About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (April 29, 2020)
Nate McCullough | News Editor 770-718-3431 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Midweek Edition - April 29-30, 2020 Trump orders meat plants to remain open Action to prevent shortage of food in supermarkets; industry leaders worry over worker safety BY JILL COLVIN Associated Press WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump took executive action Tuesday to order meat pro cessing plants to stay open amid concerns over growing coronavi- rus cases and the impact on the nation’s food supply. The order uses the Defense Pro duction Act to classify meat pro cessing as critical infrastructure to try to prevent a shortage of chicken, pork and other meat on supermar ket shelves. Unions fired back, saying the White House was jeop ardizing lives and prioritizing cold cuts over workers’ health. More than 20 meatpacking plants have closed temporarily under pres sure from local authorities and their own workers because of the virus, including two of the nation’s larg est, one in Iowa and one in South Dakota. Others have slowed pro duction as workers have fallen ill or stayed home to avoid getting sick. “Such closures threaten the con tinued functioning of the national meat and poultry supply chain, undermining critical infrastructure during the national emergency,” the order states. The United Food and Commer cial Workers International Union, which represents 1.3 million food and retail workers, said Tuesday that 20 food-processing and meat packing union workers in the U.S. have died of the virus. An estimated 6,500 are sick or have been exposed while working near someone who tested positive, the union says. As a result, industry leaders have warned that consumers could see meat shortages in a matter of days. Tyson Foods Inc., one of the world’s largest food companies, ran a full- page advertisement in The New York Times and other newspapers Sunday warning, “The food supply chain is breaking.” “As pork, beef and chicken plants are being forced to close, even for short periods of time, millions of pounds of meat will disappear from the supply chain,” it read. Tyson suspended operations at its pork plant in Waterloo, Iowa after a slew of infections, and Smithfield Foods halted production in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after an out break infected 853 workers there. The 15 largest pork-packing plants account for 60% of all pork processed in the U.S., and the coun try has already seen a 25% reduc tion in pork slaughter capacity, according to UFCW. A senior White House official said the administration was try ing to prevent a situation in which a “vast majority” of the nation’s meat processing plants might have temporarily closed operations, reducing the availability of meat in supermarkets by as much as 80%. The official said the White House was also working with the Labor Department to provide enhanced safety guidance for meatpacking workers. That will include trying to minimize the risk to workers who may be prone to serious complications from the virus, including strongly recom mending those over the age of 65 and with preexisting conditions stay home. Restrictions ease, but choices harder STEVEN SENNE I Associated Press Chris Harkins, of Somerville, Mass., left, speaks to a medical worker from behind a plastic shield before being administered a test for the coronavirus, Tuesday, April 28, at a testing site in a parking lot of a hospital in Somerville. As states reopen, Americans face decision whether to stay home BY CARLA K. JOHNSON, ADAM GELLER AND ERIC OLSON Associated Press Things were so much clearer when just about everything was locked down. Now, with states lifting their coronavi rus restrictions piecemeal and according to their own, often arbitrary, timetables, Americans are facing a bewildering mul titude of decisions about what they should and should not do to protect their health, their livelihoods and their neighbors. Is it safe now to join the crowds at the beach or eat at a restaurant? To visit the elderly parents you haven’t seen in nearly two months? To reopen a struggling business? In many cases, the less-than-satisfying answer from the experts is: It depends. “There will never be a perfect amount of protection,” said Josh Santarpia, a microbiology expert at the University of Nebraska Medical Center who is study ing the coronavirus. “It’s a personal risk assessment. Everybody has to decide what risk they’re willing to tolerate.” With the crisis easing in many places, France, Spain and Greece were among the latest countries Tuesday to announce roadmaps for restarting their economies. In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom said schoolchildren could be allowed to return to classrooms as early as July, though a formal decision had not yet been made. As restrictions loosen, health authorities will be watching closely for any sign of a resurgence of the virus. In the U.S., the uncertainty ahead was spotlighted in Georgia after businesses such as barber shops and tattoo parlors were given the go-ahead to reopen. Savannah Mayor Van Johnson said people could find the changes perplexing. “In reality we’re under a stay-at-home order until April 30,” Johnson said. “Yet you can go get your nails done, you can go get a tattoo, you can go to movie the aters, you can go to bowling alleys. It’s those kinds of things that leave people confused.” The decisions people make are likely to vary widely depending on where they live, and how close that puts them to known virus clusters. In Georgia, where COVID- 19 has killed at least 1,000, many new cases are still being reported. But even in places with fewer known infections, people are facing uneasy choices. In Omaha, Nebraska, where businesses can reopen next week, teachers Michelle and Mark Aschenbrenner said they are eager to return to restaurants they fre quented. Mark Aschenbrenner has set up an appointment for a long-delayed haircut. “I think we’re four weeks too early,” he said of the plans to lift restrictions. But “I think I’ll probably still go because we’ve been stuck at home for seven weeks and we’re going stir crazy.” With warm weather enticing more peo ple to venture out in weeks ahead, it will be up to individuals to exercise caution. “You can’t swear that if somebody hap pens to cough on the beach chair to your left and then you have a breeze that blows that over across you, that you don’t have the exposure in that way,” said Dr. Mary- beth Sexton, infectious-disease specialist at Emory University School of Medicine. Latest round of SBA loans being issued BY JEFF GILL jgill@gainesvilletimes.com Banks started submitting loans Monday, April 27, for a second wave of federal stimulus-funded loans to help small businesses cover payroll and other key expenses. In the first 90 minutes, $3.2 billion in loans to 1,800 businesses nationally were approved, U.S. Small Business Administration regional director Ashley Bell said. Georgia totals weren’t immediately known. “We won’t have state breakdowns for a few days,” Bell said. The initial $349 billion set aside for the Pay- check Protection Program ran out on April 16, after being available for fewer than two weeks. An additional $310 billion for the program was approved last week. Bell said that $60 billion of that amount is “ded icated to small businesses that do not have pre existing relationships with banks. This will help rural and many minority-owned businesses.” The forgivable loans are meant to cover 2 Vi months of payroll, rent, mortgage interest and utility bills, with a loan limit of $10 million. “If you can show your lender that on June 30 that you kept (employees) on payroll, then we can forgive the entire loan,” Bell said. Banks can submit applications for loans already being sought by businesses before the first round of money for the program was exhausted, or “new applications while funds last,” Bell said. Slumping tech favorites pull major US stock indexes lower Wall Street jostled to a mixed finish Tuesday, as former stalwarts ran out of momentum and some of the market’s most beaten-down stocks turned into winners. The S&P 500 slipped 0.5% after stocks that have held up the best through this year’s sell- off fell to some of the market’s sharpest drops. They included health care companies, big tech titans and winners of the stay-at-home econ omy, such as Netflix and Amazon. Those are big companies, which give their movements outsized effect on the S&P 500. But nearly twice as many stocks rose in the index than fell. Among the winners were travel com panies, shopping-mall owners and other busi nesses that got hammered after widespread stay-at-home orders locked away their custom ers. Some U.S. states and nations around the world are gradually lifting restrictions imple mented to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Associated Press The Market in Review Stock Exchange Highlights NYSE 11,319.64 +54.80 f Nasdaq 8,607.73 -122.43 Gainers (§2 or more) Gainers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg NGLEn pfB 14.10 +4.10 +41.0 CreatReal 4.08 +3.08 +308.0 NGL EnPt 4.40 +1.15 +35.4 SyndaxP 19.50 +7.99 +69.4 GasLog 4.50 +.91 +25.3 BioCrdia n 5.18 +1.80 +53.1 AMC Ent 4.14 +.78 +23.2 KuraOnc 15.52 +5.10 +48.9 Diebold 5.23 +.98 +23.1 RTI Surg 2.96 +.92 +45.1 BlueLinx 5.95 +1.10 +22.7 MarlinBs 8.41 +2.39 +39.7 Tuppwre 2.58 +.46 +21.7 CpstnTurrs 2.05 +.55 +36.7 AG MtgpfB 10.45 +1.85 +21.5 SellntCon 3.31 +.75 +29.3 VoyaPrRTr 3.95 +.70 +21.5 AegleaBio 7.11 +1.56 +28.0 HovnanE 11.91 +2.03 +20.5 SmDirCI n 6.71 +1.32 +24.5 Losers (§2 or more) Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg CNXResc 10.70 -2.20 -17.1 DarioHIt rs 7.44 -2.01 -21.3 Ampco 3.60 -.72 -16.7 YldlOBi rs 6.43 -1.48 -18.7 K12 22.01 -3.03 -12.1 OxfSqCap 2.58 -.57 -18.1 Arconic n 8.20 -.95 -10.4 BlueprtM 58.63 -12.27 -17.3 CarvanaA 82.96 -7.35 -8.1 FNCB Be 5.26 -.91 -14.7 MaidnHpfD 5.40 -.45 -7.7 Menus 14.80 -2.56 -14.7 ChesEng rs 29.18 -2.32 -7.4 Harmonic 5.66 -.90 -13.7 ChesEn pfD 3.96 -.31 -7.3 Gaiam A 8.82 -1.34 -13.2 Nabors rs 11.41 -.89 -7.2 Mesoblast 10.07 -1.52 -13.1 AnteroRes 2.21 -.17 -7.1 Benefitfoc 9.91 -1.46 -12.8 Most Active ($1 OR MORE) Most Active ($1 OR MORE) Name Vol (00) Last Chg Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 1402657 6.80 +.37 AmAirlines1139359 11.26 +1.24 NordicAm 1106495 7.34 +.14 AMD 777112 55.51 -.98 FordM 1054289 5.38 +.21 CreatReal 648895 4.08 +3.08 Carnival 900996 14.46 +1.48 UtdAirlHI 596147 27.84 +2.84 DeltaAir 836478 24.34 +2.18 InovioPhm 539847 13.75 +.05 BkofAm 653739 23.89 +.42 BedBath 438269 6.65 +.24 ItauUnH 594758 4.25 +.45 Microsoft 340995 169.81 -4.24 Macys 569965 5.99 +.49 SiriusXM 339921 5.76 +.14 Ambev 564657 2.13 +.05 SmDirCI n 328009 6.71 +1.32 SwstAirl 539842 29.69 +.58 AytuBioS 307526 1.76 -.26 Diary Diary Advanced 1,965 Advanced 1,721 Declined 704 Declined 1,255 Unchanged 46 Unchanged 144 Total issues 2,715 Total issues 3,120 New Highs 30 New Highs 54 New Lows 5 New Lows 6 Volume 5,526,691,691 Volume 3,597,998,355 Stocks of Local Interest Name Ex YTD Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC 1.12 3.0 12 37.79 +.52 -28.6 InovioPhm 13.75 +.05 +316.7 AT&T Inc 2.08 6.8 14 30.65 +.11 -21.6 Intel 1.32 2.2 20 58.75 -.72 -1.8 AbbottLab 1.44 1.6 48 91.46 -3.49 +5.3 IBM 6.48 5.1 13 126.27 +.35 -5.8 AMD 55.51 -.98 +21.0 JohnJn 4.04 2.7 25 151.39 -2.90 +3.8 Altria 3.36 8.3 13 40.71 +.96 -18.4 Lowes 2.20 2.1 23 103.52 +1.55 -13.6 AmAirlines .40 3.6 4 11.26 +1.24 -60.7 Macys 2 5.99 +.49 -64.8 Apple Inc 3.08 1.1 26 278.58 -4.59 -5.1 McDnlds 5.00 2.7 28 185.93 +.04 -5.9 ATMOS 2.30 2.1 20 107.15 +1.60 -4.2 Merck 2.44 3.0 30 81.18 -2.80 -10.7 AutoZone 191055.45 -5.07 -11.4 Microsoft 2.04 1.2 33 169.81 -4.24 +7.7 AveryD 2.32 2.0 33 114.68 +.68 -12.3 NordicAm .13 1.8 7.34 +.14 +49.2 BP PLC 2.46 10.2 7 24.16 -.15 -36.0 NorflkSo 3.76 2.2 18 170.64 +3.77 -12.1 BkofAm .72 3.0 9 23.89 +.42 -32.2 OasisPet .58 +.04 -82.4 BedBath .68 10.2 6.65 +.24 -61.6 OcciPet 3.16 20.8 12 15.17 +1.02 -63.2 Boeing 12 131.30 +2.62 -59.7 OfficeDpt .10 4.5 6 2.21 +.17 -19.5 BrMySq 1.80 2.9 21 62.14 -.42 -3.2 Penney .28 +.03 -75.1 CSX 1.04 1.6 16 66.85 +.44 -7.6 PepsiCo 3.82 2.8 15 136.32 +1.86 -.3 CampSp 1.40 2.7 19 50.98 -.26 +3.2 Pfizer 1.52 4.0 15 37.91 -.42 -3.2 Carnival 2.00 13.8 3 14.46 +1.48 -71.6 PhilipMor 4.68 6.1 16 77.25 +2.33 -9.2 Caterpillar 4.12 3.6 10 115.46 +.26 -21.8 Primerica 1.60 1.6 12 100.91 +3.21 -22.7 Chevron 5.16 5.7 12 89.91 +.20 -25.4 ProctGam 3.16 2.7 27 116.89 -.56 -6.4 Cisco 1.44 3.4 17 42.49 -.57 -10.8 RegionsFn .62 5.8 8 10.69 +.21 -37.7 Citigroup 2.04 4.3 7 47.21 +.65 -40.9 SeanrM h .16 +.00 -70.0 CocaCola 1.64 3.5 29 46.74 -.04 -15.6 SouthnCo 2.50 4.3 27 58.06 -.42 -8.9 ConAgra .85 2.5 23 34.61 +.01 +1.1 SwstAirl .72 2.4 7 29.69 +.58 -45.0 CreatReal 4.08 +3.08 +166.7 SynovusFn 1.32 6.2 6 21.20 +1.36 -45.9 Cummins 5.24 3.3 45 161.08 +9.64 -10.0 TOP Sh rs .24 -.03 -70.3 DeltaAir 4 24.34 +2.18 -58.4 3M Co 5.88 3.7 22 157.61 +3.96 -10.7 Disney 1.76 1.7 14 106.21 +.15 -26.6 TruistFn 1.80 4.8 10 37.52 +.05 -33.4 Dupont rs 1.20 2.6 5 46.41 +2.59 -27.7 Tyson 1.68 2.7 11 62.80 +3.12 -31.0 Equifax 1.56 1.1 24 140.68 +2.59 +.4 UtdAirlHI 3 27.84 +2.84 -68.4 ExxonMbl 3.48 7.7 10 44.97 +1.03 -35.6 UtdCmBks .72 3.4 12 20.99 +1.20 -32.0 FordM 4 5.38 +.21 -42.2 UPS B 4.04 4.2 16 96.43 -6.12 -17.6 GenElec .04 .6 6.80 +.37 -39.1 VerizonCm 2.46 4.3 15 57.83 +.02 -5.8 GenuPrt 3.16 4.0 15 79.22 +1.69 -25.4 VisInkT hrs .24 -.05 -7.8 GlbeLife .75 .9 7 83.07 +.84 -20.9 Vodafone .96 6.9 13.93 +.09 -27.9 HP Inc .48 3.1 5 15.52 +.49 -24.5 WalMart 2.16 1.7 74 128.00 -.30 +7.7 Haverty .80 6.1 14 13.19 +.23 -34.6 WeisMk 1.24 2.4 12 51.38 +.67 +26.9 Hershey 3.09 2.3 29 134.25 -.86 -8.7 WellsFargo 2.04 7.1 6 28.87 +.46 -46.3 HertzGI 5.00 +.52 -68.3 WhitngPet 1.16 +.14 -84.2 HomeDp 6.00 2.8 22 217.63 -.13 -.3 YumBrnds 1.88 2.1 32 88.27 +.08 -12.4 iBio 1.12 +.20 +349.8 Zomedica .21 +.05 -36.9 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: 24,101.55 Change:-32.23 (-0.1%) 30,000 27,000 24,000 21,000 24,520 23,720 22,920 10 DAYS N D J F M A 52-Week Net YTD 12-mo High Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg 29,568.57 18,213.65 Dow Industrials 24,101.55 -32.23 -.13 -15.55 -9.37 11,359.49 6,481.20 Dow Transportation 8,407.32 +89.90 +1.08 -22.88 -22.49 963.80 593.52 Dow Utilities 804.93 -.87 -.11 -8.44 +1.89 14,183.26 8,664.94 NYSE Composite 11,319.64 +54.80 +.49 -18.64 -13.33 9,838.37 6,631.42 Nasdaq Composite 8,607.73 -122.43 -1.40 -4.07 +6.33 1,522.26 1,015.63 S&P 100 1,307.17 -12.96 -.98 -9.36 +.15 3,393.52 2,191.86 S&P 500 2,863.39 -15.09 -.52 -11.37 -2.80 2,109.43 1,181.96 S&P MidCap 1,629.89 +16.36 +1.01 -20.99 -17.30 34,616.78 21,955.54 Wilshire 5000 28,876.23 -113.90 -.39 -12.19 -5.04 1,715.08 966.22 Russell 2000 1,298.08 +16.20 +1.26 -22.20 -18.42 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 254,931 264.60 +12.8 -0.7/A +8.4/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 197,036 69.90 +13.2 -2.6/C +7.6/B NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm LB 187,816 99.33 +12.8 -0.6/A +8.4/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv FB 133,250 14.42 +8.0 -12.9/D -0.7/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 127,612 69.91 +13.2 -2.6/C +7.6/B NL 5,000,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 116,891 69.88 +13.2 -2.7/C +7.5/B NL 3,000 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 110,483 11.52 +2.0 +11.0/A +3.7/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInsPlus FB 102,872 96.45 +8.0 -12.8/D -0.6/B NL 100,000,000 Vanguard InsIdxInsPlus LB 100,330 255.70 +12.8 -0.6/A +8.4/A NL 100,000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 90,425 255.69 +12.8 -0.7/A +8.4/A NL 5,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 79,981 13.00 +12.7 +3.2/C +11.0/B NL 0 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 79,402 68.70 +8.7 +2.3/A +6.3/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.
