USA Today International - 22.08.2019

MONEY USA TODAY ❚THURSDAY, AUGUST 22, 2019❚ 5A

When it comes to a job interview, the
best advice might be practice, practice,
practice.
Job applicants are navigating a new
landscape, where initial interviews and
conversations may be as likely to occur
via Skype or text as they are face to face
in an office. However the interview
process begins, anticipating what you
might be asked by a potential employer
and how to respond can go a long way
toward feeling more at ease.
Starting Tuesday, job search and net-

working site LinkedIn will enable users

who record themselves answering po-

tential interview questions to send the

clip to members of their network for

feedback.

LinkedIn users are already able to pe-

ruse a list of sample questions, as well

as videos that offer expert tips on how to

best answer them. While sample videos

showing how others responded are

available only to premium members, all

the other features are complimentary.

Sites like Glassdoor and Quora also

highlight questions job applicants may

encounter when interviewing for posi-

tions at particular companies, says Col-

leen Madden Blumenfeld, spokeswom-

an for the jobs outsourcing firm Chal-

lenger, Gray & Christmas.

Nowadays, it’s not just questions

that job seekers need to prep for. They

also need to understand platforms like

Slack and Skype, which may be the ini-

tial way they connect with potential em-

ployers.

“Many job seekers are particularly

worried about the tech aspect of video

interviews, for instance, will they be

able to work the app or be heard and

seen clearly,” she says. “It’s a best prac-

tice to run through a few practice calls

with friends or family. Job seekers also

need to be mindful of how they are lit or

what is behind them in the shot, as it

adds to how they are viewed both figu-

ratively and literally by the interviewer.”

Got a job interview? LinkedIn can help

Charisse Jones
USA TODAY

LinkedIn users can peruse a list of

sample questions, and there are tips

on how to best answer them. PAUL

SAKUMA/AP

HOME DEPOT BRACES FOR
FALLOUT FROM TARIFFS

Home Depot cut its sales expectations
for the year as lumber prices slid and
the company braces for the potential
impact of tariffs. The Commerce De-
partment said Friday that the pace of
U.S. home construction fell a sharp 4%
in July. Still, the company handily beat
second-quarter profit expectations.

INTERNET STAR PEWDIEPIE
WEDS LONGTIME GIRLFRIEND

YouTube star Felix Kjellberg, better
known as PewDiePie,confirmed his
nuptials with former Internet star
Marzia Bisognin on Tuesday through a
post on Twitter. PewDiePie is You-
Tube’s most popular personality.

WRITERS GUILD FIGHTS BACK
AGAINST TALENT AGENCIES

The Writers Guild of America filed
claims Monday in federal court alleg-
ing the entertainment industry’s big-
gest talent agencies are violating
antitrust and anti-racketeering laws.
The suit alleges the major agencies
have conspired to fix the price of so-
called packaging fees.

MONEYLINE

After shootings at Walmart, Kroger,

Waffle House, Macy’s and others, are

you comfortable shopping or visiting a

business where patrons are permitted

to bring their weapons?

Gun-rights advocates say allowing

shoppers to carry guns lets them de-

fend themselves and others, while

skeptics say it could add more danger

and confusion at a crime scene.

On Aug. 3, a gunman stormed a

Walmart in El Paso, Texas, killing 22.

Four days later, the widow of a man

shot to death in a Louisville, Kentucky,

Kroger supermarket is suing the retailer,

claiming it didn’t do enough to prevent

his murder.

The lawsuit against Kroger also

brings to light a multitude of largely ig-

nored victims from more than two doz-

en shootings – most in the past seven

years.

Rocked by two mass shootings in El

Paso and Dayton, Ohio, this month that

killed more than 30 people, Americans

are again debating gun-control mea-

sures.

But mostly silent on the issue are ma-

jor retailers that have the authority to

restrict guns on their private property

but don’t.

The Enquirer, which is part of the

USA TODAY Network, contacted a doz-

en of the nation’s top retailers about

their policies; only one responded.

This is despite the fact that nearly

half of mass shootings (45.6%) occur in

business settings, according to the Fed-

eral Bureau of Investigation.

This month’s carnage marks nearly

40 incidents in retail establishments

and other businesses that have killed or

wounded almost 600 people in nearly a

decade and a half, according to a data-

base by the Associated Press, USA TO-

DAY and Northeastern University. The

database tracks all U.S. mass homicides

since 2006 with at least four victims

A guard blocks the entrance of a Kroger in Louisville, Ky., after a fatal shooting in October. NIKKI BOLIAUX/USA TODAY NETWORK

Retailers wrestle with

allowing guns in stores

Most stores, mostly silent after shootings, follow local law

Alexander Coolidge

Cincinnati Enquirer

USA TODAY NETWORK

See GUNS, Page 6A

INDEX CLOSE CHG
Dow Jones Industrial Avg. 25,962.44 y 173.
S&P 500 2,900.51 y 23.
Nasdaq composite 7,948.56 y 54.
T-note, 10-year yield 1.555 y 0.
SOURCES USA TODAY RESEARCH, BLOOMBERG

Dow Jones Industrial Avg.

24,

26,

27,

28,

FEB. AUG.

AP

25,

-173.

25,

TUESDAY’S MARKETS

Rate Week ago

30 yr. fixed 3.71% 3.88%

15 yr. fixed 3.10% 3.11%

5/1 ARM 3.83% 3.88%

7/1 ARM 3.81% 3.82%

30 yr. jumbo 4.05% 4.04%

30 yr. FHA 3.28% 3.30%

SOURCE: BANKRATE.COM

Mortgage rates

USA TODAY SNAPSHOTS ©

The ranks of 401(k) and IRA mil-

lionaires again hit a record high in the

second quarter at Fidelity Invest-

ments after stocks fully recovered

from their losses suffered at the end of

2018.

The number of investors with at

least $1 million in their 401(k) ac-

counts rose to 196,000 at the end of

the second quarter, up from 180,000 the

previous quarter and surpassing the

previous record of 187,400 reached in

the third quarter of 2018, according to

Fidelity.

The tally of IRA millionaires in-

creased to 179,700 from 168,100 in the

first quarter. The previous high was

170,400, also achieved in the third quar-

ter of last year. Short for individual re-

tirement account, an IRA is a tax-de-

ferred personal retirement plan spon-

sored by the government.

That’s not all the milestones, either,

according to Fidelity’s report released

Wednesday. Contribution rates and in-

creases also hit record levels.

Retirement balances

Average account balances also got a

boost in the second quarter but fell

short of setting records.

The average 401(k) account balance

was $106,000, up 2% from $103,700 in

the previous quarter and $500 short of

the record high of $106,500 at the end of

the third quarter.

The average IRA balance increased

3% to $110,400 in the second quarter

401(k) millionaires hit record high

Report reflects boost

in worker participation

Janna Herron

USA TODAY

See MILLIONAIRES, Page 6A