Page 25 - ARUBA TODAY

BUSINESS Friday 18 august 2017
A25

US stocks tumble to worst loss in 3 months in broad selling

By MARLEY JAY companies fared slightly
AP Markets Writer better than the rest of the
NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. market, although they still
stocks plunged Thursday as finished lower. About 95
losses for Cisco Systems hurt percent of the companies
technology companies in the S&P 500 finished with
while Wal-Mart declined losses.
after its latest quarterly re- Bill Northey, chief invest-
port. Banks also dropped ment officer at U.S. Bank
as bond yields and inter- Wealth Management,
est rates sank for a second said that minutes released
day. Wednesday from the Fed-
It was the second-worst day eral Reserve’s policy meet-
for stocks this year, which ing last month marked
has seen few large de- “a little bit of a change in
clines. Along with technol- tone,” and suggested that
ogy companies and retail- the central bank is becom-
ers, transportation compa- ing more cautious about
nies skidded and all of the raising interest rates.
industrial, financial and ba- That helped push long-term
sic materials companies in interest rates in the bond
the S&P 500 fell. Those sec- market lower since then.
tors tend to struggle when Lower bond yields tend
investors are concerned to hurt banks, because it Trader George Ettinger works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. U.S. stocks plunged
about economic growth, prevents them from charg- Thursday as losses for Cisco Systems hurt technology companies while Wal-Mart declined after its
although there weren’t any ing higher rates on loans, latest quarterly report.
specific signs of economic and benefits high-dividend (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
trouble Thursday. stocks. said Northey. disappointed investors. Its But that wasn’t enough to
The Standard & Poor’s 500 Investors were also assess- Investors also looked for stock lost $2.85, or 6.7 per- sustain a recent rally in the
index dropped 38.10 points, ing the state of President safer investments after a cent, to $39.56. It had a lot company’s stock, and its
or 1.5 percent, to 2,430.01, Donald Trump’s business- deadly van attack in Bar- of company. Apple retreat- shares lost $1.28, or 1.6 per-
its lowest close since July friendly agenda as he con- celona that killed at least ed $3.08, or 1.9 percent, cent, to $79.70.
11. The Dow Jones indus- tinues to face criticism over 13 people and injured 100. to $157.87 while software L Brands, the parent of
trial average tumbled his comments after the Cisco Systems fell $1.30, or maker Adobe Systems skid- Victoria’s Secret, tumbled
274.14 points, or 1.2 per- violence in Charlottesville, 4 percent, to $31.04 after it ded $3.57, or 2.4 percent, after it cut its annual profit
cent, to 21,750.73. The Nas- Virginia, over the weekend. said sales will decline in the to $148.23 and chipmaker forecast because of weak-
daq composite sank 123.19 After he was elected, inves- current quarter. It’s expect- Texas Instruments fell $2.31, ening sales. The stock re-
points, or 1.9 percent, to tors hoped his proposals for ing a decline of 1 to 3 per- or 2.8 percent, to $80.15. treated $1.40, or 3.6 per-
6,221.91. The Russell 2000 tax cuts and infrastructure cent from the $12.4 billion in Wal-Mart did better than cent, to $37.55, and it’s
index of smaller-company spending would boost cor- revenue it reported a year analysts expected in the down 43 percent this year
stocks fell 24.59 points, or porate profits. ago. second quarter as shop- as retailers slump overall
1.8 percent, to 1,358.94. “Most of the agenda ... has Data storage company pers spent more money and the company struggles
High-dividend stocks like been a little bit distracted NetApp offered a forecast on its website and more after it decided to stop sell-
utilities and real estate by non-economic factors,” for the current quarter that people came to its stores. ing swimwear. q

Retailer LL Bean boosting production of iconic boot

By DAVID SHARP said Steve Smith, the com- projection of 750,000 pairs.
Associated Press pany’s president and CEO, The company hopes to hit
LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — told workers and guests the 1 million mark next year.
L.L. Bean hopes to give the Thursday. The boots have been so
boot to backlogs of its most The old boot has done popular that backlogs
iconic product. more than soldier on: An- have been commonplace
The Maine-based retailer nual sales have grown from around the holiday shop-
is expanding production fewer than 100,000 pairs a ping season, something
to keep up with demand decade ago to this year’s that’s going to change.q
for its leather-and-rubber
“duck boot” with a new
manufacturing center with
another machine used to
make the rubber soles. The
company also plans to hire
more than 100 additional
production workers at two
locations in Maine.
Shoppers exit the L.L. Bean retail store in Freeport, Maine. The
Maine-based retailer is expanding production to keep up with “With the addition of the
demand for its leather-and-rubber “duck boot” with a new second molding machine
manufacturing center that was unveiled Thursday, Aug. 17, here, we’ve significantly
2017. The company also plans to hire more than 100 additional increased our capacity for
production workers at two locations in Maine. Bean boot production,”
(AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)