Canada

The proposed merger of Canadian cannabis companies Tilray Inc. and Aphria Inc. moved a step closer to approval on Friday, when Tilray revised its bylaws to reduce its shareholder vote quorum.

Aphria Inc. said Thursday its shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favor of its proposed merger with rival Tilray Inc., with a total of 99.38% of shares voted approving the deal. The news comes after Tilray said its shareholder meeting on the deal has been adjourned to April 30 from April 16. The meeting will be held via live webcast starting at 11.00 a.m. Eastern time. Under the terms of the proposed deal, Aphria shareholders will receive 0.8381 of a Tilray share of class 2 common stock for each Aphria share owned. The deal is expected to create the world's biggest cannabis company, measured by revenue. Aphria shares were down 0.2% premarket, but are up 106% in the year to date. Tilray shares were up 1.1% premarket and have gained 111% in the year to date, while the Cannabis ETF has gained 44% and the S&P 500 has gained 10%.

In a blog post, CEO Tobi Lutke said the company's chief talent officer Brittany Forsyth, chief legal officer Joe Frasca and chief technology officer Jean-Michel Lemieux "will start to transition out of their current roles."

Cannabis deals in Europe will help pot giant Aphria build up a war chest ahead of an expected frenzy of M&A in the U.S., the company’s chair and chief executive told MarketWatch ahead of the group’s earnings on Monday.

The U.S.-listed shares of Aphria Inc. dropped 7.6% in premarket trading Monday, after the Canada-based cannabis company reported a wider-than-expected fiscal third-quarter loss and revenue that rose less than forecast, citing reduced demand resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. For the quarter ending Feb. 28, the company swung to a net loss of C$366.8 million ($292.7 million), or C$1.14 a share, from net income of C$5.0 million, or C$0.02 a share, in the year ago period. Excluding nonrecurring items, such as unrealized losses and gains on convertible debt, adjusted losses per share widened to 15 cents from 4 cents, compared with the FactSet consensus for a per-share loss of 5 cents. Revenue rose 6.4% to $C153.6 million ($122.6 million), but missed the FactSet consensus of C$161.3 million. "As a result of the ongoing effects of COVID-19, including provincial lockdowns and provincial boards taking measures to lower their inventory levels which had previously included forecasted cannabis market growth, the company experienced what it believes is a transitory reduction in demand during the quarter," the company said in a statement. The average retail selling price of adult-use cannabis fell to 11% to C$3.82 per gram, while the average retail selling price of medical cannabis slipped 3.9T to C$6.69 per gram. "We remain excited with the opportunities created for both Aphria shareholders and Tilray stockholders in completing our proposed business combination with Tilray, and believe that together, we will create one of the strongest global cannabis and consumer packaged goods companies in the world," Chief Executive Irwin Simon said. Aphria's stock has soared 135.3% year to date through Friday, while the Cannabis ETF has rallied 57.4% and the S&P 500 has gained 9.9%.

As cryptocurrencies take a big step into maturity with the trading debut of Coinbase, it's time to consider their long-term outlook. A pair of financial-markets experts weighed in on that idea at the MarketWatch-Barron’s event Investing In Crypto, held Wednesday.

Oil futures pull back on Friday, after posting four consecutive session gains, but score a more than 6% weekly climb. Support from a strong economic report from China helped to offset pressure from concerns that rising cases of COVID in parts of the world threaten a fitful recovery from the demand-sapping pandemic.

Gold futures ended higher on Friday for a second straight day, with bullion posting its sharpest weekly percentage rise of the year.

Palladium futures climb Friday to settle at a record, and some analysts say prices show no signs of a slowdown even with the rally for the metal moving into its sixth year in a row.

There’s little doubt that demand for lumber, steel, and other commodities will get a boost from President Joe Biden’s $2.3 trillion proposed infrastructure package. Prices for some building materials, however, have already booked phenomenal gains in the first three months of the year, potentially setting limits on an extended rally.