Good Evening! On Thursday, U.S. stock ended mixed, marking the end of a difficult August that resulted in a decline for all three leading indices.
The S&P 500 and the Dow Jones finished the day in the red by 0.16% & 0.48% respectively, while the Nasdaq Composite finished up by a small amount of 0.11%.
A BIG DEVELOPMENT COULD BE HAPPENING!
Tilray Brands (TLRY), a Canadian cannabis corporation, has been making strategic preparations in anticipation of the legalization of marijuana in the U.S., with the aim of significantly enhancing its commercial operations. And they are in luck!
Why is that? According to an early report by Bloomberg News, a communication was sent yesterday from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), in which a request was made to reclassify marijuana from its present Schedule I classification to a Schedule III designation. Here is a breakdown of those Schedules:
- Schedule I drugs include substances that are deemed to lack any recognized medicinal use, such as heroin and LSD.
- Schedule III includes Tylenol with Codeine, which means the potential reclassification to a less dangerous category might represent a significant advancement toward the legalization of cannabis in the U.S.
The big picture! The potential legalization of recreational marijuana usage at the federal level in the U.S. would have positive implications for Tilray and other Canadian cannabis companies. On top of that, Tilray now has craft beer and distillery enterprises inside the US, some of which have been recently acquired from Anheuser-Busch InBev. This existing infrastructure would make the distribution easier and faster should federal marijuana laws change.
NO NEED TO PICK A SIDE!
Harman, an audio business, has unveiled its latest product line, the JBL Authentics. These innovative smart speakers are unique in that they integrate both Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant concurrently. No need to pick sides anymore!
Why would they do this? Throughout history, there has been a lack of mutual desire between Amazon and Google to achieve seamless integration. However, the shift towards compatibility is occurring alongside a decline in the market for smart home devices and intense rivalry between Big Tech companies and quickly evolving AI systems for assistant technologies.
However, there are several challenges that must be overcome. According to data from Canalys, the first quarter of this year saw a continued decline in smart speaker shipments, marking the sixth consecutive quarterly decrease. The shipments declined 30%. According to reports, the Alexa business of Amazon was projected to incur a substantial loss of $10 billion in the previous year and was a target of the company’s downsizing efforts. Google has had comparable challenges in terms of generating attention and substantial financial gains from its voice assistant.