Ventures /
open conversations /\ the now
The Cannabis Venture Market in Canada and the markets that could be impacted by upcoming legislation. We need to consider the Automotive market with new upstarts focused on driverless cars and the blowback on traditional industry leaders. Finally, there are the economic blue chips guided by strong leaders and stock opportunities built for the long term investor.
Cannabis Venture Market
o Mettrum Health Corp. (MT:TSX.V)
§ Mettrum Health Corp. has a focus on Medicinal Marijuana and functional food line, Mettrum Originals. The company has entered into supply and service agreement with Australia. Michael Haines, CEO notes they are currently operating at a loss but 2016 has revealed a strong increase in revenues and a positive net cash position.
§ Since May ’16 the stock grew 65% with expectations of $7.17/stock in ‘17
o Canopy Growth Corporation (CGC:TSX); subsidiaries Tweed Marijuana Inc., and Bedrocan.
§ Company has been developing infrastructure and developing distribution deals in Australia and Brazil, as well as brand partnering with Snoop Dogg.
§ Highlight: On Tuesday, July 26, 2016 Bruce Linton, CEO and team opened the TSX when they became the first Cannabis company to trade on a major stock market.
Ø Markets Surrounding Cannabis Legislation
o Distribution, potential Shoppers Drug Mart; owned by Loblaws (L:TSX)
o Snack Food, Doritos; owned by Frito-Lay subsidiary of PepsiCo (PEP:NYSE)
Ø Automotive Market
o Upstart with new 5 year plan released, Telsa (TSLA:NASDAQ)
o Traditional facing blowback from Diesel Engine scandal, Volkswagen (VOW3:ETR)
Ø Blue Chips and Commodities
o The Common Man’s access to Warren Buffet, Berkshire Hathaway B (BRK-B:NYSE)
Forecast
Campfire Tales
Ø The Television and Cable markets still suffers from lack of innovation and mobility, streaming services are better at distributing content on phones, tablets and 100” UHD televisions. Who will win?
Ø The Cannabis market in Canada expects to grow as legislation is planned to pass in spring 2017, and distribution ramps up in 2018. Producers like Aphria Inc., and OrganiGram can benefit, so can subsidiary industries like Hydroponic Growing Equipment and Security Systems. Who are the market leaders in the subsidiary industries?
Ø The Ride Sharing market; as Uber CEO Travis Kalanick pulls away from an IPO release stating they will go public ‘as late as humanly possible’, could Lyft be a considerable alternative?
Ø Cap and Trade Carbon Legislation passed last May in the Ontario government, and took effect Friday, July 1, 2016. Ontario expects to generate 1.9 Billion annually, and in turn reward innovative companies. The first auction is targeted for March 2017. What ‘Green’ companies stand to benefit from this development?
Ø Gun Violence dominated the grim media news cycles in June and July and not surprisingly Gun Manufacturer’s stocks have increased up to 30% in some cases. From Smith & Wesson Holding Co. (SWHC: NASDAQ), Strum, Rugers and Co. Inc (RGR: NYSE) and Vista Outdoors (VSTO: NYSE). If gun violence persists this summer would it be ethical to invest in these companies?
Ø Streaming Media
o Our bet is that Netflix (NLFX: NYSE) will continue to lead the streaming video content market, against Amazon Prime (AMZN: NASDAQ) and Hulu (Private). Despite Netflix missing their worldwide subscription target of 2.5M for Q2 by 800K, this should be read as an opportunity.
§ With a price increase and enforcing VPN blocker restrictions in February they lost renewals and subscriptions as a reaction. Users will return as they are competitively priced service and have exclusive content (winning 54 Emmy nominations for 2015 content).
§ The summer time drives less of a need for streaming services, this will likely pick up in the Fall of 2016.
§ In September 2016, Netflix gains the exclusive rights to Disney content (inclusive of Pixar, Marvel and Lucasfilm).
Buy / Sell Rating:
The stock has dropped from $130/stock in December 2015 to $85/stock this July. There is room to rebound for the service vendor and with expectations low this would be a good short term buy.
Politics v. Religion
Trump v. Everyone
It is a tough decision to America has to make this November, when the elect to vote in their 45th president. The options are between the establishment of Hilary Clinton and her ties to her cronies in the Bilderberg group, or the circus that is Donald J. Trump.
In watching unedited speeches from both candidates, the choice is not as easy as the sound bites would make it seem. Donald J. Trump does represent a refresh to the entrenched corruption built into the existing system working best for the elites. However, his mere presence does not imply he will replace it with anything more but a new set of elites and in turn bankrupting the rest.
The New Yorker, an established liberal outlet (publisher by Conde Nast; Editor David Remnick) has recently published an article ‘Donald Trump’s Ghostwriter Tells All’ by Jane Meyer.
In speeches Trump credits the ‘The Art of the Deal’ as the feather in his cap, however, in this article the true author exposes his opinion on the man, the myth and the legend that he helped create.
Vote Clump!
Mixtapes
Many eyes are focused on the U.K. Sound, as North American’s are searching for hungry Hip Hop and Pop artists who are willing to fight for their sound. Ironically, the U.K. is pushing to open their charts to Toronto and Trinidadian based artists like Drake and Rihanna dominating the charts.
Top Five
001. Drake ft Rihanna / Too Good
002. Wretch 32, Avelino, Haile, Krept and Konan, Fekky, Shakka / Hulk Hogan Remix
003. Badbadnotgood ft. Sam Herring / Time Moves Slow
004. Bananarama / Cruel Summer
005. Joey Purp ft. Chance the Rapper / Girls@
In all, part of the genius behind Drake’s recent sound is his global partnerships with the U.K. street sounds Skepta (Boy Better Know), inclusion of Nigerian producer WizKid and incorporating the Caribbean rhythms dominating sound since last summer. (cont’d)
Other Playlists, if you have time to kill….
U.K Sound 2016 – Up and Coming Artists from the United Kingdom pre-Brexit.
Post Clash Dub Tone (R.I.P. 2016) – Classic Era tunes to relax with this summer
Cinema
The largest convention of its kind, the San Diego 2016 Comic-Con, took place this July. The noted haven of geekdom that has become a cultural force in the world of Hollywood, and this year more exciting Marvel and D.C. were shared with the public. However, it is the first look at Luc Besson’s ‘Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets’ space opera that really grabbed my attention.
The ‘Valerian’ story is based on a French comic series ‘Valerian, Agent Spatio-Temporel’ written by Pierre Christin with artist Jean-Claude Mezieres that was published in Pilote Magazine from 1967 – 2010. The original story was considered to be an influence on the original George Lucas Star Wars series – and the genre as a whole.
The movie is noted to have a feel of the original Star Wars, the grit of Mad Max and the sheen of the Fifth Element. The hype surrounding something like that would be difficult to achieve but with Luc Besson’s cinematographic credits, he is something who could do just that. Especially with a cast of Cara Delevigne, Ethan Hawke, John Goodman (this guy is good in everything), Rutger Hauer and Rihanna!
Here is Luc Besson speaking with Kevin Smith about the project – IMDb interview.