About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 4, 2018)
0D BUSINESS Jeff Gill | Business reporter 770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Tuesday, December 4, 2018 Where’s my Amazon drone? AMAZON I Associated Press An Amazon Prime Air drone in Cambridgeshire, United Kingdom, Dec. 7, 2016. Jeff Bezos predicted they would be the future of package delivery BY DAVID KOENIG AND JOSEPH PISANI The Associated Press Jeff Bezos boldly predicted five years ago that drones would be car rying Amazon packages to people’s doorsteps by now. Amazon customers are still wait ing. And it’s unclear when, if ever, this particular order by the company’s founder and CEO will arrive. Bezos made billions of dollars by transforming the retail sector. But overcoming the regulatory hurdles and safety issues posed by drones appears to be a challenge even for the world’s wealthiest man. The result is a blown deadline on his claim to CBS’ “60 Minutes” in December 2013 that drones would be making deliveries within five years. The day may not be far off when drones will carry medicine to people in rural or remote areas, but the mar keting hype around instant delivery of consumer goods looks more and more like just that — hype. Drones have a short battery life, and privacy con cerns can be a hindrance, too. “I don’t think you will see delivery of burritos or diapers in the suburbs,” says drone analyst Colin Snow. Drone usage has grown rapidly in some industries, but mostly outside the retail sector and direct interaction with consumers. The government estimates that about 110,000 commercial drones are operating in U.S. airspace, and the number is expected to soar to about 450,000 in 2022. They are being used in rural areas for mining and agricul ture, for inspecting power lines and pipelines, and for surveying. Amazon says it is still pushing ahead with plans to use drones for quick deliveries, though the company is staying away from fixed timelines. “We are committed to making our goal of delivering packages by drones in 30 minutes or less a reality,” says Amazon spokeswoman Kristen Kish. The Seattle-based online retail giant says it has drone development centers in the United States, Austria, France, Israel and the United Kingdom. Delivery companies have been test ing the use of drones to deliver emer gency supplies and to cover ground quickly in less populated areas. By contrast, package deliveries would be concentrated in office parks and neighborhoods where there are big ger issues around safety and privacy. In May, the Trump administration approved a three-year program for private companies and local govern ment agencies to test drones for deliv eries, inspections and other tasks. But pilot programs by major deliv ery companies suggest few Americans will be greeted by package-bearing drones any time soon. United Parcel Service tested launching a drone from a delivery truck that was covering a rural route in Florida. DHL Express, the German delivery company, tested the use of drones to deliver medicine from Tanzania to an island in Lake Victoria. Frank Appel, the CEO of DHL’s parent company, Deutsche Post AG, said “over the next couple of years” drones will remain a niche vehicle and not widely used. He said a big obstacle is battery life. US-China trade truce sends US stocks higher BY ALEX VEIGA Associated Press A welcome truce in the escalating U.S.-China trade dis pute put investors in a buying mood Monday, sending U.S. stocks solidly higher and extending the market’s gains from last week. The broad rally, which lost some of its early morning momentum, followed gains in overseas markets as investors welcomed news of the temporary, 90-day stand-down, which was agreed to over dinner between President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the G-20 summit over the weekend. The long-running dispute between the world’s two largest economies has rattled investors for months, stoking traders’ fears that it could begin dragging down corporate profits and weighing on global economic growth. “We’re going to have to see what happens over these 90 days,” said Tom Martin, senior portfolio manager at Glo- balt Investments. “In the meantime, you’re not getting an increase in the tariffs, so that’s an interim positive.” The encouraging development on trade helped extend a swift turnaround for the market, which notched its big gest weekly gain in nearly seven years last week after Fed Chairman Jerome Powell indicated the central bank might consider a pause in rate hikes next year while it gauges the impact of its credit tightening program. Technology stocks, automakers, retailers and industrial companies accounted for much of the market’s gains Mon day, offsetting losses in household goods makers. Energy stocks also climbed as U.S. crude oil prices rose sharply. U.S. traders observed a moment of silence before markets opened Monday in honor of former President George H.W. Bush, who died Friday at 94. The New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq said they will close trading Wednesday in observance of a national day of mourning for Bush. The federal government will also be closed. The S&P 500 index climbed 30.20 points, or 1.1 percent, to 2,790.37. The benchmark index vaulted 4.9 percent last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 287.97 points, or 1.1 percent, to 25,826.43. The average was up as much as 441 points earlier. The Nasdaq composite rose 110.98 points, or 1.5 percent, to 7,441.51. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks picked up 15.69 points, or 1 percent, to 1,548.96. Markets in Europe also finished higher. Germany’s DAX gained 1.8 percent, while France’s CAC 40 rose 1 percent. Britain’s FTSE100 added 1.2 percent. After a steep decline in October, U.S. stocks steadied in early November. But the selling picked up again as inves tors abandoned high-flying technology stocks amid con cerns over the U.S.-China trade tussle and slowing global economic growth and bailed on energy stocks as the price of oil plummeted. Alberta government imposes industry-wide cut in oil production vrM WORKING TO MAKE LIFE BETTER JASON FRANSON I Associated Press Alberta Premier Rachel Notley speaks during an announcement of a mandatory cut in oil production to deal with a price crisis that is costing Canada an estimated $80 million a day, in Edmonton on Sunday, Dec. 2. BY ROB GILLIES Associated Press TORONTO — Alberta’s premier announced Sunday night that she is imposing an industry-wide 8.7 percent cut in oil production for the Cana dian province to deal with a storage glut that has hurt prices for Alberta oil. Premier Rachel Notley said output will be lowered 325,000 barrels a day in Janu ary because of shipment problems that she blames on a lack of pipelines. The gov ernment said the reduction will be evaluated monthly. Alberta produces 3.7 mil lion barrels a day, but that is 190,000 barrels more than can be shipped. About 35 million barrels are sitting in storage, and the oversupply results in the province’s crude selling for around $10 a bar rel, a fraction of what other world producers get. Notley said Canada’s econ omy is losing $60 million a day. The Alberta government believes the cut will increase the price per barrel by four dollars a barrel by spring “I want to be clear. This is a short term measure,” Notley said. “We are essentially giv ing our oil away for free... this is not sustainable.” Canada has the world’s third-largest oil reserves and is the top source of foreign oil for the U.S. Alberta needs new pipe lines to expand its export options for its growing oil sands production. At present, 97 percent of Canadian oil exports go to the U.S., which is awash with oil. The premier has already said the province will buy as many as 80 locomotives and 7,000 rail tankers, expected to cost hundreds of millions of dollars, to move the prov ince’s excess oil to markets, with the first shipments expected in late 2019. But she has said that rail cars, new pipelines and increasing domestic refining capacity would not bring relief soon enough. Notley called the produc tion cut a difficult decision because there is not consen sus in the industry. Cenovus Energy proposed a reduction last month and the idea has been supported by opposition politicians in Alberta, including United Conservative Party leader Jason Kenney. However, the Imperial and Husky com panies said Friday that they opposed non-voluntary pro duction cuts but supported the rail investments because that could help improve market access. A number of proposed pipelines have been delayed or rejected. Canada’s Federal Court of Appeal halted the conten tious Trans Mountain pipe line expansion that would nearly triple the flow of oil from the Alberta oil sands to the Pacific Coast — a setback that came just as the federal government bought the proj ect to help ensure it gets built amid strong environmental and aboriginal opposition in British Columbia. The court ordered the country’s National Energy Board to redo its review of the pipeline. A U.S. federal judge also blocked a permit for con struction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada and ordered officials to con duct a new environmental review. The federal Canadian gov ernment nixed Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway pipeline to the Pacific Coast, and TransCanada’s Energy East pipeline to the Atlantic Coast is also not going ahead. Stock Exchange Highlights I NYSE 12,577.54 +120.00 I Nasdaq 7,441.51 +110.98 Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg BiohvnPh n 42.62 AACHIdgs 2.32 LaredoPet 5.13 CenovusE 8.33 Vapothrm n 20.65 ArcusBio n 12.81 Seadrill n 15.26 TribMdaA 44.98 CrescPtE g 3.30 DenburyR 2.51 +8.63 +25.4 +.35 +17.8 +.76 +17.4 +.95 +12.9 +2.26 +12.3 +1.39 +12.2 +1.63 +12.0 +4.72 +11.7 +.34 +11.5 +.25 +11.1 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Aphria n 6.05 USCF ShOil 9.32 CgpVellCrd 11.82 UBS 3xlnvC 13.11 StoneMor 3.04 DxSPOGBr rs9.83 PrUShCrd S23.61 DrxNGBear rs29.37 -3.02 DxRsaBr rs 16.94 -1.62 NavMH pfH 4.50 -.43 -1.85 -23.4 -1.63 -14.9 -1.94 -14.1 -2.10 -13.8 -.46 -13.1 -1.11 -10.1 -2.49 -9.5 -9.3 -8.7 -8.7 Most Active ($1 on more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 1301986 781 +TT FordM 645065 9.60 +.19 BkofAm 598786 28.54 +.14 AT&T Inc 435129 31.71 +.47 TribMdaA 400572 44.98 +4.72 Aphria n 352854 6.05 -1.85 EnCana g 326024 7.11 +.39 SwstnEngy 318124 4.64 -.18 Alibaba 310535 163.74 +2.88 ChesEng 293031 3.09 +.17 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 2,103 726 52 2,881 75 113 4,117,103,116 Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Tesaro 73.50 GbIBIdT n 46.62 GuardntH n 45.94 VandaPhm 31.47 Greenpro n 3.32 Eyenovia n RevenHo n Apellis n Provent n AEtern g rs 4.24 3.50 18.06 2.70 3.87 +27.12 +15.08 +10.21 +6.43 +.55 +.67 +.53 +2.72 +.39 +.49 +58.5 +47.8 +28.6 +25.7 +19.9 +18.8 +17.8 +17.7 +16.9 +14.5 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg SiennaBi n 6.31 Hexindai n 3.18 AdialPh n 2.83 BorqsTch 4.34 TonixP hrs 4.04 RealmTh n 2.45 Sphr3D grs 4.34 KodiakSc n 7.95 OcularTher 5.73 Wilhelmina 5.67 -3.80 -37.6 -1.22 -27.7 -1.01 -26.3 -1.36 -23.8 -1.15 -22.2 -.53 -17.8 -.92 -17.5 -1.30 -14.1 -.93 -14.0 -.90 -13.7 Most Active ($1 or more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg AMD 1390621 CronosGp n444338 Tesaro 441729 Apple Inc 405115 AmEITech 365103 MicronT 356129 Microsoft 342750 ActivsBIiz 305308 Intel 299704 SiriusXM 273359 23.71 +2.41 10.17 +1.02 73.50 +27.12 184.82 +6.24 1.08 +.68 40.03 +1.47 112.09 +1.20 46.60 -3.28 50.13 +.82 6.32 +.09 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 1,913 1,017 142 3,072 71 85 2,536,753,149 Stocks of Local Interest Name Ex YTD Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC S 1.04 2.3 14 46.07 +.33 0.0 Haverty .72 3.4 22 21.23 +.74 -6.3 AT&T Inc 2.00 6.3 6 31.71 +.47 -18.4 Hershey 2.89 2.7 24 108.93 +.63 -4.0 AbbottLab 1.12 1.5 31 74.27 +.22 +30.1 HomeDp 4.12 2.3 20 181.74 +1.42 -4.1 ActivsBIiz .34 .7 27 46.60 -3.28 -26.4 Intel 1.20 2.4 19 50.13 +.82 +8.6 AMD 23.71 +2.41+130.6 IBM 6.28 5.0 9 125.31 +1.04 -18.3 Altria 3.20 5.7 18 55.73 +.90 -22.0 JohnJn 3.60 2.5 20 146.21 -.69 +4.6 AmEITech 1.08 +.68 -28.0 Lowes 1.92 2.0 21 94.29 -.08 +1.5 Aphria n 6.05 -1.85 -50.6 McDnlds 4.64 2.5 28 185.37 -3.14 +7.7 Apple Inc 2.92 1.6 19 184.82 +6.24 +9.2 Merck 2.20 2.8 30 79.22 -.12 +40.8 ATMOS 1.94 2.0 18 97.61 +1.94 +13.6 MicronT 3 40.03 +1.47 -2.7 AutoZone 18 824.46+15.39 +15.9 Microsoft 1.84 1.6 47 112.09 +1.20 +31.0 AveryD 2.26 2.3 27 96.19 -.21 -16.3 NewAgeB n ... 5.05 +.42+132.7 BB&T Cp 1.62 3.2 15 50.73 -.37 +2.0 NorflkSo 3.20 1.9 26 172.18 +1.44 +18.8 BP PLC 2.38 5.8 12 41.19 +.84 -2.0 OfficeDpt .10 3.1 9 3.25 +.02 -8.2 BkofAm .60 2.1 14 28.54 +.14 -3.3 Penney 1.44 +.01 -54.4 BarnesNob .60 8.1 7.42 -.15 +10.7 PepsiCo 3.71 3.1 34 118.98 -2.96 -.8 Boeing 6.84 1.9 34 359.96+13.20 +22.1 Pfizer 1.36 3.0 18 45.99 -.24 +27.0 BrMySq 1.60 3.0 53 53.28 -.18 -13.1 PhilipMor 4.56 5.2 21 87.08 +.55 -17.6 CSX .88 1.2 11 73.15 +.52 +33.0 Primerica 1.00 .8 14 117.89 -.99 +16.1 CampSp 1.40 3.6 14 38.76 -.44 -19.4 ProctGam 2.87 3.1 23 93.32 -1.19 +1.6 Caterpillar 3.44 2.5 13 138.95 +3.28 -11.8 RegionsFn .56 3.4 14 16.63 +.18 -3.8 ChesEng 5 3.09 +.17 -22.0 SiriusXM .05 .8 35 6.32 +.09 +17.9 Chevron 4.48 3.7 25 120.67 +1.73 -3.6 SouthnCo 2.40 5.1 22 47.49 +.16 -1.2 Cisco 1.32 2.7 24 48.74 +.87 +27.3 SwstnEngy 6 4.64 -.18 -16.8 Citigroup 1.80 2.8 11 65.16 +.37 -12.4 SunTrst 2.00 3.2 11 62.31 -.38 -3.5 CocaCola 1.56 3.1 94 49.69 -.71 +8.3 SynovusFn 1.00 2.6 14 38.20 +.39 -20.3 Comcast s .76 1.9 19 39.15 +.14 -1.9 Tesaro 73.50+27.12 -11.3 ConAgra .85 2.6 16 32.43 +.09 -13.9 3M Co 5.44 2.6 29 208.76 +.84 -11.3 CronosGp n ... 10.17 +1.02 +33.5 Torchmark .64 .7 7 86.55 +.14 -4.6 Cummins 4.56 3.0 42 152.47 +1.41 -13.7 TribMdaA 1.00 2.2 14 44.98 +4.72 +5.9 Disney 1.76 1.5 16 115.74 +.25 +7.7 Twitter 33.66 +2.21 +40.2 DowDuPnt 1.52 2.6 19 59.16 +1.31 -16.9 Tyson 1.20 2.0 11 60.27 +1.32 -25.7 EnCana g .06 .8 12 7.11 +.39 -46.7 UtdCmBks .64 2.5 15 25.55 -.30 -9.2 Equifax 1.56 1.5 18 102.98 +.31 -12.7 UPS B 3.64 3.2 19 115.27 -.02 -3.3 ExxonMbl 3.28 4.0 15 81.22 +1.72 -2.9 VerizonCm 2.41 4.1 7 58.16 -2.14 +9.9 Facebook 26 141.09 +.48 -20.0 Vodafone 1.74 8.2 21.26 -.23 -33.4 FordM .60 6.3 5 9.60 +.19 -23.1 WalMart 2.08 2.1 57 98.75 +1.10 0.0 FrptMcM .20 1.7 8 12.09 +.15 -36.2 Weathflntl .59 +.02 -85.8 GenElec .48 6.1 7.81 +.31 -55.3 WeisMk 1.24 2.7 11 46.07 +.27 +11.3 GenuPrt 2.88 2.8 23 104.20 +.49 +9.7 WellsFargo 1.72 3.2 13 54.24 -.04 -10.6 HP Inc .64 2.7 7 23.95 +.95 +14.0 YumBrnds 1.44 1.6 33 92.07 -.15 +12.8 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: 25,826.43 Change: 287.97 (1.1%) 27,200 26,400 25,600 24,800 26,000 25,120 24,240 10 DAYS J J A 3 O N 52-Week Net YTD 12-mo High Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg 26,951.81 23,344.52 Dow Industrials 25,826.43 +287.97 +1.13 +4.48 +6.33 11,623.58 9,565.44 Dow Transportation 10,850.44 +30.24 +.28 +2.24 +4.65 773.78 647.81 Dow Utilities 748.56 +6.64 +.90 +3.48 -1.86 13,637.02 11,820.33 NYSE Composite 12,577.54 +120.00 +.96 -1.81 -.45 8,133.30 6,630.67 Nasdaq Composite 7,441.51 +110.98 +1.51 +7.80 +9.83 1,309.73 1,118.69 S&P 100 1,238.63 +13.44 +1.10 +4.69 +6.23 2,940.91 2,532.69 S&P 500 2,790.37 +30.20 +1.09 +4.37 +5.72 2,053.00 1,769.25 S&P MidCap 1,895.32 +16.67 +.89 -.28 +.07 30,560.54 26,293.62 Wilshire 5000 28,768.57 +319.70 +1.12 +3.51 +4.97 1,742.09 1,436.43 Russell 2000 1,548.96 +15.69 +1.02 +.88 +1.08 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 247,729 258.58 +2.7 +7.6/A +11.5/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 199,057 69.60 +2.5 +7.0/B +11.0/A NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm LB 164,099 97.85 +2.7 +7.6/A +11.5/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 127,316 69.57 +2.5 +6.9/B +10.9/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv FB 126,316 16.32 +0.7 -6.7/B +2.7/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxins LB 119,661 69.62 +2.5 +7.0/B +11.0/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 116,372 255.11 +2.7 +7.6/A +11.5/A NL 5 ,000,000 Vanguard InsIdxInsPlus LB 101,648 255.13 +2.7 +7.6/A +11.5/A NL100,000,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInsPlus FB 94,240 109.18 +0.8 -6.6/B +2.8/B NL100,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 91,616 13.00 +1.8 +8.7/C +12.2/B NL 0 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 85,528 10.31 + 1.1 -1.5/C +2.0/C NL 3,000 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 84,654 72.66 +2.5 +3.3/A +7.9/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.
