Daily business briefing

Marijuana stocks jump after California starts pot sales, the Trump administration blocks Chinese firm's plan to buy MoneyGram, and more

Daily business briefing

1. Marijuana stocks soar after legal sales start in California Marijuana stocks surged on Tuesday in the first day of trading in 2018, a day after California legalized retail sales. California started permitting recreational pot use for people ages 21 and up on New Year's Day, creating the largest marijuana market in the country. Customers lined up outside dispensaries. A new marijuana exchange-traded fund, ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF, shot up by 9 percent, putting it up by 18 percent over a week. Its Canadian counterpart, Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, jumped by 12 percent. Medreleaf gained the most, rising 29 percent, while Aurora Cannabis rose by 24 percent and Emerald Health Therapeutics by 20 percent. Source: Forbes, Fortune

2. U.S. blocks China's Ant Financial from buying MoneyGram China's Ant Financial dropped its plan to buy U.S. money transfer company MoneyGram International for $1.2 billion after a U.S. national-security panel blocked it. It was the highest-profile China deal to be prevented by the Trump administration, as trade tensions simmer between the world's largest economies. The collapse of the acquisition marked a setback for Jack Ma, executive chairman of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group, who owns Ant together with other Alibaba executives. MoneyGram shares fell by 8.5 percent in after-market trading. Source: Reuters, Bloomberg

3. U.S. stocks rise to record levels on first day of 2018 trading U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, ending the first trading day of 2018 in record territory. Energy stocks led the way, rising by 1.8 percent, and technology stocks gained 1.4 percent. All three of the main U.S. benchmark indexes jumped. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5 percent, its biggest one-day percentage rise since mid-November. The S&P and the Nasdaq closed at records, and the Dow is within a percentage point of its all-time high. Futures for all three major U.S. indexes, which rose significantly in 2017, edged up by 0.2 percent early Wednesday, pointing to possible further gains. Source: MarketWatch

4. Vice puts two top executives on leave pending sexual harassment investigation Vice Media on Tuesday suspended two top executives pending a sexual harassment investigation. The move came after a New York Times investigation uncovered complaints against the company's president, Andrew Creighton, and its chief digital officer, Mike Germano. Sarah Broderick, Vice chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said in a memo that a special committee of the company's board was "reviewing the facts" regarding a $135,000 2016 settlement between Creighton and a former employee who claimed she was fired after rejecting Creighton's advances. Vice Media co-founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi have apologized for the company's "boy's club" culture. Source: The New York Times, The Associated Press

5. Hoda Kotb fills Today co-anchor spot left open by Matt Lauer's departure Hoda Kotb, 53, has been announced as the new co-anchor of Today after Matt Lauer was fired in November following allegations of sexual misconduct. NBC confirmed Kotb will be joining Savannah Guthrie during the program's first two hours and that she will also continue to co-host the show's fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford. "Over the past several weeks, Hoda has seamlessly stepped into the co-anchor role alongside Savannah, and the two have quickly hit the ground running," said NBC News chairman Andy Lack in an email to staff. "They have an undeniable connection with each other and most importantly, with viewers, a hallmark of Today." Together, the pair will be the first all-women team to anchor Today. Source: Today

MOST POPULAR Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Jimmy Kimmel try to have fun with California's newly legal marijuana Peter Weber Congress is working on legislation to reverse the GOP's recent dismantling of sexual harassment protections Peter Weber Fusion GPS founders call on GOP lawmakers to release transcripts of bombshell testimony Catherine Garcia Stephen Colbert has a ball with Trump's early 2018 tweets Peter Weber America's warped narcissism on the world stage Damon Linker CAPTURED: A PHOTO BLOG Kelly Gonsalves 100 years of snowmen

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Daily business briefing 1.Marijuana stocks soar after legal sales start in California Marijuana stocks surged on Tuesday in the first day of trading in 2018, a day after California legalized retail sales. California started permitting recreational pot use for people ages 21 and up on New Year's Day, creating the largest marijuana market in the country. Customers lined up outside dispensaries. A new marijuana exchange-traded fund, ETFMG Alternative Harvest ETF, shot up by 9 percent, putting it up by 18 percent over a week. Its Canadian counterpart, Horizons Marijuana Life Sciences ETF, jumped by 12 percent. Medreleaf gained the most, rising 29 percent, while Aurora Cannabis rose by 24 percent and Emerald Health Therapeutics by 20 percent. Source: Forbes, Fortune 2.U.S. blocks China's Ant Financial from buying MoneyGram China's Ant Financial dropped its plan to buy U.S. money transfer company MoneyGram International for $1.2 billion after a U.S. national-security panel blocked it. It was the highest-profile China deal to be prevented by the Trump administration, as trade tensions simmer between the world's largest economies. The collapse of the acquisition marked a setback for Jack Ma, executive chairman of Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba Group, who owns Ant together with other Alibaba executives. MoneyGram shares fell by 8.5 percent in after-market trading. Source: Reuters, Bloomberg 3.U.S. stocks rise to record levels on first day of 2018 trading U.S. stocks rose on Tuesday, ending the first trading day of 2018 in record territory. Energy stocks led the way, rising by 1.8 percent, and technology stocks gained 1.4 percent. All three of the main U.S. benchmark indexes jumped. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by 0.2 percent, while the S&P 500 rose by 0.8 percent and the Nasdaq Composite gained 1.5 percent, its biggest one-day percentage rise since mid-November. The S&P and the Nasdaq closed at records, and the Dow is within a percentage point of its all-time high. Futures for all three major U.S. indexes, which rose significantly in 2017, edged up by 0.2 percent early Wednesday, pointing to possible further gains. Source: MarketWatch 4.Vice puts two top executives on leave pending sexual harassment investigation Vice Media on Tuesday suspended two top executives pending a sexual harassment investigation. The move came after a New York Times investigation uncovered complaints against the company's president, Andrew Creighton, and its chief digital officer, Mike Germano. Sarah Broderick, Vice chief operating officer and chief financial officer, said in a memo that a special committee of the company's board was "reviewing the facts" regarding a $135,000 2016 settlement between Creighton and a former employee who claimed she was fired after rejecting Creighton's advances. Vice Media co-founders Shane Smith and Suroosh Alvi have apologized for the company's "boy's club" culture. Source: The New York Times, The Associated Press 5.Hoda Kotb fills Today co-anchor spot left open by Matt Lauer's departure Hoda Kotb, 53, has been announced as the new co-anchor of Today after Matt Lauer was fired in November following allegations of sexual misconduct. NBC confirmed Kotb will be joining Savannah Guthrie during the program's first two hours and that she will also continue to co-host the show's fourth hour with Kathie Lee Gifford. "Over the past several weeks, Hoda has seamlessly stepped into the co-anchor role alongside Savannah, and the two have quickly hit the ground running," said NBC News chairman Andy Lack in an email to staff. "They have an undeniable connection with each other and most importantly, with viewers, a hallmark of Today." Together, the pair will be the first all-women team to anchor Today. Source: Today MOST POPULAR Stephen Colbert, Trevor Noah, and Jimmy Kimmel try to have fun with California's newly legal marijuana Peter Weber Congress is working on legislation to reverse the GOP's recent dismantling of sexual harassment protections Peter Weber Fusion GPS founders call on GOP lawmakers to release transcripts of bombshell testimony Catherine Garcia Stephen Colbert has a ball with Trump's early 2018 tweets Peter Weber America's warped narcissism on the world stage Damon Linker CAPTURED: A PHOTO BLOG Kelly Gonsalves 100 years of snowmen Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser.  Unsubscribe from this list | Update subscription preferences | Privacy Policy © 2015 THE WEEK PUBLICATIONS, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THE WEEK ® IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OWNED BY FELIX DENNIS. Get 4 Risk-Free issues of The Week TRY IT OUT