financializer news A weblog highlighting financial topics making news in the international media.

colorado: According to The State of Legal Marijuana Markets report, Canadians spent A2.28 billion on legal weed in 2018, with the Colorado Department of Revenue saying the state's regulated pot industry has generated more than A8.5 billion in sales since legal recreational marijuana sales began in 2014, according to Nine News Australia. Gorilla Pure Kush is just one of the many varieties of marijuana for sale at the Santa Ysabel Smoke Shop and Dispensary Media News Group via Getty Images Investment strategist Mark Bernberg said Australia was losing billions of dollars of potential tax revenue from legal marijuana, questioning why it's not being addressed on the election campaign. To improve your experience update it here News National Legal cannabis could earn 1b tax revenue and create 250,000 jobs By Matt Dunn Senior Producer3 40pm May 4, 2019 and marijuana is now recreationally legal in Canada and across 10 states in the US. And it appears allowing adults to legally purchase and consume cannabis is big business. It's a product very much like alcohol and gambling that's recession proof because it's a product of recreational consumption for adults, he told nine.au. To date, the state's marijuana taxes since recreational sales started have generated more than A1.3 billion in tax revenue. The said taxes from regulated marijuana sales in Colorado, which include licenses and fees from dispensaries, exceeded A380 million in 2018 up nearly 8 per cent compared to the year prior. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

mortgage: That was down 6 basis points during the week, according to Market Watch. It snapped a four-week streak of increases for the popular product, the first time it had sustained such a long stretch of gains since last September. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.14% in the May 2 week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 3.60%, down from 3.64%. The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage averaged 3.68%, down 9 basis points. Fixed-rate mortgages follow the trajectory of the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note TMUBMUSD10Y, 0.00% . The yield on it and other bonds swooned earlier in the year after the Federal Reserve surprised investors by saying that the case for interest-rate increases had weakened because of soft inflation, slower growth, and policy uncertainty. Those rates don't include fees associated with obtaining mortgage loans. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

visa dispensation: We are committed to working towards the African Union's goal of visa free travel and a single African air transport market, he said, according to Global Times China. The South African government is in the process of radically overhauling its visa dispensation for the rest of the world and introducing a world class e-visa system, Ramaphosa said. African countries must reduce the onerous and often unnecessary bureaucratic red tape that tourists who want to visit African countries face, Ramaphosa said at Africa's Travel Indaba 2019, the continent's largest travel trade show, in Durban, a coastal city in eastern South Africa. He said tourism plays an important role in his government's strategy to raise over 100 billion US dollars in new investment over five years. We are... acutely aware that we face competition from other tourism destinations around the globe, he said. As part of efforts to revitalize the economy, South Africa is focusing its energies on labor-intensive sectors such as agriculture, the oceans economy and tourism, Ramaphosa said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

vision: If pursued, an IPO would give investors in the fund a way to cash out part or all of their stakes, according to The Japan Times. The fund might consider a direct listing rather than a traditional IPO, the person said. ; A listing of any sort would be unusual for a venture firm, but the Vision Fund has operated outside of traditional venture parameters since its debut in 2016. The idea is in an early stage, said a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be identified because it was private. It dwarfs other funds in size and invests more broadly than most venture funds, including in mature companies like chipmaker Nvidia Corp. Soft Bank is planning a second Vision Fund, and is also launching a Latin American fund in the mold of the Vision Fund. The Vision Fund has explored raising an additional 15 billion to keep funding its ambitious investment activities. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

water: The stock is down over 50% from its 52-week high and recently blamed injustice for hurting its financial results, according to The Independent. The company is referring to a lawsuit alleging that its sparkling water brand, LaCroix, uses artificial additives despite being advertised as all-natural. FIZZ has been one of the best-performing stocks of the past 10 years -- at least until recently. Is the company right to blame its weak performance on the lawsuit, or is the lawsuit a scapegoat for more fundamental issues with its sparkling water business Can of LaCroix sparkling water More Image Source National Beverage lawsuit In the company's Q4 2018 earnings release, CEO Nick Caporella used colorful language to describe the company's disappointing financial results note emphasis added We are truly sorry for these results stated above. Brands do not see or hear, so they are at the mercy of their owners or care providers who must preserve the dignity and special character that the brand exemplifies. Negligence nor mismanagement nor woeful acts of God were not the reasons much of this was the result of injustice! Managing a brand is not so different from caring for someone who becomes handicapped. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wealth accumulation: This is an astonishing oversight, considering that the period over which wealth decumulation occurs is often as long as that of accumulation, according to Market Watch. If the turning point between accumulation and decumulation is 65 years of age, then an investor needs to plan for a potential 30 years or more of decumulation and that planning needs to begin before age 65. But the field has very little to say about the best ways to decumulate, or spend down wealth. In contrast, the period during which substantial assets are accumulated typically stretches over 30 or 35 years, starting around age 30 or 35. And it is a subject to which much more meaningful and scientific study can be applied than to wealth accumulation. The limited attention to formulating a theory of decumulation is all the more surprising, given that, with the retirement of baby-boomers, it is surely the foremost concern of more people than ever before. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

death: Mongolian authorities confirmed the couple from the Ulgii district were infected with the plague after illegally eating a marmot, according to Nine News Australia. The 38-year-old man died on April 27, while his wife succumbed to the black death three days later. To improve your experience update it here News World Bubonic plague kills two in Mongolia By 9News Staff11 48am May 4, 2019Facebook Tweet MailA plane has been quarantined after pregnant woman and her husband were killed by the bubonic plague in Mongolia. The plague is caused by a bacterium found on small mammals like rats and marmots. According to the Siberian Times, an emergency team from the National Centre of Communicable Diseases boarded the aircraft in hazmat suits to check the 158 passengers on board before they were moved to a hospital. AAP They leave behind four children aged between two and 13.A plane that flew into the nation's capital from the affected area was quarantined. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

group: If a deal cannot be agreed well before the group's next rental payment in late June, Arcadia which includes Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Wallis, Evans and Burton could face administration, according to The Guardian. Green, who has not been in the UK since October, is said to be keen to wrap up an exit from the group he bought for 850m 17 years ago. The billionaire's Arcadia group, which employs about 19,000 people, is desperate to secure a rescue restructure that will involve the closure of about 50 of the group's 570 British stores. With his reputation in tatters after the collapse of BHS and accusations of inappropriate behaviour, the entrepreneur has lost his appetite for the British high street. Even then, only Topshop is likely to attract serious interest, although the likes of the Edinburgh Woollen Mill owner Philip Day and Sports Direct boss Mike Ashley might be tempted to pick up the smaller brands if they went bust. One alternative to administration for Arcadia could be an immediate sale, but industry experts say a deal is highly unlikely without a process to cut costs and reduce the burden of the group's pension black hole which comes to 537m. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

newsletters: Email Sign UpBy signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time, according to MSNBC. Facebook Twitter Email Print POLITICO Playbook Derby Day North Korea saber rattles De Blasio to enter race By ANNA PALMER, JAKE SHERMAN and DANIEL LIPPMAN 05/04/2019 09 37 AM EDTPresented by Jose Ortiz rides Serengeti Empress to victory during the 145th running of the Kentucky Oaks horse race at Churchill Downs on Friday in Louisville, Kentucky. Sign up for POLITICO Playbook today. Matt Slocum/AP Photo DRIVING THE DAYSIREN -- AP'S FOSTER KLUG and HYUNG-JIN KIM in Seoul, South Korea North Korea fires several short-range projectiles into sea North Korea on Saturday fired several unidentified short-range projectiles into the sea off its eastern coast, the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff said, a likely sign of Pyongyang's growing frustration at stalled diplomatic talks with Washington meant to provide coveted sanctions relief in return for nuclear disarmament. If it's confirmed that the North fired banned ballistic missiles, it would be the first such launch since the North's November 2017 test of an intercontinental ballistic missile. South Korea's military has bolstered its surveillance in case there are additional weapons launches, and South Korean and U.S. authorities are analyzing the details. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

power plant: However, the waivers will be reduced from 180 days to 90, and State Department spokesperson Morgan Ortagus said in a statement that assistance to expand Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant beyond the existing reactor unit could be sanctionable, according to CNN. Bushehr is one of the three facilities exempted from sanctions along with Arak and Fordow. The US will extend waivers that allow the remaining parties to the 2015 deal to conduct research and do non-proliferation work at three sites in Iran without fear of facing sanctions, according to a fact sheet released by the State Department on Friday. The US will also revoke two waivers that allowed Iran to ship its excess heavy water for storage and swap its enriched uranium for natural uranium, according to Ortagus. Read More Internal debate Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the administration should continue take a nuanced view towards each waiver and facility. The decisions today enhance our ability to constrain Iran's nuclear program while pursuing maximum economic pressure, Brian Hook, the State Department special representative on Iran, told CNN in an interview Friday. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

seats: Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservatives lost 1332 seats on local councils that were up for re-election and Labour, which would typically aim to gain hundreds of seats in a mid-term vote, instead lost 81, according to Nine News Australia. Many voters expressed frustration at May's failure to have taken Britain out of the European Union, almost three years after the country decided to leave in a referendum. To improve your experience update it here News World Tories seek Brexit deal after poll losses By AAP9 00pm May 4, governing Conservatives need to be open to compromise with the opposition Labour Party in order to deliver Brexit following heavy losses in Thursday's local elections, health minister Matt Hancock says. Prime Minister Theresa May during a speech to local party members at the Humber Royal Hotel in Grimsby, following the voting in the English council elections. I think we need to be in the mood for compromise, he added. AAP We need to be listening to these results from these local elections, which as I say are about 'deliver Brexit', Hancock said in a BBC radio interview. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

consumer-discretionary xly: The S&P 500 index SPX, 0.96% climbed 28.12 points, or 1%, at 2,945.64, barely missing its own closing record at 2,845.83, as industrials XLI, 1.21% consumer-discretionary XLY, 1.18% and communication-services XLC, 0.97% all outperformed, according to Market Watch. All 11 S&P 500 sectors finished in positive territory for the day. How did benchmarks perform The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, 1.58% advanced 127.22 points, or 1.6%, at 8,164, buoyed by gains in e-commerce giant Amazon Inc., which helped the technology-laden index to carve out an all-time high and recover from a three-session stumble. The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, 0.75% rose 197.16 points, or 0.8%, to 26,504.95. The Dow, however, registered a 0.1% decline. For the week, the Nasdaq erased a weekly decline to end with a five-day climb of 0.2%, extending the index's streak to a sixth straight week, while the S&P 500 index booked a 0.2% weekly gain. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

hasn t: LYFT, 1.64%hasn't had a very warm welcome to the public markets since its late-March initial public offering, but the company will look to turn that around on Tuesday afternoon when it delivers its first earnings report as a public company, according to Market Watch. The reaction to that may set the tone for rival Uber Technologies Inc. Lyft Inc. UBER, 0.00% which appears ready to make a splash with its own IPO later in the week. Lyft will look to dispel some of those fears or at least steer attention elsewhere when it faces analysts publicly for the first time on its earnings call. The two transportation giants have different priorities and profiles, but they invite the same concerns from investors about steep losses, murky profit trajectories and a continuing price war. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

investment strategies: The event, second of its kind following its inauguration last year, came as US multinational conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway will be holding its annual shareholders' meeting Saturday, according to Global Times China. The forum will also feature panel discussions on Warren Buffett's investment strategies. Co-hosted by Yahoo Finance, Asian Cultural Center US and the China General Chamber of Commerce USA., the US-China Investor Forum will focus on business and investment opportunities between the United States and China, how both countries can continue a stable and healthy bi-lateral relationship, Yahoo said. Buffett, 88, is chairman and CEO of Berkshire. Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger will share their views on the current development of the company, the stock market, the global economy -- among others -- during the shareholders' meeting, which investors and non-investors alike are paying close attention to. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

loans: It's the same as excessive lending by consumer credit companies, he added, noting that some developing countries may not realize the interest commitments they are taking on along with the debt burden, according to The Japan Times. China's 99-year lease of the port in Hambantota, Sri Lanka, was one example, Aso said. China must graduate from ADB loans, Aso told a news conference after holding talks with Liu on the sidelines of an annual ADB conference that opened in the Fiji resort city of Nadi the same day. ; Aso said he finds it problematic that China, while taking loans from the ADB as a developing country, makes excessive loans to emerging economies, which causes some of them to face repayment difficulties. By criticizing Beijing's stance, Aso apparently aims to pave the way for the ADB to reduce its loans to China and allocate more funds to emerging countries that need financing for infrastructure development. On that matter, Aso and Liu discussed ways to develop guiding principles for high-quality infrastructure investment based on repayable loans. Developing a method to enable low-income countries to continue repaying their loans has become an issue in relation to China's Belt and Road regional development initiative. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

m loans: It is understood he has offered the investment in the form of two 50m loans, one of which has already been taken up by Arcadia, which includes Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Wallis, according to The Independent. Shopping centre firm Intu warns of big drop in rental income Read more However, landlords want more than 100m from the Green family and for it to be cash rather than loans. As first revealed bythe Guardian last month, Green has offered to invest 100m of new funds in the business to entice landlords into backing a rescue package that includes the closure of about 50 of Arcadia's 570 stores and rent cuts on many more. They also want a detailed business plan outlining how the money will be spent. Landlords believe a cash investment would help Arcadia more than a loan as it would not lumber the retailer with interest payments and also enable it to borrow against the sum. One source said It's about sexy stores combined with the kind of omni-channel offer digital services linked with click and collect that means the customer proposition is again compelling. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

manufacturing sector: However, Bank of America Merrill Lynch said, We maintain that the worst in the cycle is behind us and expect continued growth improvement, according to Global Times China. Chinese manufacturing PMI rebounded to expansionary 50.5 percent in March from contractionary readings from December 2018 to February 2019, according to the NBS. China's consumer price index CPI would see year-on-year growth of 2.4 percent in 2019 and could temporally top 3 percent at the end of 2019 due to substantial rise of pork prices, the international investment bank said. Chinese PMI in manufacturing sector declined to 50.1 percent in April from 50.5 percent in the previous month, according to the latest data issued by China's National Bureau of Statistics NBS on Tuesday. The report also noted that inflation will unlikely become an imminent constraint for monetary policy or force the People's Bank of China PBOC the central bank, to tighten. Liu stressed that China has no intent to tighten or relax monetary policy . China maintains a prudent monetary policy and keeps it neither tight nor loose at the current stage, Liu Guoqiang, vice governor of PBOC, said recently. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

marcellus barnett: With an estimated 500 trillion cubic feet 14 trillion cubic meters of gas, Beetaloo has been compared to famed U.S. shale regions such as Marcellus and Barnett. ; But its isolated location, lack of infrastructure and the likelihood of tough environmental opposition make Beetaloo a highly speculative investment, according to The Japan Times. There are some big numbers being quoted, and people have to realize this is exploration, said Mark Schubert, Origin's head of integrated gas, noting that only some of the total reserves would be extractable. Origin Energy Ltd. plans to drill two wells later this year in the Northern Territory's Beetaloo Basin, after the local government ended a three-year ban on fracking the practice of extracting oil and gas from layers of shale rock deep underground. Origin's permit area is the size of Wales, but engineers on site are more likely to encounter crocodiles than sheep in the largely barren area. Beetaloo is about 2,500 kilometers 1,500 miles away from Sydney and even farther from Melbourne, so the project would require pipelines that would connect to and expand the capacity of Australia's growing gas transmission network. The scrubby bush land, dotted with billabongs, or water holes, would be familiar to fans of the 1986 hit movie Crocodile Dundee, which was shot partly in Kakadu National Park in the north of the territory. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

wang: Smelling a business opportunity, Wang and his friends created a fitness app called Keep, according to Xinhua China. It soon became a hit. Five years ago, then a fourth-year college student, Wang successfully shed some 50 pounds by doing exercise, leading many people to inquire his weight-loss secret. The number of users has shot up to 180 million and continues to expand. For our young people, it is a time of immense possibilities, Wang said. Wang was born in 1990 and grew up as China's Internet sector experienced rapid growth. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

initiatives: The fund would be made available for large-scale initiatives that promoted economic diversity, job creation and sustainability in Collie but not renewables, according to Australian Broadcasting Corporation. At least, not yet. adsbygoogle window.adsbygoogle .push ; The government believes renewable energy could still have a future in Collie but it needs to be part of a broader economic development strategy, the statement said. The Labor McGowan government said on Thursday it had decided to divert the 60 million earmarked for major biomass and solar projects in Collie to a new Industry Attraction and Development Fund, instead. Last month, the opposition increased pressure on the government to come clean on its plans for Collie, and in particular for the proposed renewable energy generation plants projects the shadow minister for regional development had described as duds. I'm particularly excited about WA Labor's commitment to innovative technologies, said then opposition leader Mark McGowan at the time. As we reported here, when in opposition, the WA Labor Party had campaigned enthusiastically for biomass generation and large-scale solar to be developed in the town, in its attempt to retain the seat of Collie-Preston in the March 2017 election. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

landlords: It is understood he has offered the investment in the form of two 50m loans, one of which has already been taken up by Arcadia, which includes Topshop, Dorothy Perkins, Miss Selfridge, Evans and Wallis, according to The Guardian. Shopping centre firm Intu warns of big drop in rental income Read more However, landlords want more than 100m from the Green family and for it to be cash rather than loans. As first revealed bythe Guardian last month, Green has offered to invest 100m of new funds in the business to entice landlords into backing a rescue package that includes the closure of about 50 of Arcadia's 570 stores and rent cuts on many more. They also want a detailed business plan outlining how the money will be spent. Landlords believe a cash investment would help Arcadia more than a loan as it would not lumber the retailer with interest payments and also enable it to borrow against the sum. One source said It's about sexy stores combined with the kind of omni-channel offer digital services linked with click and collect that means the customer proposition is again compelling. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

prize: Facebook Tweet MailA Victorian man in his fifties who has never owned a home or a new car has won 30 million in Powerball, according to Nine News Australia. The blue-collar worker from Bendigo was today told he'd won the division-one prize. To improve your experience update it here News National Winner of 30 million Powerball prize has never owned a new car By AAP3 17pm May 3, 2019A Victorian man who has won a 30 million Powerball prize.says a new car and first home are top of the shopping list. I've never been a rich man and have worked hard all my life, so this is going to make a huge difference, he told Tatts officials. The man, who wanted his identity to remain private, said he has used the same lucky numbers for years. Other than my wedding day, this is the best day of my life. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

stake: This material has been extracted from filings released by the SEC from April 25 through May 1, 2019, according to The Independent. Source Insider Score Activist Holdings Gannett Company GCI On April 25, MNG Enterprises reported in a filing that it held a stake of 8,506,799 shares in the news media publisher, equal to 7.5% of the tradable stock. Subsequent changes in holdings or intentions must be reported in amended filings. MNG also revealed in the filing that it had halved the number of nominees for election to Gannett's board at the upcoming annual shareholders meeting. Select Interiors Concepts SIC ADW Capital Management disclosed on April 30 its stake in the interior home products maker and distributor; the stake amounted to an approximately 9.7% holding, or 2,514,900 shares of Select Interior's outstanding stock. The reduction from six to three candidates resulted from discussions with other shareholders and will provide what MNG believes to be the strongest platform to send a clear message that the board must act now to commence a review of strategic alternatives to maximize shareholder value. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

observer member: China, despite being a non-Arctic state, is increasingly active in the polar region and became an observer member of the Arctic Council in 2013, according to The Japan Times. That has prompted concerns from Arctic states over Beijing's long-term strategic objectives, including possible military deployments. The assessment is included in the U.S. military's annual report to Congress on China's armed forces and follows Beijing's publication of its first official Arctic policy white paper in June. ; In that paper, China outlined plans to develop shipping lanes opened up by global warming to form a Polar Silk Road building on President Xi Jinping's signature Belt and Road initiative. The Pentagon report noted that Denmark has expressed concern about China's interest in Greenland, which has included proposals to establish a research station, establish a satellite ground station, renovate airports and expand mining. The Pentagon report noted that China's military has made modernizing its submarine fleet a high priority. Civilian research could support a strengthened Chinese military presence in the Arctic Ocean, which could include deploying submarines to the region as a deterrent against nuclear attacks, the report said. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

rate increase: That is according to Jitesh Kumar, a derivatives strategist at Soci t G n rale, who says the most accurate predictor of long-term volatility in the S&P 500 SPX, 0.96% over the past 50 years or so has been the inflation-adjusted fed-funds rate, or the real rate, according to Market Watch. And real rates U.S. Treasury yields minus expectations for coming inflation have steadily risen since the central bank raised its benchmark overnight lending rate in December of 2015, with the Fed raising rates a total of nine times since its last rate increase at the end of last year. As the delayed impact of the Federal Reserve's rate-hike policy filters its way through the U.S. economy, a pickup in volatility can be expected. The key takeaway from our work over the past few years analyzing the impact of macro factors on equity volatility is that it is the real central bank policy rate that drives the subsequent volatility in equities, said Kumar, in a research note on Friday. Kumar didn't clarify if the expected uptick in volatility would lead to lower equity values. See Should stock-market investors watch out for a volatility pickup Read Here's one sign in bonds that the U.S. is poised for a sharp economic slowdown in 2019 Higher interest rates can make stock-market investors nervous because it translates into higher borrowing costs, which can, in turn, crimp corporate investment, earnings and ultimately hamstring economic momentum. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.

sector: ISOCountry Groups euro at be cy ee fi fr de gr ie it lv lt lu mc mt nl pt sk si sm es va uk gb us us variants 1 33.4, 2 33.3, 3 33.3 We'll tell you what's true, according to The Independent. You can form your own view. Cue a frenzy of pointy headed scribbling from the City's pointy headed scribblers. From 15p 0.18 0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras. It rose to 50.4 in April, with 50 indicating growth. Subscribe now Read more UK services sector shrinks for first time since Brexit vote Britain's dominant services sector has turned in a shocker Brexit uncertainty causes shock slump to UK service sector There'll be a lot more scribbling done today after the the IHS Markit/Cips UK Purchasing Managers PMI index covering the dominant part of UK plc tried to rain on his parade. (news.financializer.com). As reported in the news.