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ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.barrons.com/articles/cbd-to-see-a-boost-with-hemp-legalization-51544549958\nReal Time Analysis\nCBD Will Get a Boost With Passage of a New Farm Bill\nBill Alpert\nDec. 11, 2018 12:39 pm ET\nPhotograph by Geoffroy Van Der Hasselt/AFP/Getty Images\nAn $867 billion farm bill that is expected to pass in Congress this week will fund food stamps, crop subsidies and—to the glee of many stock promoters—legalize industrial hemp, a source of the popular ingredient cannabidiol, or CBD. Brace yourself for CBD-infused drinks, foods, cosmetics and stocks.\nThe most significant impact of the farm bill will be its funding of 10 more years of food stamps and farm subsidies. But hitching a ride on the farm bill wagon are provisions that decriminalize hemp. Technically speaking, hemp has been a controlled substance under federal law and could only be grown with a license under certain state research programs. The new farm bill will allow hemp cultivation without a license in every state.\nHemp has lots of CBD, but little of the buzzy ingredient known as THC that makes the plant’s cousin marijuana so popular at parties. In fact, the main difference between the two plants is their respective levels of CBD and THC. Marijuana will remain illegal under federal law, regardless of its legality under local law in dozens of states.\nAs a chemical, CBD is considered “non-psychoactive,” but it has soothing properties that led the U.S. Food & Drug Administration in June to approve a CBD-containing prescription drug from GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPH) for treating two rare seizure disorders that can be life-threatening in infants.\nProducts with a little bit of CBD as a “food additive” have been available for a while from small outfits such as the yet-unprofitable New Age Beverages (NBEV). With the farm bill assuring the federal legality of hemp production and distribution, big firms may now start putting CBD as a “functional” additive in drinks—along the lines of Coca-Cola’s Vitaminwater.\nCanadian cannabis leaders such as Aurora Cannabis (ACB) have long harbored hemp ambitions, and beverage giants such as Coca-Cola (KO) and PepsiCo (PEP) may finally make their long-rumored entries into the CBD-drink space. Cannaccord Genuity analyst Bobby Burleson estimates that CBD-infused beverages could become a $260 million market by 2022.\nFans of CBD have also touted the stuff as a panacea for anxiety, pain, inflammation, and even cancer. Another benefit of the farm bill’s passage should be an increase in the scientific testing of cures claimed for CBD and the hundred-odd other cannabinoids in hemp and cannabis. In the past few years, the FDA has sent warning letters to marketers of CBD-based products that the agency said were making unapproved drug claims, or which didn’t contain the levels of CBD advertised. In a 2017 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, researchers analyzed CBD products from 31 companies and found that 70% didn’t contain the labeled amounts of CBD.\nOne of the recipients of an October 2017 warning letter from the FDA was a Boulder, Colo., company that is one of the rare cannabis or hemp businesses that makes a profit. Charlotte’s Web Holdings came public this year on the Canadian Securities Exchange and sells CBD-rich oils in 3,000 retail locations. It earned $9 million, or 10 cents a share, on revenue of $48 million in the nine months ended September 2018.\nThe FDA’s October 2017 warning letter scolded Charlotte’s Web for its website, where visitors at the time could find discussions of CBD as a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer and diabetes. The agency argued that Charlotte’s Web was obliged to test its product as a drug. In recent investor presentations, Charlotte’s Web says that it disagrees, but “is still in active discussion with the FDA” and has yet to resolve the agency’s concerns.\nOn the CSE, shares of Charlotte’s Web (CWEB.Canada) have climbed nearly 50% in the past week, to a current price of 16 Canadian dollars apiece. The company and other marketers of hemp-derived CBD think the farm bill will lift a cloud from their industry. The bill’s passage will be “a catalyst for growth,” Charlotte’s Web CEO Hess Moallem said in his company’s recent earnings release.\n“We have contributed to and support this important legislation from the beginning,” said Moallem, “for the positive impact it will have on consumer access.”\nWrite to Bill Alpert at william.alpert@barrons.com\nAn $867 billion farm bill that is expected to pass in Congress this week will fund food stamps, crop subsidies and—to the glee of many stock promoters—legalize industrial hemp, a source of the popular ingredient cannabidiol, or CBD."

ERROR: type should be string, got "https://www.barrons.com/articles/dow-ticks-higher-but-beware-a-summer-storm-1527292801\nDow Ticks Higher, but Beware a Summer Storm\nBen Levisohn\nIt was a week where anything that could go wrong did go wrong—except for when it came to the stock market.\nPresident Donald Trump began the week suggesting that a trade war with China was on hold, before later ordering his administration to explore penalties on imported automobiles. The president also canceled talks with North Korea. Italy’s bond market melted down following the emergence of a Euroskeptic government, while Turkey’s lira tumbled over concerns that President Tayyip Erdogan would take control of its central bank, raising concerns about emerging markets.\nAnd yet stocks not only didn’t flinch, they finished higher, if barely, on the week. The S&P 500 rose 0.3% to 2721.33, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average advanced 38 points, or 0.2%, to 24753.09. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.1% to 7433.85.\nTo some observers, the market looks even stronger under the surface. The small-company Russell 2000 traded at a new all-time high last Monday, suggesting that there’s more to this market than just gains in a few big stocks. The NYSE advance-decline line—a cumulative measure of stocks rising and falling—also rose this week and sits near an all-time high, another sign of strength beneath the surface. Even the Cboe Volatility Index, or VIX, closed the week down 1.5%, a sign that there’s little fear in the market.\nBut the market is like an onion—and not just because it can make people cry. Underneath one layer lies another where things might not be quite as rosy. If small-cap outperformance and new highs in the advance-decline line suggest underlying strength, then the average stock in the S&P 500 should be outperforming the index, says Doug Ramsey, chief investment officer at the Leuthold Group. That’s not happening. In fact, the equal-weighted version of the S&P 500 has risen just 2.1% in May, nearly a full percentage point lower than the standard S&P 500’s 3% gain.\n“The S&P 500 has gotten narrow,” Ramsey says.\nLarge-cap stocks have also been able to ignore weakness in other areas that could be hinting that the market is weaker than it looks, explains Wolfe Research technical analyst Rob Ginsberg. The stocks of European banks closed at their lowest level in more than a year. Even U.S. financial stocks have lagged the market despite the fact that the 10-year Treasury yield has steadily increased this year.\nTo Ginsberg, this suggests this market lull might not end with gains. “We’re in a tight trading range, but could sell off another 5%,” he says.\nKeep an eye on the VIX, which closed the week at 12.93. While the index is back near its post-January lows, it’s suffered two spikes this year, and Jim Strugger, derivatives strategist at MKM Partners, expects to see another. Inflation is rising, while the Federal Reserve is hiking interest rates, two factors that have usually led to more volatility, not less. “I have a hard time imagining we can make it through this summer without another volatility event,” he says.\nIn other words, it may not be time to relax just yet.\nTrader Extra: Retail’s Next Surprise\nFollow @ben_levisohn"