华尔街日报-2019-3-2-3.pdf

******** SATURDAY/SUNDAY, MARCH 2 - 3, 2019 ~ VOL. CCLXXIII NO. 50 WSJ.com HHHH $5.00ness writing. “That’s not cool.”It’s Mardi Gras season,when New Orleans pulses withpageantry, parties and dozensof parades, running throughFat Tuesday next week. Thecity also pulses with a growingfrenzy around saving primeparade-viewing spots.Locals have long turned toa gumbo of strategies, fromspray-painting patches ofpublic grass to laying downtarps and chairs on medianstrips. Ladders—popularperches for parade watchers,often 6 feet tall and trickedPleaseturntopageA10Nearly two weeks ago,Bradley Warshauer awoke tosee the grassy median stripoutside his window markedinto color-coded territories bystrangers.The rogue painters were at-tempting to save the spots forNew Orleans’s extravagantKrewe of Endymion parade,set for Saturday. Two days be-fore the parade, the markingswere still there.“It’s starting earlier andearlier,” says Mr. Warshauer,who is 33 and teaches busi-BY JENNIFER LEVITZForget the Beads—Fat TuesdayBrings Out Big Tarps, Spray PaintiiiFrenzy to block off parade-watchingspaces days ahead stirs New Orleans ireAmazonPlansGroceryChainMarkets in big citieswould move the onlinegiant further intophysical retailPakistan Releases Captured Indian Pilot Amid ConfrontationREUTERSTV/REUTERSHOMECOMING: Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman was freed at the border and walked into India in a dramatic eveninghandover that was broadcast on television in both countries. The move lowered immediate tensions following days of airstrikes. A5had been in business for more than a cen-tury, eventually sold itself in a fire sale.“The analogy I use is if you bought a Ca-dillac Escalade and ripped out all of the ex-pensive parts,” said Leon Dixon, a formerBank of America manager who worked at thesmaller bank following the sale.Big banks have boosted profits in recentyears by focusing on the largest U.S. cities,which are densely populated and more afflu-ent. The community banks trying to fill thegaps they leave behind, meanwhile, arestruggling.PleaseturntopageA10After the National Bank of DelawareCounty, a small community bank, boughtBank of America Corp.’s only branch in anupstate New York town, it didn’t take longfor things to go south.People waited in four-hour-long lines atthe Monticello, N.Y., branch and withdrewnearly half of their deposits, moving them tobanks with more reliable technology. Techni-cal glitches got customers so worked up thatmanagers posted two security guards to pro-tect employees. The community bank, whichBY RACHEL LOUISE ENSIGN AND COULTER JONESWSJTHEWALLSTREETJOURNALWEEKENDIran: StillFightingThe ‘GreatSatan’REVIEWA Traveler’s GuideTo Eating Like a LocalOFFDUTYTheGreatAmericanJobsMachineAmazon.com Inc. is planningto open dozens of grocerystores in several major U.S. cit-ies, according to people famil-iar with the matter, as the re-tail giant looks to broaden itsreach in the food business andtouch more aspects of consum-ers’ lives.The company plans to openits first outlet in Los Angeles asearly as the end of the year,one person said. Amazon hasalready signed leases for atleast two other grocery loca-tions with openings planned forearly next year, this personsaid, without saying wherethose stores would be.Additional talks are underway for Amazon grocery storesin San Francisco, Seattle, Chi-cago, Washington, D.C., andPhiladelphia, the people famil-iar with the matter said.The new stores would bedistinct from the company’s up-scale Whole Foods Marketchain. It isn’t clear whether thenew stores would carry theAmazon name.After two decades of upend-ing the retail industry by shift-ing shoppers to the internet,Amazon in recent years has be-come increasingly focused onphysical retail, posing a threatto traditional grocers. The newchain would help Amazon inPleaseturntopageA4BY ESTHER FUNGAND HEATHER HADDONstumbling block: North Koreaexpected much more in sanc-tions relief than the U.S. wasprepared to give in exchangefor only limited concessions.The differences were neverHANOI—Weeks before Presi-dent Trump journeyed to Viet-nam for his second summitwith North Korea’s Kim JongUn, there were unmistakablesigns the historic meetingmight not yield an agreement.The U.S. team of diplomats,sanctions officials, nuclear ex-perts and missile specialiststaking part in working-leveltalks had identified a majorironed out. Some former U.S.officials grumbled privatelythat the Trump-Kim meetingshouldn’t have taken placewithout an advance consensus,which is the routine for such ahigh-level summit.Even Secretary of State MikePompeo said Sunday before thesummit: “We may not get ev-erything done this week.”Nonetheless, both Messrs.Trump and Kim were eager togo ahead with the meeting,hoping the other would bend inthe heat of their personalchemistry and under the glareof the global spotlight. Reflect-ing confidence, the WhiteHouse announced Wednesday,PleaseturntopageA8By Michael R. Gordon,Jonathan Chengand Vivian SalamaNuclear Talks Ran AgroundBefore Trump and Kim MetLyft Kick-Starts a BannerYear for Technology IPOstional taxi hailing and car ser-vices.Last year, Lyft posted reve-nue of $2.16 billion, up from$1.06 billion in 2017. It nearlytripled the number of activeriders from the end of 2016 tothe end of 2018. The com-pany’s net loss, meanwhile, ex-panded to $911.3 million lastyear from $688.3 million in2017.The company plans to tradeon the Nasdaq Stock Marketwith the symbol LYFT, whichwould make it one of the firstbig public offerings in a yearthat may break records interms of IPO dollars raised.Fellow ride-hailing firmUber Technologies Inc., work-place-messaging companySlack Technologies Inc., andPinterest Inc., which operatesa platform for online-imagePleaseturntopageA9Lyft Inc. made its IPO pa-pers public Friday, a movethat fires the starting gun onwhat is expected to be one ofthe biggest years ever for ini-tial public offerings.The documents set thecompany up to begin tradingin late March after it starts itsso-called roadshow, where itpitches the business to inves-tors, in the next several weeks.Lyft’s filing depicts a com-pany experiencing sharpgrowth, but also ballooningspending—a typical picture forbig startups. It also shows justhow burgeoning the businessof ride-hailing apps has be-comeinamatterofafewyears, heavily disrupting tradi-By Maureen Farrell,Corrie Driebuschand Eliot BrownSmall-TownBanksCrippledByHigh-TechCostsAs services move online, community branches struggleEXCHANGESource:companyfilingLyft’srevenueandnetlosses,quarterlyNetlossRevenue$600–400–2000200400million1Q 2Q 3Q 4Q 1Q2017 ’182Q 3Q 4Qdingbat.diamondU.S. to halt big militaryexercises with South Korea.. A8VAHIDSALEMI/ASSOCIATEDPRESSdingbat.diamondAmazon is planning toopen dozens of grocerystores in several major U.S.cities, looking to broaden itsreachinthefoodbusiness. A1dingbat.diamondLyft’s IPO documentsshow a company experienc-ing sharp growth, but alsoballooning spending. A1dingbat.diamond AT email: wsj.ltrs@wsj.comNeed assistance with your subscription?By web: customercenter.wsj.com;By email: wsjsupport@wsj.comBy phone: 1-800-JOURNAL (1-800-568-7625);Or by live chat at wsj.com/livechatReprints By phone: 1-800-843-0008WSJ back issues and framed pages:wsjshop.comOur newspapers are 100% sourced fromsustainably certified mills.GOT A TIP FOR US?SUBMIT IT AT WSJ.COM/TIPSFor personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints DepartmentofVeteransAffairs(conditions)Note:FiscalyearendsSept.30.2505101520%’80 ’90 2000 ’10ArmyNavyMarineCorpsAirForceMostprevalenthealthissuesforfemaleveteranpatients,bypercentagewithcondition20002015CID40% 3CID40CID22CID40 CID33CID40HypertensionDepressionCholesterolLowerjointsLowerspineDermatologicAnxietyObesityEyedisordersPTSDFY1970Recent polling suggests Virginians are largely willing to give Gov.Ralph Northam, top, another chance despite recent troubles.REDWOOD CITY, Calif.—County prosecutors said Fri-day that they wouldn’t filecriminal charges in the deathof the brother of a FacebookInc. executive who was repeat-edly tased by law enforcementlast year.Chinedu Okobi, a 36-year-old unarmed black man with ahistory of mental illness, diedin October after a confronta-tion with five San MateoCounty sheriff’s deputies whotased him four times.San Mateo County DistrictAttorney Steve Wagstaffe saidthe deputies were trying tokeep Mr. Okobi out of a busyroadway and were right to de-tain him for resisting arrest.“They did not employdeadly force, could not haveforeseen that their use of non-lethal force would lead to Mr.Okobi’s death,” Mr. Wagstaffewrote in a report justifying hisdecision.Tasers used by police firetwo electrically chargedprobes that pierce clothes anddeliver a shock that can inca-pacitate the target. A 2011study by the National Instituteof Justice put the risk of deathfrom stun-gun use at less than0.25%. It concluded that thestun guns themselves don’tcause death in a majority offatalities, but rather lead tothings like a person falling af-ter being shocked. The authorswarned against using stunguns on people for more than15 seconds.San Mateo County has beenstudying its use of tasers sincethe deaths of Mr. Okobi andtwo others.Mr. Okobi’s family plans tosue the sheriff’s departmentover his death, their attorneysaid. Ebele Okobi, Facebook’spublic policy director for Af-rica, said her family had hopedthe district attorney wouldhold the officers responsible.“Justice has always beenscarce when you’re talkingabout people of color,” Ms.Okobi said.Video footage released Fri-day shows Deputy JoshuaWang calling for Mr. Okobi toget out of the street. Mr.Okobi moved to the sidewalk,where the deputies sought tostop him and he tried to eludethem, at which point DeputyWang tased Mr. Okobi for thefirst time. Mr. Okobi fell to theground and began to writhe,surrounded by the deputies.Deputy Wang tased him again.After the fall, Mr. Okobi,still lying on his back, said,“Get them off me,” and flailedat the air, but no one wastouching him, the videoshowed. “Spread the word ofGod,” he said.Mr. Okobi appeared “agi-tated, speaking incoherently,excited” and refused to complywith orders, so Deputy Wangtased him a third time, accord-ing to a report released by thedistrict attorney.Mr. Okobi got up andwalked across the street withthe deputies following him.Deputy Wang took a swingwith a baton and Mr. Okobipunched him. The deputiesgrabbed Mr. Okobi and he col-lapsed on the street.Mr. Wagstaffe said the dep-uties didn’t realize that Mr.Okobi suffered from mental-health issues.“Any reasonable police offi-cer would have seen this per-son was suffering from mentalproblems,” said John Burris,the attorney for the family.The cause of death was de-termined to be “cardiac arrestfollowing physical exertion,physical restraint, and recentelectro-muscular disruption.”BY ZUSHA ELINSONDeputiesClearedIn TaserDeathChinedu Okobi died in Octoberafter being stunned four times.For personal, non-commercial use only. Do not edit, alter or reproduce. For commercial reproduction or distribution, contact Dow Jones Reprints full-sample margin of error: +/–3.1 pct. pts.ImprovedStayedthesameWorsened53759%AFGHANISTANTaliban Hit Army BaseAmid Lull in TalksTaliban suicide bombers andgunmen stormed a major Af-ghan army base, killing andwounding dozens of governmenttroops, during a pause in talksbetween the insurgency andAmerican officials on a negoti-ated end to the 17-year war.The early-morning attackagainst the Shorab military basein heavily contested Helmandprovince was the latest indicationdeadly violence shows few signsof subsiding in Afghanistan, evenas U.S.-Taliban talks were set toresume Saturday after a two-dayrecess and prospects of a peacedeal grow brighter.In the latest assault, the Tali-ban employed a familiar tactic.Suicide bombers blew themselvesup near the entrance of the baseand in the mayhem, other fight-ers infiltrated the heavily fortifiedcompound, spraying gunfire, localofficials said. In the 16-hour siegethat followed, government forcesbattled the insurgents, some ofwhom were armed with grenadelaunchers, they said.In all, 20 insurgents—eight ofthem wearing suicide vests—were killed, while 23 soldiersdied and 16 were wounded, Af-ghanistan’s Defense Ministrysaid in a statement late Friday.—Craig NelsonALGERIAProtests SignalBroad DisaffectionDemonstrators poured intothe streets of Algeria’s cities inthe largest political protests inyears, calling for the departureof an elderly president who isseeking a fifth term after nearlytwo decades in power.Protest organizers urged onemillion people to demonstrateFriday, after tens of thousandstook to the streets during theweek calling for political changein the energy-rich but economi-cally stagnant country.Protests against PresidentAbdelaziz Bouteflika are rare. Fri-day’s demonstrations—whichtook place in Algiers, as well ascities such as Oran and Constan-tine—illustrate the challengesfacing governments across NorthAfrica and the wider MiddleEast. Young people have chafedat a lack of economic opportuni-ties and political freedoms eightyears after the Arab Spring.Many Algerians speak of adeep disaffection with the gov-ernment of Mr. Bouteflika, whois 81 years old and has rarelybeen seen in public since he suf-fered a stroke in 2013. He hasleft the day-to-day governanceof the country to his advisersand state institutions, close ob-servers of Algeria say.—Jared MalsinSAUDI ARABIAWomen’s RightsActivists Face TrialSaudi authorities said they arepreparing to place a group of de-tained women’s rights activistson trial despite months of inter-national pressure to release them.The decision suggests an inten-sification of a political crackdownoverseen by Crown Prince Moham-med bin Salman, the kingdom’s defacto ruler, who has come underglobal scrutiny following the mur-der of dissident Saudi journalist Ja-mal Khashoggi in October.Authorities arrested 18 activ-ists last year, including prominentadvocates for women’s right todrive. Some of the jailed activistshave told investigators they havebeen tortured while in detention,accusing their jailers of using elec-tric shocks and waterboarding.A senior Saudi official said atleast nine activists now face trialincluding Louhain al-Hathloul, ayoung woman who became theface of the movement to allowwomen to drive, and SamarBadawi, who campaigned forchanges in male-guardianship laws.Both women told investiga-tors they were physically abusedin detention, The Wall StreetJournal has reported, citing gov-ernment officials. The Saudi gov-ernment has previously deniedthat the women were tortured.—Jared MalsinCanada Posts WorstGrowthinTwoYearsOTTAWA—The Canadianeconomy slowed in the fourthquarter in its worst performancein more than two years amid adrop in business investment andsofter household spending.Canada’s gross domesticproduct, or the broadest measureof goods and services produced inan economy, rose at a 0.4% annu-alized rate in the fourth q