About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (May 13, 2020)
Nate McCullough | News Editor 770-718-3431 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Midweek Edition - May 13-14, 2020 Wall Street drops after worries over reopening BY STAN CHOE, DAMIAN J. TROISE AND ALEX VEIGA Associated Press Worries about the downside of reopening the economy too soon are weighing on markets, and Wall Street fell Tuesday to its biggest loss since the start of the month. The S&P 500 dropped 2.1% after spending much of the day drifting between small gains and losses, as investors debate whether the lifting of lockdowns across U.S. states and the world will drive an economic rebound or just more coronavirus infections. The concerns were summed up in straightfor ward testimony from the top U.S. infectious dis eases expert. Dr. Anthony Fauci told Congress that if the country reopens too soon, it could not only cause “some suffering and death that could be avoided, but could even set you back on the road to try to get economic recovery.” The S&P 500 fell 60.20 points to 2,870.12, with the losses accelerating sharply in the last hour of trading. Stocks of companies whose profits are most closely tied to the strength of the economy had some of the market’s sharpest drops. Trea sury yields also fell in a sign of increased caution. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 457.21 points, or 1.9%, to 23,764.78, and the Nasdaq composite lost 189.79, or 2.1%, to 9,002.55. Governments around the world and in some U.S. states have already begun gradually lifting restrictions on businesses, which were meant to slow the spread of the coronavirus outbreak but have also caused a severe recession. Expec tations that growth will resume following the reopenings have helped drive the S&P 500 up 28% since late March. But South Korea and other countries fur ther ahead in removing restrictions have also seen small but notable increases in infections recently. That’s raising worries about possible second waves of infections. The market will essentially be in wait-and-see mode for the next two to four weeks as investors gauge how the reopenings underway in several states are going, said Sal Bruno, chief invest ment officer at IndexIQ. Georgians reach for lotto tickets amid pandemic blues ATLANTA — Georgians may be spending a lot of time at home, but it’s not stopping them from playing the state lottery. Lottery sales set a monthly record in April after dropping in March, said Brad Bohannon, the Georgia Lottery Corp.’s vice president for government relations, That’s continuing in May, with Bohannon say ing two of the five highest sales weeks in lottery history have come this month. He credits much of the increase to a 50% jump in use of the lottery’s online options, which allow people to buy tickets and play dozens of online gambling games at home. The lottery has set sales and profit records for eight years, but Bohannon said that it may not reach that level for a ninth year, in part because of the huge ticket boost in the 2019-2020 budget year from a record $1.5 billion jackpot. Profit projections for the year have rebounded by $50 million with the increased purchases in April, to $1.11 billion, but remain below last year’s level for now. Bohannon said projections are likely to be revised up again at the end of May. Proceeds from the lottery finance college aid called Hope Scholarships and preschool classes. Associated Press ‘Somebody with a voice’ BEN MARGOT I Associated Press Vehicles are seen parked at the Tesla car plant Monday, May 11, in Fremont, Calif. The parking lot was nearly full at Tesla’s California electric car factory Monday, an indication that the company could be resuming production in defiance of an order from county health authorities. Musk becomes champion for businesses defying shutdown orders BY TOM KRISHER Associated Press At the Fit4All Gym in Lebanon, Illinois, owner David Tate considers Elon Musk a huge ally in the fight against government coronavirus orders that Tate says are driv ing him into the poorhouse. Tate reopened his 250-member gym in defiance of state orders on Monday, the same day Musk restarted his huge San Francisco Bay Area factory despite being told not to by the county Health Department. Like other business owners hit hard by coronavirus shutdown orders, Tate says Musk is a leader in the growing movement to reopen in the face of government orders, giving smaller businesses a boost and let ting them know they’re not in the fight alone. “We needed somebody with a voice as big as his to step up and say what he did,” Tate said. Musk, with 34 million Twitter follow ers, has openly defied an order from the Alameda County Health Department to conduct only minimum operations at the plant in Fremont, California, that normally employs 10,000 people. On Twitter he has made derisive comments about the coun ty’s top health official. He has called the stay-home restrictions “fascist” and said they rob people of freedom. While Musk is getting support on social media from his devoted followers and even President Donald Trump, his actions might cost him in the long run. Many who buy his expensive electric vehicles do so because they tilt to the left politically and want to make a statement about protect ing the environment. And they have criti cized Musk in the past when he’s allied too closely with Trump. For instance, early in Trump’s term, Musk got pushback for serving on two of the president’s business advisory councils. He stepped down after Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris climate accord. Still, Musk is admired by business own ers who think the government shouldn’t be telling them to stay closed if they’re willing to take precautions to reopen safely. Public health experts say shutting down businesses and orders that keep people at home have worked in limiting the virus’ spread and helping to keep many hospital systems from being overwhelmed. The coronavirus causes mild or moderate symp toms for most people, but it has claimed more than 80,000 lives in the U.S. alone. Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, warned bluntly Tuesday of suffering, death and deeper economic damage if state and local offi cials lift stay-at-home orders too quickly. “My concern is we will start to see little spikes that might turn into outbreaks,” he told senators at a hearing. “The conse quences could be really serious.” Tesla’s reopening flies in the face of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s statewide order, which allows counties to begin reopening if they meet benchmarks including testing capacity, hospitalizations and contact trac ing. Alameda County is behind on several, including completing fewer than 30 tests per day per 100,000 people; Newsom’s order requires counties to hit 200 tests per day. There are more than 2,100 cases in Alameda County and 74 deaths, putting the county’s infection rate at nearly 130 cases per 100,000 population — lower than Cali fornia’s average, but higher than several other Bay Area counties. Tesla’s factory reopened Monday with Musk practically daring local authorities to arrest him. The plant apparently continued operations on Tuesday. The company met a Monday deadline to submit a site-specific plan to protect worker safety, which Alam eda County’s Public Health Department is reviewing, said county spokeswoman Neetu Balram. The department has deemed the factory a nonessential business that can’t fully open under virus restrictions. The Fremont plant had been closed since March 23. Uber reportedly in talks to buy Grubhub BY ALLY MAROTTI Chicago Tribune Uber Technologies report edly is in talks to acquire Chi cago-based Grubhub, as the coronavirus pandemic con tinues to increase reliance on online food ordering. The potential acquisition would combine two of the top three food delivery platforms in the country, and give them a leg up over their remaining top competitor, DoorDash. “It makes sense,” said Ali Mogharabi, a senior equity analyst at Morningstar. “The acquisition of Grubhub ... fur ther strengthens the online food delivery side, UberEats.” Uber already has a com petitive advantage because it can sell food through Uber Eats to its ride -share custom ers, Mogharabi said. Adding Grubhub — and its diners and restaurants — to Uber’s reper toire would give it more of a boost. The competition for online food orders became fierce last year. New customers and new cities had fueled Grubhub’s growth, but CEO Matt Malo ney said in October that was no longer enough. The company needed to retain its own cus tomers and lure people away from competitors. The coronavirus shutdown has helped Grubhub attract new diners and the size of the orders being placed has grown, as restaurants have become dependent on pickup or delivery. But the company also has contended with upset restaurant operators and social media backlash during the pandemic over the fees it charges. Grubhub and its subsidiaries earned 28% of U.S. consumers’ meal delivery sales in March, according to Second Measure, a Bay Area-based company that analyzes purchase data. UberEats earned 20%, while DoorDash and its subsidiaries bested both at 42%. Together, UberEats and Grubhub could win the battle for consumers playing out on their smartphones, said Darren Tristano, CEO at Chicago-based food indus try research consultancy FoodserviceResults. “Consumers are creatures of habit. If they get comfort able with one app or another, they tend to use one app much more frequently,” he said. “If those combine, it increases the chances that consumers will use that combined app.” Still, it’s hard to say if a deal will be completed, Tristano said. Grubhub might not want to be taken over, and pushback might discourage Uber. Reports that Grubhub might be sold have been circling since January. The company “unequivocally” denied that there was any process in place to sell then, and said that there were no plans to do so. Maloney continued to shoot down rumors about a potential sale, telling investors during a February earnings call that the report “was and is not true.” Bloomberg News first reported on the potential acqui sition Tuesday morning. Grub- hub’s share price jumped about 27% on the news before trad ing was temporarily halted. Stock Exchange Highlights 1 NYSE 11,055.58 -225.78 B Nasdaq V 9,002.55 -189.79 Gainers ($2 OR MORE) Name Last Chg %Chg B&WEntrs 2.16 +.62 InvMtg pfA 18.90 +4.58 GrubHub 60.39+13.60 InvMtg pfB 17.90 +3.50 InvMtg pfC 17.69 +3.37 UtdNtrIF 15.51 +2.83 LeafGrp 2.06 +.36 VedantaLtd 4.98 +.85 PenRE pfB 5.64 +.78 AtHomGr 2.80 +.38 +40.3 +32.0 +29.1 +24.3 +23.5 +22.3 +21.2 +20.6 +16.1 +15.7 Losers (S2 Name Last OR MORE) Chg %Chg Eventbr 8.04 ChesEn pfD 2.43 ConturaE 3.19 FTS Int rs ArloTc Livent CypressEn GP Strat VinceHIg 4.86 2.31 5.53 4.50 5.87 4.59 ChesEng rs 10.E -2.49 -23.6 -.49 -16.7 -.62 -16.3 -.94 -16.2 -.44 -16.0 -1.02 -15.6 -.81 -15.2 -1.05 -15.2 -.82 -15.2 -1.92 -14.9 Most Active ($1 OR MORE) Name Vol (00) Last Chg GenElec 950927 UberTch 894127 FordM 707158 BkofAm 692324 ColonCap 546462 WellsFargo 533979 Transocn 510895 ItauUnH 482355 MarathnO 468197 GrubHub 460062 6.00 32.40 4.98 21.87 1.75 24.04 1.69 3.71 5.96 -.19 +.76 -.14 -.71 -.04 -.74 +.21 -.17 +.21 60.39+13.60 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 566 2,079 53 2,698 27 22 4,943,762,697 Gainers ($2 OR MORE) Name Last Chg %Chg CymaBay 4.18 Novavx 39.82 SupLeagu 4.55 VectlQ un h 38.50 Gamida 6.20 VectolQ h 27.10 CleBioh 2.16 Brdwind 2.15 AmPubEd 33.42 Datadog n 68.86 +2.34+127.2 +15.32 +62.5 +1.33 +41.3 +10.50 +37.5 +1.66 +36.6 +6.72 +33.0 +.48 +28.6 +.47 +28.0 +6.74 +25.3 +13.17 +23.6 Losers ($2 Name Last OR more) Chg %Chg Genfit AdvEmis Enoch ian AxellaHI Greensky CellectBi rs CommVIt InfoSvcs Identive If Fossil Grp 7.10 5.19 3.06 5.99 3.62 3.25 37.31 2.24 3.59 3.09 ■14.90 -67.7 -2.56 -33.0 -1.06 -25.7 -1.71 -22.2 -.82 -18.5 -.70 -17.7 -8.02 -17.7 -.45 -16.7 -.70 -16.3 -.57 -15.5 Most Active ($1 OR MORE) Name Vol (00) Last Chg RemrkHI h2320044 CymaBay 886890 Novavx 740410 AMD 554066 InovioPhm 551342 AmAirlines 464517 Apple Inc 403083 UtdAirlHI 400329 SiriusXM 320901 Microsoft 318826 1.88 +.09 4.18 +2.34 39.82+15.32 53.76 -1.98 12.90 +1.00 9.65 -.45 311.41 -3.60 22.76 -1.21 5.43 182.51 -.23 -4.23 Diary Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume 772 2,218 134 3,124 110 37 4,183,445,017 Stocks of Local Interest Name Ex Div Yld PE Last YTD Chg %Chg AFLAC 1.12 3.3 10 33.65 -1.76 -36.4 InovioPhm 12.90 +1.00 +290.9 AT&T Inc 2.08 7.2 13 28.89 -.49 -26.1 Intel 1.32 2.3 20 58.39 -1.74 -2.4 AbbottLab 1.44 1.5 50 93.80 -2.27 +8.0 IBM 6.52 5.5 12 120.26 -2.33 -10.3 AMD 53.76 -1.98 +17.2 JohnJn 4.04 2.7 24 147.14 -1.97 +.9 Akorn Inc .32 +.07 -78.7 Lowes 2.20 2.0 25 111.24 -2.15 -7.1 Altria 3.36 9.3 11 36.08 -.34 -27.7 MarathnO .20 3.4 5.96 +.21 -56.1 AmAirlines .40 4.1 3 9.65 -.45 -66.4 McDnlds 5.00 2.8 27 176.54 -4.34 -10.7 Apple Inc 3.28 1.1 29 311.41 -3.60 +6.0 Merck 2.44 3.2 29 77.19 -.72 -15.1 ATMOS 2.30 2.4 18 96.37 -.41 -13.8 Microsoft 2.04 1.1 36 182.51 -4.23 +15.7 AutoZone 191046.58 -7.30 -12.1 Microvisn .92 +.08 +27.8 AveryD 2.32 2.2 30 104.46 -4.35 -20.1 NorflkSo 3.76 2.3 18 166.79 -7.27 -14.1 BP PLC 2.46 10.7 7 23.06 -.44 -38.9 NorwCruis 3 11.09 -.64 -81.0 BkofAm .72 3.3 8 21.87 -.71 -37.9 Novavx 39.82+15.32 +900.5 Boeing 12 125.22 -3.69 -61.6 OfficeDpt .10 5.0 6 2.01 -.20 -26.6 BrMySq 1.80 2.8 21 63.35 +.69 -1.3 Penney .20 +.04 -82.2 CSX 1.04 1.6 15 64.16 -1.75 -11.3 PepsiCo 4.09 3.1 15 132.94 -1.44 -2.7 CampSp 1.40 2.7 19 52.40 +.44 +6.0 Pfizer 1.52 4.1 15 37.36 -.74 -4.6 Caterpillar 4.12 3.9 9 105.00 -3.61 -28.9 PhilipMor 4.68 6.7 14 69.87 -1.41 -17.9 Chevron 5.16 5.7 13 91.10 -2.27 -24.4 Primerica 1.60 1.5 13 103.47 -3.41 -20.7 Cisco 1.44 3.3 17 43.22 -.10 -9.2 ProctGam 3.16 2.8 26 114.55 -.76 -8.3 Citigroup 2.04 4.8 6 42.35 -1.72 -47.0 RegionsFn .62 6.7 7 9.32 -.49 -45.7 CocaCola 1.64 3.7 27 44.82 -.72 -19.0 RemrkHI h 1.88 +.09 +265.0 ColonCap .44 25.1 1.75 -.04 -63.2 RittrPh .72 +.18 +327.2 ConAgra .85 2.5 22 34.11 +.70 -.4 SeanrM h .14 -.01 -73.6 Cummins 5.24 3.4 43 153.61 -8.20 -14.2 SouthnCo 2.50 4.5 26 55.52 -.29 -12.8 CymaBay 4.18 +2.34 +113.3 SynovusFn 1.32 7.7 5 17.20 -1.24 -56.1 DeltaAir 3 21.03 -.98 -64.0 3M Co 5.88 4.2 20 141.52 -4.21 -19.8 Disney 1.76 1.7 14 104.56 -3.21 -27.7 Transocn 1.69 +.21 -75.4 Dupont rs 1.20 2.6 5 45.68 -.52 -28.8 TruistFn 1.80 5.4 8 33.06 -1.36 -41.3 EgyTrnsfr 1.22 16.2 9 7.51 -.18 -41.5 Tyson 1.68 2.8 11 60.08 -.68 -34.0 Equifax 1.56 1.1 25 145.47 -2.07 +3.8 Uber Tch 32.40 +.76 +8.9 ExxonMbl 3.48 7.9 10 44.12 -.75 -36.8 UtdAirlHI 3 22.76 -1.21 -74.2 FordM 4 4.98 -.14 -46.5 UtdCmBks .72 4.2 10 17.28 -.80 -44.0 GenElec .04 .7 6.00 -.19 -46.2 UPS B 4.04 4.4 16 92.85 -1.06 -20.7 GenuPrt 3.16 4.3 14 74.17 -1.82 -30.2 VerizonCm 2.46 4.4 14 55.46 -.94 -9.7 GlbeLife .75 1.0 6 71.61 -3.50 -31.9 Vodafone .96 6.4 14.93 +.91 -22.8 GrubHub 60.39+13.60 +24.2 WalMart 2.16 1.7 71 123.78 +.11 +4.2 HP Inc .48 3.2 5 14.87 -.55 -27.6 WeisMk 1.24 2.2 14 56.89 -1.69 +40.5 Haverty .80 5.7 14 14.02 -.62 -30.5 WellsFargo 2.04 8.5 5 24.04 -.74 -55.3 Hershey 3.09 2.3 29 132.47 -.48 -9.9 YumBrnds 1.88 2.2 30 84.00 -2.37 -16.6 HomeDp 6.00 2.6 23 232.90 -3.66 +6.6 Zomedica .27 +.02 -18.7 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: 23,764.78 Change: -457.21 (-1.9%) 30,000 27,000 24,000 21,000 24,800 24,080 23,360 10 DAYS N D J F M A M 52-Week Net YTD 12-mo High Low Name Last Chg %Chg %Chg %Chg 29,568.57 18,213.65 Dow Industrials 23,764.78 -457.21 -1.89 -16.73 -6.92 11,359.49 6,481.20 Dow Transportation 8,000.55 -233.63 -2.84 -26.61 -23.48 963.80 593.52 Dow Utilities 753.30 -8.53 -1.12 -14.32 -3.52 14,183.26 8,664.94 NYSE Composite 11,055.58 -225.78 -2.00 -20.54 -12.40 9,838.37 6,631.42 Nasdaq Composite 9,002.55 -189.79 -2.06 +.33 +16.39 1,522.26 1,015.63 S&P 100 1,322.87 -25.54 -1.89 -8.27 +5.63 3,393.52 2,191.86 S&P 500 2,870.12 -60.20 -2.05 -11.16 +1.26 2,109.43 1,181.96 S&P MidCap 1,604.80 -58.68 -3.53 -22.21 -15.31 34,616.78 21,955.54 Wilshire 5000 29,027.84 -639.88 -2.16 -11.73 -.93 1,715.08 966.22 Russell 2000 1,275.54 -45.70 -3.46 -23.55 -17.34 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 286,953 265.46 +3.0 +1.6/A +8.6/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 222,241 70.21 +3.5 -0.4/C +7.9/B NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm LB 213,370 99.66 +3.0 +1.6/A +8.7/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinv FB 143,542 14.41 +2.2 -10.7/C -0.4/B NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 141,802 70.22 +3.5 -0.4/C +7.9/B NL 5,000,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 127,294 70.18 +3.5 -0.5/C +7.8/B NL 3,000 Vanguard InsIdxInsPlus LB 113,072 256.55 +3.0 +1.6/A +8.7/A NL 100,000,000 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 112,677 11.45 +0.5 +10.2/A +3.9/A NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxinsPlus FB 110,873 96.44 +2.2 -10.6/C -0.3/B NL 100,000,000 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 101,854 256.53 +3.0 +1.6/A +8.6/A NL 5,000,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 91,018 13.65 +9.6+10.7/C +12.2/B NL 0 Amer. Fnds GrfAmrcA m LG 89,616 50.04 +8.9 +8.3/D +10.7/C 5.75 250 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.
