About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 2, 2020)
Nate McCullough | News Editor 770-718-3431 | news@gainesvilletimes.com The Times, Gainesville, Georgia Midweek Edition-December 2-3, 2020 Mnuchin defends end to loan programs Treasury Secretary argues for better use of Fed emergency funding BY MARTIN CRUTSINGER Associated Press WASHINGTON - Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin is defending his decision to close down a number of emergency Federal Reserve loan programs at a time when coronavirus cases are surging. Democrats were unconvinced, however, saying that Mnuchin’s actions are politically motivated and intended to remove tools that the Biden administration could use to support the economy. Mnuchin argued that the pro grams he decided not to extend into next year were being lightly utilized. He said the $455 bil lion allocated for those Fed loan programs could be better used elsewhere if Congress moved the funds into relief programs for small businesses and unemployed workers. Democrats aired their criticism Tuesday as Mnuchin and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell testified at a Senate Banking Com mittee oversight hearing about the $2 trillion CARES Act approved by Congress last March. Powell, as he had before, urged Congress to authorize further eco nomic support, something that law makers have been struggling to do for months. A bipartisan group of lawmakers pressured congressional leaders Tuesday to accept a compromise to end the impasse before Congress adjourns for the holidays. The group including Senate cen trists such as Joe Manchin, D-W. Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, are pushing a $908 billion measure, including $228 billion to extend and upgrade “paycheck protec tion” subsidies for a second round of relief for hard-hit businesses like restaurants. It would revive a special jobless benefit, but at a reduced level of $300 per week, half the amount enacted in March. State and local governments would receive $160 billion, and there is also money for vaccines. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., and one of the lawmakers involved in the centrist effort, got both Mnuchin and Powell to agree that the proposal being discussed was something that would help the economy. Powell told the committee to think of the additional relief as a “bridge” to get the economy from the current situation with rising virus cases, to a period when the vaccines will be widely distributed.” Powell promised again that the Fed will do all it can to support an economic recovery. As for the five lending programs that Mnuchin terminated, he insisted that the CARES Act that allowed for creation of the five lending programs did not give him the authority to extend them past Dec. 31. Salesforce to buy Slack for $2.27 billion BY MICHAEL LIEDTKE AND MATT O’BRIEN Associated Press SAN RAMON, Calif. — Business software pio neer Salesforce.com is buying work-chatting ser vice Slack for $27.7 billion in a deal aimed at giving the two companies a better shot at competing against longtime industry powerhouse Microsoft. The acquisition announced Tuesday is by far the largest in the 21-year history of Salesforce. The San Francisco company was one of the first to begin selling software as a subscription service that could be used on any internet-connected device instead of the more cumbersome process of installing the programs on individual computers. Salesforce’s flamboyant founder and CEO Marc Benioff hailed the “cloud computing” concept as the wave of the future to much deri sion initially. But software as a service has become an indus try standard that has turned into a gold mine for longtime software makers. Microsoft for one has developed its own thriving online suite of services, known as Office 365, which includes a Teams chatting service that includes many of the same features as Slack’s 6-year-old application. Slack in July filed a complaint in the Euro pean Union accusing Microsoft of illegally bun dling Teams into Office 365 in a way that blocks its removal by customers who may prefer Slack. Microsoft also has been posing a threat to Salesforce’s main products, a line-up of tools that help other companies manage their cus tomer relationships. Benioff left no doubt he considered the deal to be a major coup, after losing out to Microsoft in 2016 when the two companies were both vying to buy the professional networking service Linkedln. Salesforce has been building on its success in recent years to diversify into other fields, largely through a series of acquisitions that included its previous largest deal, a $15.7 billion purchase of data analytics specialist Tableau Software last year. Many of the deals have been financed with Salesforce’s stock, which is worth nearly seven times more than it was a decade ago to lift the company’s current market value to $220 bil lion. Salesforce is using its stock to pay for roughly half of the Slack purchase, with the rest being covered with some cash, with some of the money being borrowed during a time of extraordinarily low interest rates. Slack, on the other hand, hasn’t proven as popular with investors, even though its service that publicly launched in 2014 is being increas ingly used by companies and government agen cies looking for more nimble alternatives than email. Before news reports of a potential deal with Salesforce surfaced last week, Slack’s stock was still hovering around its initial list ing price of $26 when the company went public nearly 18 months ago. SCOTT ROGERS I The Times Shoppers at Publix come and go from the busy supermarket Tuesday, July 21, on Thompson Bridge Road. The supermarket now requires customers to wear face masks. Safe to shop during pandemic? Associated Press Is shopping in stores safe during the pandemic? There are ways to reduce risk, but health experts advise avoiding it when possible. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says holiday shopping in crowded stores is a “higher risk” activity and that people should limit any in-person shopping, including at supermarkets. Instead, the agency recommends shop ping online, visiting outdoor markets or using curbside pickup, where workers bring orders to your car. If you need to enter a store, go during off hours when there will likely be fewer people. Wear a mask and stay at least 6 feet away from others. Try to spend as little time inside the store as possible, says Dr. Isaac Weis- fuse, a public health expert at Cornell University. “You just want to go in and out,” he says. “Get your shopping done and move on.” Use a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol when you leave, and then wash your hands with soap and water when you get home. Retailers have been doing all kinds of things to make shoppers feel safe, but they don’t eliminate the risk. Some check shoppers’ temperatures at the entrance, for example, but an infected person may not have a fever and can still spread the virus. The plastic barriers between custom ers and cashiers also might not block all droplets from an infected person, Weis- fuse says. If the air in a store feels stuffy, he says that’s a sign of poor ventilation, and you should leave. Sephora to open hundreds of beauty shops inside Kohl’s stores Sephora will open hundreds of beauty shops inside Kohl’s department stores starting next fall, the retailer said Tues day, just weeks after Ulta Beauty and Tar get announced a similar partnership. The 2,500-square-foot Sephora shops will replace Kohl’s current beauty depart ment at the front of the store and carry makeup, skin care, hair and fragrance products. The first 200 shops are expected to open next fall, when Kohl’s will begin selling Sephora products online. Sephora expects to have at least 850 shops at Kohl’s stores by 2023, when a similar part nership between the beauty retailer and J.C. Penney comes to an end, Sephora said. Michelle Gass, Kohl’s chief executive officer, said in a news release the partner ship would “make aspirational beauty far more accessible to millions of customers all across the country. ” Target and Bolingbrook-based Ulta Beauty announced a similar arrangement last month to put Ulta shops in 100 Target stores and on Target’s website next year, with the potential to expand to hundreds of stores. Neither Kohl’s nor Target announced which stores would open the beauty shops. The deal with Kohl’s is Sephora’s lat est effort to expand beyond its 500 U.S. stores. Sephora has shops in about half of J.C. Penney’s department stores through a partnership that started 15 years ago. J.C. Penney sought Chapter 11 bank ruptcy protection in May and said last month it expects to emerge from bank ruptcy in the first half of next year after a court approved its sale to its two largest landlords and its primary lenders. Sephora said the companies agreed ear lier this year to pursue other opportunities while continuing to run the Sephora shops at J.C. Penney stores until their agreement winds down. In the meantime, J.C. Penney said it will be working on a new plan for its beauty department. Chicago Tribune The Market in Review Stock Exchange Highlights A NYSE 14.146.64 +140.18 1 Nasdaq 12,355.11 +156.37 Gainers ($2 OR MORE) Name Last Chg %Chg Gainers ($2 OR MORE) Name Last Chg %Chg ArloTc 6.90 +1.64 +31.2 BlackBerry 7.00 +1.13 +19.3 KimbRoy 8.37 +1.15 +15.9 Kohls 36.52 +4.32 +13.4 CVRPtrrs 10.21 +1.19 +13.2 RayAdvM 7.26 +.79 +12.2 US Silica 4.81 +.49+11.3 ChinaDEd 9.65 +.93 +10.7 EldrGId g 13.03 +1.23 +10.4 LibOilSv 10.25 +.95 +10.2 Losers ($2 or more) TDH Hid 2.03 +.73 +56.2 DirttEnv 2.22 +.55 +32.9 Koss h 2.80 +.64 +29.6 CollPlant 10.23 +2.30 +29.0 CodiakBion 16.41 +3.40 +26.1 PriorityTc 6.12 +1.24 +25.4 Mogo h 3.24 +.59 +22.3 OptCable 3.23 +.53 +19.6 Inhibrx n 32.68 +5.16 +18.8 FathHold n 26.03 +3.83 +17.3 Losers ($2 or more) Name Last Chg %Chg Name Last Chg %Chg Synnex 76.02 -84.29 -52.6 NaviosAc 3.80 -.79 -17.2 CheetahM 2.01 -.37 -15.5 YallaGr n 13.35 -2.06 -13.4 NaviospfG 4.80 -.71 -12.9 RMGAc 15.46 -2.29 -12.9 SwitchE un 32.46 -4.54 -12.3 RMG Ac un 17.66 -2.34 -11.7 AshfrdpfD 10.00 -1.30 -11.5 Gannett 2.52 -.32 -11.3 Most Active ($1 0R more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg NCS Mltrs 21.50-386.50 -94.7 TitanPhrs 3.76 -1.34 -26.3 MinervaN 2.89 -1.00 -25.7 Tuniu 2.14 -.68 -24.1 Medigus 2.29 -.63 -21.6 Ideanom h 2.20 -.57 -20.6 ChiRecyc rs 4.17 -1.02 -19.7 ChinaAuto 8.68 -1.82 -17.3 FuelTech h 3.67 -.73 -16.6 GrpwrMtr n 18.55 -3.52 -15.9 Most Active ($1 0R more) Name Vol (00) Last Chg B lackBe rry3290020 7.00 +1.13 GenElec 866952 10.15 -.03 Palantir n 839154 25.67 -1.44 Pfizer 723543 39.41 +1.10 FordM 688297 9.24 +.16 ItauUnH 580475 5.73 +.39 Vale SA 525724 15.64 +1.08 BkofAm 502387 28.69 +.53 Xpengn 486582 52.36 -6.40 Carnival 478182 20.15 +.17 Apple Inc S1275355122.72 +3.67 Moderns 1244821 141.01 -11.73 AmAirlines 757162 14.27 +.14 Nikola 715046 17.37 -3.04 SecnSgh rs690188 1.50 +.53 Ideanom h 622700 2.20 -.57 FuelCell 609483 9.05 -1.15 AMD 584973 92.63 -.03 Intel 577557 49.56 +1.21 ChinaAuto 455514 8.68 -1.82 Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Diary 1,856 691 50 2,597 115 1 4,621,632,828 Advanced Declined Unchanged Total issues New Highs New Lows Volume Diary 1,865 1,334 111 3,310 271 11 5,875,240,557 Stocks of Local Interest YTD YTD Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg Name Ex Div Yld PE Last Chg %Chg AFLAC 1.32 3.0 14 44.70 +.77 -15.5 Intel 1.32 2.7 17 49.56 +1.21 -17.2 AT&T Inc 2.08 7.2 15 28.87 +.12 -26.1 IBM 6.52 5.4 13 123.16 -.36 -8.1 AbbottLab 1.44 1.3 57 108.49 +.27 +24.9 JaguarHI .46 +.11 -42.8 Acasti g .37 +.08 -85.1 JohnJn 4.04 2.7 24 147.45 +2.77 +1.1 AMD 92.63 -.03 +102.0 Lowes 2.20 1.4 34 153.40 -2.42 +28.1 Altria 3.44 8.5 13 40.49 +.66 -18.9 MaraPt h 6.19 -.09 +602.6 AmAirlines .40 2.8 5 14.27 +.14 -50.2 McDnlds 5.16 2.4 33 216.14 -1.30 +9.4 Apple Inc s 45 122.72 +3.67 +67.2 Merck 2.60 3.2 30 81.55 +1.16 -10.3 ATMOS 2.30 2.4 18 96.64 +.75 -13.6 MicronT 8 67.08 +2.99 +24.7 AutoZone 211164.84+27.19 -2.2 Microsoft 2.24 1.0 43 216.21 +2.14 +37.1 AveryD 2.48 1.6 43 151.75 +3.03 +16.0 Moderna 141.01 -11.73 +620.9 BPPLC 2.46 12.2 6 20.24 +.68 -46.4 Moleculin .99 +.21 +8.2 BkofAm .72 2.5 10 28.69 +.53 -18.5 Nikola 17.37 -3.04 +68.3 Biolase .37 +.07 -33.1 NorflkSo 3.76 1.6 25 238.75 +1.73 +23.0 BlackBerry 7.00 +1.13 +9.0 Ocugen .34 +.02 -34.6 Boeing 20 213.01 +2.30 -34.6 Onconv h .37 +.08 -2.6 BrMySq 1.80 2.9 21 62.41 +.01 -2.8 Palantir n 25.67 -1.44 +179.0 CSX 1.04 1.1 22 90.62 +.57 +25.2 PepsiCo 4.09 2.8 16 146.07 +1.84 +6.9 CampSp 1.40 2.8 18 50.25 +.23 +1.7 Pfizer 1.52 3.9 16 39.41 +1.10 +.6 Carnival 5 20.15 +.17 -60.4 PhilipMor 4.80 6.2 16 77.03 +1.28 -9.5 Caterpillar 4.12 2.4 16 173.26 -.33 +17.3 Primerica 1.60 1.2 16 133.41 +3.14 +2.2 Chevron 5.16 5.9 12 87.45 +.27 -27.4 ProctGam 3.16 2.3 32 139.37 +.50 +11.6 Cisco 1.44 3.3 17 43.54 +.52 -8.5 RegionsFn .62 3.9 12 15.87 +.60 -7.5 Citigroup 2.04 3.7 8 55.47 +.40 -30.6 SecnSgh rs 1.50 +.53 -74.7 CocaCola 1.64 3.2 32 52.04 +.44 -6.0 SouthnCo 2.56 4.2 29 60.57 +.72 -4.9 ConAgra 1.10 3.0 24 36.29 -.27 +6.0 Sundial h .65 -.08 -78.3 Cummins 5.40 2.3 64 230.36 -.81 +28.7 SynovusFn 1.32 4.1 9 32.07 +.50 -18.2 Disney 1.76 1.2 20 149.44 +1.43 +3.3 Tesla Inc s 584.76+17.16 +598.9 DuPont 1.20 1.9 7 63.53 +.09 -1.0 3M Co 5.88 3.4 24 170.52 -2.21 -3.3 Equifax 1.56 .9 29 166.94 +.04 +19.1 Transocn 2.02 +.17 -70.6 ExxonMbl 3.48 9.0 9 38.50 +.37 -44.8 TruistFn 1.80 3.8 12 47.52 +1.10 -15.6 FordM 7 9.24 +.16 -.6 Tyson 1.78 2.7 12 66.76 +1.56 -26.7 FuelCell 9.05 -1.15 +260.6 UtdCmBks .72 2.9 14 24.82 +.91 -19.6 GenElec .04 .4 10.15 -.03 -9.1 UPS B 4.04 2.4 28 167.96 -3.11 +43.5 GenuPrt 3.16 3.1 19 101.67 +3.30 -4.3 VerizonCm 2.52 4.2 14 60.58 +.17 -1.3 GlbeLife .75 .8 7 94.44 +1.34 -10.1 Vodafone .97 5.8 16.84 +.26 -12.9 HP Inc .70 3.1 7 22.38 +.45 +8.9 WalMart 2.16 1.4 88 152.64 -.15 +28.4 Haverty .60 2.1 29 28.03 +.81 +39.0 WeisMk 1.24 2.6 11 47.50 -.13 +17.3 Hershey 3.22 2.1 33 150.04 +2.15 +2.1 WellsFargo .40 1.4 6 28.06 +.71 -47.8 HomeDp 6.00 2.2 28 276.60 -.81 +26.7 Xpeng n 52.36 -6.40 +192.0 Ideanom h 2.20 -.57 +157.0 YumBrnds 1.88 1.8 38 106.34 +.54 +5.6 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: 29,823.92 Change: 185.28 (0.6%) 31,000 30,000 29,000 28,000 27,000 26,000 25,000 52-Week High Low Name Last Net Chg %Chg YTD %Chg 12-mo %Chg 30,116.51 18,213.65 Dow industrials 29,823.92 +185.28 +.63 +4.50 +8.44 12,772.74 6,481.20 Dow Transportation 12,493.74 +43.57 +.35 +14.61 +19.00 963.80 593.52 Dow Utilities 868.25 +6.51 +.76 -1.24 +2.07 14,271.09 8,664.94 NYSE Composite 14,146.64 +140.18 +1.00 +1.68 +5.84 12,244.64 6,631.42 Nasdaq Composite 12,355.11 +156.37 +1.28 +37.70 +45.00 1,678.91 1,015.63 S&P 100 1,679.49 +20.72 +1.25 +16.46 +21.90 3,645.99 2,191.86 S&P 500 3,662.45 +40.82 +1.13 +13.36 +18.40 2,223.52 1,181.96 S&P MidCap 2,194.50 +26.00 +1.20 +6.37 +10.61 38,106.38 21,955.54 Wilshire 5000 38,194.29 +354.64 +.94 +16.14 +21.10 1,862.17 966.22 Russell 2000 1,836.05 +16.23 +.89 +10.04 +14.56 30,120 29,660 29,200 10 DAYS 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 313,687 338.87 +12.2 +18.7/B +14.0/A NL 3,000 Fidelity 500ldxlnsPrm LB 274,059 127.35 +12.2 +18.8/B +14.0/A NL 0 Vanguard TtlSMIdxAdmrl LB 238,707 91.99 +12.2 +19.1 +14.0 NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxIns LB 157,021 92.01 +12.2 +19.2 +14.0 NL 5,000,000 Vanguard TtlnSIdxInv FB 155,670 18.84 +12.9 +9.5 +7.3 NL 3,000 Vanguard TtlSMIdxInv LB 135,301 91.95 +12.2 +19.0 +13.8 NL 3,000 Vanguard InsidxInsPlus LB 125,311 327.55 +10.9 +17.5 +14.0 NL 100,000,000 Vanguard TtBMIdxAdmrl Cl 119,258 11.61 +0.9 +7.1/C +4.2/B NL 3,000 Fidelity Contrafund LG 111,364 17.68 +9.5+33.5/C +17.1/C NL 0 Amer. Fnds GrfAmrcA m LG 106,478 67.29 +13.6+35.7/C +16.9/C 5.75 250 Vanguard Insldxlns LB 106,316 327.53 +10.9 +17.4 +14.0 NL 5,000,000 Vanguard WlngtnAdmrl MA 89,718 80.29 +8.4 H 1.4/C +10.1/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.
