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THIS WEEK'S TOP STORIES from BNN

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Merrill Lynch advisors open to working with clients with cannabis exposure 
Merrill Lynch's wealth management division has opened the door to working with clients who own or invest in marijuana-related businesses, according to Advisor Hub. The financial advisor trade newssite reports that Merrill staff will be able to seek approval for clients with cannabis-related businesses, as long as they are deemed to be in "lower-risk situations", or which have a small amount of their net worth tied to marijuana businesses. The move is a stark change from policies adopted by many U.S. brokerages which restrict engaging in cannabis due to the federal illegality of the drug. Merrill's policy change is part of a broad-ranging effort to help address long-standing frustrations held by the firm's 19,000-odd advisors.

Boston Beer strikes deals for Canadian pot drinks plans
Boston Beer Company - best known for its Samuel Adams beer - is on track to make cannabis-infused beverages in Canada after picking two Canadian partners to help manage production and distribution for those products. Boston Beer's cannabis products will be produced by Windsor, Ont.-based Peak Processing Solutions and will be distributed by Entourage Health, formerly known as WeedMD. The companies agreed to a five-year deal, although terms were not immediately disclosed. Boston Beer's foray into cannabis is part of a previous announcement the company made in May when it disclosed it was forming an R&D hub for non-alcoholic based beverages. While cannabis-infused beverages have become a mainstay in the Canadian recreational market, they haven't generated significant market share with roughtly three per cent of the total market.
  

Pot stocks lose half their value amid fading optimism of U.S. legalization
Pot stocks have lost about half their value from their highs earlier in the the year as stalling developments to legalize cannabis in the U.S. have led to an exodus of retail traders from the sector, Bloomberg News reports. The newswire reported that publicly-traded cannabis stocks rallied in the early part of the year following investor optimism amid high hopes of federal legalization while also getting a boost from the meme-stock mania that benefitted companies like Tilray and Sundial. Nowadays, cannabis stocks have pulled back due to waning interest with retail investor inflows down to US$73 million in the week of Aug. 16 from US$2.5 billion back in February. As Bloomberg notes, the changing fortunes of cannabis also shows how quickly a cult-like sector can go from hot to cold and back again.