At this year’s SuperZoo, The National Show for Pet Retailers that ran from July 31 – August 4 in Las Vegas, innovative pet care outfit OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) launched its new OurPets® Switchgrass Natural Cat Litter™ with Biochar (http://dtn.fm/eI5Py). The timing was opportune. It seems there is growing awareness of biochar’s benefits. In a recent interview (http://dtn.fm/ENg8i), well-known veterinarian Dr. Karen Becker, DVM discussed the virtues of this unique form of charcoal as litter material for cats.

Biochar has a huge surface area because of its porosity. It is also hugely recalcitrant, and so holds on to nutrients, water and smells, the latter of which is an ideal quality for waste management. Biochar also comes in the right particle size, as Dr. Becker explains:

“Studies on the types of litter cats prefer show they are quite particular about particle size. The cat’s evolutionary substrate, for potty purposes, is sand. When kitties started living indoors, clay litter came along and most cats were okay with it. But clay has its own issues.

These days, there’s a wide selection of organic and natural types of litters on the market, but many of them feature big particle sizes, which don’t appeal to most cats. The danger in forcing an objectionable litter on cats is they often develop litter box aversion, which can lead to other problems.”

Just as beneficial, biochar clumps well. Clumping extends the life of the litter and provides a healthier environment for cats. Biochar is also very absorbent. And, of course, biochar litter is 100 percent biodegradable and compostable.

The term biochar typically refers to charcoal that is used to enrich soil. It is most often made by subjecting biomass to pyrolysis (heating without burning). Its property to increase soil fertility has been known to humans for at least two millennia, as the terra preta plots in the Amazonian basis have proven.

Biochar has been found to possess many virtues. Apart from being used as a soil amendment, biochar improves water quality by acting as a filter and acts as a carbon sink. It can trap large amounts of carbon dioxide in the ground for centuries, a process referred to as sequestering. So effective is its role in this respect that policy makers are actively considering its employment as a ‘carbon negative’ agent to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.

OurPet’s Company aims to make the waste and odor category a more significant part of its business in the future. Currently, its flagship product in this area is the SmartScoop®. The company has, over the years, developed over 1,000 product lines and has another 30 or so products in the pipeline, plus an intellectual property stockpile of over 170 patents.

OurPet’s Company has been growing at twice the industry rate. It has had, since 2010, a CAGR of about six percent. The two-pronged branding strategy it initiated in 2011 with the OurPets® brand targeting the pet aficionado and the Pet Zone® brand targeting the mass market has, undoubtedly, paid off.

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

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Proposed amendments to the listing rules for the OTCQX Best Market are likely to benefit international companies. The rules, which will become effective from January 1, 2017, should make it easier for Canadian and other foreign companies to establish a secondary market in their shares for U.S. investors.

For historical reasons, an OTC listing had come to be synonymous with penny stocks. The earliest OTC precursor, Roger Babson’s National Quotation Bureau (NQB), published a directory of broker-dealer quotations on slips of pink paper: the notorious “Pink Sheets”. Today, the OTC Markets Group is a different animal. It still lists penny stocks. However, it has surpassed the NYSE and NASDAQ in the number of non-penny stocks listed, according to OTC Markets (http://dtn.fm/gI9ar).

Listed companies on OTC Markets Group’s platform are organized into three markets: OTCQX, OTCQB, and Pink. To qualify for the OTCQX Best Market, companies must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws, be current in their disclosure, and be sponsored by a professional third-party advisor known as a Principal American Liaison (PAL). Penny stocks, shells, and companies in bankruptcy cannot qualify for OTCQX.

The OTCQB Venture Market is meant for early-stage and developing U.S. and international companies that are not yet able to qualify for OTCQX. And the Pink Open Market lists foreign companies that may need to limit their disclosure, penny stocks, and shells, and distressed, delinquent, and dark companies not willing or able to provide adequate information to investors.

Companies listed under the OTCQX Best Market fall into three categories: U.S. community banks, U.S. companies, and international companies. OTCQX International is reserved for companies that are already listed on a qualified foreign stock exchange that wish to have a U.S. listing. Two amendments to the qualifying rules are likely to lead to more international listings.

• The requirement to retain a Principal American Liaison (PAL) on an ongoing basis will be scrapped. Now it will be possible simply to have a qualified attorney, investment bank, or the ADR bank act as the OTCQX Sponsor during the initial qualification process. Consequently, the annual PAL letter will no longer be needed, nor will companies be required to provide an annual Issuer Compliance Statement to their PAL.

• The requirement to be included in a Recognized Securities Manual in order to qualify for Blue Sky Manual Exemption is likely to be removed. The OTC Markets Group is in discussions with the North American Securities Administration Association (NASAA) and state regulators to gain recognition for OTCQX for the purposes of “Blue Sky Manual Exemption” for secondary trading.

The proposed changes will, undoubtedly, offer international companies easier access to the U.S. capital markets.

The marijuana industry is growing at a fast and steady pace, being set to reach $6.7 billion by the end of the year and approximately $20.6 billion by 2020 – making it one of the fastest growing sectors in the United States economy. The figures could go even higher as demand continues to grow and nine more states are voting next week on legalizing either medical or recreational marijuana use. To help the industry face new challenges and its expanding reach, SinglePoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) subsidiary SingleSeed (http://dtn.fm/lnMz9) is awakening from a quiet period to provide state-of-the-art payment solutions and mobile marketing aimed at helping industry players grow their businesses safely and securely.

The company already has an established client base created a couple of years ago, when it positioned itself as one of the first merchant service providers for the industry, according to SinglePoint CEO Greg Lambrecht in a company press release (http://dtn.fm/6WmVG). He explained that this was an ideal time for his group to become actively engaged in the industry and work to expand its reach by acquiring a number of other smaller companies in the market. Lambrecht further explained that SinglePoint’s board of directors is confident that the November 8 vote will be favorable to the industry and will make way for the companies working in this market to become bankable.

At the moment, cannabis business owners, most of them providers of medical marijuana products, have a growing need for financial solutions, as a large number of banking and financial institutions are not allowed to maintain relationships with the industry. According to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, there are 266 depositary institutions across the U.S. that maintain accounts with marijuana businesses. A recent survey also indicated that 40% of cannabis industry businesses had bank accounts.

Lambrecht explained that even if credit unions and banks do not openly admit opening cannabis business accounts, a growing number of them are deciding to be open about their acceptance. SingleSeed and its processing partner have extensive relationships and technology partners they can leverage to develop the necessary apps and tools that will help protect the cannabis industry and provide safe ways for business owners to operate money transactions legally and in line with state and federal laws, the CEO said.

SingleSeed can provide three main services to the industry: Cashless ATM, Pay by Text™, and Text Message Marketing. The Cashless ATM system is ready to use out of the box, requiring only a functional Internet connection. The system is advertised to provide added safety, convenience and inventory tracking for dispensaries that also offer delivery services. Pay by Text™ is an anytime-anywhere payment solution that allows customers to pay by mobile phone via a text message they receive with a direct link to the product they want to purchase and a checkout page. The Text Message Marketing service is designed to help cannabis business owners develop a close relationship and communicate with their customers. The service allows businesses to increase customer loyalty, communicate effectively, and ultimately drive sales.

SinglePoint, Inc. is a leading provider of mobile technology and marketing services serving a diverse customer base and primarily targeting small to mid-sized companies. With subsidiaries in different markets, such as cannabis products or Daily Fantasy Sports, SinglePoint operates with the main goal of providing innovative mobile technology, payment solutions in particular, at reasonable rates.

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

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The future of OurPet’s Company (http://dtn.fm/1Ypil) (OTCQX: OPCO), a producer of innovative pet related products, is looking bright thanks to the growth of the pets industry since 2014. Since its foundation in 1995, OurPet’s Company has been dedicated to providing nutritional, medical, physical, and emotional stimulation and value to pets across the U.S.

But, the pet industry has never looked as strong as today. As warmer weather than usual crosses the U.S., sales have boomed in both veterinary and non-medical services. Spending for 2015 came in at a record $60.28 billion, and this figure is expected to grow by the end of 2016, according to the American Pet Products Association (APPA) (http://dtn.fm/7hsjN).

The APPA report includes information regarding market categories such as food, supplies, over-the-counter medications, veterinary care, animal purchases, and more. Although food, veterinary services, supplies and over-the-counter medications still remain at the top of pet industry spending, pet services have shown a record growth of 11.8% between 2014 and 2015 and over 5% growth from 2015 so far this year.

Additionally, according to Pet Business (http://dtn.fm/tf10Q), the industry is predicted to continue to grow as millennials now enter their prime spending years. Generation Y and the millennials are going to be the primary audience for the pet industry, both of which are highly influenced by advances in technology. Fortunately, OPCO’s product line is diverse. The company prides itself on offering the highest quality products to its animal friends, and current industry growth has allowed the company to focus on more innovative technological products such as its OurPets® Intelligent Pet Care™ (http://dtn.fm/X356d) line.

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

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Before the opening bell, Singlepoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) announced plans to awaken its SingleSeed subsidiary from a quiet period in an effort to capitalize on rising demand and an evolving legislative environment surrounding the cannabis market in the United States. With politicians on both sides of the aisle working toward a resolution to the current marijuana banking conundrum, which limits the ability of legitimate marijuana-related businesses to access banks and credit unions, Singlepoint will look to leverage its existing customer base and position as “one of the first merchant service providers” targeting the marijuana industry in order to spur accelerated growth as the industry continues to mature in the years to come.

“This is an ideal time to actively engage the marketplace,” Greg Lambrecht, chief executive officer of Singlepoint, stated in this morning’s news release. “Though banks and credit unions will not openly acknowledge whether or not they will open Cannabis operations accounts, more and more are deciding to be vocal about their acceptance, and our processor has extensive relationships in a fast-growing industry that has developed to a point where we are confident to proceed toward ramp-up on SingleSeed operations and initiatives.”

Historically, marijuana-related businesses have been caught in a sort of gray area, as, although individual states have begun to legalize the drug for either medicinal or recreational use, it is still illegal on a federal level. As a result, most banking institutions operating in multiple states, and thereby subject to strict federal regulations, have steered clear of the burgeoning industry. The result has been more than a mere inconvenience for dispensaries and other companies like them, as they’ve been forced to function as all-cash businesses, adding considerable risk and security concerns to their operations.

In 2014, the U.S. Treasury Department took a step toward easing these woes when it gave the green light for banks to offer their services to the rapidly-expanding legal marijuana industry. Despite requiring that the banks continue to report any suspicious activity specific to the marijuana industry to federal authorities, the measures have played a role in decreasing banks’ wariness, and industry statistics show that the number of financial institutions that accept accounts from marijuana-related businesses has growth from just 51 to more than 300 over the past two years. Likewise, a survey by Marijuana Business Daily found that roughly 40 percent of businesses in the cannabis industry now have bank accounts. For Singlepoint and SingleSeed, this changing tide is key to forward plans.

“As we look to further engage the marketplace, we will work with our technology partners to develop apps which help protect the industry with a safe way to transact monies for business owners operating within the confines of state laws and guidelines set forth for banks by federal authorities,” continued Lambrecht. “The bottom line, shareholders, is that we know this business, we have amassed a customer base in this business and we are prepared to aggressively enter this market with resources and legislation that were previously unavailable to us.”

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

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Recently, real estate in Canada has reached an all-time high, but it is worth noting that many analysts, including those at the Financial Post (http://dtn.fm/6v2Zh), are convinced that price acceleration in Canada will slow without experiencing a hard landing. The article also reports significantly elevated prices in both Vancouver and Toronto, although these are slowly dropping. In addition, a report entitled ‘Vancouver still top real estate market to watch in Canada: report’ (http://dtn.fm/D2nYz) names Vancouver the top Canadian real estate market to watch in 2017 thanks to millennials.

The article (by News 1130) says that, although housing prices could drop slightly in 2017, Canada is in for a year of continued stability. Not only this, the PWC report ‘Emerging Trends in Canadian Real estate 2017’ (http://dtn.fm/321Sz) states that “the main message is that every regional market offers opportunities for savvy developers and investors—as long as they embrace technology and anticipate their future buyers’ needs.”

With the technological factor in mind, it is no surprise that companies such as eXp World Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: EXPI) are set to capitalize on Canada’s real estate market. With potential tenants and buyers more informed than ever thanks to the Internet, real estate firms are having to adapt to customer’s growing tech needs, a point brought to light by a respondent of the PWC report. The respondent stated, “We’re getting to the point where if people don’t recognize technologies are existing and, moreover, how to integrate them, opportunities are being missed.”

EXPI is the holding company for a number of subsidiaries, most notably, eXp Realty LLC and eXp Realty of Canada. eXp Realty, the Agent-Owned Cloud Brokerage®, is a full-service real estate brokerage providing 24/7 access to collaborative tools, training, and socialization through a 3-D cloud office environment. This breakthrough in technology is allowing EXPI to create a business model that increases brokers and agent listings and sales while reducing overhead capital requirements.

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

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According to Vox.com (http://dtn.fm/P0hY8), Iceland didn’t become a tourist destination until the late 40’s, averaging only 5,300 people from around the globe visiting each year. By the late 90’s, this number grew to more than 200,000 tourists, a number that steadied until 2011, when things changed.

Between 2011 and 2016, the number of foreign visitors to the country exploded, reaching a huge 1.6 million. Not only this, tourist numbers in Iceland are expected to reach two million by the end of 2016. With outlets across the globe promoting Iceland as “a must see destination”, it is no surprise that the number of tourists in Iceland from the U.S. alone now outweighs that of Iceland’s population.

According to a report published by Kayak (http://dtn.fm/qY9fH), there has been a 65% increase in searches for Iceland hotels and flights, particularly in the time surrounding New Year’s vacations. But, in a country that gets bone-chilling cold in winter, with only four hours of daylight, why are so many U.S. tourists choosing Iceland as their holiday destination?

It all started with the island’s volcanic explosion in 2010. The news made headlines, which allowed for positive campaigns to be distributed about the country. Later, a new budget airline called WOW started offering European and North American flights for less than a third of the original price.

This was quickly followed by positive press labeling Iceland as being one of the safest countries in Europe thanks to its lack of terrorist threats. And, finally, Iceland is the perfect country for the Instagram generation today, who see Iceland on social media sites and view it’s sometimes out-of-this-world terrain as if it were Mars.

As a result of this current increase in Iceland’s popularity, travel and tourism companies worldwide are making the country more accessible, and this includes Monaker Group’s (OTCQB: MKGI) Maupintour, the oldest tour operator in the United States. Maupintour believes in helping others experience the wonders of our world and the delights of traveling through highly customized private tours.

The company now offers tours to every continent, with trips varying from one to two weeks. The Maupintour Iceland tour is set over the space of eight days and is called the Fire and Ice Tour. It includes luxury accommodation, private tours of both the cities and the natural parts of the country, a tour of the Northern lights, and private transfers between all locations.

For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com

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Airborne Wireless Network (OTCQB: ABWN), a tech company based in Simi Valley, California, has its mind set on changing the future of airborne connectivity forever by creating the first and only Airborne Wholesale Carrier Network and offering better and more efficient connectivity to worldwide communications and data service providers.

Based on a patent designed and obtained by a forward-thinking entrepreneur back in 2001, the Wholesale Carrier Network would use commercial aircraft as mini-satellites so as to create a global “airborne digital superhighway.” ABWN acquired the patent this year and intends to fully develop this technology and complete the creation of its Wholesale Carrier Network, taking advantage of recent advancements in wireless radio technology that would significantly simplify the implementation of the network.

What makes the ABWN project stand out, aside from the use of commercial aircraft, is the fact that it is a fully-meshed network, where signals come from several directions and are routed around any potential obstructions, thus maintaining real time connectivity. Current technologies only support single path systems, which are more likely to fail if the signal path is interrupted. Additionally, the Wholesale Carrier Network does not allow for ‘single points of failure’, being designed to dynamically and automatically assign new solid paths for the signals in case of adverse weather conditions, for instance. This can happen in real time since there is nearly always another aircraft, earth station or ship within range of an aircraft. With the traditional single link systems, heavy rain can affect satellites and fixed point ground stations, possibly even completely blocking a radio signal.

When complete, ABWN’s Wholesale Carrier Network will be the first and only true airborne broadband pipeline, capable of providing worldwide connectivity to broadband carrier services. The project offers guaranteed, nearly 100% real time performance, unlike single link systems’ store and forward performance.

In addition, the system is designed so as to be easy to upgrade, update or service, as new software becomes available. According to Airborne Wireless Network, as soon as more efficient technologies emerge, the system will be upgraded by simply replacing one module. This will ensure that the network will never become obsolete and will always be ready for future challenges. Current satellite technology, however, is not as easily upgradeable, and, in many cases, it has already become obsolete. Once launched, satellites cannot be updated or serviced, which can, in turn, affect connectivity and performance.

AWN’s Wholesale Carrier Network also provides enhanced reliability, since it operates in a controlled and safe environment – aboard commercial aircraft typically flying at altitudes between six and 12 kilometers above sea level (20,000 to 40,000 feet). Commercial and military satellites, on the other hand, can be easily disabled or knocked out of orbit if they are hit by space junk.

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

Before the opening bell, Medical Transcription Billing, Corp. (NASDAQ: MTBC; MTBCP) announced plans to release its third quarter financial results for the three-month period ended September 30, 2016, before the market opens on Thursday, November 10. Following the release, MTBC plans to host a conference call for investors in order to review highlights from its quarterly results, including the recent acquisition of MediGain, LLC and its affiliate, Millennium Practice Management, LLC.

The conference call will take place on November 10 at 8:30 am EDT. To access the call, investors should dial 844-802-2438, or 412-317-5131 for international callers, and reference “MTBC Third Quarter 2016 Earnings Call.” A replay of the conference call will be available roughly one hour after the conclusion of the call and can be accessed by dialing 877-344-7529, or 412-317-0088 for international callers, and providing access code 10095250. Alternatively, an audio recording of the conference call will be made available on the company’s investor relations website (ir.mtbc.com) through the end of the year.

To date in 2016, MTBC has leaned on its integrated cloud-based technology platform and sizable international workforce to distinguish itself in the competitive health care IT market. In a recent interview with NetworkNewsWire, Bill Korn, chief financial officer of MTBC, spoke to some of the company’s main accomplishments in 2016. Specifically, MTBC delivered its third consecutive quarter of positive Adjusted EBITDA during the second quarter of 2016, raised $7.5 million of non-convertible preferred stock and closed on its tenth and largest acquisition since its IPO in 2014.

Among these achievements, the MediGain acquisition, in particular, is expected to be transformative for MTBC. Completed for a total purchase price that represented a “significant discount as compared to the industry norm of at least one times annualized revenues for a company of MediGain’s size,” Korn noted that “the incremental profits for this acquisition are expected to greatly exceed the company’s cost of capital,” making it accretive to shareholders as early as the first quarter of 2017. Supporting this forecast, the accounts in good standing acquired through the transaction have annual revenues in excess of $10 million.

“[W]e are very pleased to have acquired MediGain, which marks an important corporate milestone as our largest acquisition to date, and demonstrates the highly strategic nature of our successful, acquisition-based growth strategy,” Mahmud Haq, chief executive officer of MTBC, stated in a recent news release.

For more information, visit www.mtbc.com, and see the company’s fact sheet at http://ir.mtbc.com/events.cfm.

Before the opening bell, Singlepoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) announced an extension of its strategic sales and marketing agreement with RedFynn Technologies, a point of sale and business solutions provider. As part of the newly-expanded agreement, RedFynn will provide Singlepoint with access to its expansive client base, which currently includes more than 150,000 accounts, effectively presenting Singlepoint with a sizable new audience in the non-profit space for its existing mobile payment products, including PaybyText™ and Text2Bid™. Notably, Singlepoint’s payment applications are specifically designed to meet the unique needs of the non-profit community, as they allow these organizations to seamlessly accept donations, conduct business transactions and engage in targeted communication campaigns.

Earlier this month, the expanded partnership between Singlepoint and RedFynn got off to a strong start when RedFynn introduced Singlepoint’s payment solutions to Mesa United Way. Following the introduction, Mesa United Way elected to join Singlepoint’s growing base of non-profit clients, entering an agreement on October 19, 2016, to implement both PaybyText™ and Text2Bid™ in order to more effectively manage future donations and better engage with its donors. Singlepoint’s management team has indicated that the Mesa United Way agreement could be the first of many partnerships to stem from the expanded RedFynn marketing program moving forward.

“We are optimistic that Mesa United Way is the first of many valued agreements and business developments that will emerge from our relationship with RedFynn,” Greg Lambrecht, chief executive officer of Singlepoint, stated in this morning’s news release. “As we continue to leverage this partnership and advance our growth strategies, we are confident that we will be able to report significant revenue opportunities from this new sales channel.”

Singlepoint’s expanded partnership with RedFynn comes as the company continues to approach its planned uplisting to the OTCQB Venture Market. In September, Singlepoint, alongside Houston-based PCAOB firm MaloneBailey, announced that it was in the final preparations of its corporate audit, as required to qualify for uplisting. Lambrecht offered an additional update on last week’s episode of MoneyTV with Donald Baillargeon, adding that, in order to better position Singlepoint for success following its uplisting, the company has decided to complete an audit of fiscal 2016 before filing its Form 10 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

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