Breaking News

Medical Marijuana ETF Sees Heavy Interest Among Retail Investors

On April 5, Canada’s very first medical marijuana ETF started trading.
The Horizons Medical Marijuana Life Sci ETF (TSX:HMMJ) consists of 14 different companies related to the medical marijuana field. Assets include top pot growers like Canopy Growth Corp, Aurora Cannabis and Aphria Inc. Combined, those three companies make up just under 30% of total assets.

What makes the ETF unique is its exposure to marijuana-related industries. Scott’s Miracle-Gro Company is a large holding. Other positions are drug companies that only have a portion of their revenues come from marijuana research.
Despite only having $37.6 million in assets – which is tiny in the ETF world – investors are going gaga for the medical marijuana ETF. At approximately 1:45 pm Eastern Time on Monday, April 10, more than 1.2 million shares had changed hands.

Retail investors are particularly excited about this new ETF. Most transactions are for just a few hundred shares, which indicates the absence of any serious money.
It’s easy to get excited about the marijuana industry, especially considering a bill to legalize the drug is expected to be tabled in Canada on Thursday.

But investors should be cautious. Canada’s pot stocks are some of the most expensive out there, with many analysts saying the sector is starting to resemble the tech bubble of the late 1990s. When valuations get this stretched, bad things often happen.

In addition, the ETF’s management fee is 0.75%, which is far higher than average.
The bottom line? Be cautious on this new ETF. Canada’s pot stocks are still a speculative investment at this point.

Baystreet.ca

Woodlands to become ‘Star Destination of the North’ after facelift
By ALFRED CHUA
Published 10:23 AM, APRIL 16, 2017 www.todayonline.com

SINGAPORE — Woodlands will transform into the “Star Destination of the North” in the next decade, following a comprehensive facelift under the third phase of the Remaking of Our Heartland programme.

An exhibition showcasing the proposed raft of plans for six new proposed developments and enhancements to existing neighbourhood centres in the northern town was unveiled on Sunday (April 16) by National Development Minister Lawrence Wong.

The proposals were the results of a series of seven focus group discussions held by the Housing and Development Board (HDB) in 2015 with some 220 residents and community stakeholders.

One of the highlights of the facelift involves revamping the Woodlands Regional Centre, which could see a new Town Plaza built beside Woodlands MRT station — an idea that many participants had raised and supported during the focus group discussions.

A new Town Plaza could be built beside Woodlands MRT station. Photo: Housing and Development Board

A new landmark residential development will also be built at Woodlands Central, part of the Woodlands Regional Centre.

At the Woodlands North Coast, a new public development beside Admiralty Park aims to offer a “Housing-in-the-woods” experience.
“This project will leverage on the (area’s) hilly terrain, so residents will be able to enjoy good views of the park and the Straits of Johor,” said the HDB.

Specific development plans for these residential sites have not been finalised yet.

The Woodlands North Coast area will also be home to the Woodlands North Coast Innovation District, which will be beside Republic Polytechnic, and is part of the North Coast Innovation Corridor.

To connect Woodlands Central to the north coast and Woodlands Waterfront, the agency is proposing a 1.9km-long jogging and cycling link. Called the WoodsVista Gallery, this second proposal will feature multiple rest points with seating along the way, for residents to gather and interact.


At Marsiling, residents can expect a new “Discovery Playground”, featuring amenities like a boardwalk along the coast, and a heritage corner showcasing the area’s history.

The “Discovery Playground” will comprise the current Woodlands Town Garden, which will be renamed Marsiling Park after a facelift, as well as other recreation facilities.
To the south, the new Woodlands Health Campus will be constructed, and opened in phases from 2022. It will comprise a community hospital, a long-term care facility, as well as an acute care hospital.
The Health Campus, which includes the first hospital to be built in the town, will also be integrated to the adjacent greenery, in a setting similar to the current Khoo Teck Puat hospital, said the HDB.
To the east, the area beside Admiralty MRT station will be transformed into a new “Community Nexus”. Within it will be Kampung Admiralty, which will comprise a plethora of facilities like medical centres, eldercare and childcare centres, dining and retail outlets, and housing for the elderly.
Existing facilities in the area will also form part of this “Community Nexus”, with the Admiralty Place Neighbourhood Centre (NC) getting a spruce-up, said the HDB.
Lastly, to span the entire Woodlands town from east to west, the HDB is proposing a “Social Corridor”, built on the existing North-South Line viaduct. This 4.2km-long link will feature eight nodes, and residents will have a say in what to do in each of the eight proposed spaces. Suggestions could include community gardens, and rest points.
On the timeframe for the proposals to be implemented, the HDB said: “Residents can look forward to many of the plans being implemented within the next five to 10 years. The actual implementation timeframe for each proposal will differ from site to site.”
Separately, the HDB will also be giving existing NCs and parks in Woodlands a facelift, with improvements such as additional greenery, and improved connectivity.
Woodlands, which sits on around 1,198 hectares of land, is the first town in the third phase of the Remaking Our Heartland programme.
Two other towns, Pasir Ris and Toa Payoh, will also be remade, with details to be shared in the coming weeks.

An investment operation is one which, upon thorough analysis, promises safety of principal and satisfactory return. Operations not meeting these requirements are speculative.

--Benjamin Graham

Retailers Are Going Bankrupt at a Record Pace

Retailers are filing for bankruptcy at a record rate as they try to cope with the rapid acceleration of online shopping.

In a little over three months, 14 chains have announced they will seek court protection, according to an analysis by S&P Global Market Intelligence, almost surpassing all of 2016. Few retail segments have proven immune as discount shoe-sellers, outdoor goods shops, and consumer electronics retailers have all found themselves headed for reorganization.

Meanwhile, America’s retailers are closing stores faster than ever as they try to eliminate a glut of space and shift more business to the web. S&P blamed retailer financial struggles on their inability to adapt to rising pressure from e-commerce.

Urban Outfitters Chief Executive Officer Richard Hayne said as much on a conference call with analysts last month. There are just too many stores, especially those that sell clothing, he said.

“This created a bubble, and like housing, that bubble has now burst,” said Hayne. “We are seeing the results: Doors shuttering and rents retreating. This trend will continue for the foreseeable future and may even accelerate.”

Jim Elder, S&P Global Market Intelligence’s director of risk services, wrote that first quarter results suggest there’s no quick recovery in sight. Sears Holdings Corp., Bon-Ton Stores Inc., and Perfumania Holdings Inc. are among the most vulnerable in the coming year, according to an S&P analysis of public retail companies. Sears acknowledged in a March filing that there is “substantial doubt” about its future. Fitch named retail chains including Nine West Holdings, Claire’s Stores, and children’s clothing outlet Gymboree Corp. in a study late last year. A spokesman for Nine West declined to comment. (Representatives from Bon-Ton, Perfumania, and Claire’s didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.)

Department stores, electronics retail, and apparel shops are at highest risk, according to S&P. The food and home improvement segments are safest.

Apparel retail has been particularly hard hit, with The Limited, Wet Seal, BCBG Max Azria, and Vanity Shop of Grand Forks each seeking court protection in 2017. The latest victim was Payless Inc., which filed for bankruptcy April 4 and said it would shutter 400 stores.

Rue21 may be next. The embattled teen apparel chain is said to be filing for bankruptcy as soon as this month, according to people familiar with the matter. Or perhaps it will be Gymboree, which Bloomberg News reported is preparing to file for bankruptcy as a June 1 debt payment looms.

www.bloomberg.com/news

Twitter: Engagement Acceleration Was Key

Summary

Twitter reported a strong Q1 with key growth in engagement.

Revenues and earnings beat estimates but were down from last year levels.

The stock traded significantly higher last year on buyout rumours when the platform was still struggling to turnaround suggesting plenty of upside from here.

Twitter (NYSE:TWTR) is up a big 10% after reporting Q117 results. The market again got caught off-guard looking at the wrong metrics.

The stock traded down towards the all-time lows at $14 prior to the earnings release. The question now is whether Twitter can maintain and grow the $16 share price from early trading following earnings

For Q1, Twitter saw MAUs jump 9 million to 328 million. The prior three quarters only generated 9 million additional MAUs with the weakest quarter in the last year being Q4 with the NFL games in the mix.

Maybe even more important is that DAUs jumped 14% from last year. The growth rate continues to accelerate having hit 11% growth during Q4. This key engagement figure is what told investors that the turnaround was in progress back when Twitter reported Q4 numbers in February though the market sold the stock off towards the lows.

The interesting part is that Twitter made a point to block abusive content that included reducing the creating of new abusive accounts. In theory, this move reduced new accounts, but the less abuse on the platform apparently helps with usage of real accounts.

The question though is where does the stock go with revenue declining YoY. Revenues beat estimates at $548 million, but the number was down 8% from last year as ad revenue plunged 11% from last year.

The increased engagement levels should drive more ad deals that has already spurred 32 new deals during Q1. Twitter faced an uncertain future at the start of 2016 as the market feared the platform was in permanent decline scaring away advertisers that are now returning to the platform.

The stock has an Enterprise Value of around $10 billion or about 4x revenue forecasts. The amount isn't exactly cheap compared to most tech stocks, but in this space, Twitter is a relative bargain and exactly why the stock had so much interest from acquirers last October that drove the stock up to $25. Note such a move now equates to a 50%+ gain.

Source: seekingalpha.com/Twitter Q117 presentation

Square (SQ) has acquired the engineering team of anonymous social media app Yik Yak, Bloomberg reported, citing sources. The payment processing company is said to have paid less than $3 million for between five and 10 of Yik Yak's engineers.

Twitter (TWTR) co-founder Jack Dorsey leads Square, which has been making acquisitions to expand its presence in loans, food delivery, and software services, Bloomberg said.