ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) is raising funds in a series of offerings, equity sales and a private placement to meet its liquidity needs, even as it reported a 95% gain in its year-over-year operating revenues for the three months ended February 28, 2017. It has begun a private placement of a new series of its preferred stock to its Canadian investors. In 2016, it realized $2.3 million in proceeds from its stock sales of Medicine Man Technologies, Inc.

ChineseInvestors.com is a company which, in real-time in the Chinese language, provides analysis and educational services. It also offers consulting and advertising servies to its members. It is now focusing on the growing cannabis sector, developing online and store sales of hemp-based CBD health products. Warren Wang, chief executive officer of CIIX, said the company is in the final stages of developing websites, retail channels and marketing campaigns for the product line.

In the quarter ended February 28, 2017, it raised $5,000,043 from an offering of its Series C-2016 preferred stock. Additionally, the investors of the final $350,150 in that over-subscribed offering agreed to keep their funds on deposit with the company pending the company’s next securities placement. It was recorded on the balance sheet as an investors’ deposit. CIIX raised some $1,996,939 in cash in the nine months ended February 28, 2017, from its holdings in MDCL stock. The company still retains 41,238 shares of MDCL stock, representing $79,588 in value based on a closing market price of $1.93.

Even as its own sales performance grows, CIIX says that, since its inception, it has relied on proceeds from private placements and sales of shares of its equity securities to fund its operations. In the past two years, CIIX has realized proceeds of $2,605,000 from the issuance of its Series B-2014 stock.

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

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Employment in the U.S. has undergone profound changes over the last several decades. Workers have been forced to adapt to the new realities of the workplace, and additional skills are required to be competitive. Occupations requiring more education and training are on the rise, and many workers have come to realize that retraining and upgrading their skills is necessary to land and retain a good job.

Although manufacturing in the U.S. hasn’t declined as an industry, and has actually grown in output, manufacturing employment has gone down by about a third since 1990. Automation, global outsourcing, and shifting economic priorities have driven significant changes in the American workplace. Employment opportunities increasingly lie in jobs that require higher level training and technical or analytical skills.

ProBility Media Corp. (OTCQB: PBYA) plays a major role in meeting this fast growing demand for job training and continuing education in the new economy. The company is one of the leading online providers of career advancement and training content for tradesman and technical experts. By building the first full-service training and career advancement brand in the technical fields, ProBility is changing the landscape of the skilled trades training and certification industry.

The company is committed to preparing individuals with training, support, and continued education. ProBility provides people with the training and skills needed to land and retain good jobs. Through targeted acquisitions, the company also has become one of the go-to sources for e-learning and training content, exam preparation, testing, certification, continuing education, and career advancement tools for engineers and tradesmen. The broad collection of the company’s comprehensive educational programs is unparalleled, providing individuals and institutions with the skill sets needed to succeed. ProBility intends to organically grow revenues from current operations while also strategically acquiring synergistic companies operating in the multiple fields that they service. Successful execution of its strategy would easily place ProBility in a position of market dominance.

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

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Net Element, Inc. (NASDAQ: NETE) is already working on both its funding needs and the performance of its Mobile Solutions Segment, as cited by SeeThruEquity’s updated report of April 12, 2017 (http://nnw.fm/w1vK5). In the report, the equity research firm maintained its price target on NETE stock of $2.45 per share. The company in FY2016 reported $54.3 million in sales, representing a 35% gain over the $40.2 million revenues in the 12 months of 2015. SeeThruEquity now projects Net Element’s 2017 sales as reaching $62.9 million.

Net Element is a global financial technology group that processes electronic payments in an omni-channel environment, including e-commerce, point-of-sale and mobile devices. It is segmented into three groups: North America Transaction Solutions, Mobile Payment Solutions and Online Payment Solutions. The firm also provides analytical tools, fraud management, and point-of-sale solutions.

In the report, SeeThruEquity made note that North American Transactions, and its processing, drove company sales in 2016, generating $42.1 million, a 54% jump from the 2015 revenues. Its sales accounted for 78% of total Net Element revenues in 2016. The research firm expressed concern about the performance of the Mobile Solutions segment, which experienced a 34% drop in sales in 2016 to $6 million. Also, it noted Net Element’s balance sheet, asserting that it will require more than $5 million to meet its marketing plan over the next 12 months and repay the debt incurred in its PayOnline acquisition.

Yet, SeeThruEquity said it is intrigued by the company’s high risk/high reward profile in the financial technology sector. It added that Net Element is broadly following SeeThruEquity’s expectations following its 3Q16 financial results and reverse stock split. Its 2017 revenue projection for Net Element is based on continued growth in North America transaction processing and online payments. It has already factored in a decline in mobile payments.

On March 1, 2017, Net Element entered into an 18-month promissory note with Star Equities LLC in the amount of $348,083, the company said in its SEC 10K for the year ended December 31, 2016 (http://nnw.fm/TrU23). A balloon payment is due in September 2018. Oleg Firer, CEO and director of Net Element, is also chairman and managing member of Star Equities. Net Element also said that the number of payments processed through its Mobile Payment Solutions segment declined by 19% in 2016 and that was due to a shifted business model. The company now has moved to a subscription/recurring payment model from its one-time transactional business of the past.

For more information, refer to www.NetElement.com

Since its March acquisition of One Exam Prep LLC, ProBility Media Corp. (OTCQB: PBYA) has been positioned to become one of the leading resources for training, testing, certification, and continuing education in the construction industry. The company is expanding into industries beyond the electrical contractors, fabricators, pipe fitters, plumbing contractors, and engineering firms that it currently serves. Thanks to the acquisition of Florida-based One Exam Prep, it can offer online continuing education and certification in over 20 states. The present goal is to expand these offerings to all 50 states.

ProBility also offers virtual reality training. This state-of-the-art training system is currently designed for customers looking to work in the crane business. It is also being expanded, so virtual reality training will soon be available for several different industries. In addition, the company now has access to One Exam Prep’s over 70 contractor licensing and continuing education domains, and hundreds of online and classroom-based courses.

The multi-year consulting agreement, with One Exam’s founder Rob Estell, runs until the end of the year 2020, and includes a salary and annual performance bonus based on the acquisition’s profits and revenues. Also, the agreement includes a non-recourse secured convertible promissory note. This has a cash value of $300,000. For Q1, ended January 31, 2017, ProBility Media itself reported revenue exceeding $1 million, a year-over-year increase of 24 percent.

In 1946, what is now ProBility Media Corp. began as a small bookstore in Houston, Texas. Today, it offers much of its skills training and education via the cloud. The One Exam Prep acquisition comes after the acquisition of Premier Purchasing and Marketing Alliance LLC (operating as National Electric Wholesale Providers (NEWP), which provides study materials to electricians, covering materials such as the National Electric Code in the United States. Serving numerous multi-billion dollar companies, NEWP is one of the largest National Electrical Codes wholesalers in the country. It supplies distributors with e-books, mobile applications, and downloadable digital files as well, further demonstrating ProBility’s commitment to the digital realm.

ProBility also provides crane-rigging training/certification in compliance with OSHA-ANSI requirements as part of a publishing and distribution deal with All Purpose Crane Training. The One Exam Prep acquisition, however, is taking things to a new level, as enterprises of any size can take advantage of traditional and online classes from the high school level to career placement. Presently, the ProBility training resources cover 15 major categories and education, career advancement, and testing opportunities in over 60 skilled, in-demand trades.

The company also expects its technology-driven construction training and education services to eventually be offered internationally. For now, its services are reinforcing continuous workplace learning and allowing workers all over the country to begin and advance their careers. ProBility’s unprecedented growth is showing in other ways, too. Recently, OTC Markets uplisted the company to the QB Tier, which requires annual certification and consistent reporting with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Its string of successful acquisitions, including One Exam Prep LLC, proves that the company is quickly becoming a leader in construction industry education, training, and certification in many high-demand fields.

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

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In 2009, the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) provided $19 billion to increase the use of Electronic Health Records (EHR) by physicians and hospitals. A big chunk of that was to be spent by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), through which about 30 percent of national health expenditure passes. The CMS administers the reimbursement programs not only for Medicare and Medicaid but for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) and the Health Insurance Marketplace. It is also in the forefront of the drive to shift U.S. health care from a fee-for-service model to a fee-for-value one. ORHub, Inc. (OTC: ORHB), the developer of a cloud-based health care software-as-a-service platform designed to decrease costs and improve outcomes in surgical care, is also focused on this monumental shift within the nation’s health care system.

The McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK), the oldest and largest health care company in the nation, has identified what is required to make the change to a fee-for-value system (http://dtn.fm/9M6gO). The present “siloed” system with individual hospitals each maintaining a separate database must morph into a network that shares information. This will increase care coordination and scale effective interventions with the patient population.

A network system will also allow data from its care provider ‘nodes’ to be acquired, aggregated and analyzed across the network. It will also integrate the clinical and financial aspects of providing care and so increase awareness of costs and the ability to measure and control them.

In one critical area of health care – surgery – ORHub’ cloud-based software platform is already addressing those challenges. It has been implemented in two major hospitals in California as part of programs to improve surgical resource management. ORHub empowers care providers at every stage of the surgical process to collaborate, organize, deliver, measure, and reimburse in one intuitive, easy-to-use program. This significantly decreases cost and improves outcomes by eliminating inefficiencies, duplication of effort, errors and omissions that result from siloed processes in outdated software and poor handoffs from one part of the care process to another.

Even with increasing adoption of EHR systems, many care providers still rely on a paper-based methodology to document information related to surgical procedures and to track events in the operating theater, from the details of a procedure to the implants and tools used. This leads to mistakes, wasted time, missing data, delays or lack of payment, and little opportunity for analysis and improvement.

The ORHub platform is designed to mitigate or correct the shortcomings of traditional systems. It eliminates errors caused by poor handwriting. It reduces the risk of mistakes by allowing users to select from pre-loaded sets of detailed implants and tools rather than relying on memory or catalogue numbers alone. It further reduces errors by requiring verification and sign-off from multiple users before completing a case. It creates purchase orders and implant records automatically based on the case record, saving time and improving reliability. It also fits within existing operating room workflow and requirements, streamlining tasks to save time. And it enables rich data analysis across all of a hospital’s cases tracked through ORHub.

ORHub plans to gain a dominant share of the device implant and biologic inventory management market, which the company estimates at about 7,000,000 surgeries annually, a number that is expected to grow with demographic trends. The company will focus its initial marketing efforts on major national hospital operations.

ORHub is transforming the business of surgery. By creating a new category of health care IT vertical specific software known as Surgical Resource Management, the company is offering enhanced capabilities over traditional EHR solutions in the operating room. The ORHub platform is a HITECH SaaS platform, which employs Microsoft’s Azure Cloud.

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

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The success of the Walkman back in the 1980s is testament to the power of getting to market first. By some accounts, Sony sold over 200 million units of its innovative portable cassette player (http://dtn.fm/CV8Et). Now, India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IGC) is taking a leaf from the Sony playbook. This pioneering company is a ‘first mover’ in the cannabinoid combination therapy space. IGC is developing a portfolio of products that use cannabinoids in conjunction with existing drugs to tackle chronic pain and a variety of other debilitating medical conditions.

Chronic pain from a range of ailments plagues millions around the world, and many of the analgesics employed to treat it, such as morphine, codeine, and hydrocodone, are opioids. However, opioids are notoriously addictive and their use is often subverted from pain relief. Used as recreational drugs, ‘opioid addiction is America’s 50-state epidemic’, the New York Times has reported (http://dtn.fm/YcgB8), with an effect that is fatal in many instances. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 29,000 Americans die every year from opioid-related overdoses. In light of these frightening developments, there is a growing imperative for less addictive anodynes.

The time is right. Results, published on Monday, April 17, of a Yahoo/Marist poll (http://dtn.fm/mKg7o) show that the public is not only becoming more apprehensive about opioids, but is warming to the use of cannabinoids to treat pain. ‘Two-thirds of the respondents in the telephone survey said opioid drugs such as Vicodin or OxyContin are “riskier” to use than pot, even when the pain pills are prescribed by a doctor.’ They will be happy to hear that IGC is coming to the rescue. The company has filed a patent for IGC-501, a cannabis-based formulation that addresses neuropathic and arthritic pain in joints and muscles using a variety of delivery techniques. IGC expects to begin pre-clinical trials for IGC-501 this year. Since approximately 80 percent of the global opioid supply is consumed in the United States, this presents a domestic market opportunity estimated at about $25 billion.

IGC-501, with its potential to replace treacherously addictive opioids, is not all that IGC has up its sleeve. The company has a robust portfolio of five other combination drug candidates with both human and veterinary applications. It has filed two patents, IGC-502 and IGC-505, for the treatment of seizures in dogs and cats. Most animal seizures stem from epilepsy, which is more common in dogs and cats than formerly recognized. About five percent of dogs and about one percent of cats are epileptic.

It also has IGC-503, aimed at refractory epilepsy, a term that’s used to describe cases of epilepsy that are unresponsive to current medications. Refractory epilepsy affects about 50 million in the U.S. alone. In the pipeline as well is IGC-504, intended for those who suffer from cachexia, known as wasting syndrome. About 1.3 million in the U.S. experience cachexia associated with cancer, multiple sclerosis (MS), Parkinson’s, HIV/AIDS and other devastating maladies. In addition, there is IGC-506, designed to combat eating disorders, which are said to affect about 30 million Americans (http://dtn.fm/d1SEs).

IGC is out to save the world, it seems. Earlier this month, the company announced it had filed patent applications for IGC-501 in Canada, Israel and Europe in support of its ongoing cannabis-based combination therapy development initiatives.

“In 2017, our goal is to accelerate the development of our cannabis-based therapy portfolio to support key indications such as pain, seizures, cachexia, PTSD, and depression. In tandem, we expect to initiate pre-clinical trials on IGC-501-pain, IGC-502-seizures and IGC-504-cachexia,” CEO Ram Mukunda stated in a news release.

That is welcome news to the many millions who suffer daily from these conditions.

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

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Moxian, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOXC) is committed to growth in China’s online-to-offline (O2O) retail market, which is predicted by the Chinese to reach $48 billion in 1H17. Social media, an important part of Moxian’s marketing strategy, is playing a growing role in generating e-commerce apparel and dining revenues, research shows. A report by McKinsey & Company finds that the online market is changing retail buying patterns within China. Moxian is a high technology company which is transitioning to paid platforms that offer access to the O2O market and social media sites and away from its initial non-paid business and consumer apps.

The company’s business app is Moxian+ Business, targeted to China’s brick-and-mortar small- and medium-sized business enterprises (SMEs) as they seek to develop social media sites and select from Moxian’s suite of online business tools. The Shenzhen-based company also offers the paid Moxian+ app to consumers in China. Its revenue stream is designed to come from paid mobile advertising, a percentage of all transactions, subscription revenue, and OEM and distribution license fees. The company is focusing on its current 31,600 business users and more than 300,000 consumers. In its initial research report on Moxian (http://nnw.fm/2zcAI), in February 2017, SeeThruEquity acknowledged that company management believes sales can reach $11 million in 2017, making the company cash break even by the end of this year if those sales goals are met, the report said.

The April 2016 report by McKinsey & Company, Consumer China 2016 Survey (http://nnw.fm/QHb20), sees greater penetration by O2O in lower tier cities. E-commerce accounts for 13.5% of all retail spending in China, the survey reports. McKinsey also found that multiple screen users — those that own mobile devices, tablets, and computers — are more intense online shoppers than those who have smart mobile phones alone. Multiple device owners spend 17% more than users who have only mobile phones, and they also shop in 29% more categories. A total of 14% more multi-screen owners interact with businesses through social networks, now using such platforms as WeChat.

Social media is playing a larger role in generating e-commerce sales, the study found. Half of the digital consumers surveyed by McKinsey used social media for product research and recommendations. McKinsey found that social media was not just a background research tool, but an active driver of actual online purchases. McKinsey found that social media was important in impulse buys, such as for apparel and personal care. McKinsey said it sees considerable opportunity for brands and retailers to reach customers on social platforms. In particular, dining and travel are two segments for growth in the O2O marketplace, it said.

The study also found that consumer electronics and small appliances have been basic e-commerce retail sellers in China, generating some 30% of their retail sales online. Apparel needs to grow its entire online experience, from style advice and returns/exchanges, to extend its online value share — now stuck in the low 20s. Food spending online remains at only 5% of total food spending for users. Online remains convenient for food buyers, but the average food basket size, at less than $15, suggests that consumers are still not doing most of their grocery shopping via e-commerce.

Lower tier cities also have a lot of e-commerce potential in China, McKinsey found. There are 74 million more online shoppers there than in high tier cities. Yet, 160 million people in these low tier cities have not even started shopping online. To grow, online markets will need to use data analytics to reach consumer market segments, developing up selling and cross-marketing efforts.

For more information, visit www.Moxian.com

The ALR market is booming, representing a major boost to Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI) and its successful integration of ALR booking with the traditional travel market. ALR (alternative lodging rental) is the industry moniker used to describe the practice of travelers and vacationers renting homes from private owners rather than utilizing traditional lodging such as hotels. Various forms of this simple practice of linking private homeowners with travelers to secure accommodations has been in practice for centuries. Throughout history, it was common for homeowners to rent space in their homes to weary travelers. Most of the time, private homes were the only accommodations available, and word of mouth identified homeowners willing to rent. Some homes ultimately morphed into full-time hotels, and a delineation occurred between public and private accommodations. Over time, renting directly from homeowners waned as travelers relied on traditional hotels for lodging. It all changed again with the advent of the internet and the ingenious creation of global platforms to link homeowners with those seeking lodging. The ALR market has since exploded, and the number of users just keeps growing. Homeowners and travelers both benefit, while the platform providers generate enormous revenues.

Numerous competitors have sprung up since the inception of alternative lodging rental platforms. Airbnb, HomeAway, Priceline, VRBO and FlipKey are some of the more recognizable names, with multitudes of others vying for the travel dollars. In the U.S. alone, private accommodation rentals totaled about $32 billion in 2016, and that figure is projected to grow to $37 billion by 2018. The revenues and valuations in this sector are enormous. Airbnb is now valued at over $31 billion, and online travel giant Expedia purchased HomeAway for $3.9 billion.

This contemporary peer-to-peer rental of apartments, homes, and spare bedrooms has generated a lot of demand and is hugely profitable for the platform providers that connect these parties. However, even with all the noise and competition, the consumer is still left wanting. Unlike hotel booking, which provides instant confirmation and easy travel planning, all of the current ALR companies still rely on convoluted confirmation systems, typically relying on the homeowner to provide the confirmation. This process has been known to take days or even weeks, leaving the traveler in travel planning limbo. There’s also no way a traveler can book ALR lodging through the convenience of a travel agent. Travelers are forced to utilize multiple sites to book flights, cars, services or entertainment and lack a cohesive one-stop shop to book a vacation. It just didn’t exist in the ALR market, until now.

Technology-driven Monaker Group, Inc. is set to disrupt the status quo in ALR and deliver what the customers want. Monaker has more than 60 years of operational experience serving the tourism industry and has pioneered a proprietary system to provide instant confirmation for bookings. The company has also established an extensive network of travel agents to offer ALR options, an alternative never before provided to travelers. Monaker already has a competitive ALR inventory compared to the largest players in the sector, and, given the disruptive changes Monaker is bringing to the vast ALR market, the company should garner lots of attention from investors looking to profit from the alternative lodging rental industry.

For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com

In China, there are close to 10 million epilepsy patients, the Chinese Overseas Medical Advisory Service Center estimates. There is no cure in the country, although risky surgery is sometimes performed in the U.S., where there are over three million people living with epilepsy. Many patients rely on Chinese herbs for temporary control. However, ChineseInvestors.com’s (OTCQB: CIIX) current development plan includes making cannabidiol (CBD) products available online for people with epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. Its online store (ChineseCBDoil.com) and Yelp-style mobile application are helping to serve Chinese-speaking consumers around the world, and investors as well, with a reach into the $202 million U.S. CBD industry (based on 2015 consumer sales), which is expected to exceed $2 billion by 2020.

Cannabis was used as a medicinal substance in China as early as 2700 BCE, and it was later used across India and the Middle East. Epilepsy patients were treated with cannabis as early as the 11th century. This application was studied in Europe in the 19th century, and research into the medical use of cannabis compounds took place throughout the 1930s and 1940s. Progress was hindered in 1970 as the U.S. Controlled Substances Act prohibited the production and use of any cannabis product. Today, cannabis-based products are gaining ground, and CIIX is paying close attention to the market.

A United Press International (UPI) report in December 2016 (http://dtn.fm/T6kCm) cited two clinical trials that found cannabidiol reduced the frequency of seizures in adults and children. In these studies, CBD was used in patients with Lennox-Gastaut syndrome and Dravet syndrome, which are rare, hard-to-treat forms of epilepsy. University of Alabama researchers found that CBD does reduce the frequency and severity of seizures, but not all patients exhibited the same benefits. Research has also indicated that CBD could interact with anti-seizure medications, causing decreases in liver function and sedation. Researchers also weren’t sure if mild to moderate side effects such as decreased appetite, sleepiness, vomiting, or diarrhea were associated with CBD.

Nonetheless, the popularity of CBD and cannabis-based products is adding fuel to the fire, and CIIX isn’t holding back either. It’s investing in enterprises focused on research and development. These include businesses studying CBD’s impact on epilepsy. Parents and caretakers have not been waiting for approval of cannabis products or traditional drugs to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Many have already obtained medical cannabis and seen positive results. Even the American Epilepsy Society has taken a stance, referencing anecdotal reports on the use of marijuana derivative cannabidiol in patients with treatment-resistant seizures (http://dtn.fm/rC5wX). It has called on both government and private funders to support research, so there’s more scientific data on the effectiveness of CBD as an epilepsy treatment.

Cannabidiol is gaining ground in the North American market. Legal in 50 states, it’s considered a food nutrient and is exported to China and over 40 other countries.

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

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National Waste Management Holdings, Inc. (OTC: NWMH), in a SEC 10-K Annual Report filed on April 17, 2017, for the year ended December 31, 2016, reported revenues of $6,345,324 compared to $2,429,747 (restated) for the same period in 2015, representing a 161% jump. The increase in sales was due primarily to the firm’s acquisitions of Waste Recovery Enterprises, LLC (“WRE”) in October 2015, and Gateway Rolloff Services, LP, on December 1, 2015. Revenue in 2016 also grew due to a larger customer base, increased construction activity in Florida and the May 2016 acquisition of commercial collection company Sivart Services, LLC, which allowed the company to extend services into Cooperstown, New York.

NWMH is a vertically-integrated solid waste management company with six primary operations: landfill services, roll-off dumpster operations, commercial and residential collections, transfer station operations, trucking and grinding and mulch sales. The company operates in Florida and New York. By acquiring Kingston, New York-based Northeast Data, NWMH expanded its revenue stream to include paper shredding and hard drive destruction services.

Northeast Data Destruction & Recycling, since consolidated into WRE, specializes in document destruction services both on- and off-site. Northeast Data has expanded into hard drive destruction services, and the company plans to roll out this service throughout Upstate New York. Northeast Data shreds sensitive documents for banks, law firms, insurance companies, investment firms and other investment entities.

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

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