About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 28, 2020)
Nate McCullough | News Editor 770-718-3431 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Saturday, March 28, 2020 Poultry companies take precautions against COVID-19 BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Georgia’s poultry industry says it’s taking “extraordinary measures” to protect employ ees from COVID-19 while continuing to produce over 31 million pounds of chicken and 7 million eggs daily. “Food safety and the safety of our employees remain our top priorities,” according to a statement from Gaines ville-based Georgia Poultry Federation. The measures include enhancing sanitation routines at processing plants, height ening employee screening for any signs of illness, requir ing workers to leave work and seek medical attention as needed, and increased frequency of hand washing/ sanitation for employees. “In normal times, poultry processing facilities employ practices that are designed to reduce pathogens within production facilities for food safety purposes,” the state ment says. During the coronavirus pandemic, “poultry opera tions are using the exper tise that they have in these sanitation and hygiene areas to expand these activities to protect employees from exposure and the spread of COVID-19.” The federation also notes that food suppliers are on the U.S. Department of Home land Security’s list of “essen tial critical infrastructure workers. “We are proud of the role that the employees working in the poultry industry play ... during these challenging times,” the federation said. “The poultry industry takes this responsibility seriously. “Poultry processors and egg producers will continue to do all that they can to produce the food that is vital during this recovery period, while implementing science-based measures to protect employ ees working in our facilities. ” “We’re running full,’’said Tom Hensley, president of Fieldale Farms poultry com pany. “The demand for our chicken is unbelievable. If you’ve been to the grocery store, you know what I mean. ” As for plants, “we are sanitizing everything in our break rooms and restrooms,constantly,” he said. “We’ve eliminated all touching. (Employees are) washing their hands constantly.” The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has set up workplace guide lines during the health crisis, including setting up “alternat ing days or extra shifts that reduce the total number of employees in a facility at a given time, allowing them to maintain distance from one another while maintaining a full onsite work week.” Also, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has a “fre quently asked questions” webpage that addresses food safety, among other topics. “We are not aware of any reports at this time of human illnesses that suggest COVID- 19 can be transmitted by food or food packaging,” the site says. “However, it is always important to follow good hygiene practices when han dling or preparing foods.” The Georgia Poultry Labo ratory Network, based in North Hall, also has released a statement concerning its practices. The facility monitors and tests for diseases, such as avian influenza, and inspects hatcheries to ensure the state’s poultry flock is healthy for consumption. “We have canceled all visi tors and meetings,” executive director Louise Dufour-Zav- ala said. “We disinfect the laboratory spaces and com mon areas daily, and practice social distancing.” Employees with any respi ratory symptoms “are asked not to come to work,” she said. “Our plan also includes a rotation schedule of some of our employees.” “If we had to send every one home because of an expo sure in the laboratory, we would do a complete disinfec tion and bring back the team of employees on rotation that would run only the absolutely essential tests for the poultry industry to continue its opera tions,” Dufour-Zavalasaid. For now, the lab is open and “offering the same ser vices as normal, albeit with slightly longer turnaround times,” she said. Also, “we have been able to receive some specimens from other laboratories and states after some of those have had to reduce operations.” IMF head: global economy in recession The head of the Interna tional Monetary Fund said Friday it is clear that the global economy has now entered a recession. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the 189-nation lending agency was forecasting a recovery in 2021, saying it could be a “sizable rebound.” But she said this would only occur if nations succeed in containing the coronavirus and limiting the economic damage. “A key concern about a long-lasting impact of the sudden stop of the world economy is the risk of a wave of bankruptcies and layoffs that not only can undermine the recovery but erode the fabric of our societies.” Associated Press ‘We went ahead and sent everybody home’ Times file photo Kubota Manufacturing. Kubota closes buildings early Friday for cleaning after employee reports positive coronavirus test BY NICK WATSON nwatson@gainesvilletimes.com Kubota Manufacturing of America Corp. closed its Gainesville build ings early Friday, March 27, after an employee informed them of a posi tive COVID-19 test result. Kubota Vice President Phil Sutton said the employee called around 2 p.m. Friday and sent an image of the test results. “As soon as we got that, we went ahead and sent everybody home,” Sutton said. Sutton said the employee was working Wednesday, March 25, but went home after feeling unwell. The closing also allowed them to “spend a little extra time cleaning one of our buildings out of an abun dance of caution,” Sutton said. “The others were shut down because that building that we decided to clean is our supply-chain building, so they cannot operate without (it). Three of the buildings were just shut down just because we couldn’t move parts, so we decided to just shut down an hour early today so that we could do that cleaning,” he said. Sutton said there is a plan to open on Monday, March 30, and this is the only employee that’s reported a posi tive COVID-19 test result. “We wanted to make sure that anybody that he was exposed to was notified that there is a potential expo sure,” Sutton said. $2.2T bill offers economic lifeline BY PAUL WISEMAN AND JOYCE M. ROSENBERG Associated Press WASHINGTON — In the coronavi rus crisis, even doctors can face a cash crunch. Dr. Benjamin Ticho, an ophthal mologist in Chicago Ridge, Illinois, has seen his revenue plunge 80% as patients stay home and he cancels non-emergency surgeries. He’s cut his staff’s hours sharply and is negotiat ing with his creditors. “We’ve reached out to many of our bigger vendors and said, ‘Hey, we may be facing a cash crunch — can you give us a break, or at least defer payments?’ Many have been sympa thetic,” said Ticho, who owes loans on medical equipment. He’s giving his patients a break, too, by holding off for now on collecting their unpaid balances. The record $2.2 trillion emergency relief package that President Don ald Trump signed into law Friday is aimed at businesses like Ticho’s and people like his patients: Caught in a public health lockdown that has closed companies and brought eco nomic life to a standstill, they are at risk of running out of money and being unable to pay bills or meet daily expenses. The idea behind the measure is to give companies and families a cash cushion to better weather the health crisis and looming recession. When it’s safe to go back to work, dine out and book airline tickets again, the thinking goes, they’ll be more finan cially ready to return to something closer to normal life. “It will inject trillions of dollars of cash into the economy as fast as possible to help American workers, families, small businesses and indus tries make it through this disruption and emerge on the other side ready to soar,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who helped negotiate the package. So Congress is sending a one-time payment directly to most American adults and U.S. residents with Social Security numbers. That amounts to $1,200 for single adults earning up to $75,000 a year and $2,400 for mar ried couples earning up to $150,000, plus $500 per child. Someone filing as head of household would get the full payment if they earn $112,500 or less. The payment is reduced by $5 for each $100 that a taxpayer’s income exceeds those thresholds, and is completely phased-out for single fil ers with incomes exceeding $99,000, $146,500 for head of household filers with one child, and $198,000 for joint filers with no children. The package will also help replace the earnings of unemployed workers for four months, providing them with their state’s unemployment benefits plus an extra $600 a week. For the first time, gig economy workers such as Uber drivers can claim unemploy ment benefits, too. The support for individuals and households is especially important because the social safety net in Amer ica isn’t as strong as it is in the wealthy developed countries of Europe. The package includes $50 billion in tax credits for businesses that keep employees on payroll and will cover 50% of those workers’ paychecks. Companies can also defer payment of the 6.2% Social Security tax, giving them an incentive to put off layoffs at a time when ordinary business has come to a halt. Stock Exchange Highlights 1 NYSE 10,187.21 -349.07 B Nasdaq V 7,502.38 -295.16 Gainers ($2 OR MORE) Name Last Chg %Chg NexPoint n 9.45 NescoHId 3.55 AGMtgpfB 9.98 Anwrth pfA 16.10 AresCmcl 8.79 MFA pfB CooTek Nautilus NaviosAc 9.70 6.85 2.80 4.40 AG MtgpfA 10.18 +2.39 +33.9 +.71 +25.0 +1.98 +24.8 +2.96 +22.5 +1.54 +21.2 +1.60 +19.8 +1.09 +18.9 +.44 +18.6 +.63 +16.7 +1.45 +16.6 Losers (S2 Name Last OR MORE) Chg %Chg 4.55 6.57 11.07 RoadrTr rs Regis Cp Brinker NorwCruis 12.02 ArlingAst 2.66 CrestEq JeldWen Adient PBF Engy SpiritAero 3.80 9.76 9.17 6.36 29.74 -2.38 -34.3 -2.21 -25.2 -3.43 -23.7 -3.69 -23.5 -.74 -21.8 -1.05 -21.6 -2.68 -21.5 -2.45 -21.1 -1.64 -20.5 -7.13 -19.3 Most Active ($1 OR MORE) Name Vol (00) Last Chg MFAFncI 1416837 Aurorae 1278640 FordM GenElec BkofAm Carnival ExxonMbl Boeing AT&T Inc 1061888 930507 914031 644464 515467 476466 463626 1.86 1.03 5.19 7.62 21.60 14.41 36.95 +.16 +.13 -.06 -.50 -1.12 -3.41 -1.87 162.00 -18.55 29.84 -.76 NorwCruis 440834 12.02 -3.69 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 575 2,136 23 2,734 2 37 6,061,537,402 Gainers ($2 OR MORE) Name Last Chg %Chg EdtcX un h EdtechX h THL Credit FormulaSy ChiCustR GrnP LP Bio-Path ClovisOnc Eton Ph NYMtT pfB 18.25 +7.06 +63.1 17.00 +5.65 +49.8 2.94 +.96 +48.5 55.28 +16.22 +41.5 6.03 +1.71 +39.5 7.10 +1.78 +33.5 5.07 +1.24 +32.4 7.13 +1.73 +32.0 4.36 +1.03 +30.9 11.00 +2.50 +29.4 Losers ($2 Name Last OR MORE) Chg %Chg Michaels 2.02 BGC Ptrs 2.42 HoughMH 2.10 Exagen n 13.12 SthPlainF n 12.29 BIckDia n 24.11 SciGames 8.34 KuraSun 11.47 PDC Engy 6.29 RadNet 9.33 -.76 -27.3 -.84 -25.8 -.72 -25.5 -4.33 -24.8 -3.46 -22.0 -6.73 -21.8 -2.25 -21.2 -3.02 -20.8 -1.50 -19.3 -2.21 -19.2 Most Active ($1 0R more) ' Vol (00) Last Chg Name Groupon 1251529 1 AMD Microsoft Tilray BlO-key Apple Inc AmAirlines 505277 MicronT 396916 743714 46. 569618 149. 551809 9. 531075 1. 509683 247. 14. 43. InovioPhm 354082 Intel 316247 52. .28 +.26 .58 -.92 .70 -6.41 .10 +1.20 .05 +.51 .74 -10.70 .04 -1.62 .48 -1.31 .32 +1.17 .37 -3.17 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 743 2,320 115 3,178 12 37 3,850,905,751 Stocks of Local Interest Name Ex Div Yld PE Last YTD Chg %Chg AFLAC 1.12 3.2 11 35.40 -.37 -33.1 Hershey 3.09 2.4 28 130.84 -1.61 -11.0 AT&T Inc 2.08 7.0 13 29.84 -.76 -23.6 HomeDp 6.00 3.1 19 190.55 -4.66 -12.7 AbbottLab 1.44 1.9 39 74.56 -1.25 -14.2 InovioPhm 8.32 +1.17 +152.1 AMD 46.58 -.92 +1.6 Intel 1.32 2.5 18 52.37 -3.17 -12.5 Altria 3.36 9.2 12 36.64 ... -26.6 IBM 6.48 6.0 11 108.03 -4.86 -19.4 AmAirlines .40 2.8 5 14.04 -1.62 -51.0 JohnJn 3.80 3.1 20 123.16 -3.41 -15.6 Apple Inc 3.08 1.2 23 247.74-10.70 -15.6 Lowes 2.20 2.5 19 86.98 -1.13 -27.4 ATMOS 2.30 2.4 18 97.41 +1.14 -12.9 MFA Fncl .80 43.0 2 1.86 +.16 -75.7 AuroraC 1.03 +.13 -52.3 MGM Rsts .60 4.9 4 12.19 -1.26 -63.4 AutoZone 15 851.63-33.36 -28.5 MarathnO .20 5.7 3.52 -.36 -74.1 AveryD 2.32 2.3 29 100.31 -1.68 -23.3 McDnlds 5.00 3.0 25 164.01 -3.34 -17.0 BlO-key 1.05 +.51 +110.0 Merck 2.44 3.4 27 71.73 -1.80 -21.1 BP PLC 2.46 11.0 7 22.35 -2.07 -40.8 MicronT 5 43.48 -1.31 -19.2 BkofAm .72 3.3 8 21.60 -1.12 -38.7 Microsoft 2.04 1.4 30 149.70 -6.41 -5.1 Boeing 8.22 5.1 15 162.00-18.55 -50.3 NorflkSo 3.76 2.6 15 143.36 -3.56 -26.2 BrMySq 1.80 3.4 17 52.79 +.54 -17.8 NorwCruis 3 12.02 -3.69 -79.4 CSX 1.04 1.8 14 56.29 -2.28 -22.2 OcciPet 3.16 27.2 9 11.61 -1.22 -71.8 CampSp 1.40 3.2 16 44.19 +.60 -10.6 OfficeDpt .10 6.4 4 1.57 -.33 -42.7 Carnival 2.00 13.9 3 14.41 -3.41 -71.7 Penney .38 -.02 -65.7 Caterpillar 4.12 3.9 10 105.44 -5.06 -28.6 PepsiCo 3.82 3.2 13 120.46 +.20 -11.9 ChesEng 1 .17 -.02 -79.4 Pfizer 1.52 4.9 12 30.90 -.85 -21.1 Chevron 5.16 7.5 10 68.78 -7.60 -42.9 PhilipMor 4.68 6.8 14 69.15 -2.01 -18.7 Cisco 1.44 3.7 15 38.82 -1.76 -18.5 Primerica 1.60 1.8 11 89.96 +1.88 -31.1 Citigroup 2.04 4.7 6 43.80 -2.22 -45.2 ProctGam 2.98 2.7 25 110.17 +2.79 -11.8 CocaCola 1.64 3.8 26 42.81 -1.48 -22.7 RegionsFn .62 6.4 7 9.67 -.18 -43.6 ConAgra .85 3.0 18 27.92 +.07 -18.5 SouthnCo 2.48 4.4 26 56.01 +.87 -12.1 Cummins 5.24 4.0 37 131.66 -3.30 -26.4 SynovusFn 1.32 7.2 5 18.34 -.25 -53.2 DeltaAir 1.61 5.4 4 29.55 -2.15 -49.5 TOP Sh rs .24 +.16 -70.6 Disney 1.76 1.8 13 96.40 -8.96 -33.3 3M Co 5.88 4.4 18 133.24 -2.94 -24.5 Dupont rs 1.20 3.5 4 33.83 -2.12 -47.3 Tilray 9.10 +1.20 -46.9 EgyTrnsfr 1.22 25.6 6 4.77 -.31 -62.8 TruistFn 1.80 5.4 8 33.27 -1.01 -40.9 Equifax 1.56 1.3 21 119.55 -2.10 -14.7 Tyson 1.68 2.9 11 58.59 -2.64 -35.6 ExxonMbl 3.48 9.4 9 36.95 -1.87 -47.0 Uber Tch n 27.28 -.84 -8.3 FordM .60 11.6 4 5.19 -.06 -44.2 UtdCmBks .72 3.8 11 18.76 -.66 -39.2 FrptMcM .20 3.2 4 6.20 -.79 -52.7 UPS B 4.04 4.1 16 97.52 -2.26 -16.7 GenElec .04 .5 7.62 -.50 -31.7 VerizonCm 2.46 4.7 14 52.77 -.77 -14.1 GenuPrt 3.16 4.9 12 64.46 -4.18 -39.3 Vodafone .96 6.7 14.32 -.47 -25.9 GlbeLife .75 1.1 6 71.23 -1.08 -32.2 WalMart 2.16 2.0 63 109.58 -.24 -7.8 Groupon 1.28 +.26 -46.4 WeisMk 1.24 3.2 9 38.64 +.06 -4.6 HP Inc .70 4.2 5 16.86 -1.08 -18.0 WellsFargo 2.04 6.7 7 30.28 -.62 -43.7 Haverty .80 6.5 13 12.37 -.68 -38.6 YumBrnds 1.88 2.7 24 68.53 -7.22 -32.0 Name Ex Div Yld PE Last YTD 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: 21,636.78 Change:-915.39 (-4.1%) 30,000 27,000 24,000 21,000 23.200 20,700 18.200 10 DAYS O N D J F M 52-Week Net YTD 12-mo High Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg 29,568.57 18,213.65 Dow Industrials 21,636.78 -915.39 -4.06 -24.18 -16.55 11,359.49 6,481.20 Dow Transportation 7,699.18 -346.29 -4.30 -29.37 -26.03 963.80 593.52 Dow Utilities 758.93 +1.01 +.13 -13.68 -2.54 14,183.26 8,664.94 NYSE Composite 10,187.21 -349.07 -3.31 -26.78 -19.77 9,838.37 6,631.42 Nasdaq Composite 7,502.38 -295.16 -3.79 -16.39 -2.94 1,522.26 1,015.63 S&P 100 1,162.30 -42.20 -3.50 -19.41 -7.13 3,393.52 2,191.86 S&P 500 2,541.47 -88.60 -3.37 -21.34 -10.33 2,109.43 1,181.96 S&P MidCap 1,422.92 -48.61 -3.30 -31.03 -24.96 34,616.78 21,955.54 Wilshire 5000 25,500.57 -884.83 -3.35 -22.46 -12.87 1,715.08 966.22 Russell 2000 1,131.99 -48.33 -4.09 -32.15 -26.48 Mutual Funds Name Total Assets Obj (SMIns) NAV Total Return/Rank 4-wk 12-mo 5-year Pet Load Min Init Invt Vanguard 500ldxAdmrl LB 291,923 234.52 -14.5 -7.6/B +6.4/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 229,930 61.76 -15.9 -9.7/C +5.5/B NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm LB 219,332 88.54 -14.5 -7.6/B +6.4/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv FB 148,997 13.35 -17.5 -17.0/D -1.1/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 145,296 61.77 -15.9 -9.7/C +5.5/B NL 5,000,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 131,757 61.74 -15.9 -9.8/C +5.4/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInsPlus FB 115,764 89.28 -17.5 -17.0/D -1.0/B NL 100,000,000 Vanguard InsIdxInsPlus LB 114,540 226.63 -14.5 -7.6/A +6.4/A NL 100,000,000 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 113,646 11.32 -0.2 +8.8/A +3.3/A NL 3,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 104,078 226.63 -14.5 -7.6/B +6.4/A NL 5,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 91,298 11.53 -11.9 -3.1/C +8.5/B NL 0 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 89,688 63.18 -11.1 -3.6/B +5.0/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.
