts for failing to
catch problems with risky implants and related
products.
The Food and Drug Administration announced
plans aimed at making sure new medical devices
reflect up-to-date safety and effectiveness fea
tures. The system targeted by the actions gener
ally allows manufacturers to launch new products
based on similarities to decades-old products, not
new clinical testing in patients.
The FDA’s move came one day after the publi
cation of a global investigation into medical device
safety by more than 50 media organizations, includ
ing The Associated Press. Led by the International
Consortium of Investi
gative Journalists, the
group found that more
than 1.7 million inju
ries and nearly 83,000
deaths suspected of
being linked to medi
cal devices had been
reported to the FDA
over a 10-year period.
“We believe that
it’s time to fundamen
tally modernize an
approach first adopted
in 1976,” FDA Commis
sioner Scott Gottlieb
said in a statement,
‘We believe
that it’s time to
fundamentally
modernize an
approach first
adopted in
1976.’
Scott Gottlieb
FDA commissioner
noting that the changes
under consideration would push companies to com
pare their devices to more up-to-date technology.
On Twitter, he described the proposal as “the
most significant modernization” of the medical
device review process in a generation.
Some of the reforms proposed by the FDA could
take years to implement and potentially include
new guidelines and regulations for manufacturers,
and the most substantive changes could require
action by Congress.
Dr. David Challoner, a leading expert on the
FDA’s review system, said the changes would likely
improve device safety, but worried that manufac
turers could scuttle the reform effort.
“If the device industry comes back at this full
bore with their lobbying efforts, this could all die a
slow and painful death,” he told the AP.
In 2011, Challoner led a government advi
sory panel that recommended the FDA’s
“flawed” review system be replaced. At the
time, the FDA said it disagreed with the group’s
recommendations.
Taxes may be a bigger part of online shopping this year
BY JESSICA GRESK0
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Shop
pers heading online to pur
chase holiday gifts will find
they’re being charged sales
tax at some websites where
they weren’t before. The
reason: the Supreme Court.
A June ruling gave states
the go-ahead to require
more companies to collect
sales tax on online pur
chases. Now, more than two
dozen have moved to take
advantage of the ruling,
many ahead of the busy holi
day shopping season.
“Will your shopping
bill look any different? ...
The answer right now is
it depends,” said Jason
Brewer, a spokesman for
the Retail Industry Leaders
Association, which repre
sents more than 70 major
retailers.
Whether shoppers get
charged sales tax on their
online purchases comes
down to where they live and
where they’re shopping.
Before the Supreme
Court’s recent decision, the
rule was that businesses
selling online had to collect
sales tax only in states where
they had stores, warehouses
or another physical pres
ence. That meant that major
retailers such as Apple,
Best Buy, Macy’s and Tar
get, which have brick-and-
mortar stores nationwide,
were generally collecting
sales tax from online cus
tomers. But that wasn’t the
case for businesses with a
big online presence but few
physical locations.
Now, states can force
out-of-state sellers to collect
sales tax if they’re doing a
fair amount of business in
the state. That means retail
ers such as Overstock.com,
home goods company Way-
fair and electronics retailer
Newegg can be required to
collect tax in more states.
Those companies were
involved in the case before
the Supreme Court, but a
wide range of businesses
from jewelry website Blue
Nile to clothing and outdoor
company L.L. Bean and elec
tronics retailer B&H Photo-
Video are also affected.
Before the Supreme
Court’s decision, Overstock
was collecting sales tax in
eight states. Now, it’s col
lecting sales tax nationwide.
Jonathan Johnson, a mem
ber of Overstock’s board of
directors, said a small num
ber of customers reached
out to ask about the change
when it happened but the
company now hasn’t had a
question about it in months.
Wayfair, for its part, was col
lecting sales tax in 25 states
before the decision. Now it’s
collecting sales tax in 36 of
the 45 states with a sales tax.
Where online shoppers
live also can affect whether
they’re being charged sales
tax.
States had a strong inter
est in taking advantage of the
Supreme Court’s decision
by passing laws or publish
ing regulations prior to this
holiday shopping season if
possible, said Richard Cram
of the Multistate Tax Com
mission, which works with
states on tax issues. Those
that did have generally been
following the lead of South
Dakota, which brought the
issue to the Supreme Court.
South Dakota requires sell
ers who don’t have a physi
cal presence in the state to
collect sales tax on online
purchases if they do more
than $100,000 in business in
South Dakota or more than
200 transactions annually
with state residents.
A host of states — Ala
bama, Illinois, Indiana,
Kentucky, Maryland, Min
nesota, Nevada, New Jersey,
North Dakota, Washington
and Wisconsin — began
enforcing their own require
ments starting Oct. 1. And
about another half a dozen
states will start in the next
two months.
But a number of big states,
including California, Texas,
New York and Florida, do
not yet have similar col
lection requirements in
place. As a result, consum
ers shopping online from
those states and others that
have yet to act may not be
charged sales tax on some
websites for a little longer.
Online shoppers in those
states — particularly those
making expensive holiday
purchases like televisions,
computers and luxury goods
— may be motivated to try
to purchase from a website
that isn’t charging them
sales tax. While that may
look like a sweet tax savings,
shoppers are generally sup
posed to pay the tax to the
state themselves, but few do.
Stock Exchange Highlights
NYSE
12,181.25 +145.01
Nasdaq
7,081.85 +142.87
Gainers (S2
Name Last
OR MORE)
Chg %Chg
JinkoSolar 10.65
CooTek n 6.44
VivintSolar 6.48
QntmDSS rs 2.58
TrnsMont 40.98
VinceHIg rs 14.19
GP Strat 14.72
CypressEn 6.93
Twilio n 87.41
HarteHk rs 3.84
+1.43 +15.5
+.83 +14.8
+.81 +14.3
+.31 +13.7
+4.58 +12.6
+1.53 +12.1
+1.32 +9.9
+.56 +8.8
+6.79 +8.4
+.29 +8.2
Losers (S2 or more)
Name
Last Chg %Chg
DirxMex n 7.44
Innovlnd n 46.75
Invacare 5.55
StoneMor 3.45
DxLatBII s 18.04
DxBrzBull s 23.23
GolLinhss 10.46
Plantron 46.48
ChaparrE n 12.56
Aphria n 8.08
-1.26 -14.4
-7.84 -14.4
-.71 -11.3
-.41 -10.6
-2.07 -10.3
-2.65 -10.2
-1.07 -9.3
-4.46 -8.8
-1.19 -8.7
-.76 -8.6
Most Active ($1 or more)
Name Vol (00) Last Chg
GenElec 1546866
BkofAm 531043
FordM 460811
AT&T Inc 333342
Vale SA 312391
GenMotors 303479
ChesEng 282746
Petrobras 264754
Ambev 219046
Oracle 208527
7.58
27.56
9.40
29.95
12.75
+.01
+.59
+.27
+.59
-.51
37.65 +1.72
3.15
13.72 -.15
4.06 -.11
48.26 -.44
Diary
Advanced
Declined
Unchanged
Total issues
New Highs
New Lows
Volume
1,821
992
74
2,887
13
130
3,419,559,528
Gainers ($2
Name Last
OR more)
Chg %Chg
iPass rs 2.05
TymeTch n 2.80
BorqsTch 2.53
LifewayFds 3.25
EssaPh gs 3.07
SunPower 7.05
LegacyRes 2.67
LiveXLve n 5.00
BioScrip 3.70
SolenoTh rs 2.14
+.61 +42.4
+.65 +30.2
+.42 +19.9
+.49 +17.8
+.46 +17.6
+.99 +16.3
+.37 +16.1
+.65 +14.9
+.47 +14.6
+.23 +12.0
Losers ($2 or more)
Name
Last Chg %Chg
Zafgen 5.41
TenaxTh rs 2.61
AvalGIb n 2.10
Greenpro n 3.50
Overstk 17.56
RevenHo n 3.30
TizianaLf n 8.38
Equillium n 16.67
XTL Bio rs 2.40
LogicBio n 15.95
-3.69 -40.5
-.64 -19.7
-.45 -17.7
-.70 -16.7
-3.37 -16.1
-.58 -14.9
-1.42 -14.5
-2.77 -14.2
-.31 -11.5
-2.03 -11.3
Most Active ($1 or more)
Name Vol (00) Last Chg
AMD 828879
Apple Inc 446111
Microsoft 322567
SiriusXM 265209
MicronT 264938
Reshape rs257722
Facebook 234590
JD.com 223617
Nvidia 203106
CaesarsEnt202625
20.08 +.70
174.62 +2.33
106.47 +3.40
6.14 +.08
36.57 +.17
1.01 -.24
136.38 +4.65
20.46 +1.19
153.05 +8.05
8.56 +.34
Diary
Advanced
Declined
Unchanged
Total issues
New Highs
New Lows
Volume
1,771
1,155
150
3,076
18
119
1,965,200,343
Stocks of Local Interest
YTD
Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg
AFLAC S
1.04
2.3
14
44.61
+.14 0.0
HomeDp
4.12
2.4
19
169.82
+.97 -10.4
AT&T Inc
2.00
6.7
6
29.95
+.59 -23.0
Intel
1.20
2.5
18
47.45
+.91 +2.8
AbbottLab
1.12
1.6
29
68.81
+.70 +20.6
IBM
6.28
5.3
9
119.56
+2.37 -22.1
AMD
20.08
+.70 +95.3
JohnJn
3.60
2.5
20
141.37
+.04 +1.2
Altria
3.20
6.0
17
53.21
-.51 -25.5
Lowes
1.92
2.1
19
89.31
+1.50 -3.9
Apple Inc
2.92
1.7
20
174.62
+2.33 +3.2
MagneG rs
.31
+.03 -93.6
ATMOS
1.94
2.0
18
97.81
+.66 +13.9
McDnlds
4.64
2.5
28
183.89
+1.96 +6.8
AutoZone
18
820.00
-7.53 +15.3
Merck
2.20
2.9
28
75.44
+.77 +34.1
AveryD
2.26
2.4
27
93.49
+.90 -18.6
MicronT
3
36.57
+.17 -11.1
BB&T Cp
1.62
3.2
15
51.12
+.75 +2.8
Microsoft
1.84
1.7
44
106.47
+3.40 +24.5
BP PLC
2.38
5.9
12
40.53
+.64 -3.6
NewellRub
.92
3.9
23.52
+1.78 -23.9
BkofAm
.60
2.2
13
27.56
+.59 -6.6
NorflkSo
3.20
1.9
25
164.11
+.21 +13.3
BamesNob
.60
8.8
6.79
+.12 +1.3
Nvidia
.64
.4
29
153.05
+8.05 -20.9
Boeing
6.84
2.2
29
316.36
+4.04 +7.3
OfficeDpt
.10
3.2
9
3.16
+.09 -10.7
BrMySq
1.60
3.0
52
52.73
-.20 -14.0
Oracle
.76
1.6
52
48.26
-.44 +2.1
CSX
.88
1.2
10
70.42
+.64 +28.0
Penney
1.38
+.07 -56.3
CaesarsEnt ...
8.56
+.34 -32.3
PepsiCo
3.71
3.2
33
115.86
+.45 -3.4
CampSp
1.40
3.6
14
39.02
-1.51 -18.9
Pfizer
1.36
3.1
17
43.34
+.20 +19.7
Caterpillar
3.44
2.8
12
124.80
+2.48 -20.8
PhilipMor
4.56
5.4
20
83.84
-.21 -20.6
CntryLink
2.16
11.7
7
18.44
+.56 +10.6
Primerica
1.00
.9
14
116.54
+1.29 +14.8
ChesEng
5
3.15
... -20.5
ProctGam
2.87
3.1
23
91.94
+.40 +.1
Chevron
4.48
3.9
24
114.98
+1.38 -8.2
Reshape rs ...
1.01
-.24-100.0
Cisco
1.32
2.9
23
45.57
+1.03 +19.0
RealGSol h
.77
+.14 -47.7
Citigroup
1.80
2.8
11
63.73
+1.98 -14.4
RegionsFn
.56
3.4
14
16.34
+.38 -5.4
ClevCIiffs
.05
.6
3
8.67
-.11 +20.2
SiriusXM
.05
.8
34
6.14
+.08 +14.6
CocaCola
1.56
3.2
92
48.87
-.15 +6.5
SouthnCo
2.40
5.3
22
45.65
-.07 -5.1
ConAgra
.85
2.6
16
32.60
-.59 -13.5
Sphr3D grs
6.10
+.51 -69.0
Cummins
4.56
3.1
41
147.19
+2.38 -16.7
SunTrst
2.00
3.2
11
63.45
+2.14 -1.8
Disney
1.68
1.5
15
112.55
+.47 +4.7
SynovusFn 1.00
2.7
13
36.97
+1.08 -22.9
DowDuPnt
1.52
2.6
18
57.66
+1.23 -19.0
3M Co
5.44
2.7
28
199.86
+3.06 -15.1
Equifax
1.56
1.5
18
102.26
+1.20 -13.3
Torchmark
.64
.7
7
86.82
+.76 -4.3
ExxonMbl
3.28
4.3
14
76.98
+1.49 -8.0
Twitter
32.82
+1.70 +36.7
Facebook
26
136.38
+4.65 -22.7
Tyson
1.20
2.0
11
59.46
+.57 -26.7
FordM
.60
6.4
5
9.40
+.27 -24.7
UtdCmBks
.64
2.5
15
25.54
+.48 -9.2
GenElec
.48
6.3
7.58
+.01 -56.6
UPS B
3.64
3.3
19
110.64
+1.95 -7.1
GenMotors
1.52
4.0
37.65
+1.72 -8.1
VerizonCm
2.41
4.1
8
59.17
+.53 +11.8
GenuPrt
2.88
2.8
22
101.19
+1.47 +6.5
Vodafone
1.74
8.3
20.91
+1.19 -34.5
HP Inc
.64
2.8
8
22.81
+.30 +8.6
WalMart
2.08
2.2
55
95.15
+.05 -3.6
Haverty
.72
3.3
23
21.87
+.12 -3.4
WeisMk
1.24
2.6
11
47.37
-1.00 +14.4
HeliosM rs
.02
+.00-100.0
WellsFargo 1.72
3.3
13
52.88
+1.05 -12.8
Hershey
2.89
2.7
23
106.00
-.21 -6.6
YumBrnds
1.44
1.6
32
88.31
+1.12 +8.2
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: 24,640.24
Change: 354.29 (1.5%)
27,200
26,400
25,600
24,800
26,000
25,120*
24,240 10 DAYS
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
24,640.24
+354.29
+1.46
-.32
+4.49
11,623.58
9,456.16
Dow Transportation
10,476.55
+107.54
+1.04
-1.28
+9.18
773.78
647.81
Dow Utilities
723.84
+4.21
+.58
+.07
-5.08
13,637.02
11,820.33
NYSE Composite
12,181.25
+145.01
+1.20
-4.90
-1.69
8,133.30
6,630.67
Nasdaq Composite
7,081.85
+142.87
+2.06
+2.59
+2.96
1,309.73
1,118.69
S&P 100
1,180.46
+19.06
+1.64
-.23
+2.91
2,940.91
2,532.69
S&P 500
2,673.45
+40.89
+1.55
-.01
+2.77
2,053.00
1,769.25
S&P MidCap
1,847.77
+22.89
+1.25
-2.78
-.45
30,560.54
26,293.62
Wilshire 5000
27,618.79
+422.22
+1.55
-.63
+2.17
1,742.09
1,436.43
Russell 2000
1,505.96
+17.28
+1.16
-1.92
-.49
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
247.62
+0.8
+4.7/B
+10.4/A
NL
3,000
Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl
LB 199,057
66.78
+1.0
+4.2/B
+10.0/A
NL
3,000
Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv
LB 127,316
66.75
+1.0
+4.1/B
+9.9/A
NL
3,000
Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv
FB 126,316
15.99
+2.2
-9.6/B
+2.1/B
NL
0
Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns
LB 119,661
66.79
+1.0
+4.2/B
+10.0/A
NL 5
000,000
Vanguard Insldxlns
LB 116,372
244.30
+0.8
+4.7/B
+10.4/A
NL 5
000,000
Vanguard InsIdxinsPlus
LB 101,648
244.32
+0.8
+4.7/B
+10.4/A
NL100,000,000
Vanguard TtlnSIdxInsPlus
FB 94,240
106.96
+2.2
-9.5/B
+2.2/B
NL100,000,000
Fidelity Contrafund
LG 91,385
12.30
-1.7
+2.3/D
+10.8/B
NL
0
Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl
Cl 85,528
10.27
-0.1
-1.9/C
+1.9/C
NL
3,000
Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm
LB 84,712
93.71
+0.8
+4.7/B
+10.4/A
NL
0
Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl
MA 84,654
71.14
+1.6
+2.6/A
+7.3/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.
