By Priest Williams
CBx Vibe: “CPR” Summer Walker
Don’t call it a comeback because its been here for years. Cannabidiol otherwise known as CBD has skyrocketed in popularity, big businesses and people looking for health alternatives are taking notice. This non-psychoactive cannabinoid is one of over 100 naturally occurring in the cannabis sativa plant with a myriad of health benefits.
Why This Matters: CBD works in harmony with the body’s natural endocannabinoid system, helping to reduce inflammation and alleviate pain. It’s estimated that some 40 million Americans suffer from anxiety, which is likely one of the reasons CBD has become so popular. Current evidence indicates that CBD has “considerable potential” as a treatment for multiple anxiety disorders.
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CBx Vibe: “The Switch Up” Nick Grant
Sportswear titan Adidas (ADS.DE +1.44%) is struggling with lagging sales, after betting big on style icons while scaling back on athletes to help push its products. Have they been relying too heavily on fashion and not enough on actual sports, during a time when urban culture continues to be sewn into corporate strategy?
Why This Matters: The company cut its 2018 revenue forecast after third quarter sales fell in western Europe. Adidas was hit by changing fashions and Nike’s (NKE -1.83%) gains in soccer during the World Cup. CEO Kasper Rorsted noted they relied too much on shoes like its retro Stan Smith and Superstar that have fallen out of fashion.
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CBx Vibe: “Tune In” Massari
Disney (DIS +1.72%) is betting on Hulu’s future success by investing in more original programming and taking the streaming service into new international markets. With African Americans streaming videos more frequently on all devices than the total U.S. population, it will be important for the mouse house to create authentic black content.
Why This Matters: When Disney closes on its $71.3 billion acquisition of Fox, it will gain a majority control of Hulu. They will have a dominant interest of 60%, Comcast (CMCSA +0.10%) and Time Warner will be reduced to minority stakeholders, with 30% and 10% stakes respectively. Disney will need to use this greater control of Hulu to help its 20 million subscribers compete against Netflix and their 125 million subscribers.
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CBx Vibe: “Talk is Cheap” JMSN
Voters in San Francisco have won a battle against tech giants that have played a role in increasing the city’s homeless population. Proposition C is earmarked for homeless relief programs and will bring in as much as $300 million each year by taxing large businesses, doubling the city’s budget for dealing with homelessness.
Why This Matters: In one of the richest cities in the U.S., this new measure will force big companies to pay for a problem in which they’ve helped to exacerbate. In 2017, the San Francisco Homeless Count Survey found the differences between the city’s population and those experiencing homelessness were vastly distinct, with African Americans making up 34% compared to just 6% of the general population.
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![Changing the Game: Curafied is Your Personal Pinterest for Content]()
By CultureBanx Team
CBx Vibe:“Rebel” G-Eazy
When Arielle Jordan wanted a better connection to content she was interested in and couldn’t find it on platforms like Facebook, Curafied was born. It’s a digital media platform helping individuals build their own online communities and profits through content curation. Users are able to store, share and save web links along with videos, all while chatting with like minded people in real time. “Curafied has the content curation power of Pinterest and a live chat like Twitch,” said Jordan. Content curators on the platform create different galleries, and then other users can subscribe to it for $2.99 per month. So if you have worthwhile content and the vision to monetize all of that, Curafied is the platform for you. “When you’re connected with an expert whose content you enjoy, Curafied lets you weed out the noise of ads and other distractions.” The platform can be a home for expert instruction in anything from arts and crafts, to auto maintenance or even martial arts and history.
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CBx Vibe: “Offshore” Rae Sremmurd
The tiny island nation of Seychelles is the first country to sell debt earmarked specifically for ocean projects, raising $15 million in a 10-year blue bond. Nuveen, Prudential and Calvert Impact Capital are the three investors who bought the bond. Proceeds from the blue bond will be used to expand its protected marine areas, invest in fisheries and offer grants and loans to ocean-related industries.
Why This Matters: The Indian Ocean archipelago’s economy is dependent on the ocean and on fisheries for nutrition, livelihoods and other blue economy sectors like tourism. Seychelles’ fishing industry employs 17% of its population.
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CBx Vibe: “God Bless the Internet” SAINt JHN
Get your holiday coins together because Adobe Analytics is forecasting U.S. online spending during the holiday shopping season is likely to grow 14.8% this year to $124.1 billion. Retailers will be trying to get a piece of the $1.3 trillion annually that the black community spends, with the most anticipated gifts of the season being 4K TVs, retro video games and consoles.
Why This Matters: Black teens are second only to Asian Americans in playing video games, which implies a $36 billion opportunity for games that speak authentically to the African American experience, according to Nielsen. With games being a hot ticket item this year retailers will be heavily targeting this demographic for online sales.
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CBx Vibe: “On Your Own” Jorjah Smith
Hip hop’s original first lady Kimora Lee Simmons current husband Tim Leissner has plead guilty to money laundering, after the theft of billions of dollars from 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund. Leissner is a former Goldman Sachs (GS +1.20%) partner in Asia and has agreed to forfeit $43.7 million.
Why This Matters: High finance and hip hop fashion royalty have collided on U.S. prosecutors desks. Leissner didn’t act alone in the scheme that has now put one of the world’s most formidable financial institutions right in the nucleus of what may be the biggest bank fraud in history. He was subpoenaed by the U.S. Justice Department on charges of conspiracy to violate the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, a federal law targeting official bribery abroad.
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