The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current, December 29, 2018, Image 11

Georgia Historic Newspapers

The times., December 29, 2018, Image 11

About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2018)

Page of 16

Prev Issue Next Issue

Text PDF JP2 (2.9 MB) Clip/Print Image

Page of 16

Prev Issue Next Issue

Return to Top

Newspaper Page TextJeff Gill | Business reporter 770-718-3408 | jgill@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Saturday, December 29, 2018 BUSINESS STEVEN SENNE I Associated Press A Centaur robot rests on a carpeted floor between desks at Endeavor Robotics in Chelmsford, Mass., Aug. 28. Army searches for a few good robots, sparks industry battle BY MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press CHELMSFORD, Mass. — The Army is looking for a few good robots. Not to fight — not yet, at least — but to help the men and women who do. These robots aren’t taking up arms, but the companies making them have waged a different kind of battle. At stake is a contract worth almost half a billion dollars for 3,000 backpack sized robots that can defuse bombs and scout enemy positions. Competi tion for the work has spilled over into Congress and federal court. The project and others like it could someday help troops “look around the corner, over the next hillside and let the robot be in harm’s way and let the robot get shot,” said Paul Scharre, a military technology expert at the Cen ter for a New American Security. The big fight over small robots opens a window into the intersection of technology and national defense and shows how fear that China could surpass the U.S. drives even small tech startups to play geopolitics to outmaneuver rivals. It also raises questions about whether defense technology should be sourced solely to American companies to avoid the risk of tampering by foreign adversaries. Regardless of which companies prevail, the competition foreshad ows a future in which robots, which are already familiar military tools, become even more common. The Army’s immediate plans alone envi sion a new fleet of 5,000 ground robots of varying sizes and levels of autonomy. The Marines, Navy and Air Force are making similar investments. “My personal estimate is that robots will play a significant role in combat inside of a decade or a decade and a half,” the chief of the Army, Gen. Mark Milley, said in May at a Senate hearing where he appealed for more money to modernize the force. Milley warned that adversaries like China and Russia “are investing heav ily and very quickly” in the use of aer ial, sea and ground robots. And now, he added, “we are doing the same.” Such a shift will be a “huge game- changer for combat,” said Scharre, who credits Milley’s leadership for the push. The promise of such big Pentagon investments in robotics has been a boon for U.S. defense contractors and technology startups. But the situation is murkier for firms with foreign ties. Concerns that popular commercial drones made by Chinese company DJI could be vulnerable to spying led the Army to ban their use by soldiers in 2017. And in August, the Pentagon published a report that said China is conducting espionage to acquire foreign military technologies — sometimes by using students or researchers as “procurement agents and intermediaries.” At a December defense expo in Egypt, some U.S. firms spotted what they viewed as Chinese knock-offs of their robots. Tesla names independent board members Associated Press NEW YORK — Tesla named two independent board members Friday as part of a settlement with U.S. regulators who demanded more oversight of CEO Elon Musk. Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison and Kathleen Wilson- Thompson, an executive vice president at Walgreens Boots Alliance, join the board as independent directors, effec tive immediately. Musk got into trouble with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early August when he said in a tweet that he had “funding secured” to take the electric car com pany private at $420 per share. The SEC accused Musk of committing securities fraud, saying that the funding had not been secured and that he had duped investors who drove shares of Tesla up by 11 percent on the day of the tweet. Several weeks later, Musk said the go-private deal was off. Regulators initially wanted to force Musk out of his job as CEO, but agreed to accept $20 million in pen alties from both Musk and Tesla. Musk did agree to step down as chairman for at least three years, but acknowl edged now wrong-doing. Despite the agreement, Musk has continued to clash with regulators. Just days after settling the case, Musk taunted the government via Twitter, referring to the SEC as the “Shortseller Enrichment Commission.” Musk has had a long-run ning feud with short sellers, a category of investors that have bet that the price of Tesla stock will fall. So far, Musk is winning that fight. Shares of Tesla Inc. are up more than 20 per cent since his clash with the SEC. Tesla named Austra lian telecommunications executive Robyn Denholm as board chairwoman last month as part of its agree ment with the SEC. Although Denholm brings much- needed financial and auto industry expertise to Tesla -- which has struggled to pro duce cars and make money -- there hasn’t been a marked change in Musk’s unorthodox behavior, at least when com pared with other chief exec utives at major corporations that are publicly traded. Tesla shares slumped 6 percent in early September after Musk was seen appear ing to smoke marijuana dur ing an interview that made the rounds on YouTube. Wall Street faces yearly losses despite gains for week BY ALEX VEIGA Associated Press Wall Street capped a week of volatile trading Friday with an uneven finish and the market’s first weekly gain since November. Losses in technology, energy and industrial stocks out weighed gains in retailers and other consumer-focused companies. Stocks spent much of the day wavering between small gains and losses, ultimately unable to maintain the momentum from a two-day winning streak. Even so, the major stock indexes closed with their first weekly gain in what’s been an otherwise painful last month of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Aver age and S&P 500 rose more than 2 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq added nearly 4 percent. The indexes are still all down around 10 percent for the month and on track for their worst December since 1931. “It seems like convulsions in either direction have been the real norm for much of December and that’s certainly been the case this week,” said Eric Wiegand senior portfolio manager for Private Wealth Manage ment at U.S. Bank. “The initial push higher and then seeing it subside a little bit is perhaps getting back to a little bit more of a normal environment, reflecting the reality that we have still a number of issues overhanging the market.” The market’s sharp downturn since October has inten sified this month, erasing all its 2018 gains and nudging the S&P 500 closer to its worst year since 2008. Investors have grown worried that the testy U.S.- China trade dispute and higher interest rates would slow the economy, hurting corporate profits. This week, with trading volumes lower than usual because of the Christ mas holiday, served up some pronounced swings in the market. A steep sell-off during the shortened trading session on Christmas Eve left the major indexes down more than 2 percent. On Wednesday, stocks mounted a stun ning rebound, posting the market’s best day in 10 years as the Dow shot up more than 1,000 points for its biggest single-day point gain ever. The market appeared ready to give much of those gains back on Thursday, before a late-afternoon rever sal that erased a 600-point drop in the Dow left the mar ket with a two-day winning streak. “The market was so oversold and then Wednesday and Thursday were key reversal days, but also stronger closes than opens,” said Janet Johnston, portfolio man ager at TrimTabs Asset Management. “The market was starting to price in the worst-case scenario: a recession,” Johnston said Still, the market’s downturn has left stocks substan tially less expensive than they were heading into the fourth quarter, Johnston noted. “And that sets up a good buying opportunity,” she said. On Friday, the S&P 500 index fell 3.09 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,485.74. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 76.42 points, or 0.3 percent, to 23,062.40. The average had briefly climbed to 243 points. The Nasdaq added 5.03 points, or 0.1 percent, to 6,584.52. The Russell 2000 index of smaller-company stocks climbed 6.11 points, or 0.5 percent, 1,337.92. Technology companies, a big driver of the market’s gains before things deteriorated in October, were among the big decliners. Alliance Data Systems dropped 1.4 percent to $149.82. Oil prices recovered after wavering in midmorning trading. Benchmark U.S. crude rose 1.6 percent to settle at $45.33 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, inched up 0.1 percent to close at $52.20 a barrel in London. Despite the rise in oil prices, energy sector stocks declined. Cabot Oil & Gas slid 3.5 percent to $22.95, while Hess lost 2.8 percent to $40.38. Retailers and other consumer-focused companies fared better. Amazon rose 1.1 percent to $1,478.02. Wells Fargo rose 0.5 percent to $45.78 on news that the lender has agreed to pay $575 million in a national settlement with state attorneys general over its fake bank accounts scandal. The San Francisco-based bank has acknowledged that its employees opened millions of unauthorized bank accounts for customers in order to meet unrealistic sales goals. The Market in Review Stock Exchange Highlights A NYSE Jj| 11,290.95 +5.64 1 Nasdaq 6,584.52 +5.03 Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg MaidnH pfD 7.95 +2.44 +44.3 Maiden pfC 8.08 +2.47 +44.0 QntmDSS rs 2.04 +.54 +36.0 Maiden prA 8.76 +2.06 +30.7 AspenAero 2.17 +.44 +25.4 Kingsway 2.33 +.44 +23.3 WashPrpfl 15.50 +2.33 +17.7 Zymewks n 13.65 +1.95 +16.7 ION Geo rs 5.56 +.74 +15.4 Dynags pfA 20.50 +2.67 +15.0 Losers ($2 or more) vTvTherap 2.27 +1.24+120.4 CoolHI rs 2.02 +.69 +51.9 CarverBc If 3.44 +.73 +26.9 KewnSc 29.30 +6.00 +25.8 OpkoHIth 3.16 +.63 +24.9 PermaFix 2.49 +.46 +22.7 ZosanoP rs 2.27 +.42 +22.7 MedalDivn 8.70 +1.60 +22.5 UnumTh n 4.52 +.82 +22.2 ProteonTh 2.25 +.40 +21.6 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg GranSP n 19.37 -4.49 -18.8 GbX ChHI n 13.70 -1.17 -7.9 LSB Inds 5.40 -.46 -7.8 Prin Cont n 22.19 -1.73 -7.2 GbIXPakist 8.03 -.55 -6.4 AnteroRes 9.21 -.62 -6.3 Earthstone 4.59 -.31 -6.3 X Finl n 4.20 -.28 -6.3 Coeur 4.42 -.27 -5.8 DxGBull rs 16.28 -.95 -5.5 Most Active ($1 on more) SellncREIT 7.55 -9.93 -56.8 CLPSIncn 2.25 -1.07 -32.2 Uxin Ltd n 5.08 -1.51 -22.9 Energous 5.87 -1.17 -16.6 ObalonT n 2.25 -.36 -13.8 CTI Inds 3.00 -.44 -12.8 PepperFd n 5.56 -.81 -12.7 SmaashEnt 2.32 -.33 -12.5 MarinSft rs 6.12 -.83 -11.9 PintecTc n 9.34 -1.16 -11.0 Most Active ($1 or more) Name Vol(00) Last Chg Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 1215548 7.51 +.24 BkofAm 779752 24.39 +.02 AT&T Inc 475486 28.46 +.31 FordM 472969 7.81 -.04 ChesEng 417984 2.15 -.06 Oracle 391409 44.82 -.15 BarrickG 382382 13.12 -.59 NokiaCp 333535 5.81 +.18 Pfizer 241736 42.96 + .11 WellsFargo 236232 45.78 +.25 AMD 1085829 17.82 +.33 Apple Inc 417401 156.23 +.08 vTvTherap 407518 2.27 +1.24 Microsoft 381605 100.39 -.79 MicronT 289056 31.57 -.36 Intel 247018 46.75 +.39 Cisco 224472 42.77 -.14 Facebook 223496 133.20 -1.32 OpkoHIth 177029 3.16 +.63 JD.com 166277 21.71 +.01 Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Diary 1,796 1,029 63 2,888 85 3,653,426,301 Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Diary 2,025 918 119 3,062 7 100 2,135,102,951 Stocks of Local Interest YTD Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC S 1.04 2.3 14 44.95 O o CO o AT&T Inc 2.04 7.2 6 28.46 +.31 -26.8 AbbottLab 1.28 1.8 30 71.09 +.46 +24.6 AMD 17.82 +.33 +73.3 Altria 3.44 7.0 15 48.89 +.19 -31.5 Aphria n 6.26 +.69 -48.9 Apple Inc 2.92 1.9 16 156.23 +.08 -7.7 ATMOS 1.94 2.1 17 91.66 +.46 +6.7 AutoZone 17 839.01 -4.03 +17.9 AveryD 2.26 2.5 25 88.83 -.49 -22.7 BB&T Cp 1.62 3.8 12 42.95 -.03 -13.6 BP PLC 2.38 6.2 11 38.13 +.40 -9.3 BkofAm .60 2.5 12 24.39 +.02 -17.4 BarnesNob .60 9.2 6.50 +.26 -3.0 BarrickG .28 2.1 73 13.12 -.59 -9.3 Boeing 8.22 2.6 29 316.38 -.76 +7.3 BrMySq 1.64 3.2 50 50.94 +.53 -16.9 CSX .88 1.4 9 62.08 +.02 +12.9 CampSp 1.40 4.2 12 33.44 -.06 -30.5 Caterpillar 3.44 2.7 12 125.61 -1.06 -20.3 ChesEng 3 2.15 -.06 -45.7 Chevron 4.48 4.1 22 108.65 -.67 -13.2 Cisco 1.32 3.1 19 42.77 -.14 +11.7 Citigroup 1.80 3.5 9 51.83 +.06 -30.3 CocaCola 1.56 3.3 89 47.20 -.33 +2.9 ConAgra .85 4.0 12 21.18 -.04 -43.8 Cummins 4.56 3.5 37 131.66 -.92 -25.5 Disney 1.76 1.6 14 107.30 +.78 -.2 DowDuPnt 1.52 2.9 17 53.02 -.31 -25.6 EnCana g .06 1.0 10 5.82 +.01 -56.3 Equifax 1.56 1.7 16 92.86 -1.27 -21.3 ExxonMbl 3.28 4.8 13 68.17 -.77 -18.5 Facebook 25 133.20 -1.32 -24.5 FordM .60 7.7 4 7.81 -.04 -37.5 FrptMcM .20 1.9 7 10.47 -.20 -44.8 GenElec .04 .5 7.51 +.24 -57.0 GenuPrt 2.88 3.0 21 95.51 +.31 +.5 HP Inc .64 3.2 6 20.34 -.04 -3.2 Haverty .72 3.9 19 18.65 +.14 -17.7 HeliosM rs .02 +.00-100.0 Hershey 2.89 2.7 23 106.30 +.17 -6.4 YTD Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg HomeDp 4.12 2.4 19 170.22 -.10 -10.2 Intel 1.20 2.6 18 46.75 +.39 +1.3 IBM 6.28 5.6 8 113.03 -.75 -26.3 JPMorgCh 2.24 2.3 13 96.83 -.21 -9.5 JohnJn 3.60 2.8 18 127.27 -.14 -8.9 Lowes 1.92 2.1 20 91.87 +.01 -1.2 McDnlds 4.64 2.6 27 175.56 -.15 +2.0 Merck 2.20 2.9 28 75.37 -.01 +33.9 MicronT 3 31.57 -.36 -23.2 Microsoft 1.84 1.8 42 100.39 -.79 +17.4 NorflkSo 3.20 2.2 22 148.01 -.90 +2.1 OfficeDpt .10 4.0 7 2.52 +.09 -28.8 Oracle .76 1.7 48 44.82 -.15 -5.2 Penney 1.03 +.06 -67.4 PepsiCo 3.71 3.4 32 110.36 +.94 -8.0 Pfizer 1.44 3.4 17 42.96 +.11 +18.6 PhilipMor 4.56 6.8 16 67.27 +.59 -36.3 Primerica 1.00 1.0 12 96.16 -.86 -5.3 ProctGam 2.87 3.1 23 91.18 -.84 -.8 RegionsFn .56 4.2 11 13.35 -.01 -22.7 RiteAid 1 .69 +.04 -65.0 SnapIncAn ... 5.71 +.36 -60.9 SouthnCo 2.40 5.5 21 43.95 ... -8.6 Square n 55.87 -.28 +61.1 SunTrst 2.00 4.0 9 49.78 +.24 -22.9 SynovusFn 1.00 3.1 11 31.96 +.55 -33.3 3M Co 5.44 2.9 26 189.37 -1.33 -19.5 Torchmark .64 .9 6 73.85 -.45 -18.6 Transocn 7.01 +.30 -34.4 Twitter 28.43 -.25 +18.4 Tyson 1.20 2.3 10 52.34 -.15 -35.4 UtdCmBks .64 3.0 13 21.39 +.12 -24.0 UPS B 3.64 3.8 16 96.53 -1.25 -19.0 VerizonCm 2.41 4.4 7 55.27 +.12 +4.4 Vodafone 1.74 8.9 19.51 +.21 -38.8 vTvTherap 2.27 +1.24 -62.2 WalMart 2.08 2.3 53 92.13 +.54 -6.7 Weathflntl .40 +.08 -90.3 WeisMk 1.24 2.6 11 46.85 +.73 +13.2 WellsFargo 1.72 3.8 11 45.78 +.25 -24.5 YumBrnds 1.44 1.6 33 91.61 +.65 +12.3 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: 23,062.40 Change: -76.42 (-0.3%) 27,000 26,000 25,000 24,000 23,000 22,000 J A S 0 N D 52-Week Net YTD 12-mo High Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg 26,951.81 21,712.53 Dow Industrials 23,062.40 -76.42 -.33 -6.70 -6.70 11,623.58 8,636.79 Dow Transportation 9,109.13 -45.11 -.49 -14.16 -14.16 762.26 647.81 Dow Utilities 711.94 +1.05 +.15 -1.58 -1.58 13,637.02 10,723.66 NYSE Composite 11,290.95 +5.64 +.05 -11.85 -11.85 8,133.30 6,190.17 Nasdaq Composite 6,584.52 +5.03 +.08 -4.62 -4.62 1,309.73 1,041.66 S&P 100 1,104.34 -.83 -.08 -6.66 -6.66 2,940.91 2,346.58 S&P 500 2,485.74 -3.09 -.12 -7.03 -7.03 2,053.00 1,565.76 S&P MidCap 1,646.49 -.75 -.05 -13.37 -13.37 30,560.54 24,129.49 Wilshire 5000 25,541.17 -10.46 -.04 -8.11 -8.11 1,742.09 1,266.93 Russell 2000 1,337.92 +6.10 +.46 -12.87 -12.87 24,440 23,060 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 253,238 229.46 -9.2 -5.7/A +8.4/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 203,888 61.55 -9.5 -6.5/B +7.8/B NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm x LB 164,099 86.36 -9.2 -5.7/A +8.4/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 129,896 61.54 -9.5 -6.6/B +7.7/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv FB 128,269 15.10 -5.7 14.8/C +0.9/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 123,279 61.57 -9.5 -6.5/B +7.8/A NL 5 000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 116,738 225.61 -9.2 -5.7/A +8.4/A NL 5 ,000,000 Vanguard InsIdxInsPlus LB 104,731 225.62 -9.2 -5.7/A +8.4/A NL100,000,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInsPlus FB 95,758 101.03 -5.7 -14.7/B +1.0/A NL100,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 91,616 10.91 -8.1 -3.6/C +9.2/B NL 0 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 86,606 10.43 +1.8 -0.1/B +2.4/C NL 3,000 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 86,207 63.73 -5.0 -4.1/A +6.2/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.