Newspaper Page Text
Nate McCullough | News Editor
770-718-3431 | news@gainesvilletimes.com
The Times, Gainesville, Georgia
Friday, June 28, 2019
BUSINESS
Zuckerberg seeks regulators’ help
Facebook head pushes for greater government counter-action against election interference
BY JOHANA BHUIYAN
Los Angeles Times
As public trust in Facebook’s
ability to wield its power respon
sibly has fractured in the face of
a series of privacy breaches and
other scandals, the company has
been facing fresh calls for regula
tion from numerous quarters of the
federal government.
But on one of the biggest issues
leading to that breakdown of trust,
its response to foreign election
interference, Facebook has made
significant progress, according to
Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg,
who made a rare public appear
ance at the Aspen Ideas Festival on
Wednesday.
In a discussion with Harvard
Law professor Cass Sun-
stein, Zuckerberg invited
regulators to set industry
wide privacy standards
and take a harder line with
foreign interference while
pushing back against calls
to break up Facebook.
“Results in elections
have been a lot cleaner
online due to a lot of the
work we and others have done in
partnership,” Zuckerberg said. Still,
he said, there are decisions about
what constitutes acceptable politi
cal speech and advertising that
Facebook, as a private company,
should not be making by itself.
“Whether regulation
comes in the form of demo
cratic process, legislation
or industry self-regulation,
we’re past the point where
it makes sense for Face-
book to unilaterally make
these decisions,” he said.
To combat misinfor
mation, the company has
hired 30,000 people whose
jobs include reviewing content for
accuracy. Rather than take down
content determined to be false,
moderators mark it as inaccurate,
disable any significant distribution
of that post and offer users accu
rate alternative sources as context.
But these tactics, even paired
with “sophisticated AI systems”
the company has built to detect
misinformation campaigns, aren’t
sufficient to combat foreign inter
ference akin to what was seen dur
ing the 2016 presidential election,
said Zuckerberg.
“We can defend as best as we can
but our government is the one that
has the tools to apply pressure to
Russia, not us,” he said. “One of the
mistakes I worry about is that after
2016 when the government didn’t
take any kind of counter-action the
signal that was sent to the world
was, OK, we’re open for business.”
Adding to the difficulty of rein
ing in misinformation, social
media platforms are being forced
to grapple with the relatively new
threat of so-called deep fakes, often
realistic video or audio that is fab
ricated using artificial intelligence.
Zuckerberg said the company is
currently “evaluating” its policies
around deep fakes and indicated
they might fall into a category of
their own. “I think it’s likely sen
sible to have a different policy and
to treat this differently than how
we treat normal false information
on the internet,” he said.
Zuckerberg
US economy makes Q1 gains
Economists forecast slowdown this year, 2021 rebound
MARCIO JOSE SANCHEZ I Associated Press
A cargo ship is docked at the Port of Los Angeles, June 19, in Los Angeles.
Wild Airbnb
parties bring
calls for action
BY MARTIN CRUTSINGER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The
U.S. economy grew at a
healthy 3.1 % rate in the first
three months of this year,
but signs are mounting that
growth has slowed sharply
in the current quarter amid
slower global growth and
a trade battle between the
United States and China.
The gain in the gross
domestic product was
unchanged from an esti
mate made a month ago,
the Commerce Depart
ment reported Thursday.
However, the components
of growth shifted slightly
with stronger business
investment and consumer
spending slowing more than
previously estimated.
Economists believe
growth has slowed sharply
in the current April-June
quarter to around 2%. They
expect similar meager gains
for the rest of the year.
The 3.1% growth in
the first quarter marked
a rebound from a 2.2%
growth rate in the fourth
quarter of last year. But it
was slower than a sizzling
increase of 4.2% in the
second quarter and a solid
increase of 3.4% in the
third quarter last year.
Last year’s strength was
powered by the imple
mentation of a $1.5 trillion
tax cut, President Donald
Trump’s signature domestic
achievement, and billions
in increased government
spending on the military
and domestic programs Con
gress approved in 2018.
However, the impact of
tax cuts and higher govern
ment spending are expected
to fade this year, leaving
the economy growing close
to the 2.2% average seen
over the 10 years of the cur
rent expansion, which will
become the longest in U.S.
history next month.
Economists at Capital
Economics are forecasting
growth will slow to 2.3 % this
year and further to 1.2% in
2020 before rebounding a
bit to 2% growth in 2021.
The Trump administra
tion disputes forecasts of a
U.S. slowdown, believing its
economic policies will lift
growth to 3% or better over
the next six years.
Trump, who is counting
on a strong economy as he
campaigns for re-election,
has pushed the Federal
Reserve to immediately
start cutting interest rates
to undo what he sees as the
damage from unnecessary
Fed rate hikes last year.
At its meeting last week,
the Fed signaled it was pre
pared to cut rates if needed
to protect the economy from
a growing trade dispute
between the US and China.
BY ELAINE S. P0VICH
Stateline.org
Just a couple of days
after a rowdy house party
at a short-term rental
property ended in gunfire
in a residential neighbor
hood in Rocklin, Calif.,
Erin Youman, a neighbor,
approached the City Coun
cil at its meeting.
“I’m concerned about the
welfare of our families on
Grove (Street), especially
after what happened over
the weekend. What’s the
plan?” she asked. “Can we
have something stricter?
I know it’s an Airbnb and
people have their right to
make money, but is there
something we can do to
make the environment a
little more regulated?”
Yes, responded Republi
can Mayor Joe Patterson,
who said he had asked his
staff to come up with some
new rules in the next month
or so. “We’re all shaken by
the incident that happened
over there,” he said.
Youman’s father, who
owns two homes in the
neighborhood that his
grown children live in, said
parties occasionally occur
at nearby short-term rental
homes. After the shooting,
he sent a message on the
Airbnb app to the owner of
the Grove Street property.
She said she would get back
to him, but didn’t.
“It bothers me that it’s in
a residential area not 100
yards from an elementary
school where my grand
sons go,” he said, adding
that anyone could rent the
home, including sex offend
ers and drug traffickers.
A number of violent inci
dents have been reported at
short-term rentals around
the country. This month,
a shooting at a graduation
party in Pittsburgh left two
dead and one injured.
Airbnb expressed horror
at the Pittsburgh homicide,
kicked the renter off the
site and pledged to work
with city police.
Christopher Elliott,
who runs the nonprofit
Elliott Advocacy based in
Prescott, Arizona, which
advocates for consumers,
said the isolated incidents
might not necessarily be a
reason to regulate the short
term rental market tightly.
He suggested people who
want to build a case against
Airbnb and other short
term rental companies
like would use these inci
dents as fuel. “Most renters
are responsible and don’t
do these kinds of things,”
he said. “I’m not sure we
should use this as a reason
to regulate Airbnbs.”
Ulrik Binzer of Host
Compliance, a consult
ing firm that helps cities
establish short-term rental
regulations, said while out-
of-control incidents are
rare, they often “become
the catalyst for (cities) tak
ing actions to regulate the
industry, because when
that happens, you can’t
ignore it anymore. ”
Binzer, whose company
collects statistics on short
term rentals, also said that
2% of the rental properties
“create 80% of the issues,”
and once regulations are in
place, cities can weed out
the bad ones.
Cities and states have
been grappling with short
term rentals, which have
exploded worldwide.
While most regulations
are imposed locally, states
have been getting into the
act too, with most of their
recent bills and laws aimed
at preempting local regu
lations that would clamp
down on the Airbnb-type
rentals. Many of the laws
stop local governments
from taxing, restricting
or eliminating short-term
rentals.
Build-a-Bear comment sparks outcry
BY BAILEY ALDRIDGE
Tribune News Service
RALEIGH, N.C. - A North Carolina
mom had requested tickets to Build-a-
Bear Workshop’s “Pay Your Age” event.
The event allows customers to pay
their age to make a bear, instead of pay
ing full price, according to the company.
Ashley Guevara’s 6-month-old daugh
ter, Dahlia, who had a genetic disease,
was “finally out of the hospital,” and
Guevara was excited for the experience
with her daughters, she told WTVD.
But Dahlia died last Thursday, the
same day Guevara found out she had
gotten a ticket to the event.
So she wrote to the company on Face-
book, asking if they would still honor
the ticket and allow her to build a bear
in her deceased daughter’s honor.
But Build-a-Bear told her no.
The company commented on her
post, saying the guest has to be pres
ent to pay their age as the event was
“designed to be an in store experience.”
The response received outrage.
“It still would be an ‘in-store expe
rience’ for the mother of the original
guest as well as her sister, why can it
not be in her honor? She’s present in
spirit. Your response sounds automated
& insensitive,” one person commented.
Build-a-Bear commented again, ask
ing Guevara to send a private message.
Then the CEO of the company called
her on Tuesday to apologize for the
original comment and offered her a
ALLEN EYESTONE I Tribune News Service
Build-a-Bear has reached out to a N.C.
woman who was denied her request to
make a bear for her deceased daughter.
free, personal chance to build a bear in
Dahlia’s honor, according to WTVD.
“It would mean the world to us,”
Guevara told WTVD.
The Market in Review
Stock Exchange Highlights
A NYSE
12.965.32 +53.31
1
Nasdaq
7,967.76 +57.79
Gainers ($2 OR MORE)
Name Last Chg %Chg
Gainers ($2 OR MORE)
Name Last Chg %Chg
HHughes
131.25-
+38.66
+41.8
JJill n
2.16
+.46
+27.1
RiteAid rs
8.57
+1.46
+20.5
OFG Bncp
23.66
+3.03
+14.7
CortsJCP
6.84
+.86
+14.4
Amrep
6.86
+.81
+13.4
NewHome
4.01
+.40
+11.1
CBD-Pao
24.35
+2.36
+10.7
PG&E Cp
23.95
+2.23
+10.3
BlueApr rs
7.03
+.65
+10.2
Losers ($2 or more)
ASVHIdn 6.86 +5.23+320.9
Cemtrex rs 3.80 +1.97+107.7
DovaPhn 13.46 +2.87 +27.1
ChinaSXT n 4.00 +.79 +24.6
Zogenix rs 47.65 +8.24 +20.9
MMTecn 12.94 +1.96 +17.9
MillerHer 44.09 +6.26 +16.5
AlkalWatrn 2.20 +.30 +15.8
AtossGen rs 2.58 +.35 +15.7
Forterra n 4.92 +.63 +14.7
Losers ($2 or more)
Name
Last
Chg %Chg
Name
Last Chg %Chg
ConAgra
25.43
-3.50
-12.1
Pier 1 rs
7.93
-.85
-9.7
TailorBr
5.75
-.44
-7.1
KeyEngy
2.00
-.15
-7.0
EmpOP60
14.44
-1.04
-6.7
Navistr pfD 24.25
-1.62
-6.3
Maiden pfC
4.65
-.29
-5.9
Hi-Crush
2.67
-.16
-5.7
Gain Cap
4.03
-.23
-5.4
Nabors
2.68
-.15
-5.3
Most Active ($1 0R more)
Name Vol (00) Last Chg
AclarisTh n 2.13 -2.32 -52.1
MaraPthrs 2.71 -.74 -21.4
RiotBIck 3.07 -.72 -19.0
Zynexn 8.69 -1.80 -17.2
MotusGI n 3.02 -.55 -15.4
BroadwdE 2.00 -.32 -13.8
SperoTh n 11.11 -1.71 -13.3
CollPlant 4.13 -.50 -10.8
AcerThrs 3.45 -.40 -10.4
Rosehill un 3.75 -.43 -10.3
Most Active ($1 0R more)
Name Vol (00) Last Chg
FordM
429088
10.20
+.29
BkofAm
340166
28.21
+.30
GenElec
332735
10.40
+.13
NokiaCp
309658
4.97
-.05
Petrobras
303504
15.54
-.32
ConAgra
286725
25.43
-3.50
AT&T Inc
281362
32.98
+.45
Ambev
266958
4.71
+.01
ChesEng
245934
1.88
-.03
Qudian n
241681
7.84
+.46
CaesarsEnt659513 11.66 +.04
AMD 554706 30.74 +.82
MicronT 514264 38.07 +1.03
Cemtrex rs 257614 3.80 +1.97
Cisco 239518 55.73 -.87
Intel 230575 47.46 -.73
IQIYIn 229847 20.03 +1.85
Apple Inc 205291 199.74 -.06
Comcast s 189819 42.00 -.11
SiriusXM 188807 5.57 +.04
Advanced
Declined
Unchanged
Total issues
New Highs
New Lows
Volume
Diary
1,943
798
84
2,825
81
29
3,023,901,317
Advanced
Declined
Unchanged
Total issues
New Highs
New Lows
Volume
Diary
2,210
731
146
3,087
44
56
1,961,111,404
Stocks of Local Interest
YTD
Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg
AFLAC s
1.08
2.0
17
54.55
+.31
+19.7
AT&T Inc
2.04
6.2
6
32.98
+.45
+15.6
AbbottLab
1.28
1.5
51
83.69
+.73
+15.7
AbbVie
4.28
6.1
12
70.00 +2.00
-24.1
AMD
30.74
+.82
+66.5
Altria
3.20
6.7
15
47.90
-.04
-3.0
Apple Inc
3.08
1.5
20
199.74
-.06
+26.6
ATMOS
2.10
2.0
19
104.83
+.75
+13.1
AutoZone
191084.08
-2.52
+29.3
AveryD
2.32
2.1
32
113.03 +2.68
+25.8
BB&T Cp
1.62
3.4
12
48.18
+.10
+11.2
BPPLC
2.44
5.9
12
41.62
-.46
+9.8
BkofAm
.60
2.1
11
28.21
+.30
+14.5
BarnesNob
.60
9.0
6.67
+.01
-5.9
BarrickGId
15
15.70
-.16
+32.5
Boeing
8.22
2.3
34
364.02-
■10.92
+12.9
BrMySq
1.64
3.6
15
45.10
+.18
-13.2
CSX
.96
1.3
20
76.45
+.27
+23.0
CaesarsEnt ...
11.66
+.04
+71.7
CampSp
1.40
3.5
15
39.75
-.71
+20.5
Caterpillar
3.44
2.5
12
135.50
+.35
+6.6
Cemtrex rs
3.80
+1.97
-17.2
ChangHI n
15.00
0.0
ChesEng
3
1.88
-.03
-10.5
Chevron
4.76
3.9
17
123.11
-.82
+13.2
Cisco
1.40
2.5
24
55.73
-.87
+28.6
Citigroup
1.80
2.6
10
68.15
+.93
+30.9
CocaCola
1.60
3.1
96
51.08
-.04
+7.9
Comcast s
.84
2.0
20
42.00
-.11
+23.3
ConAgra
.85
3.3
14
25.43
-3.50
+19.1
Cummins
4.56
2.7
47
168.25
-.66
+25.9
Disney
1.76
1.3
19
139.30
-1.10
+27.0
Dupont rs
.30
8
73.83
-.01
0.0
EnCana g
.07
1.4
8
5.01
-.03
-13.3
Equifax
1.56
1.2
23
132.43
+1.33
+42.2
ExxonMbl
3.48
4.6
17
75.82
-.78
+11.2
FordM
.60
5.9
8
10.20
+.29
+33.3
FrptMcM
.20
1.7
8
11.56
+.07
+12.1
FuelCell rs
.19
+.01
-97.1
GenElec
.04
.4
10.40
+.13
+37.4
GenuPrt
3.05
3.0
19
102.84
+.89
+7.1
YTD
Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg
HP Inc
.64
3.1
6
20.74
-.05
+1.4
Haverty
.72
4.2
18
17.03
+.26
-9.3
Hershey
2.89
2.1
29
134.88
+.73
+25.8
HomeDp
5.44
2.6
21
207.02
+.60
+20.5
IQIYI n
20.03
+1.85
+34.7
Intel
1.26
2.7
16
47.46
-.73
+1.1
IBM
6.48
4.7
14
138.52
+21.9
JohnJn
3.80
2.7
23
140.69
-1.16
+9.0
Lowes
2.20
2.2
22
99.36
+.12
+7.6
McDnlds
4.64
2.2
31
206.27
+1.72
+16.2
Merck
2.20
2.6
31
83.83
+.29
+9.7
MicronT
4
38.07
+1.03
+20.0
Microsoft
1.84
1.4
30
134.15
+.22
+32.1
NorflkSo
3.44
1.8
20
193.40
+.61
+29.3
OfficeDpt
.10
5.1
6
1.95
+.09
-24.4
Penney
1.10
-.04
+5.8
PepsiCo
3.82
2.9
15
131.69
-.63
+19.2
Pfizer
1.44
3.3
17
43.43
+.44
-.5
PhilipMor
4.56
5.9
16
77.92
+.54
+16.7
Primerica
1.36
1.1
15
121.38
+2.51
+24.2
ProctGam
2.87
2.6
25
109.78
+.05
+19.4
Qudian n
7.84
+.46
+82.8
RegionsFn
.56
3.8
11
14.58
+.15
+9.0
RiteAid rs
8.57
+1.46
0.0
SiriusXM
.05
.9
28
5.57
+.04
-2.5
SouthnCo
2.48
4.5
26
55.08
+.10
+25.4
SunTrst
2.00
3.3
11
61.51
-.07
+21.9
SynovusFn 1.20
3.5
9
34.09
+.59
+6.6
3M Co
5.76
3.4
24
171.50
-.38
-10.0
Torchmark
.69
.8
7
88.44
+.86
+18.7
Tyson
1.50
1.9
14
79.65
+.13
+49.2
Uber Tch n
45.13
+2.63
+8.6
UtdCmBks
.68
2.4
16
28.17
+.52
+31.3
UPS B
3.84
3.8
17
101.70
+1.73
+4.3
VerizonCm
2.41
4.2
7
57.25
+.26
+1.8
Vodafone
1.01
6.2
16.26
+.31
-15.7
WalMart
2.12
1.9
63
110.10
-.06
+18.2
WeisMk
1.24
3.4
9
36.30
+.37
-24.0
WellsFargo 1.80
3.9
10
46.29
+.49
+.5
YumBrnds
1.68
1.5
39
110.56
+.44
+20.3
Zynga
6.04
+.20
+53.7
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: 26,526.58
Change: -10.24 (flat)
25,960 10 DAYS
27,000
26,000
25,000
24,000
23,000
J
F M
A
M
J
52-Week
Net
YTD
12-mo
High
Low
Name
Last
Chg
%Chg
%Chg
%Chg
26,951.81
21,712.53
Dow Industrials
26,526.58
-10.24
-.04
+13.71
+9.54
11,623.58
8,636.79
Dow Transportation
10,308.53
+131.74
+1.29
+12.41
+.01
829.25
681.85
Dow Utilities
805.35
+.69
+.09
+12.96
+13.10
13,261.77
10,723.66
NYSE Composite
12,965.32
+53.31
+.41
+13.99
+3.92
8,176.08
6,190.17
Nasdaq Composite
7,967.76
+57.79
+.73
+20.08
+6.18
1,311.46
1,041.66
S&P 100
1,292.25
+3.42
+.27
+16.01
+8.21
2,964.15
2,346.58
S&P 500
2,924.92
+11.14
+.38
+16.68
+7.68
2,053.00
1,565.76
S&P MidCap
1,922.30
+23.68
+1.25
+15.59
-1.44
30,560.54
24,129.49
Wilshire 5000
30,069.41
+177.19
+.59
+16.78
+5.99
1,742.09
1,266.93
Russell 2000
1,546.55
+28.77
+1.90
+14.68
-5.99
Mutual Funds
Total Assets
Total Return/Rank
Pet
Min Init
Name
Obj
($Mlns)
NAV
4-wk
12-mo
5-year
Load
Invt
Vanguard 500ldxAdmrl
LB
257,672
269.83
+3.7
+10.5/B
+10.5/A
NL
3,000
Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl
LB
210,681
72.54
+3.5
+9.0/C
+10.0/A
NL
3,000
Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm
LB
183,845
102.07
+3.7
+10.5/B
+10.6/A
NL
0
Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv
FB
136,686
16.87
+4.3
+1.3/B
+2.2/B
NL
0
Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns
LB
130,348
72.56
+3.5
+9.0/C
+10.0/A
NL
5,000,000
Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv
LB
129,659
72.52
+3.5
+8.9/C
+9.9/B
NL
3,000
Vanguard InsIdxInsPlus
LB
108,815
264.79
+3.7
+10.6/B
+10.6/A
NL 100,000,000
Vanguard Insldxlns
LB
108,047
264.77
+3.7
+10.5/B
+10.5/A
NL
5,000,000
Vanguard TtlnSIdxInsPlus
FB
104,550
112.85
+4.3
+1.4/B
+2.3/B
NL 100,000,000
Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl
Cl
97,926
10.93
+2.1
+7.7/A
+2.9/A
NL
3,000
Fidelity Contrafund
LG
90,267
13.10
+4.0
+8.4/D
+12.4/B
NL
0
Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl
MA
85,706
71.13
+2.5
+10.4/A
+7.5/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 reinvest
ed. 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.