QualityStocks Small-Cap and Micro-Cap Blogs: June 2014

Monday, June 30, 2014

Roll-Out of New OTC Markets Group Eligibility Requirements is Underway

Several new requirements are now or will soon be in effect as OTC Markets Group takes measures to strengthen the venture-stage marketplace for companies and investors. The new standards are important to note, as companies that do not comply with the new procedures and eligibility requirements will be downgraded to OTC Pink.

In short, the new standards are applicable to SEC, bank and international reporting companies, requiring that each security: has a minimum bid test of $0.01; not be in bankruptcy or reorganization proceedings; submit an application and pay required fees; and keep an updated annual OTCQB certification.

OTC Groups in May initiated the requirement that all current OTCQB companies meet the minimum bid test for at least one of the previous 30 consecutive calendar days, in addition to the other new standards. These companies will have 120 days after their fiscal year end (FYE) to comply with the new procedures, which will be rolled out over the course of a year. Again, those companies that do not comply with the new procedures within the required timeframe will be downgraded to OTC Pink.

Current OTCQB companies that apply for the exchange in 2014 can take advantage of a 25% “introductory discount” for each of the first two years, saving up to $5,000.

Companies that weren’t traded on OTCQB as of April 30, 2014, are required to submit an application, pay required fees ($2,500 application, $10,000 annual), and follow the new procedures. Securities will no longer be automatically put on OTCQB when a new Form 211 is cleared by FINRA, or when an OTC Pink company becomes current in its reporting.

Companies with a March 31 FYE will be the first to notice the change, and will be required to comply with the new OTCQB standards by July 31, 2014, while securities with an FYE of March 30 have until July 30, 2015, to comply with the new standards. During 2014, any company that chooses to apply to OTCQB prior to its required compliance date is offered discounted pricing for the application.

Furthermore, international reporting companies on a qualified foreign stock exchange are now able to trade on OTCQB upon meeting the aforementioned ongoing requirements for minimum bid test and other new requirements.

For more information, visit www.otcmarkets.com

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Banjo & Matilda (BANJ) Rides Aussie Beach Lifestyle Waves to Record Revenue

Youth and beauty. Beauty and youth. No matter the order of precedence, youth and beauty are the two most potent marketables in consumer sales. They have been the fire and legend of countless supremely successful advertising campaigns and the driving force catapulting many a company from below-the-radar obscurity to headline status.

Upscale fashion companies that manage to attractively bottle youth and beauty and bring its heady atmospherics to world markets quickly acquire a golden sheen. Glamour clings to every exquisite accessory bearing their name. Legions of investors, scratching their heads and wondering how they missed such a “obvious opportunity,” trail along behind them.

Founded virtually on the sands of Bondi Beach, a world famous surfer’s paradise in New South Wales, Australia, Banjo & Matilda’s initial mission sounded sublimely simple: To take the Australian beach-lifestyle, described by Daily Vogue as “sun-kissed, athletic and effortless,” to the world.

Creating a line of iconic apparel embodying the style, beauty and casually elegant culture of what is frequently called the “quintessential Australian beach” was not, by a record-breaking Bomb A wave shot, as simple as it sounded. The young company’s co-founders, Belynda and Ben Macpherson, knew they had to do more than simply produce an alternative to expensive-but-still-ordinary clothing. They had to “encapsulate the freedom and uncomplicated, yet discreetly luxurious, Australian Bondi Beach lifestyle” in their designs, and execute them with topnotch quality and integrity.

Opulent, sensual, hand-crafted sweaters, they believed, were the perfect product line with which to launch the new venture. Sweaters did more than just “capture the freedom of the beach lifestyle — the freshness of the ocean, warmth of the sand, and soulfulness of the surf.” They could also be made of the finest natural, organic, and sustainable materials — elegant multi-ply cashmere from Mongolia, premium silk, and organic cotton. All selected, the Macphersons said, to be the opposite of “fast-fashion in sustainability, longevity, endurance, and lovability.”

“Cashmere keeps you cool [in summer] and warm in the winter months,” Belynda Macpherson says. “It will brighten up any day.”

Not to mention the electrifying effect it can have on a graph or spreadsheet. Now offering a full line of predominately cashmere pants, tops, dresses, sleepwear, hoodies, and accessories as well as their ever-expanding line of “beachy statement” fun-fashion sweaters, Banjo & Matilda revenues jumped 81.3 percent to $1,724,181 in fiscal 2013.

By mid-2013, having reached the outer limits of what they could achieve as a private firm, the Macphersons decided to go public in the United States to, the company said, “fund expansion and growth, and position us to benefit from current and future opportunities.”

Company CEO Ben Macpherson, a self-described “serial entrepreneur,” has also indicated that one of his key goals in bringing Banjo & Matilda to the market is to position the company for an APO (Alternative Public Offering), which could potentially offer significant timeline and equity-building advantages relative to a traditional IPO.

In an April 2014 statement, he noted that Banjo & Matilda is “taking a proven business model and adding our special touches, including our creativity and eye for quality, which in turn we hope will fuel further growth for the brand and the company.”

“As we celebrate our public listing and welcome new investors into the Banjo & Matilda family,” Macpherson continued, “it’s important to note that I believe this is just the beginning … by combining our unique designs and Australian beach-lifestyle heritage, and our approach to making beautiful products from the best materials and as sustainably as possible, we believe Banjo & Matilda fulfills a unique and very large segment of the global fashion and lifestyle market. Certainly to date our success is a very strong indicator that this is true.”

Already carried in stores and online by important international retailers such as Neiman Marcus, Harvey Nichols London, Stanley Korshaks, Net-a-Porter, Intermix New York, David Jones Australia, and major department and specialty stores in the U.S., UK, Europe, Middle East, and Australia, B&M increased the number of retail outlets carrying its garments by 122 percent in Q1. Based upon forward wholesale orders received, it expects to expand that number by more than 400 percent by the end of Q3.

In June 2014, the company appointed HATCh, Inc., a leading New York-based international fashion-branding specialist, to help spur even faster market penetration in U.S. and Canadian retail markets.

For more information about Banjo & Matilda, please visit: www.banjoandmatilda.com

Mobile Lads Corp. (MOBO) Board Names Michael Paul as President, Alpha Pang as Secretary

Mobile Lads, a provider of wide-area wireless transaction software solutions for the consumer finance and payment processing sectors, is adding breadth to its executive team and board of directors with the appointment of Michael Paul as the company’s new president, and Alpha Pang as secretary of the corporation.

Paul is a C.E.T. civil engineering graduate with more than 30 years of experience as a management executive in land acquisition and development. Most recently, he has been working with a number of companies in the information technology (IT) sector.

In his role as Mobile Lads’ secretary, Pang will contribute expertise from his more than 25 years of various business ventures, which includes real estate brokerage/investment, business consulting, and assuming multiple board roles for technology and mineral resources companies in both Canada and the United States. Pang is the current director and president of Gold Cap Resources, Inc. He founded his consulting business in 1991 by providing services for early stage start-up companies.

As part of the Mobile Lads management team, Paul and Pang join a team of leaders with expertise in wireless channel communications, business strategy and consumer analysis. The company’s vision is to grow as a leading-edge wireless solution by providing innovative, wide-are communication solutions on a global scale.

For more information visit www.mobilelads.com

Innocent, Inc. (INCT) Leadership Overhaul and Experienced Local Partners Make for Attractive Play in Powder River Basin

Innocent is a development stage oil and gas E&P currently focused on their joint venture exploration agreement with Evergreen Petroleum in Wyoming’s rapidly developing Powder River Basin oil sector, which is set to put in over 5k new wells in the next decade alone according to industry estimates. Powder River Basin has long been known as a vast supplier of coal, with ten of the top coal mines in the U.S. located there, including the nation’s largest, the Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) Black Thunder mine. With about 375M short tons of coal coming out of the basin in 2012 according to BLM data, the hydrocarbon geology is well established, but the shale oil potential now awakened by advanced recovery technologies like radial drilling and fracking has made the basin a major frontline in the larger war for total U.S. energy independence.

Partner Evergreen Petroleum has an incredible century and a half plus worth of experience in the industry, combined with extensive knowledge and experience dealing in the local region, making them the perfect partner to be general manager. Moreover, the parties have tapped another local expert, Pacer Energy, LLC out of Gillette, to examine title to minerals in the targeted lease areas where Evergreen intends to drill and eventually produce. Another Gillette local, L & J Operating, Inc., has been selected as operator and will handle substantially all of the day-to-day logistics, from bonding and contractor selection, through to eventual oil sales and payments to the other parties.

There are a multitude of oil-bearing formations in the sub 2.5k-foot depth range to go on after in the Powder River Basin, but there is broader potential across Wyoming as well to be explored and the JV is targeting prospective areas characterized by either high potential for direct offsets to former production or attractive oil and gas shows. The recent (June 10) appointment of corporate finance and restructuring pro, James Kerr (CPA, CMA) to the company’s CFO, who cut his teeth with U.S. Bank before a distinguished career consulting for the Canadian government and working in mutual funds/financial analysis, should go a long ways towards helping this development stage company hone their focus on the road to production-driven, sustainable value generation.

Also in early June of this year, INCT appointed former CEO of Chilean Metals Inc. (TSX VENTURE: CMX) and the privately-held Relief Gold, Terry Lynch, to President and Chairman of the company’s Board. Lynch was instrumental in turning around Firstgold Corp. as a Director and later CEO when the company had run into difficulty financing the completion of their Relief Canyon mine, securing a $26.5M deal with one of China’s top mining engineering and consulting groups. Lynch formerly co-founded Canadian-listed oil and gas company, Pacific Tiger Energy, which was ultimately acquired by Pan Orient Energy Corp. (TSX VENTURE: POE), and looks to be an excellent pick to stand beside CEO Patrick J. Johnson at the head of the company.

While the well completion rate in the Powder River Basin is below the astounding projection of 5k wells over the next ten years (running around 15 to 30 percent of permits), permitting in the basin’s epicenter, Converse, Campbell and Johnson counties, is reported by the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission as being in excess of 8.5k over only the last four years. Such immense, obviously demonstrated levels of interest telegraphs a great deal about the play’s potential and the only problem right now in the Powder River Basin is handling the flap over drilling-associated gas flaring or other environmental concerns, like those that have given rise to Wyoming’s newly implemented, state-wide, baseline groundwater testing rules.

INCT has an excellent approach for developing in the Powder River Basin on their hands here, with the technical expertise and field operation heavy lifting safely in the hands of established industry pros, as well as highly localized developers, the company’s experienced management team can focus on maximizing shareholder upside.

Take a closer look at Innocent, Inc. online at www.innocentinc.com

Cal-Bay International, Inc. (CBYI) Benefits From Executive Team Diversity

Cal-Bay International, an investment holding corporation, has depended upon the diversity of experience represented by its executive team to deal successfully with the varied industries it represents. The company is now involved in pharmaceutical vending, hemp based consumer products, specialty plant growth, publishing, and financial processing.

• Robert Thompson (Chief Executive Officer) founded the company in 1990 as a sole proprietorship, serving as a manufacturer’s representative and distribution firm, operating under the name Cal-Bay Controls out of Tustin, California. The company went public in 2001 and, through a series of transactions with other companies, was eventually reorganized with a focus on developing and searching for operational business acquisitions in specific sectors for development, growth, and profitability, with the name Cal-Bay International. Mr. Thompson’s range of experience has been critical for the company’s expansion into new markets.

• Walther Nicholas (President) has over 10 years of company troubleshooting and reorganization skills. His employment background ranges from reorganizing and structuring private companies to his first public company introduction in 2006 with Robert Thompson, Atlantis Holdings. Atlantis holdings was formerly an analytical testing lab facility and developer and reseller of scientific and engineering equipment.

• Dr. Albert Gomez, MD (VP Medical Technology) received his medical degree from the University of California at San Diego School of Medicine, doing his post-graduate training in a surgery internship and residency at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco. Dr. Gomez has a current California physician and surgeon’s license. His medical practice is incorporated as Meridian Medical Group Professional Corporation. He currently owns and operates medical clinics in San Jose, San Francisco, Manteca, and Fresno, California.

For more information, visit www.calbayco.com

Great Plains Holdings, Inc. (GTPH) Centers Growth on Diversified Business Model

Great Plains Holdings focuses on attaining multiple revenue streams through acquisitions of profitable, privately-held companies and continually increasing its hard assets. The company operates through two subsidiaries: Ashland Holdings, LLC, a business unit focused on the real estate sector, and LiL Marc, Inc., manufacturer of the LiL Marc training urinal for young boys.

In the real estate sector, Ashland Holdings focuses on acquisition of income producing properties in the southern, southeastern, and midwest United States. Properties of interest include self storage facilities, apartment buildings, triple net properties, and manufactured home communities for seniors aged 55 years and older. Current portfolio holdings include a 1,400-square foot corporate office building, an 800-square foot warehouse, and two adjacent parcels of land. One of the parcels has a manufactured home that is rented out for additional income.

In a recent QualityStocks interview, Great Plains Holdings unveiled plans to construct a self-storage facility in 2014 for an additional strong, recurring source of revenue. Earlier this year, the company made a foray into the oil and gas market by entering into a private placement investment with Tex Star Energy Corp. on a 150-acre oil lease in Guadalupe County, Texas. Approximately 3 million barrels of oil are estimated to be available for extraction, with fourteen wells actively producing on the property at present. The extractable oil resources are valued at over $300 million, of which Ashland Holdings will receive net interest.

LiL Marc, Inc. is a primary focus of Great Plains Holdings. In 2014, Great Plains Holdings has stepped up the subsidiary’s operations, as it has beefed up sales and marketing efforts for the LiL Marc training urinal while exploring new opportunities for unit sales in the retail space. In its most recent headline, Great Plains Holdings announced renovation to its corporate headquarters had been completed. By renting out at least three office spaces in its 1,400-square foot office building, the company will generate additional gross revenue that it will allocate toward LiL Marc’s annual warehouse leasing cost.

When seeking out candidates for new asset holdings, Great Plains Holdings clings steadfastly to a no-debt philosophy. It seeks to purchase its acquisition targets with either cash or common stock offers, which enables it to keep debt to a minimum and maintain a strong cash position. In this capacity, Great Plains Holdings seeks out private companies owned by retiring baby boomers, who are looking for a sell their business but may not have any viable buyer offers, or offers that are more top-dollar.

As the year continues out, Great Plains Holdings plans to continue aggressively expanding as it has done in the first six months of 2014. With its commitment to responsible financials management, careful subsidiary acquisitions, and ongoing organic growth in current business activities, Great Plains Holdings looks to continue its performance of steady growth and debt-free operations.

For more information visit www.gtph.com

Global Payout, Inc. (GOHE) Inks Contract with Zhunrize, Inc.

Today before the opening bell, Global Payout reported it has a contract with a new client, Zhunrize, an Internet marketing and product brokerage company. The contract calls for the immediate activation of 13,000 accounts in Global Payout’s Consolidated Payment Gateway™ for its Zhunrize’s existing customer base to use.

Zhunrize currently has 60,000 customers and anticipates activation of an additional 27,000 accounts over the next few months. It expects it will issue prepaid debit cards with those accounts in time.

Zhunrize will receive cash management and money transfer capabilities from the Consolidated Payment Gateway™ for its customers. As an online marketing and products brokerage company, Zhunrize engages in one-to-one marketing for sales of many products in various markets. It anticipates significant company growth in the future, which could pose new opportunities for Global Payout.

On top of its proprietary Consolidated Payment Gateway™, Global Payout provides a suite of business-to-business custom and conventional electronic payment solutions for domestic, international and multinational businesses, organizations and government agencies worldwide. These options stand out for their lower cost, ease-of-operation, and secure use, enabling Global Payout to be a player in a global $3 trillion market.

For more information, visit: www.globalpayout.com

NutraNomics, Inc. (NNRX) Reports Increase in Wholesale & Retail Product Sales

Today before the opening bell, NutraNomics reported it has seen an increase in wholesale and retail sales of its whole food-based health products in its first three quarters as a public company. NutraNomics is a manufacturer of natural, healthy vitamins and supplements for support of those who are aiming for a healthy lifestyle or suffering from various conditions.

On the whole, NutraNomics’ wholesale and retail sales have increased 27% over the first through third quarters. From the first quarter to the second, wholesale and retail sales increased 7%, and from the second to the third, wholesale and retail sales increased 18%.

General Manager, Michael Brousseau, attributes that sales increase to public demand for higher quality supplements. He stated, “Consumers are trying harder than ever before to make healthy choices for their families. NutraNomics provides a best in class product line of whole food, child-safe supplements for families.”

For more information, visit: www.nutranomics.com

Friday, June 27, 2014

Kallo, Inc. (KALO) Begins Talks with Sierra Leone as Country is in the Midst of the Deadliest Ebola Outbreak in History

Under a $200 million contract with the Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene of the Republic of Guinea, Kallo has agreed to implement a variety of its healthcare delivery solutions, including MobileCare, which are effectively mobile clinics on a truck that are fully equipped with the latest medical devices, congruent information systems technologies, with a satellite and radio-frequency communications infrastructure to connect to Telehealth centers for determining complex diagnosis. The company will also implement its RuralCare pre-fabricated modulated healthcare delivery systems, which range in size from 1,200 to 3,800 square feet and can be implemented in as short as a week.

Just to the southwest of Guinea and also in West Africa is the Republic of Sierra Leone. This past June 13, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Sanitation of the Republic of Sierra Leone through Permanent Secretary Mr. Sadiq Kapuwa has extended an invitation for Kallo to visit Sierra Leone between August and September 2014 to meet with senior technical officials of the Ministry to further discuss Kallo’s proposal and enhance management decision to move forward with the Kallo MobileCare initiative.

Simultaneously, the deadliest outbreak of Ebola virus in the history of the world is occurring right now hitting Guinea and Sierra Leone as well as the neighboring country Liberia, so one can see why these health ministries are reaching out for new solutions to treat people. Just a matter of months ago, Guinea announced that the Ebola outbreak was pretty much contained. Unfortunately, the situation got worse as the disease has now killed an estimated 367 since this winter and infected 600. On June 23, the group Doctors Without Borders sent out a distress call, and stated it was overwhelmed and that the epidemic was completely out of control, and that it couldn’t send workers to new outbreak sites without getting more resources.

There are five known species of Ebola virus. This particular virus is the strain Zaire Ebola virus, which is considered the most deadly and kills 79% of those infected. The disease starts off with flu-like symptoms and often ends with horrific hemorrhaging. In later stages of the disease, some people bleed from the eyes, nose, ears, mouth, and rectum. What actually kills people is shock from multiple organ failure, including problems with the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. Symptoms come on abruptly after an incubation period of 2 to 21 days. And people generally die between day 6 and 16 of the illness. People can be treated for the symptoms and usually given intravenous fluids for dehydration, and some of those treated can survive.

There is no cure for the disease although the National Institute of Health (NIH) has set aside a budget of $50 million for drug research. Some scientists are also working on possible vaccines. The World Health Organization (WHO) has called for an 11-nation emergency meeting to be held on July 2-3 in Accra, Ghana to discuss how best to tackle the current crisis.

Doctors Without Borders has made it quite clear that they need additional medical staff with training in how to treat Ebola. Although it is unknown whether Kallo will play any direct role regarding this current crisis, it has awakened these countries in the realization that they need to rapidly build and improve their healthcare infrastructure, and Kallo offers strong solutions to help fulfill that purpose.

For more information, visit www.kalloinc.ca

Mabwe Minerals Inc. (MBMI) Finding Superior-Grade Barite Central to Success

Mabwe Minerals, subsidiary of Raptor Resources Holdings Inc. (OTCQB: RRHI), has a business model centered on logistics coordination, mining, and commercial sales of industrial minerals and metals. In concerted efforts with TAG Minerals, Raptor Resources’ other subsidiary, Mabwe, is busy developing Dodge Mine.

Located in Shamva, Zimbabwe, the Dodge Mine has pockets of hydrothermal mountains that hold multiple deposits of superior-grade barite, limestone, and talc. Many of the barite deposits are considered world class in quality due to their high percentage content of barium sulfate (BaSO4) with a specific gravity of 4.5 g/cm3. Barite has applications in the automotive, medical diagnosis, and paint additive industries, but it is of the greatest value to the oil and gas production industry. As a well is drilled, the bit passes through various formations, each with different characteristics. The deeper the hole, the more barite is needed as a percentage of the total mud mix. Additionally beneficial, barite is non-magnetic and therefore does not interfere with magnetic measurements taken in the borehole.

At the Dodge Mine project, MBMI depends on several partners for mining, transporting, and distributing recovered commodities. The company has put together a network of industry alliances to create a turnkey organization for bringing the Dodge Mine’s large amounts of recoverable barite deposits to market.

WGB Kinsey & Company, in which Mabwe Minerals’ Zimbabwe affiliate owns a 25 percent stake, manages all aspects of the Dodge Mine, including: production; workforce supervision and expansion; health, safety, and environmental standards compliance; and transportation and station transfer of barite to the Shamva Rail Depot. WGB Kinsey uses over 58 years of experience in mining operations – a much needed asset at Dodge Mine.

Strategic partnering plays a vital role in the company’s success. Yasheya Limited handles Mabwe Minerals’ shipping and delivery utilizing over twenty years of industrial mining logistics know-how. Yasheya has shipped over 30 million tons of commodities worldwide.

PHI Commodities, the largest grain importer to Harare, Zimbabwe out of the Port of Beira, Mozambique, Mabwe Minerals has secured the exclusive rail wagon load rights from the Shamva Rail Depot direct to the port utilizing PHI Commodities’ fleet of express train systems.

For more information, visit: www.mabweminerals.com

Ecrypt Technologies, Inc. (ECRY) Inks Marketing Agreement with Genesys Technologies

Ecrypt Technologies announced today that it has finalized a strategic marketing agreement with Genesys Technologies. In the exclusive US arrangement, ECRY will promote, sell and distribute all of Genesys’s disruptive and enabling wireless hi-tech communications and anti-hacking products and capabilities.

Dr. Thomas A. Cellucci, Ecrypt’s CEO noted: “We are truly excited to enter this welcomed business relationship with Genesys, who possesses disruptive and enabling security capabilities ideal for military and security applications.”

Mr. Victor Shtatnov, Founder and CEO of Genesys Technologies, added, “Our team here at Genesys is proud to be partnering with Ecrypt. Our combined capabilities enable more users across the government and commercial markets to gain insight into the unique benefits of our robust and field-tested secure navigation and rugged communication systems.”

Genesys Technologies, LTD is a world leader in navigation and communication technology used primarily in military, security and a variety of specialized applications. Genesys’s business focus is on software and hardware development of hi-tech wireless communication devices for navigation and the reduction of vulnerability to tricking and jamming of devices and unmanned aerial systems.

Ecrypt Technologies, Inc. is a leader in data security, specializing in military-strength information security solutions for enterprise, government and military. Ecrypt empowers organizations with the freedom to communicate and collaborate without risk of liability, reputation damage, competitive threat and other negative outcomes. Ecrypt is the trusted choice for those looking to keep their communications confidential.

For more information on the company visit www.EcryptInc.com

Thursday, June 26, 2014

Britannia Mining, Inc. (BMIN) Establishes Strategy to Capitalize on the Golden Curve

Britannia Mining is a U.S.-based company engaged in the identification and commercialization of natural resources with projects in Asia, Africa and Canada. While the primary focus is on iron ore, Britannia is defining a strategy to advance its gold initiatives and create value at every stage of the mining value curve – from exploration and extractive operations to end-trading activities.

Through a previous merger with Micron Enviro Systems, Britannia acquired gold exploration rights to six separate claims covering 300 acres in the Canadian Yukon, located near the infamous Kinross white gold discovery. Management recently renewed the gold claims and is currently in talks with potential partners to discuss development of the properties.

Britannia earlier this week said it is scouring the global market for ready-to-mine gold projects of at least 100,000 oz., and recapped its recent meetings in the United Arab Emirates to discuss trading gold sourced from current operational gold mines that fall within the company’s business development pipeline.

Company initiatives are spearheaded by CEO Kenneth Roberts, a founding director of Britannia Mining and a British entrepreneur with 30 years of experience in mining, commodities and logistics. Supported by additional members of the company’s qualified management team, Roberts is leading the Britannia’s continual pursuit to acquire low-cost properties with the potential for high-yield returns.

“We have already shown that we can secure trading opportunities for commodities,” Roberts stated in a recent news release, referencing the company’s ability to secure 1.2 million metric tons of “ready mined” iron ore in Malaysia. “The next natural step is for us to develop our gold division.”

For more information, visit www.britanniamining.com

Armco Metals Holdings, Inc. (AMCO) Takes Multi-Faceted Approach to Capitalize on China’s Booming Steel Industry

Armco Metals for more than a decade has diligently worked to become one of China’s leading recycled scrap steel sales and distributions companies, forming synergistic relationships with key industry players around the world and rising to meet green initiatives. Under the leadership of CEO Kexuan Yoa, Armco has experienced considerable growth in the last seven years, advancing its mission to become the largest, most efficient recycling company in the world’s top steel producing nation.

In 2013, China contributed 48.6% of global steel output, leading the world’s total steel production of 1.607 million metric tons. According to the World Steel Association, China has secured its No. 1 ranking through 2014 as well, cranking out 50% of global steel supply in the first five months of this year alone.

In recent years, the Chinese government has pushed for environmentally friendly alternative options for steel production, calling for an increase in the consumption of recycled scrap steel from 15% in 2010 to 20% by 2015.

Complementary to these initiatives, Armco strategically operates five subsidiaries, each playing a specific role in the sourcing, importing, processing and distribution of recycled scrap steel and metal and non-ferrous metal ore to more than 100 small-sized and medium-sized metal produced throughout China, as well as more than 10 international metal suppliers from Australia, South Korea, India, Brazil and the United States.

The company’s Armco Renewable Resources subsidiary is strategically located in the city of Lianyungang, a region designated as the waste iron and scrap steel recycling processing pilot region for China. This subsidiary operates a recycling and processing facility, which is capable of processing 1 million metric tons of scrap metal each year. The facility’s Texas Shredder Lindeman System, one of the most advanced recycling systems in the world, automatically shreds, sorts, and separates the recycled scrap steel to process highest-quality material.

Future expansion plans include doubling the facility’s capacity to 2 million metric tons annually, as well as further development of Armco’s Armet (Lianyungang) Holdings subsidiary, which will focus on recycling steel scrap specifically generated by the world’s booming automotive industry.

The Armco (Lianyungang) Renewable Metals subsidiary earlier this month received a restricted materials import approval from the Environmental Management of Solid Waste in China, allowing the subsidiary to import an annual total of 20,000 metric tons of a variety of materials such as steel-based scrap, copper-based scrap, and aluminum-based scrap.

Armco also operates Armco Metals International, Henan Armco & Metawise Trading Co., and its Armco Metals (Shanghai) Holding subsidiaries, each contributing to Armco’s overarching mission to take advantage of revenue-generating market opportunities. Leveraging the value, reach and expertise of each subsidiary, Armco employs a unique approach to capitalize on specific niches within China’s growing steel industry.

For more information on Armco Metals Holdings, please visit www.armcometals.com

Well Power, Inc. (WPWR) Takes on Gas Flaring

Well Power is in talks with MEC Resources to distribute the Micro-Refinery Unit (MRU) it has licensed from the company to territories beyond Texas, specifically, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Wyoming, New Mexico and Colorado. Well Power wants this arrangement because the amount of flared gas is on the rise in many of these regions, and an opportunity exists for it to use the rising concerns of gas flaring to position the MRU as an answer to the problem.

Well Power and MEC continue to develop the MRU and, later this year, plan to deploy the first test unit. While this is happening, the amount of expelled gas in states like Texas, North Dakota and Wyoming is now accounting for over half of the flared gas in the entire country. All of this wasted gas pollutes the air, which of course causes health concerns. It also results in the loss of billions of dollars as undervalued gases (vented, stranded, shut-in and associated gases) that could be captured and repurposed as valuable end products (electric power, engineered fuels, heat, ammonia, reduced GHG, and other end products) simply disappear into thin air.

Why are oil and gas companies flaring gas instead of trapping or using it? The simple answer is economics. It is more cost-effective to burn off the gas than to construct the necessary infrastructure to get it to consumers. Many oil and gas companies also operate wells in out-of-the-way places, and erecting pipelines to reach these wells is, well, costly.

Certain states are taking steps to alleviate some of their gas flaring concerns. North Dakota, for example, is looking into offering a tax-royalty to companies that would use green methods to trap and lessen the amount of gas being flared. Should leading oil and gas producing states succeed at executing such proposals, Well Power plans to be in place to offer them a way to transform flared gas into green energy.

For more information, visit www.wellpowerinc.com

Ecrypt Technologies, Inc. (ECRY) Bolsters Alliance Strategy with Addition of innoBots Security Products

Ecrypt Technologies, building on a recent series of alliance additions, announced today that it has completed a strategic marketing agreement with innoBots through an arrangement having global impact. With the agreement, Ecrypt will promote, sell, and distribute all of innoBots field-proven security products and capabilities.

Both companies are poised to leverage the strengths of the other. While innoBots’ innovative unmanned systems and robotics technology are a welcome addition to Ecrypt’s portfolio, Ecrypt’s security consulting ‘Newthink’ mindset and core competencies in IT-based data security are valuable resources to innoBots for both current and future systems under development.

Dr. Thomas A. Cellucci, Ecrypt’s CEO said: “We are excited to enter this welcomed business relationship with innoBots, who has gained a well-deserved reputation for providing extraordinary high value security capabilities at lower prices.”

Mr. Carmi Peleg, Founder and CEO of innoBots added: “We are excited to be teaming up with Ecrypt. Our combined strengths and ‘can-do’ attitude is contagious. We are confident that our combined effort will enable more users to see the benefits of our lower cost, yet higher performance systems.”

innoBots is a world leader in innovative, unmanned systems and robotics technology. Their technology is developed, marketed and sold to be used in military and law enforcement applications and designed to protect and deliver life-saving capabilities to personnel. With 25 years of research, development and testing at this family owned business, innoBots has a proven track record in critical military applications.

Ecrypt Technologies Inc. is at the leading edge of data security. The company specializes in top-shelf information security solutions for enterprise, government and military. Ecrypt grants its customers the peace of mind to communicate and share information without risk of liability, reputation damage, competitive threat and a variety of other possible negative outcomes. Ecrypt is a legitimate choice for those who hold confidentiality of their communication in high regard.

For more information on the company visit www.EcryptInc.com

LD Holdings, Inc. (LDHL) in Joint Venture Talks with Internet Marketing Consortium

Today before the opening bell, financial and management holding company LD Holdings announced it is in serious talks with Internet Marketing Consortium, one of the largest multimedia companies in the United States. President of Internet Marketing Consortium, Beryl Wolk is well-renowned for his extensive track record as a marketing ace.

For over 40 years, Wolk has developed hundreds of marketing strategies and joint ventures for many companies, including The Cable Guide, The Preview Channel, Discovery Channel, QVC, Resource One (5000 kiosks/carts in 500 malls), Millionaire.com, and Family Guide (helped with their first newspaper insert). LD Holdings believes a joint venture relationship with Internet Marketing Consortium would be a prime opportunity for greatly strengthening company awareness online among the financial community.

As a leading multimedia company, Internet Marketing Consortium is responsible for the development of over 1,300 joint ventures, 77 magazines affiliates, and more than 100 web affiliations, with an emphasis on electronic media, internet radio networking, and social networking strategies. With this relationship, LD Holdings could see its online exposure benefiting from access to potentially billions of website visitors Internet Marketing Consortium can attract with its online savvy per month.

“We feel additional exposure on the Internet with access to billions of hits a month should dramatically increase our company’s awareness to more than just the financial community at large. However, the renowned marketing experience that Beryl Wolk will bring to our company could not be overemphasized,” said John Ayling, President and CEO of LD Holdings.

For more information, visit: www.ldholdings.com

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

WordLogic Inc. (WLGC): A Global Provider of Predictive Text Software

WordLogic is a leader in predictive text input technology. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, WordLogic Corporation is focused on developing, marketing, licensing and selling data entry software for handheld computing devices.

With more than ten years of advanced research and development in its cache, WordLogic now holds multiple patents that turn mundane touch screens into lively doorways to boundless opportunities and possibilities. WordLogic’s predictive text offerings speed up the entry and recovery of text and information for personal computing devices. By giving users the ability to rapidly text using a highly-developed, multi-word-learning prediction engine, WordLogic’s technology saves them a substantial amount of time and effort.

WordLogic’s interface transforms touch screen devices. The company’s technology runs on numerous devices, such as small, handheld mobile devices with touch screen and QWERTY keyboards, keyboard-enabled smart phones, tablets, desktop computers, smart TVs, media players, automotive navigational systems, and infotainment and game consoles.

WordLogic’s predictive texting intelligence is packed with remarkable functions.

The company’s award-winning iKnowU keyboard, for example, is feature-rich and intuitive. Using modern patented technology, the keyboard anticipates what a user is about to type and lets him/her chain together phrases and create whole sentences in seconds.

The iKnowU keyboard is also amazingly accurate. It becomes more accurate every time a user engages with it, constantly learning about the individual and his/her style and becoming an extension of his/her personality. As a result, it enables users to complete phrases and sentences at lightning speed, saving them precious time. The iKnowU keyboard’s many features include:

• WordChunking displays likely predictions allowing users to find the words or phrases they are looking for faster and more accurately.

• Word and phrase prediction creates whole sentences and phrases in a fraction of the time a user would normally take to type them.

• Auto learn studies and monitors a users’ style and use of words, adjusting to better predict what he/she wants to type.

• Smart learn predicts the names of people and places, email addresses, websites and so much more.

• Gesturing enters words and phrases with sub-second input, resulting in lightning-fast entry speeds with high accuracy.

• Right- or left-handed preference adapts its actions and displays based on the setup for either right or left-handed users.

• Multi-keyboards and themes tailor the iKnowU experience with different themes and layouts.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.wordlogic.com

Oriens Travel & Hotel Management Corp. (OTHM) Demonstrates Resilience on Cusp of New Acquisition

Oriens Travel & Hotel Management is a next-generation international hotel brand operator with offices in British Columbia and Las Vegas. The company’s focus is on helping its network of partner hotels increase their occupancy levels and subsequent bottom-line profits.

Synergistic with its proprietary online booking/payment processing engine, the company has developed five unique brands under the Hotel PURE flag to help identify and categorize hotel properties according to star ratings and amenities: Hotel PURE Signature, Hotel PURE Select, Hotel PURE Green, Hotel PURE Express, and Hotel PURE B+B.

Oriens generates revenues from a fee structure based on reservations delivered through its Hotel PURE System. To help increase occupancy for its hotel clients, Oriens offers a suite of marketing solutions to help its clients secure a Top 10 web presence on searches through leading travel booking websites such as Expedia, Hotwire, Orbitz, Travelocity, Priceline, US Airways and more.

Entering the third quarter of 2014, Oriens demonstrated its resilience to adverse circumstances that unfolded at the beginning of the year when the company’s planned merger fell through due to third-party mishaps. Oriens surmised, however, that the botched merger was a positive event, enabling the company to establish a new business model while acquiring and branding its own properties under the new brand.

To that accord, Oriens today reported that it has signed a letter of intent (LOI) with BW Point Condominium Trust, LLC in which Oriens will acquire BW Point’s beach front property in Costa Rica. The LOI made a cash payment of approximately 4.5% to secure the deal, which Obriens says will “dramatically adjust the actual worth and value” of the company.

“Once the acquisition is complete, Oriens would book immediate asset values, boasting estimated revenues close to $9 million,” Ken Chua, president of Oriens, stated in the news release. “By focusing on our development in Costa Rica, we have been able to structure real financial opportunities, those which will almost immediately reflect in our financials. We are confident that shareholders will soon receive a substantial boost in confidence within the next 20 business days.”

The 15 story, 42-unit beach front condo/hotel building will serve as the company’s foundation to launching and developing its condo/hotel brand management, property ownership and online booking business model.

For more information, visit www.orienscorp.com

Snap Interactive, Inc. (STVI): Growing Population of Singles Explodes the Online Dating Market

Snap Interactive, Inc. develops, owns and operates a social dating application for social networking websites and mobile platforms. The company’s flagship brand, AYI.com, which stands for “Are You Interested?”, has become one of the largest social dating applications on the Internet with over 70 million installs, including over 25 million Facebook connected singles.

Snap Interactive is benefiting from a number of demographic and social trends. The key demographic trend is the rising number of singles in the United States and Western society in general. Especially in the United States, the total number of adult singles in the U.S. population totaled 37.7% at the start of 1977, and as marriage continuously declined, the adult single population is now 49.7% of the population. For the first time in United States history, the number of single people equals the number of married people.

The number of single-person households and couples that cohabitate have seen nearly a straight line increase over the past three decades. Although some argue that there has been an ongoing decline in marriages due to a rejection of religious values, there is no evidence of that. Over 78% of the U.S. population identifies as a member of some denomination of Christianity, and those that identify as agnostics or atheist are in the low single digits. Complex structural economic and social factors have shaped these changes in our society. As women have entered the workforce, the role of stay-at-home wives that focus raising children is now a rarity. Over the same three decades, the income of the middle class has stagnated or declined while the share of the country’s income to the top 1% aggressively grows. One can recall a period of time in the past when the working husband was able to afford a mortgage, a car for himself and one for his housewife, and health insurance for the entire family. That shifted in a matter of a few decades to households where both husband and wife have to work to maintain the same benefits as the prior generation. Marriage simply doesn’t play the role it had in the past.

The economic reasons also play a role in increasing divorce rates which range anywhere from 41% to 50% depending on how the divorce rates are measured. There are many social factors which play a role in the increasing number of singles as well. The negative stigma associated with someone that was never married has significantly declined. The emphasis on individualism in America to enhance consumer activity has further atomized society and decreased a sense of community which also cuts into the value of extended nuclear families. All the evidence indicates that the demographic trend of increasing singles will continue.

With the increasing population of singles, comes the increase of online dating which has grown into a $2.1 billon industry. Revenue from mobile dating is in the neighborhood of $400 million. This industry continued to expand at a rate of 3.5% a year till now and wasn’t slowed by the Great Recession, and continues to attract investors. Currently, about 38% of Americans that describe themselves as single and looking have used a mobile dating app or an online dating Web site, which is a huge increase from 2005, when about 11% in that same category used online dating. About 23% that use online dating find a successful relationship, and since 2005, nearly a third of the couples that have married initially met online.

There are 4,900 companies that run online dating sites, and the online dating industry is expected to add 100 new companies a year for the next 4 years. A key driver of growth has been the introduction of systems that match users of mutual interest according to content-based algorithms, which are based on factors that include a user’s age, education and income, and collaborative filtering-style algorithms, which is based on prior communications between users of similar interests.

Snap Interactive’s AYI online dating app matches users of shared interests and friends and allows the user quick and easy creation of a rich authentic profile so they can begin meeting other singles locally right away. Their app is integrated across Facebook, iPhone, Android, and the World Wide Web. The company has over 2 million monthly active users, and captures over 10,000 new users every single day. Snap Interactive recently reported their sixth consecutive month of subscriber growth, with an increase in their active subscriber base of 24% during the first five months of 2014, and this was while cutting marketing and advertising costs by 25% since January 2014. Snap Interactive has clearly gained growth momentum which should continue for years.

LD Holdings, Inc. (LDHL) is “One to Watch”

LD Holdings is a financial and management holding company focused on a niche business opportunity created by changes within the largest demographic group in America. Approximately 25 million small businesses in the United States will be sold in the next 15-20 years as the Baby Boomer generation transitions out of business ownership and into retirement. Employing a multi-faceted approach, LD Holdings seeks to take advantage of this shift by acquiring multiple profitable business entities to produce venture capital returns without the risks associated with venture capital start-ups. Presently, LDHL is targeting 4 sectors: biomedical, tech, entertainment and the green sector.

US consumers spend more than $4 Billion annually in the “do-it-for-me” (DIFM) LCS (Lawn Care Services) market, and $25 Billion+ in the LM (Lawn Maintenance) markets. They also spend another $7 Billion in the structural pest control services (PCO), a major adjacent homeowner service industry. Service category revenues vastly dwarf those of “do-it-yourself” (“DIY”), retail consumer products such as Scotts, Ortho, MiracleGro, et al despite the number of homeowners in each category being roughly equal, therefore far greater revenue per the DIFM customer. The market leaders in both LCS market, TruGreen and the LM market, Brickman/Valley Crest, have comparatively low market shares – 20% and 8% respectively – evidencing the fragmentation of both markets. Both industries are comprised of thousands of smaller firms, many of them Baby Boomer owned businesses, with many being ideal targets for “tuck-in” acquisitions. Brickman (KKR) has recently purchased Valley Crest, which ranked second on the L&L Top 100 list, for multiple times EBIDTA. In contrast, the LD Holdings business model expects to acquire the green sectors’ targeted businesses for less than EBIDTA.

Recently LD Holdings secured a $10 million (line of credit) from a qualified institution to pursue these acquisitions. This secured line of credit facility will enable the company to complete its first three acquisition targets which will total $16 million sales and $2.3 million EBITDA. The company has signed a letter of intent to close on its first company in the green sector in the 3rd quarter of this year.

LD Holdings’ five-year plan is to merge its acquired entities into cohesive business units to generate revenues through organic growth to exceed $30 Million during the first 5 years. The 5-year plan also includes additional acquisitions beyond the initial platforms and some early LM (Lawn Maintenance) “tuck-in” additions as well. Management firmly believes that the enterprise can be readily grown to $60 Million plus with LCS (Lawn Care Services) greenfield expansion (replicating the platform operating model in additional cities/geographies), franchising, branchising, and licensing. The $60 Million plus is only reflected in the company’s green sector portion of its operations.

LD Holdings is positioned to capitalize on the changing dynamics of the Baby Boomer generation while enabling investors to diversify their investment by owning several companies with increased valuations, in various sectors under one umbrella, rather than just one company at a time.

P2 Solar, Inc. (PTOS) Inks 35-Year Power Purchase Agreement for Rajgarh Hydro Project in India

P2 Solar, a developer of solar PV power and hydro power projects, reports that its wholly owned subsidiary in India has signed a Power Purchase Agreement (“PPA”) with a Punjab energy distribution company, enabling P2 Solar to advance its Rajgarh small hydro power project.

The PPA provides a 35-year payment term at an approximate tariff of US$0.10, which the P2 Solar believes will enable a high rate of return and generate free cash flow for the firm. Raj-Mohinder Gurm, CEO of P2 Solar, notes that the agreement is the result of years of diligence, and is of historical significance for the company.

“This is a pivotal event for P2 Solar, as this power purchase agreement marks the culmination of significant efforts we have made over the past years to secure a project in India and proceed with commissioning,” he stated in the news release.

Per the agreement, P2 Solar is permitted to close bids for construction, and the company’s Canada-based management team will soon return to India to move ahead with the project’s development, including the selection of the lead contractor and initiating construction.

P2 Solar’s Rajgarh hydro power project is located on the Sidhwan irrigation canal near the city of Ludhiana in Punjab, India, upstream from the company’s other mini-hydro site, Project Tibba.

For more information visit www.p2solar.com

Following Recent Trading Suspensions, SEC Warns that Some Marijuana-Related Stocks may be Blowing Smoke

If you’re paying any attention to emerging markets, it goes without saying that the legalization of marijuana for medical and recreational use has triggered a stampede of medical marijuana-related stocks. And along with it, fraud in the microcap space. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently issued a warning to investors about possible scams involving marijuana-related investments after a handful of companies came into question.

In the past two months alone, the agency says it has suspended trading on five cannabis industry microcaps flagged for potential fraud.

“For marijuana-related companies that are not required to report with the SEC, investors may have limited information about the company’s management, products, services, and finances,” the SEC’s alert says. “When publicly available information is scarce, fraudsters can more easily spread false information about a company, making profits for themselves while creating losses for unsuspecting investors.”

The SEC’s Microcap Fraud Task Force is responsible for sharking the microcap market to identify inadequate or potentially misleading/inaccurate news disseminated by public companies. The SEC is authorized to suspend trading on questionable companies for up to 10 days while the alleged activity is further investigated.

“Recent changes in state laws concerning medical and recreational marijuana have created new opportunities for penny stock fraud,” Elisha Frank, co-chair of the SEC Enforcement Division’s Microcap Fraud Task Force, stated in the SEC’s news release. “Wherever we see incomplete or misleading disclosures, we act quickly to protect investors.”

The SEC recently suspended trading on FusionPharm, Inc.; Cannabusiness Group, Inc.; GrowLife, Inc.; Advanced Cannabis Solutions, Inc.; and Petrotech Oil and Gas, Inc.

“We know from experience that fraudsters follow the headlines,” said Lori J. Schock, director of the SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy, which prepared the investor alert. “Given the attention that marijuana-related companies have attracted recently, we urge investors to exercise caution when looking at investments in this space. Always thoroughly research the company – and the person selling the investment – before making a decision.”

For more information visit www.sec.gov

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