The Cannabis Company That Won't Mix Work With Pleasure
A limited supply of cannabis in the U.S. means those resources have to be divvied up carefully.
For Cronos Group, that means keeping its medical and recreational marijuana operations in completely different verticals, CEO Michael Gorenstein told Cheddar. That ensures patients’ needs are prioritized over those of recreational users.
“If you think about building a town, and you have a limited amount of building supplies, we want to make sure that we’re building a hospital before we’re building the bar,” he said.
Canada-based Cronos Group started trading on the NASDAQ on Tuesday, making it the first marijuana company to list on a major U.S. market.
“It’s a big milestone not just for us but for the entire industry,” said Gorenstein. “[It] just continues to show the acceptance that the cannabis industry is getting.”
And the industry does seem to be growing at break-neck speed. Arcview, a leading researcher of the cannabis market, stated in a [recent report](https://arcviewgroup.com/product/5th-edition/) that the industry brought in $9.7 billion in sales in 2017, and that number could grow to over $25 billion by 2021.
For the full interview, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-first-cannabis-company-to-list-on-nasdaq).
Nikola announced that it delivered its first electric semi trucks last week, sending the embattled EV company's stock soaring. There is a lot of competition in this space, though, said Lauren Fix, an automotive analyst with Car Coach Reports. While every country has companies racing to dominate the electric trucking industry, she explained, a shortage of graphite, used in batteries, and a dearth of convenient charging stations will still keep growth slow in 2022. "You really have to be very careful when you're investing in this marketplace," Fix said. "That's great that [Nikola was] able to deliver one, but can they deliver more?"
It looks like the supply chain didn't steal Christmas this year after all. Retail sales jumped 8.5 percent between November 1 and December 24, compared with the same period last year, according to a report from Mastercard. That's the strongest growth in 17 years. Jharonne Martis, director of consumer research at Refinitiv, joined Cheddar to discuss how retailers were able to do so well despite inflation, supply chain issues, and the COVID-19 omicron variant but gave a subdued outlook for the retail sector at the beginning of 2022. "Consumers are not just completely isolated from the inflation issues," she said. "This is definitely going to continue into the first half of the year, as per our IFR data."
Hotel cancellations are on the rise ahead of the holidays as the omicron variant spreads around the world. Online hotel search site Trivago noted a 35 percent jump in cancellations since November. Axel Hefer, managing director and CEO at Trivago, joined Cheddar to discuss this worrying trend. Hefner said it is important for both travelers and businesses to watch how the 2021-2022 winter travel season unfolds as it will help them prepare for next year as the pandemic will likely be ongoing.
Markets opened slightly higher to kick off the final trading week of the year as investors continue to watch the Omicron variant in the U.S. Sean O'Hara, President, Pacer ETFs joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss what drove early market activity.
Eric Mitchell, Sports Analyst and President & CEO of LifeFlip Media, breaks down the updated rules around testing in the NFL and outlines how vaccinated players are impacted by new return-to-play guidelines.
Carlo and Baker kick off the weirdest week of the year with all the news you missed over the holiday weekend, including calls for the CDC to shorten its isolation window as Omicron sweeps through the country.
