A study recently highlighted by the American Epilepsy Society (AES) at its 70th annual meeting focused on the potential of cannabidiol (CBD), a derivative of the cannabis plant, as a promising treatment for reducing both the frequency and severity of seizures in children with drug resistant epilepsies (http://dtn.fm/4uYeH). According to the study, patients who received CBD treatment exhibited over 45 percent mean reduction in seizures, and researchers were outspoken in support of further research.

Cannabidiol is the most abundant non-psychoactive cannabinoid found in the cannabis plant. Both anecdotal evidence and pre-clinical research have suggested that CBD may have a broad range of beneficial therapeutic uses in humans and animals including pain mitigation, epileptic seizures and wasting disease eating disorders (cachexia). Animal studies have also shown promise for CBD’s anticonvulsant efficacy in multiple species (http://dtn.fm/Cusv2).

As referenced in a recent article (http://dtn.fm/QB8Kv), multiple companies compete in the $65 billion diverse pet product market, with about $15 billion spent on veterinary care annually in the United States. Seizures afflict about five percent of the 90 million dogs in the U.S. and a little over two percent of the 94 million felines. The most commonly used drugs to treat pet seizures include a lifetime regimen of phenobarbital, potassium bromide, and diazepam. India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IGC) is changing the paradigm of seizure treatments for dogs and cats based on its novel patent pending therapy using cannabinoid extracts.

India Globalization Capital is actually building a broad portfolio of multiple intellectual properties around the utilization of phytocannabinoid-based therapies in both animals and humans. The company is at the forefront of the combined use of cannabis-based extracts with other medications to reduce side effects and to increase bioavailability and absorption (phytocannabinoid-based combination therapy).

IGC has developed a pipeline of patent pending cannabinoid-based drugs targeting large market disorders such as therapeutics for neuropathic pain, human and animal seizures, refractory epilepsy and eating disorders. Several of these therapeutic compounds are scheduled for pre-clinical trials this year. With a team of experts encompassing patent law, clinical trials and regulatory procedures, IGC is positioned to become a leader in specialty pharmaceuticals and offers an interesting opportunity to profit from this exciting new market.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.IGCinc.us

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The hiatus after its initial public offering (IPO) in 2014 has come to an end, and Medical Transcription Billing, Corp. (NASDAQ: MTBC; MTBCP) has rebooted its acquisition strategy by bringing two new businesses under its wing. In late 2016, the company completed its acquisition of MediGain, LLC, a Texas-based medical billing specialist, and its subsidiary, Millennium Practice Management Associates, LLC, a New Jersey-based medical billing company. Now, with its bottom line enhanced as costs are spread over the larger organizational structure, MTBC is also set to see its top line improve substantially.

The MediGain acquisition will expand MTBC’s revenue base significantly, adding approximately 200 customers and $10 million in annualized revenues. As a result, for the first quarter of 2017, with an earnings report due on Wednesday, May 10, revenues are expected to rise by approximately 60% year-over-year to $8.2 million with “significantly improved” net loss and adjusted EBITDA. Overall revenue growth of over 20 percent is forecast for 2017, up from 2016 revenues of $24.5 million, and the top line is expected to hit $30 million.

The MediGain acquisition is a real feather in MTBC’s cap, bringing a number of advantages to the company. For starters, the purchase price of $7 million for $10 million worth of revenue represents a 30% discount on the industry norm multiple of 1x. As Warren Buffet famously said, “Whether we’re talking about socks or stocks, I like buying quality merchandise when it is marked down.”

Net present value of the acquisition is positive, as the discounted cash flows from the acquisitions exceed MTBC’s cost of capital, already noted by the market and reflected by a rise in the share price, and MTBC has gained talented team members in North America and expanded its Asia-based team to additional countries with talented, cost-effective workforces.

With these acquisitions, MTBC continues its focus on smaller one- to 10-doctor practices. The company provides software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions to assist health care providers generate invoices, prepare and mail statements to their patients and submit insurance claims. It also provides electronic health record (EHR) software that allows providers to record notes of a visit and practice management software for the front office staff to schedule appointments, check insurance eligibility, send out automated reminder calls and text messages about flu shots, etc.

In addition to these services, practitioners and patients have access to a suite of mobile applications, including apps that the doctors can use to refill prescriptions and apps that the patients can use to look up their records, set up appointments, request prescription refills and check in when they arrive at the practice. Doctors who do not want to type their notes into the EHR can dictate into an app on their iPhone or Android device, which will be sent automatically to MTBC personnel, who will listen to it and type the notes into the electronic health record software.

MTBC’s main competitive advantage is its ability to deliver these services at a cost far less than any competitor. This is partly because MTBC has bought or established a number of overseas subsidiaries, sourcing expertise and talent for much less than is obtainable in the U.S. MTBC’s two largest offices are in Pakistan, where it employs 1,500 people at salaries of approximately one-tenth what you would pay in the United States for similarly skilled and educated labor.

For more information, visit www.MTBC.com

Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) is growing its sales in the quick-expanding world of cashless transaction processing, which is exhibiting its greatest gains in retail and in the emerging Asian and Latin American markets, according to the World Payments Report 2016 (http://nnw.fm/MY0tu) by Capgemini. Net Element itself showed a 35% revenue increase in FY2016 to $54.3 million versus the same period in 2015. SeeThruEquity (http://nnw.fm/W3Dpi) projects the company’s sales at $62.9 million in FY2017. Zacks Small Cap Research (http://nnw.fm/R3FcB) estimates Net Element’s 2017 sales at $62 million and for 2018 at $73.5 million.

Net Element is a financial technology group that processes global electronic transactions within an omni-channel environment. It processes transactions from mobile devices, points-of-sale and within e-commerce. The company’s performance is segmented into several groups, with the North American segment being its largest by far. In 2016, Net Element recorded a 54% jump in North American revenues to $42.1 million, representing about 78% of total company sales.

The encouraging news for Net Element is that, while North America today dominates the company’s revenues, other parts of the world are showing significant percentage growth in number of electronic transactions. The company’s future worldwide is in a quick-expanding marketplace in what is becoming a global cashless society.

In 2015, Net Element saw 21.6% growth in Bankcard regional volume in emerging markets within Asia and 8.6% growth in Latin America, according to the research report World Payments Report 2016 by Capgemini. It said 387 billion transactions occurred worldwide in 2014 and projected a 10% increase in 2015. In China, an increase of 47% was seen in 2014, it said. North America, while still growing, had the least level of gains at 4.6% in 2015, the research study found.

Compound annual growth rate, or CAGR, from 2010-2014 for the emerging Asia-Pacific market topped the global report at 23.6%, while mature markets in Asia-Pacific jumped 11.1% and Latin America grew 10.6%. North America CAGR for the period grew only 4.7%, it said. China’s growth in non-cash payments grew from 2013-2014 by 31.5%, easily topping all others. By comparison, North America grew in the same period by 4.4%.

The mix of non-cash payments from 2010-2014 also bodes well for Net Element, with 65% of all non-cash payments worldwide made on credit cards, the research found, and the rest breaking down to 12% on direct debit credit cards, 17% on credit transfers and 6% made on checks. In North America, the use of credit cards in this mix was even higher at 70.7% in 2014. North America was ranked first in total transactions by value — at $139.8 billion in 2014 — making it the highest globally in non-cash transactions.

So while Net Element enjoys its 87% of revenue from North America, its future as it processes non-cash transactions overseas is bright. Globally, non-cash transaction processing is growing quickest in the Asia-Pacific emerging markets sector.

For more information, refer to www.NetElement.com

Cannabis is now legal medically or recreationally in 28 states in the U.S., and companies such as India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IGC) are developing revolutionary cannabinoid-based combination pharmaceutical therapies. Cannabis’ history doesn’t begin in the 1960s. Scientists have dated burned cannabis seeds found in Siberia to 3,000 B.C., and mummified psychoactive marijuana has been found in tombs of individuals buried around 2,500 B.C. Fast forward a few thousand years and add laws, regulations, and cultural stigma, and behold one of the most disputed substances. In the 1850s, recreational cannabis was considered fashionable in the U.S., and it was widespread in the 1920s as well. In 1937, Congress passed the Marijuana Tax Act, making it illegal to possess and transfer cannabis. The Controlled Substances Act (CSA), passed in 1970, lists cannabis as a high-abuse-potential Schedule 1 drug.

Although the CSA hasn’t been changed, marijuana has been decriminalized in many places. Medical cannabis was legalized in California in 1996, and Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and Arizona followed suit in 1998. The trend has accelerated, and, by 2011, additional states were favoring medical cannabis or passed legislation to decriminalize it. These included Nevada, Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Connecticut, and Washington D.C. Even more impressive than the territory covered by jurisdictions allowing cannabis and cannabis-related products is the multi-billion-dollar industry that’s emerged and promises to keep on growing.

Ram Mukunda, executive chairman, CEO, and president of India Globalization Capital, has taken the company on a course that is as impressive as the cannabis industry itself. IGC was founded in 2005 to mine iron ore. Once the prices for iron ore plummeted, Mukunda took the company in a different direction to focus on the untapped potential of cannabinoids and cannabis-based extracts.

Today, the company’s pipeline of patent-pending cannabinoid-based compounds represents treatment for a number of large market conditions. Cannabis-based pain medications are in development, providing opportunities for investors, as are drugs for post-traumatic stress disorder, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and depression. Therapeutic drugs for treating seizures in humans and animals are in development as well.

The company’s drug development pipeline consists of a cream/patch for treating neuropathic pain, eating disorder treatments for adult and veterinary use, and a refractory epilepsy drug for adults. Pre-clinical trials are anticipated in 2017 for three of IGC’s combination therapy compounds. The company has come a long way from running mining operations to developing high potential phytocannabinoid-based treatments, but it is now helping to shape a critical point in cannabis history as medical use becomes more mainstream.

To learn more about India Globalization Capital, Inc., its drug development pipeline, and other cannabinoid- and cannabis-related initiatives, visit the company online at www.IGCinc.us

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Kootenay Zinc Corp. (CSE: ZNK) (OTCQB: KTNNF) is a mineral exploration and development company focused on discovering large-scale sedimentary-exhalative (“SEDEX”) zinc deposits. Based in Vancouver, British Columbia, the company is ideally positioned near its primary target, the Sully Property, located 18 miles east of the world-class Sullivan Mine.

Of the 22 raw materials tracked by the Bloomberg Commodity Index, zinc was the best-performing base metal in 2016. Based on a widening global supply deficit, outlook for the commodity remains strong. As the most closely tied base metal to the Chinese economy, zinc demand and prices are expected to rise well into the year 2020, putting increased pressure on zinc supply.

For 2017, Goldman Sachs has predicted a 360,000 ton shortage of zinc, along with a subsequent rise in zinc prices to $2,500 per metric ton in the first half of the year. Zinc continues to make history in the metals exchange, driving significant interest in the market amid supply constraints in concentrates and refined metal drive prices.

Ready to claim its share of the market, Kootenay Zinc is focused on its Sully Property. It comprises 1,375 hectares and overlies rocks of similar age and origin as those which host the legendary Sullivan deposit. The Sullivan Mine was discovered in 1892, and is known to be one of the world’s largest SEDEX deposits. Over its 100-year lifetime, Sullivan produced approximately 150 million tonnes of ore, including approximately 300 million ounces of silver, 8 million tonnes of zinc and 8 million tonnes of lead.

Notably, geophysical data suggests that Kootenay Zinc’s Sully project and Sullivan share many geological features:

• Strata at Sully are in the same sedimentary basin as the Sullivan Mine
• The exact stratigraphic time horizon at which Sullivan formed is present at Sully
• Filtered AeroMag anomalies coincident with Sullivan Time at Sully appear similar to Sullivan
• Gravity anomaly at Sully indicates excess mass of comparable magnitude to Sullivan
• Pb-Zn is present as traces in outcrop, drill core and in a soil geochemical anomaly

The squeeze in zinc supplies particularly affects China, which is both the world’s largest zinc consumer and its largest producer, with 4.9 million tons of output in 2015. Chinese manufacturers are now being forced to import zinc for use in cars, household appliances, paints, rubber products and smartphones.

Zinc’s rally shows no sign of slowing down in the near future, and companies that currently occupy stake in a zinc deposit find themselves in an enviable position over miners rushing to find new reserves. With its Sully Project, Kootenay Zinc could be on track to capture its share of the market, guided by a management team of mining directors and executives that currently lead some of the world’s best mining companies and have been involved in world-class discoveries which sold for billions of dollars. The company’s technical team includes industry experts that have worked on mega-mining projects, including the Sullivan and Voisey Bay projects.

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

In a testament to its medical efficacy, 29 states and the District of Columbia have now legalized medical marijuana. This groundswell with state sanction and now widespread public acceptance has started a stampede of companies jockeying to profit from legalization. From the sale of oils and extracts to specialized cultivation, multiple companies are rushing into this new market hoping to cash in on surging demand. However, rushing in just might not be the right approach to making real money in this sector.

There’s an old adage that says the way to create real wealth is to find out where everyone is going, get there first and buy real estate. Utilizing a strikingly similar approach, one interesting company is strategically staking claims to medicinal marijuana territory. India Globalization Capital (NYSE MKT: IGC) formerly mined and converted low-grade iron ore to high-grade ore until prices plummeted. It was then that company management made the decision that to preserve shareholder value it must change course. As a result, IGC entered the burgeoning medical marijuana market. It’s estimated that sales in the cannabidiol (CBD) market, the medicinal non-euphoric part of cannabis, will grow 700 percent to nearly $3 billion annually by 2020. That kind of explosive growth is certain to attract multiple pretenders to the throne.

With decades of Wall Street experience, IGC management knew better than to just rush into the feeding frenzy. Instead, the company took a deliberate, judicious approach to market opportunity. Realizing that therapeutic cannabidiol treatments essentially comprised new drug formulations, IGC assembled a team of highly skilled physicians and researchers to compare anecdotal efficacy with scientific evidence and identify areas where cannabidiol therapies could have significant impact in large market maladies. The company then engaged experienced pharmaceutical patent attorneys to protect these new intellectual properties and now has a pipeline of patent pending cannabinoid-based drugs to treat neuropathic pain, human and animal seizures, refractory epilepsy, and eating disorders. Several of these novel therapeutics are scheduled for pre-clinical trials this year.

Focused on expanding its patent portfolio in the CBD space, India Globalization Capital is among the very first to stake claims in cannabis-based combination therapies. The company has been building intellectual properties surrounding the combined use of cannabis-based extracts with other medications to reduce side effects and to increase bioavailability and absorption. To further its reach, IGC also intends to take equity positions in ancillary cannabis businesses and is aggressively seeking partnerships with other scientifically based cannabinoid researchers, as well as with producers and processors holding intellectual properties in particular cannabidiol strains that can be proved up for pharmacological use.

With its scientific approach to new drug formulation protected with multiple patents, IGC is strategically staking out incredibly valuable territory in the new frontier of cannabidiol therapeutics. The company’s expanding IP portfolio and low market capitalization present a compelling investment opportunity in the CBD space. As curative phytocannabinoid treatments expand exponentially, India Globalization Capital is well positioned to reap substantial rewards for getting there early and owning patent protected turf in the medicinal marijuana sector.

For more information, visit the company’s website at www.IGCinc.us

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Almost everyone has seen the cartoon of a big fish gobbling up a smaller fish then getting gobbled up itself by an even larger fish. On Wall Street, growth through acquisitions has typically proved to be immensely popular for every size fish. However, successful accretive acquisitions require experienced management, extensive due diligence, and careful consolidation to unify the entities to create a whole greater than the sum of its parts.

With an objective of four acquisitions per year, National Waste Management Holdings (OTC: NWMH), has been adding synergistic assets at a torrid pace. National Waste Management is a vertically-integrated solid waste management company that in just over 18 months has acquired Waste Recovery Enterprises, Gateway Rolloff Services, Sivart Services, Northeast Data Destruction & Recycling, and Burts Refuse. While consistently increasing organic revenues, the company has vastly broadened its footprint and gained economies of scale with each targeted acquisition, with the results reflected in its year-over-year 2016 triple-digit revenue growth.

With a focus on further strategic expansion, National Waste Management currently operates in Florida and New York. The company provides comprehensive solutions for waste diversion including landfill services, roll-off dumpster operations, commercial and residential collections, transfer station operations, trucking and grinding, mulch sales, paper shredding and hard drive destruction services. While managing waste from inception to final disposal, National Waste still maintains a proactive approach to the environmental concerns of its business and actively works to recycle more and reduce landfill waste.

The company’s strategy is strikingly similar to the one employed by Wayne Huizenga in 1968 when he founded Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE: WM) and began aggressively purchasing smaller waste collection services across the country. It has since gone on to become the largest waste management company in the country and to this day still actively seeks strategic acquisitions nationwide (http://dtn.fm/kEd4U).

Using its own metrics, National Waste Management is following a proven path of success as it continues to grow both organically and through accretive acquisitions. The company has charted a course of expansion and has shown skillful execution in implementation. However, the industry, the path, the success and the similarities beg the question, how long does National Waste Management swallow other businesses before it becomes a target itself?

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

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Grey Cloak Tech’s (OTC: GRCK) takeover of ShareRails and its cloud-based software could play a major role in the attempts by major retailers seeking to integrate their costly physical stores with e-commerce in order to successfully compete. Well-known chains are betting that their brick-and-mortar appeal can help them survive in the omni-channel shopping world. J.C. Penney is one example. After years of hemorrhaging losses — $513 million in fiscal 2015 alone — it posted a small but symbolic $1 million profit in 2016. Key to its survival strategy is attracting the online shopper to its physical stores. ShareRails’ proprietary software could be a key element in the survival and growth of stores, located in malls, strip centers, or freestanding, versus online companies that are nimble in pricing and assortments.

Grey Cloak Tech, after its March 2017 takeover of ShareRails, is now a dual-faceted company. It can use its newly-acquired online-to-offline (O2O) platform to raise the profile of retailers’ inventory in brick-and-mortar stores into online digital comparison shopping. Through a digital conversion of a listing of physical inventory into rich content, a number of search engines — such as Google — can then index the products offered. The endgame is a melding of online shopping with physical stores. The company also offers the market its own click-fraud detection with its proprietary Fraudlytic™ software designed to protect advertisers in the digital marketplace.

The result is a comprehensive O2O service which addresses the sharp decline in mall traffic at physical stores, brings traditional stores into the online shopping mix and shields online promoters from click-fraud, offering a clearer picture for investors into the true performance and reach of online businesses.

At the same time, merchants can analyze data detailing consumer shopping trends and better align their product assortments to meet those needs. To the consumer, e-commerce shopping integrated with data regarding the existing inventory of physical stores presents a comprehensive view of the total marketplace.

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

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The chemical in marijuana that causes euphoria is delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC. There are also over 100 other cannabinoid chemicals in the plant, including cannabidiol (CBD), one of the main active chemical compounds found in marijuana. CBD doesn’t make people high, isn’t intoxicating or addictive, and is gaining widespread acceptance as a natural and effective medicinal treatment for multiple disorders. Both anecdotal evidence and pre-clinical research have pointed to CBD as having a broad range of beneficial therapeutic uses, including anti-seizure, antioxidant, neuro-protective, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, anti-tumor, anti-anxiety, and anti-psychotic properties. CBD oil has already been legalized in all 50 U.S. states and can be exported to over 40 countries, including China. With an annual growth rate of nearly 60 percent, CBD oil has become one of the fastest-growing market categories in the country. U.S.-based ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) is set to capitalize on this meteoric growth.

With long term focus on value-add opportunities, ChineseInvestors.com has consistently delivered a broad range of products, services, and information for the global Chinese speaking population since 1999. This specialized investment services company provides real-time market commentary, analysis, and education-related services in the Chinese language, and it offers several subscription-based services as well as consultation, advertising, and public relations services. After profiting from a successful investment in the marijuana market, the company recognized an immense opportunity and recently expanded into retail and online sales of CBD products. The company has a 100,000+ user base, a recognizable 18-year-old brand and a target market of nearly two billion Chinese-speaking people. ChineseInvestors.com is positioning to become the world’s leading Chinese medical marijuana company and to dominate this new market.

In January, the company launched the world’s first CBD health products online store in the Chinese language (www.ChineseCBDoil.com). Traditional Chinese medicine embraces holistic, natural remedies, which suggests that online sales and future retail outlets could easily exceed expectations. In conjunction with these expectations, SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research firm, recently raised its price target for ChineseInvestors.com to $3.75 a share. With the stock currently trading at just over a dollar per share, ChineseInvestors.com could provide an exceptional opportunity to profit from the medical marijuana market and nearly two billion potential new customers.

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

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You may not have heard of Kessler’s Flying Circus (KFC), because, since its high-flying days in 2007, the FBI has clipped its wings. But while it was airborne, KFC generated over $5 million in one 12-month period by exploiting a fraudulent technique known as “cookie stuffing”. Cookie stuffing is just one pernicious technique that is costing online advertisers billions, driving the industry to rely increasingly on outfits like Grey Cloak Tech, Inc. (OTC: GRCK), a developer of industry-leading click-fraud detection software, to stop fraudsters from putting their hands in the ad revenue cookie jar.

Online advertising fraud is a growing problem. In March, a CNBC (http://dtn.fm/m1IlU) report suggested ‘that ad fraud will cost brands $16.4 billion globally this year, and that nearly 20 percent of total digital ad spend was wasted in 2016.’ Cookie stuffing is one approach favored by scammers, since it is very easy to pull off.

An FBI press release (http://dtn.fm/Cn6Oh) revealed just how easy as it detailed the machinations of the KFC fraud. KFC set up websites that attracted traffic quickly; one offered an app that showed the physical location of visitors to a MySpace profile. Using that app and similar ones created by KFC on its websites would ‘stuff’ a cookie into the user’s browser. Surreptitiously, the cookie included KFC’s eBay Affiliate ID number. When the user subsequently visited eBay and conducted a “revenue action”, KFC would receive a commission, even though the user did not click on an eBay ad or link.

Cookies, of course, are legitimate text files stored in a user’s browser by a website that has been visited by the user. Originally meant to store status information such as name, home address, email address and telephone number, there is increasing concern that they are now being employed to track a host of other private areas, such as the sites visited by users.

Grey Cloak Tech’s detection software can stop cookie stuffing and other forms of digital advertising deceit such as impression fraud, URL masking and click fraud. Impression fraud occurs when an ad is recorded as having being seen when it has not been seen. One technique used by fraudsters to generate these fraudulent ad impressions is to put ads in tiny one-pixel-by-one-pixel windows, which, of course, no human eye can detect. A web page can have dozens of these, which means that every visitor to the page generates impressions for ads he cannot even see.

URL masking or domain masking means that visitors to a website are stealthily directed to another website. It can be used to fool buyers into thinking they’re buying premium inventory when they are instead getting low quality placements. It has also been used to trick advertisers into running ads on sites with illicit or stolen content, which tend to generate lots of traffic but little ad revenue.

As these nefarious practices continue to grow, Grey Cloak Tech’s detection software will become increasingly important. For example, its Fraudlytic™ cloud-based, secure platform will monitor internet traffic in real time, blocking malicious and false clicks, while allowing real consumers to view offers and buy. The company has deep roots in the online advertising industry and is committed to restoring data integrity to the digital marketing industry. Fred Covely, founder, president and chief technology officer, has been involved in all aspects of software product and company development for many years. William Bossung, director and co-founder, was a partner and co-founder with Covely in a previous successful software company.

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

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