The Washington Post - 28.08.2019

A16 EZ RE THE WASHINGTON POST.WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28 , 2019

THE MARKETS

6 Monitor your investments at washingtonpost.com/markets Data and graphics by

Note: Bank prime is from 10 major banks. Federal Funds rate is the market rate, which can vary from the federal

target rate. LIBOR is the London Interbank Offered Rate. Consumer rates are from Bankrate. All figures as of

4:30 p.m. New York time.

1.

1.

1.

1.

10-year note

Yield:

5-year note

Yield:

2-year note

Yield:

6-month bill

Yield:

Treasury Performance Over Past Three Months

7826.95 –0.3 +18.

2869.16 –0.3 +14.

25,777.90 –0.5 +10.

Daily Stock Market Performance

Daily

Index Close % Chg

YTD

% Chg

Nasdaq Composite Index

Dow Jones Industrial Average

S&P 500 Index

3100

2850

2600

2350

S AJJMAMFJDNO

8400

7800

7200

6600

6000

27,

26,

24,

23,

21,

Industry Group

Daily

% Chg

Daily

% Chg –8.0%^0 +8.0%

Wireless Telecomm Svcs 2.

Water Utilities 1.

Food & Staples Retailing 1.

Metals & Mining 1.

Household Products 0.

Computers & Peripherals –1.

Power Prodct & Enrgy Trdr –1.

Food Products –1.

Health Care Providers –3.

Tobacco –6.

S&P 500 Industry Group Snapshot

Bank Prime

Federal Funds

LIBOR 3-Month

30-Year fixed mortgage

15-Year fixed mortgage

1-Year ARM

2.14%

2.25%

5.25%

3.69%

3.11%

3.75%

Money market funds

6-Month CDs

1-Year CDs

5-Year CDs

New car loan

Home-equity loan

Consumer Rates

0.

0.

1.

1.

4.

6.

Interest Rates

Index Close Daily % Chg YTD % Chg

DJ Total Stock Market Index 29,374.83 –0.4 14.

Russell 2000 1456.04 –1.4 8.

Post-Bloomberg DC Area Index 608.59 –0.5 29.

CBOE Volatility (VIX) 20.31 5.1 –20.

Other Measures

Europe

Americas

Asia Pacific

Brazil (Bovespa)

Canada (S&P/TSX Comp.)

Mexico (Bolsa)

Eurozone (DJ Stoxx 600)

France (CAC 40)

Germany (DAX)

U.K. (FTSE 100)

Australia (ASX 200)

China (CSI 300)

Hong Kong (Hang Seng)

Japan (Nikkei)

Close

Daily

% Chg

YTD % Chg

–30% 0% +30%

97,276.19 0.

16,183.59 0.

40,662.60 1.

373.62 0.

5387.09 0.

11,730.02 0.

7089.58 –0.

6471.22 0.

3816.95 1.

25,664.07 –0.

20,456.08 1.

International Stock Markets

Daily

Close% Chg

Daily

Gainers Losers Close% Chg

Brown Shoe $18.90 24.

Standex $75.56 22.

Papa John's $48.00 9.

Myers Industries $16.34 6.

Genesco Inc $35.04 6.

American Woodmark $77.30 6.

RR Donnelley $2.24 5.

Costco $292.38 5.

Activision Blizzard $51.09 4.

Avon Products $4.12 4.

Fossil Group Inc $12.00 4.

Buckle Inc $19.57 4.

Medicines Co $41.47 4.

Yelp Inc $33.31 4.

OSI Systems Inc $104.43 3.

Newmont Goldcorp $40.75 3.

Cars.com Inc $8.91 3.

Invacare Corp $5.34 3.

TechnipFMC PLC $24.72 3.

Arlo Technologies $2.84 2.

Chico's FAS Inc $2.52 –17.

Mallinckrodt PLC $3.56 –15.

Endo International $2.55 –12.

Bel Fuse Inc $9.78 –9.

Michaels Cos Inc $5.03 –9.

Signet Jewelers Ltd $11.14 –9.

Lancaster Colony $140.19 –9.

Dean Foods $1.01 –9.

JM Smucker $103.69 –8.

Express Inc $1.86 –7.

Red Robin Gourmet $31.70 –7.

Regis Corp $14.68 –7.

Philip Morris Intl $71.70 –7.

Assertio Therpt $1.39 –7.

Diebold Nixdorf Inc $10.76 –7.

Covetrus Inc $13.01 –7.

US Steel $10.34 –7.

Delphi Technologies $12.52 –6.

AppliedOptoelctrncs $8.50 –6.

Chesapeake Energy $1.39 –6.

Gainers and Losers from the S&P 1500 Index

Daily

% Chg

YTD

Company Close % Chg

Daily

% Chg

YTD

Company Close % Chg

3M Co 155.75 –0.2 –18.

AmExp 117.75 –0.7 23.

Apple Inc 204.16 –1.1 29.

Boeing 354.73 –1.2 10.

Caterpillar 113.38 –0.9 –10.

Chevron Corp 115.83 0.1 6.

Cisco Systems 46.79 –0.7 8.

Coca-Cola 54.72 0.3 15.

Dow Inc 41.17 0.

Exxon Mobil 67.19 –1.0 –1.

GoldmnSchs 198.07 –0.8 18.

Home Depot 218.21 –0.2 27.

IBM 131.17 0.9 15.

Intel Corp 45.79 0.5 –2.

J&J 129.64 1.4 0.

JPMorg Ch 105.74 –1.1 8.

McDonald's 216.05 –0.4 21.

Merck 85.52 –0.4 11.

Microsoft 135.74 0.2 33.

Nike 82.03 –0.3 10.

P&G Co 120.55 1.0 31.

Pfizer Inc 34.34 –1.4 –21.

Travelers 147.10 –0.2 22.

United Tech 124.57 –0.7 17.

UnitedHealth 222.93 –3.5 –10.

Verizon 57.18 0.8 1.

Visa Inc 178.38 0.4 35.

Walgreen 49.45 –1.2 –27.

WalMart 112.42 0.4 20.

Walt Disney 134.49 –0.1 22.

Dow Jones 30 Industrials

Brazil R$ per

EU €per

Japan ¥ per

US $ per

Canada $ per

Mexico $ per

Britain £ per

US $ EU € Japan ¥ Britain £ Brazil R$ Canada $ Mexico $

1.1090 0.0094 1.2286 0.2419 0.7521 0.

0.9018 0.0085 1.1079 0.2181 0.6782 0.

105.7800 117.3000 129.9510 25.5801 79.5560 5.

0.8139 0.9026 0.0077 0.1968 0.6122 0.

4.1346 4.5853 0.0391 5.0801 3.1095 0.

1.3296 1.4744 0.0125 1.6335 0.3215 0.

20.0137 22.1937 0.1890 24.5876 4.8400 15.

Cross Currency Rates

Exchange-Traded (Ticker) $

Daily

% Chg

Value of $1000 invested for the past: day month

$800 $

Coffee (COFF.L) 0.

Copper (COPA.L) 0.

Corn (CORN.L) –0.

Cotton (COTN.L) 0.

Crude Oil (CRUD.L) 0.

Gasoline (UGAS.L) 0.

Gold (BULL.L) 1.

Natural Gas (NGAS.L) 2.

Silver (SLVR.L) 4.

Futures

Daily

Close % Chg

Daily

Close % Chg

Copper $2.5530 +0.

Corn $3.6625 –0.

Crude Oil $54.93 +2.

Gold $1,551.80 +0.

Natural Gas $2.20 –1.

Orange Juice $1.0225 +1.

Silver $18.30 +2.

Soybeans $8.5925 –0.

Sugar $0.1124 –1.

Wheat $4.7675 +0.

Commodities

BY TRACY JAN

AND ABHA BHATTARAI

In a corporate video broadcast
to store managers nationwide on
Monday, Joe McFarland, Lowe’s
executive vice president of stores,
pronounced the $99 DeWalt 12-
volt cordless drill the “number
one power tool for the pros.”
McFarland, wearing a camou-
flage vest and seated in front of a
sign that read “Lowe’s
LoweDown,” went on to tout the
features of this week’s spotlight
item: “The thing is compact. It fits
anywhere.”
And a customer profile: “Some
of our Hispanic pros with smaller
hands, this is perfect for them.”
McFarland’s comments, made
during a prerecorded presenta-
tion that ran about half an hour,
were broadcast in Lowe’s confer-
ence rooms throughout the coun-
try as part of a weekly gathering of
managers to discuss corporate
priorities, according to employees
who saw the presentation. As part
of the meetings, they watch videos
often hosted by McFarland.
“Everybody in the room was
just like, ‘What? Did he just say
that?’ ” said an assistant manager
in the Pacific Northwest who
watched the video Monday after-
noon with more than half a dozen
managers and supervisors at his
store. He spoke on the condition
of anonymity because he feared
reprisal.
“Immediately after it hap-
pened, everyone was just like,
‘Whoa, why would he say that?’ ”
he said.

Employees from around the

country began airing their con-

cerns about the video in online

forums. Another employee said

the video episodes normally play

all week on the company’s inter-

nal website, but this one has been

removed. A clip of it was obtained

by The Washington Post.

Lowe’s, based in North Caro-

lina and the second-largest hard-

ware chain in the country, issued

an apology from McFarland after

The Post published its story Tues-

day.

“I am sorry for a careless and

ignorant comment I made during

an associate broadcast yesterday,”

McFarland said. “Our associates

shared how my statement was

harmful and inappropriate. This

is a key reflection moment for me.”

McFarland said he takes “full

responsibility” for his comment

and said he would be spending the

coming days and weeks with

Lowe’s associates, customers and

business leaders to try to “learn

and grow from this moment.”

Another employee based in the

Northeast who watched the video

with the management team called

McFarland’s videotaped com-

ments “unacceptable and degrad-

ing.”

“What has my team more upset

is, it feels like our leadership has

looked the other way,” the em-

ployee said. “By them not posting

the video like they always do, they

know it was wrong but haven’t

addressed it to the employees, so

it makes me feel like they are

trying to sweep it under the rug.”

Lowe’s, which has more than

1,700 U.S. stores, is laying off thou-

sands of employees, including

janitors, maintenance workers

and those who assemble grills and

furniture. Many of those jobs, the

company said, will be outsourced

to third-party providers. The com-

pany last year reported $71.3 bil-

lion in annual sales and $2.3 bil-

lion in profits.

McFarland, who was previous-

ly an executive at J.C. Penney and

Home Depot, began working for

Lowe’s last August. He received a

compensation package worth

$3.74 million last year, company

filings show.

Sonya Grier, an American Uni-

versity professor whose research

focuses on race in the market-

place and targeted marketing,

said it remains unclear how much

— if any — market research was

behind McFarland’s comments. In

addition to the apology, Grier

said, Lowe’s should know why

these views might be present.

“They need to assess how deep

their understanding is of the di-

verse consumer segment that

makes up their actual and poten-

tial customer base so they do not

further antagonize or offend,” Gri-

er said.

[email protected]

[email protected]

Lowe’s VP touts a drill for Hispanics’ ‘smaller hands’

BY MARIE C. BACA

Move over, Google. In the latest
development in the escalating
tech device race between China
and the United States, Beijing-
based Baidu has overtaken the
No. 2 spot in global smart-speaker
sales.
According to research firm
Canalys, Baidu’s Xiaodu device
edged past Google’s Home device
with 17.3 percent of the $1.8 bil-
lion global smart-speaker market
in the second quarter. Amazon’s
Echo stayed well ahead of the
competition, with roughly 25 per-
cent of the market. Chinese tech
giants Alibaba and Xiaomi were
fourth and fifth, respectively.
Baidu’s gains — reflecting fast
adoption by Chinese consumers
— show the parallel competition
of tech giants on both continents

as they develop AI-controlled de-

vices meant to one day run every-

thing from cars to homes to in-

store shopping.

U.S. and Chinese tech giants

have long jockeyed in the race to

develop the most-sophisticated

phones, computers and other de-

vices. Given the nature of the

companies, however, many of the

brands have first targeted their

domestic populations.

That’s starting to change. Chi-

na has mobilized significant re-

sources to increase its dominance

in high-tech fields as part of its

“Made in China 2025” strategic

plan. Telecom giant Huawei,

while facing restrictions in the

United States, has been working

to make inroads in Europe.

Meanwhile, Amazon and

Google have been pushing their

devices — and particularly their

smart speakers — more interna-

tionally, too. (Amazon chief exec-

utive Jeff Bezos owns The Wash-

ington Post.)

While Amazon and Google

work to grow their businesses

globally, they will face technologi-

cal difficulties from differences as

basic as the types of homes in

which consumers live, said Mi-

chael Levin, co-founder and part-

ner at Consumer Intelligence Re-

search Partners. While many U.S.

consumers live in houses, the

international tendency toward

living in apartments may prove

difficult for the company’s full

home-control marketing strategy.

“Adapting this market to the

other 80 percent of the world is

not a very straightforward propo-

sition,” Levin said.

Baidu overtaking Google,

while “no small feat,” is a result of

the company’s sole and aggres-

sive focus on the fast-growing

China market, said Jason Low, a

senior analyst at Canalys. Google

and Amazon have so far focused

heavily on the United States, al-

though their global market share

will probably continue to in-

crease.

“It’s a good gauge to see how

the market is growing,” he added,

saying the rankings are likely to

remain fluid.

Baidu may also face further

challenges as an economic slow-

down in China could ding the

company’s core businesses.

A Baidu spokesman said the

company does not comment on

specific reports, and referenced

Baidu’s second-quarter investors’

call. In that call, company chief

executive Robin Li said the

Xiaodu Smart Display, which sells

for the equivalent of about $

per unit, is becoming a “sweet

spot” for the company because it

has gained popularity in “not only

first- and second-tier cities, but

also lower-tier cities in China,

becoming an important comput-

ing device for affordable Internet

connectivity.

“AI-powered smart speakers

[are] an indispensable Internet

channel for content and service

providers, especially with mobile

Internet user and time spent

slowing in China,” Li said. “The

rise of smart speakers seems to

mirror the rise of smartphones a

decade ago.”

Google and Amazon did not

respond to requests for comment.

It is unclear how the escalating

trade war between the United

States and China will affect the

global smart-speaker market, or

the global economy generally. On

Friday, President Trump an-

nounced that he would raise the

rate of tariffs on Beijing and de-

manded that U.S. companies

cease doing business with China.

Trump said Monday that trade

negotiations are set to resume,

though details were elusive.

Experts say the trade war is

more about technology than

trade. In May, the Trump admin-

istration penalized Huawei by

adding it to the Commerce De-

partment’s Bureau of Industry

and Security “entity list,” making

it difficult or impossible for the

company to do business with any

U.S. firm. Huawei has since been

granted several “temporary gen-

eral licenses” that allow it to con-

duct some business here, includ-

ing providing software updates.

[email protected]

Chinese firm passes Google to become Amazon’s top smart-speaker rival

MARIO TAMA/GETTY IMAGES

Employees work at a Lowe’s in Los Angeles. In a corporate video played for managers around the country, executive Joe McFarland said a

compact cordless drill would be perfect for “Hispanic pros with smaller hands.” He issued an apology after a widespread backlash.