The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 27, 2018, Image 12

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The times., December 27, 2018, Image 12

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Newspaper Page TexttE3 BUSINESS Jeff Gill | Business reporter 770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Thursday, December 27, 2018 Ride away with a deal Photos courtesy EDMUNDS I Associated Press Top left: The 2019 Ford Fusion Hybrid. Top right: The 2018 Chevrolet Colorado. Above left: The 2019 Jeep Cherokee. Above right: The 2019 Honda Civic sedan. You can buy or lease these vehicles for under $400 a month BY CAMERON ROGERS Edmunds The average monthly payment for a new car hovers around $530, according to the recent Experian auto finance report. The average lease payment is $430. Edmunds thinks you can do better, and here’s proof: four vehicles that cost about $399 a month to purchase or lease. For buyers, we assumed a 72-month loan with a 6 percent interest rate. The loan financed to match the $399 per- month payment is $24,000. 2019 Honda Civic The Honda Civic is Edmunds’ favorite small car by a wide margin. Available as a sedan, coupe or hatchback, the Civic sets a high bar. We have a hard time deciding which we like best: the high-quality cabin materials, roomy interior, or punchy yet fuel-efficient optional turbocharged engine. The MSRP for the 2019 Civic EX-L sedan is $25,495, including destination fee. You can get a well-equipped model within the $399 budget. Current lease deal: Step back a model year and to a specific trim level for this one: Honda offers the base 2018 Civic LX sedan for less than $200 a month for 36 months with about $2,000 due at signing. With the full down payment rolled into the monthly payments, expect to pay between $225 and $250 per month. 2019 Jeep Cherokee The Jeep Cherokee doesn’t get as much attention as some rival crossover SUVs, but its strong engines and unrivaled off road ability make it one of the better picks on the market. Our recommended trim is the Latitude Plus, which has an MSRP of $27,690, including destination fee, and NEW YORK — Americans buoyed by a strong economy pushed holiday sales growth to a six-year high. Retail sales rose 5.1 percent between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24 from 2017, accord ing to Mastercard SpendingPulse, which tracked spending online and in stores across all payment types. “From shopping aisles to online carts, gets you appealing convenience features. Current lease deal: Jeep is offering a front-wheel-drive 2019 Jeep Cherokee Limited, one step above the Latitude Plus trim, for roughly $200 a month for 24 months with about $4,000 down. If you apply the entire down payment to the monthly payments, this Cherokee will cost between $350 and $375 per month. 2018 Chevrolet Colorado Getting a decently equipped pickup truck for under $400 a month is tricky. However, you should be able to get great deals if you’re willing to go with a 2018 version. For example, the Chevrolet Colorado offers robust towing capacities, a relatively smooth ride and easy-to-use controls. The LT trim will get you most of the latest convenience features you’ll likely want. The MSRP for the Extended Cab LT trim level is $28,095, but Chevro let’s current employee pricing discount consumer confidence translated into holi day cheer for retail,” said Steve Sadove, a senior adviser at Mastercard. Online sales continued to grow, up more than 19 percent from a year ago. Last week, Mastercard said online sales made up 13 percent of total retail sales. Clothing sold well this year — up 8 percent from last year, Mastercard said. Home furniture sales rose 2.3 percent, while electronics and appliances fell brings it down to $25,595. Current lease deal: There’s a 36-month lease on a rear-wheel-drive crew-cab LT for about $230 a month, with around $4,400 due at signing. If you roll the down payment into monthly payments, you’ll pay between $325 and $350 per month. 2019 Ford Fusion Hybrid It’s not the newest hybrid on the road. But the Ford Fusion Hybrid is still appeal ing thanks to its 42 mpg combined fuel economy rating, spacious cabin, comfort able seats and easy-to-use infotainment system. The SE trim level has an MSRP of $28,450, including destination fee, but during Ford’s holiday sale, the price comes down to $25,450. Current lease deal: Ford is offering the Titanium model for about $260 a month for 36 months, with $4,500 down. With the down payment, the monthly payment comes in at just under $400 a month. 0.7 percent. Shoppers spent less at department stores, which Mastercard said was partly due to store closings. But shoppers did head to department store websites, where sales rose 10.2 percent, Mastercard said. Traditional retailers have been updat ing their websites and smartphone apps and have been making it easier for shop pers to buy online and then pick up items later in the store. GERALD HERBERT I Associated Press Musicians perform in the French Quarter section of New Orleans, Nov. 11,2011. New Orleans seeks higher tourism taxes BY KEVIN MCGILL Associated Press NEW ORLEANS — A night’s stay at a New Orleans hotel can take as much as a 15 percent bite in taxes and fees. Yet barely more than 1 in 10 of those tax and fee dollars — out of an esti mated $166 million collected annually — finds its way into city coffers. That’s according to estimates by an inde pendent research agency that last calculated the figure in 2015. New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell’s still-new administration says the city needs and deserves a bigger share. When Cantrell took office in May, she inher ited many lingering infrastructure challenges: potholed streets, drainage problems and a drinking water system plagued by periodic boil- water advisories. But an attempt to get a bigger slice of that tourism revenue to address those needs could be a tall political order. Much of the money goes to major state-owned tourism draws: the Superdome as well as the massive Ernest N. Morial Convention Center beside the Mississippi River. Changing the flow of money would require legislative action. But so far the mayor’s call for a “fair share” for the city has gotten a cool reception from Gov. John Bel Edwards. “Over time, the city of New Orleans has not put one dollar into the building of the Super- dome, the building of the convention center; has not put one dollar into the operations of the Superdome or the Convention Center; has not put one dollar into the average, every-year renewal and refurbishment that has to take place,” said Steve Perry, one tourism booster. Perry is CEO of the nonprofit New Orleans & Company, which promotes local tourism. He recently unveiled the industry’s answer: a pro posal that, rather than cost the industry any of its current revenue stream, would raise the hotel tax another .55 percent in anticipation of another $6.7 million a year to meet infrastructure needs. Perry said the plan would be to immedi ately raise $81 million with a bond issue, to be financed with the new revenue stream. He said the money could be used to make repairs to the city’s infrastructure, and to develop a master plan for longer-term infrastructure spending. Strong economy translates into big holiday sales Associated Press Small business owners prepare for slowdown in volatile market BY JOYCE M. ROSENBERG Associated Press NEW YORK — The stock mar ket’s volatility this year has some small business owners decid ing to run their businesses more cautiously. Consumer spending and the economy are strong and many businesses report all is well. But some owners are worried because their customers are spending less. Some owners are thinking of taking fewer risks. One concern is that the gyrations are a harbinger of recession; investors tend to buy and sell based on what they think the economy will do in six to nine months. And while the market has been right before — as in mid- 2007, when it began falling half a year before the Great Recession began — it’s not foolproof. Ches ter Spatt, a finance professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tep- per School of Business, notes that when the market crashed in Octo ber 1987, “that fall was not really associated with a material change in business.” Still, when there’s volatility, “businesses may react, for exam ple by reducing their orders in advance,” Spatt says. What some owners are doing: — Cost-cutting is becoming a priority. In the home remodeling industry, contractors are using cheaper materials as customers lower their budgets on projects. The frugality extends to develop ers who build houses — they’re making smaller investments in new properties, says Kathy Barnes, who helps manage projects in the St. Louis area. — The Slumber Yard, which operates product review websites, will hire more slowly next year, co-owner Jeff Rizzo says. Own ers have been conservative about hiring since the recession, and market volatility is likely to make some even more cautious. They’re likely to deal with slower hiring in the same ways they’ve handled the lack of qualified candidates for their job openings: In a Bank of America survey released this month, owners said outsourcing work or taking on more tasks them selves were ways they’ve coped. They’re also training current staff ers to give them more skills. — Prospecting for business, something many owners do con tinually, is becoming more impor tant. Mark Ehrhardt, owner of Movers Not Shakers, a moving company in New York, is ready to start contacting mortgage brokers and building managers, who know of people selling their apartments and homes and moving. “You just have to be smarter and figure out where the activity is,” he says. — Entrepreneurs having a harder time getting investor money are putting Plan B together. When it looked like Steve and Bea Fisher wouldn’t get investors for a hardware store in a rural part of Nevada, the couple looked at their savings and began inquir ing about non-traditional lenders. But they found that lenders, even those catering to small businesses, offered only small amounts, some times $2,000 out of $10,000. The Market in Review Stock Exchange Highlights A NYSE K 11,204.09+434.26 1 Nasdaq 6,554.35 +361.44 Gainers (S2 or more) Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg ChesEng 2.19 +.46 +26.6 CalifRes rs 16.98 +3.06 +22.0 WildhRs n 14.45 +2.44 +20.3 LaredoPet 3.65 +.61 +20.1 HighPtRs 2.52 +.41 +19.4 VitaminSh 5.52 +.89 +19.2 MVOilTr 6.67 +1.02 +18.1 CVRRfng 9.86 +1.50 +17.9 BP Pm 19.76 +2.76 +16.2 ComstkRs rs 4.92 +.67 +15.8 Losers ($2 or more) IntegMed n 5.93 +1.53 +34.8 Verrican 9.13 +2.28 +33.3 AdialPh n 6.31 +1.36 +27.5 NF EngSv 14.99 +3.07 +25.8 LiquidTch n 27.44 +4.83 +21.4 eGain 6.60 +1.15 +21.1 Gold Bull n 4.57 +.78 +20.6 Qutoutiao n 6.12 +1.04 +20.5 ObsEvan 12.96 +2.16 +20.0 USA Tch If 3.90 +.65 +20.0 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg DxSPOGBrrsI 7.47-7.97 -31.3 DrxNGBear rs50.79-17.85 -26.0 CgpVellCrd 14.90 -4.52 -23.3 UBS 3xlnvC16.22 -4.93 -23.3 USCF ShOil11.87 -3.39 -22.2 DxSOXBr rs14.07 -2.92 -17.2 DirSPBear S32.39 -5.77 -15.1 PrUShCrd S28.14 -4.99 -15.1 PrUShD3 rs20.36 -3.53 -14.8 PrShRs2K rs41.40 -6.94 -14.4 Most Active ($1 on more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg PShtQQQ rs17.34 -3.91 -18.4 Reebonz 2.98 -.60 -16.8 Ever-Glory 3.40 -.60 -15.0 Civista pf 58.10 -9.03 -13.5 XBiotech n 5.16 -.80 -13.4 BioXcelT n 2.41 -.37 -13.3 Youngevt n 4.71 -.72 -13.2 KBS Fash rs 2.64 -.39 -12.9 EnteraBin 3.00 -.43 -12.5 VirTran 3.00 -.43 -12.5 Most Active ($1 or more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 1297233 7.39 +.47 BkofAm 1005915 24.11 +1.38 ChesEng 759967 2.19 +.46 FordM 586169 7.85 +.22 AT&T Inc 573012 28.08 +.72 NokiaCp 359960 5.56 +.07 Twitter 354308 28.66 +2.21 Citigroup 318504 51.44 +2.18 ItauUnHs 277503 8.64 +.01 WellsFargo 277080 45.59 +1.99 Diary 2,526 323 39 2,888 4 772 4,167,836,823 AMD 1084825 17.90 +1.25 Apple Inc 581166 157.17+10.34 Microsoft 513266 100.56 +6.43 MicronT 456580 30.89 +1.87 Facebook 395235 134.18+10.12 Cisco 331779 42.47 +2.19 Intel 285701 46.19 +2.60 JD.com 251708 21.10 +1.35 Comcast s 222692 34.14 +1.07 SiriusXM 212999 5.73 +.22 Diary 2,378 588 110 3,076 6 671 2,492,026,645 Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Stocks of Local Interest YTD YTD Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC S 1.04 2.4 14 44.14 +1.81 0.0 HomeDp 4.12 2.4 18 168.28+10.14 -11.2 AT&T Inc 2.04 7.3 5 28.08 +.72 -27.8 Intel 1.20 2.6 17 46.19 +2.60 +.1 AbbottLab 1.28 1.8 30 69.62 +4.06 +22.0 IBM 6.28 5.6 8 111.39 +3.82 -27.4 AMD 17.90 +1.25 +74.1 JPMorgCh 2.24 2.3 13 95.96 +3.82 -10.3 Altria 3.44 7.1 15 48.43 +.87 -32.2 JohnJn 3.60 2.8 18 126.71 +3.87 -9.3 Apple Inc 2.92 1.9 16 157.17+10.34 -7.1 Lowes 1.92 2.1 20 91.04 +5.08 -2.0 ATMOS 1.94 2.2 17 90.12 +.79 +4.9 McDnlds 4.64 2.7 26 174.03 +3.75 +1.1 AutoZone 17 839.06+16.24 +17.9 Merck 2.20 3.0 28 74.00 +2.85 +31.5 AveryD 2.26 2.6 25 87.13 +3.34 -24.1 MicronT 3 30.89 +1.87 -24.9 BB&T Cp 1.62 3.8 12 42.83 +1.56 -13.9 Microsoft 1.84 1.8 42 100.56 +6.43 +17.6 BP PLC 2.38 6.3 11 38.06 +1.41 -9.4 NorflkSo 3.20 2.2 22 147.28 +7.49 +1.6 BkofAm .60 2.5 11 24.11 +1.38 -18.3 OfficeDpt .10 4.0 7 2.49 +.15 -29.7 BarnesNob .60 9.6 6.28 +.36 -6.3 Oracle .76 1.7 48 44.59 +1.90 -5.7 Boeing 8.22 2.6 29 313.93+19.77 +6.4 Penney 1.05 +.03 -66.8 BrMySq 1.64 3.3 50 50.03 +1.27 -18.4 PepsiCo 3.71 3.4 31 108.33 +2.30 -9.7 CSX .88 1.4 9 61.72 +2.96 +12.2 Pfizer 1.44 3.4 17 42.19 +1.64 +16.5 CampSp 1.40 4.1 13 34.25 +.83 -28.8 PhilipMor 4.56 6.8 16 66.86 +.89 -36.7 Caterpillar 3.44 2.8 12 124.76 +7.81 -20.8 Primerica 1.00 1.0 12 97.38 +6.00 -4.1 ChesEng 4 2.19 +.46 -44.7 ProctGam 2.87 3.2 22 90.09 +2.73 -1.9 Chevron 4.48 4.2 22 107.39 +6.40 -14.2 RegionsFn .56 4.2 11 13.39 +.82 -22.5 Cisco 1.32 3.1 19 42.47 +2.19 +10.9 RiteAid 1 .66 -.02 -66.5 Citigroup 1.80 3.5 9 51.44 +2.18 -30.9 Schlmbrg 2.00 5.5 21 36.61 +1.42 -45.7 CocaCola 1.56 3.3 89 46.94 +.98 +2.3 SiriusXM .05 .8 32 5.73 +.22 +6.9 Comcast s .76 2.2 16 34.14 +1.07 -14.4 SouthnCo 2.40 5.5 21 43.64 +.62 -9.3 ConAgra .85 4.0 12 21.43 +.47 -43.1 SwstnEngy 4 3.66 +.41 -34.4 Cummins 4.56 3.5 37 131.07 +5.58 -25.8 SunTrst 2.00 4.1 8 49.20 +2.30 -23.8 DenburyR 1.77 +.34 -19.9 SynrgyPh .09 +.02 -96.1 Disney 1.76 1.7 14 105.83 +5.48 -1.6 SynovusFn 1.00 3.1 11 31.81 +1.56 -33.6 DowDuPnt 1.52 2.9 17 52.23 +3.14 -26.7 3M Co 5.44 2.9 26 186.26 +7.64 -20.9 EnCana g .06 1.0 10 5.79 +.68 -56.6 Torchmark .64 .9 6 73.44 +2.83 -19.0 Equifax 1.56 1.7 16 92.70 +2.70 -21.4 Twitter 28.66 +2.21 +19.4 ExxonMbl 3.28 4.8 13 68.64 +3.13 -17.9 Tyson 1.20 2.3 9 52.06 +1.31 -35.8 Facebook 25 134.18+10.12 -24.0 UtdCmBks .64 3.0 13 21.39 +.92 -24.0 FordM .60 7.6 4 7.85 +.22 -37.1 UPS B 3.64 3.8 16 96.61 +6.72 -18.9 FrptMcM .20 1.9 7 10.40 +.62 -45.1 VerizonCm 2.41 4.4 7 54.44 +1.39 +2.9 GenElec .04 .5 7.39 +.47 -57.7 Vodafone 1.74 8.9 19.56 +.39 -38.7 GenuPrt 2.88 3.0 20 94.81 +2.96 -.2 WalMart 2.08 2.3 52 90.41 +4.59 -8.4 HP Inc .64 3.2 6 20.33 +.95 -3.2 Weathflntl .26 +.02 -93.9 Haverty .72 3.8 19 18.77 +.63 -17.1 WeisMk 1.24 2.7 11 46.21 +1.27 +11.6 HeliosM rs .01 -.00-100.0 WellsFargo 1.72 3.8 11 45.59 +1.99 -24.9 Hershey 2.89 2.7 23 105.63 +2.26 -6.9 YumBrnds 1.44 1.6 32 89.99 +2.97 +10.3 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: 22,878.45 Change: 1,086.25 (5.0%) 27,000 26,000 25,000 24,000 23,000 22,000 J A S O N D 52-Week Net YTD 12-mo High Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg 26,951.81 21,792.20 Dow Industrials 22,878.45+1086.25 +4.98 -7.45 -7.65 11,623.58 8,636.79 Dow Transportation 9,102.12 +464.97 +5.38 -14.23 -14.91 762.26 647.81 Dow Utilities 703.51 +11.51 +1.66 -2.75 -2.35 13,637.02 10,769.81 NYSE Composite 11,204.09 +434.26 +4.03 -12.53 -12.62 8,133.30 6,190.17 Nasdaq Composite 6,554.35 +361.44 +5.84 -5.06 -5.55 1,309.73 1,042.77 S&P 100 1,096.95 +54.18 +5.20 -7.29 -7.64 2,940.91 2,351.10 S&P 500 2,467.70 +116.60 +4.96 -7.70 -8.01 2,053.00 1,567.37 S&P MidCap 1,639.78 +72.38 +4.62 -13.72 -13.95 30,560.54 24,151.19 Wilshire 5000 25,366.85+1215.42 +5.03 -8.73 -8.96 1,742.09 1,266.93 Russell 2000 1,329.81 +62.89 +4.96 -13.40 -13.87 24,840. 23,260 21,680 10 DAYS 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 253,238 227.74 -7.5 -6.2/B +8.2/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 203,888 61.08 -8.0 -6.9/B +7.6/B NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm LB 164,099 85.81 -7.5 -6.1/B +8.2/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxinv LB 129,896 61.06 -8.0 -7.0/C +7.5/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinv FB 128,269 15.05 -4.9 14.4/B +1.0/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 123,279 61.09 -8.0 -6.9/B +7.6/B NL 5 000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 116,738 223.92 -7.5 -6.2/B +8.2/A NL 5 ,000,000 Vanguard InsidxInsPlus LB 104,731 223.93 -7.5 -6.1/B +8.2/A NL100,000,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinsPlus FB 95,758 100.69 -4.9 -14.3/B +1.1/A NL100,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 91,616 10.83 -5.6 -3.9/C +9.0/B NL 0 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 86,606 10.39 +1.4 -0.3/B +2.3/B NL 3,000 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 86,207 63.29 -4.6 -4.4/A +6.1/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.