Vertex Energy, Inc. (NASDAQ: VTNR) announced on February 8, 2017, that it has reached an agreement with Encina Business Credit, LLC (EBC) for a $30 million credit refinancing, including a funded term note, a draw term loan, and a revolving line of credit. The company indicated that the funds will be used to retire debt and for working capital.

Vertex Energy, Inc., refines and markets high quality hydrocarbon products. It filed an 8-K with the SEC on February 7, 2017, defining the new credit facility from EBC.

“The refinance of the company’s prior credit facility reflects our belief in the future growth of the company,” said Benjamin P. Cowart, CEO of Vertex. “We believe that this step was necessary in ensuring that we clean up our balance sheet, which includes paying off both of our prior lenders, consolidating our debt into one facility and strengthening our cash position.”

EBC is an asset-based lender specializing in middle market borrowers. Its revolving lines of credit and term loans range from $5 million to $50 million. It lends to both public and private companies. Positive cash flow is not required.

Cowart added that Vertex Energy is positioned to grow its business in 2017.

“With the financing completed, we were able to close on the acquisition on the assets of a small collection company in Louisiana. With approximately 90 million gallons of processing capacity, we believe that our collections vertical is key to our growth,” he said.

The company anticipates growing its self-collected gallons from some 20% of overall production to 25% in 2017, he added.

The SEC 8-K filing detailed the arrangements with EBC. It stated that $12 million was loaned to Vertex by EBC on February 1, 2017, and an additional $8 million may be loaned from time to time, under the new credit agreement. The other $10 million will be made available by EBC to Vertex under a revolving credit agreement formula, including ‘eligible’ inventory. The revolving credit agreement terminates on February 1, 2020, when any unpaid amounts and interest are due, the filing states.

Vertex Energy, Inc. stated that its use of revolving credit funds would be for working capital, capital expenditures and to refinance existing credit obligations. The company used $11,282,537 for that purpose. As of the filing date, the company had borrowed $12 million of the EBC credit agreement and $884,000 under the revolving credit agreement.

For more information, refer to www.VertexEnergy.com

China is one of the leaders of the online to offline (O2O) market, with this community expected to increase nearly 15-fold in the next five years according to Roland Berger (http://nnw.fm/N2DUc). The country is now leading the O2O world both from an adoption and innovation point of view. Brands across the country are now taking advantage of this new opportunity, with marketing campaigns that incorporate the digital and physical worlds.

Why has the popularity of O2O grown so significantly in the past decade? Firstly, the sheer number of people connected to the internet via a mobile device has grown significantly. New technologies also play a role in this shift toward the O2O market, with more people embracing QR codes that connect them directly to a brand.

The introduction of mobile payments has made everything more accessible to consumers. People are able to pay directly via their mobile devices. Contactless cards and online payments can be made with minimal effort. With China leading the mobile payments industry, new innovative ways of making payments have been put to the test.

However, the surge of mobile devices, the internet, and mobile payments are not the only driving factors of the O2O market in China. Convenience is at the forefront, with design and messaging platforms being a key priority for any business. Moxian, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOXC) has mastered both of these through its Moxian+ Business and Moxian+ User applications.

Providing social marketing and promotional platforms designed to help merchants advertise to their audiences via social media offers companies the chance to create awareness through a simple application. The application has a basic design, giving users the chance to enjoy rewards and get involved with fun activities while meeting new people and playing games. It also allows users to communicate with friends and find out about the latest news through its media messenger feature. Moxian works under the motto of ‘online lifestyle, offline fun’, giving consumers and merchants the chance to interact on a more comprehensive level.

For more information, visit www.Moxian.com

AudioEye, Inc. (OTCQB: AEYE) has 51 new banking customers this year, it announced on February 6, 2017 (http://dtn.fm/Sa5h3), giving it a total of 175 additional banking clients over the past 12-month period.

AudioEye, Inc. develops accessibility compliance software that enables its clients to use advanced technology to achieve greater accessibility. The result is that engineers are able to add accessibility into their websites.

Dan Sullivan, vice president of sales, pointed out that adding 51 new banking clients in the first 47 days of 2017 is more than one new client per day in this sector. “Risk mitigation continues to be the dominant driver in the increase of service agreements, but when our potential new customers realize accessibility opens up access and usability to a new population of users to upwards of 10%-15% of the population, they find a true return on investment (ROI) in our service.”

AudioEye, Inc. also announced, on February 6, 2017, its goal for 2017 cash contract advanced bookings was $4 million-$6 million, indicating that its new business pipeline is in excess of $5.4 million. Earlier, AudioEye reported cash contract sales for 2016 at $1.93 million. It said it was targeting governmental agencies, schools, banks, retail and human resources as markets that require accessible technologies.

AudioEye, Inc. has also been named vendor to Seattle Public Schools District 1 (http://dtn.fm/3tWVj) to ensure the web content, websites and pages are compliant and available. The vote to name AudioEye, Inc. was unanimous, the company announced on January 24, 2017. AudioEye, Inc. makes software designed to enable all entities, from corporations to governmental agencies, to make technology more easily consumable.

Seattle Public Schools (SPS) stated that the decision to choose AudioEye was made after an extensive vendor evaluation process to find a company that could solve a difficult problem economically.

In the news release, Sean Bradley, president and CTO of AudioEye, said, “With approximately 98 school locations, 8,000 staff and 54,000 students within the limits of Seattle, SPS is prioritizing digital inclusion as they seek to ensure an accessible user experience for all their constituents, regardless of individual ability.” The solution was located in AudioEye’s digital platform and managed services.

For more information, visit www.AudioEye.com

Based in Florida, National Waste Management Holdings, Inc. (OTC: NWMH) is a growing waste management company providing compliant and comprehensive solutions for waste management. The company has created long-term partnerships with a variety of customers from multiple sectors, including municipal, commercial, industrial, and institutional.

NWMH operates based upon a three-pronged approach: acquiring complementary businesses in Florida, Upstate New York and surrounding areas; expanding its presence across the United States; and increasing its operational efficiency with both its existing clients and any future acquisitions.

In Florida, the company is currently covering Marion, Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Levy, Sumter, Pinellas, Pasco and Hillsborough Counties. National Waste Management Holdings has been showing impressive growth with an aggressive acquisition strategy, acquiring and restructuring existing “mom and pop type” facilities in Florida and neighboring counties, but also in Kingston, NY, and the surrounding areas in Upstate New York.

National Waste Management Holdings completed its acquisition of a permitted waste processing and disposal facility, Waste Recovery Enterprises, LLC, in Bainbridge, NY, for $250,000 and 2.75 million restricted shares of the company’s common stock. Waste Recovery also offers commercial and residential garbage collection and roll-off services, with plans to expand service offerings to include recycled cardboard and paper shredding operations. In addition to the above, the company recently closed its acquisition of Northeast Data Destruction and Recycling, and it has three acquisitions actively in negotiation, with plans to execute letters of intent for each entity by the end of February, including a construction and demolition (C&D) and class III transfer station in New Port Richey, FL, and a recycling facility in Lakeland, FL.

The company plans to continue enhancing its geographic footprint by exhausting local opportunities and expanding into neighboring counties and states, identifying cash flow positive companies to acquire, and generally building shareholder value through accretive acquisitions and a tuck-in strategy to maximize free cash flow. To expand its national presence, NWMH plans on creating new satellite offices in order to become more customer-centric and operationally economical. In the next three to five years, NWMH plans to make an additional 12 to 20 acquisitions, representing approximately $40 to $65 million in revenue.

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

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Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: CPRX) on January 10, 2017, filed with the SEC a prospectus (http://dtn.fm/rU7Lh) for the sale in the aggregate of $33,842,512 of its common stock. The use of proceeds will be to fund both clinical and non-clinical studies of its product candidates and for general working capital.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals is a development stage biopharmaceutical company which is developing CPP-115 to treat reduced GABAergic signaling-associated neurological conditions, such as Tourette’s and post-traumatic stress disorder. The FDA has designated CPP-115 orphan drug status in the U.S. for the treatment of infantile spasms. In Europe, for the treatment of West syndrome, it has been granted E.U. orphan medicinal product designation. In addition, the company is also developing a generic version of Sabril® (vigabatrin).

This prospectus offering is part of the company’s Shelf Registration Statement declared effective by the SEC on March 19, 2014. That enabled it to periodically sell its stock shares in the aggregate of $33,842,512, Catalyst Pharmaceuticals said in the new prospectus filing.

The company originally had 150 million shares of common stock and five million shares of preferred. Currently, it has 82,972,316 shares of common outstanding and no preferred shares outstanding.

The company expects to report to the FDA top line results in the second half of 2017 for its second phase 3 trial evaluating its candidate drug Firdapse® for the treatment of Lambert-Eaton Myasthenic Syndromes (LEMS). If the results are successful, the company expects to resubmit an NDA for Firdapse for the treatment of LEMS.

Further, if those test results are successful, the company expects to additionally provide evidence that Firdapse treats certain types of Congenital Myasthenic Syndromes (CMS) and request that CMS be included in its initial label.

Catalyst Pharmaceuticals, Inc., may also evaluate that drug for the treatment of myasthenia gravis and other rare neuromuscular diseases. No clinical programs for these indications have yet been developed, the company stated in the prospectus.

For CPP-115, the company intends to develop the drug for the treatment of epilepsy and Tourette’s syndrome. It would perform the required studies, subject to funding availability.

For more information, visit www.CatalystPharma.com

No one should have been astonished at the discovery, reported by NPR (http://dtn.fm/ah9NX), of a ‘trove of cannabis plants found in (an) ancient tomb in China’. China represents a past civilization that has sprung many surprises over the centuries, and has given us some of our greatest inventions, including the compass, gunpowder, papermaking, and printing.

On par with these innovations has been Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), which has relied, in part, on herbal remedies (tui na). The use of plant derivatives to alleviate maladies is as natural to the Chinese as drinking tea, which itself is thought to promote dental health due to a richness of fluoride in some strains, with anti-bacterial and anti-viral properties in others, and is a good source of Vitamin A in still others. Two millennia ago, a ‘tea’ made from hemp was consumed for medical purposes. Now ChineseInvestors.com, Inc. (OTCQB: CIIX) is going back to those roots. The company aims to be ‘the premier provider of cannabidiol (CBD) oil to the Chinese population in mainland China’.

CBD oil is a compound extracted from the cannabis plant. However, plants bred and grown for their high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content are commonly referred to as marijuana. THC is psychoactive and is responsible for the ‘high’ that marijuana use provides. Other cannabis plants contain only trace amounts of THC but have high concentrations of CBD, which is the second most common cannabinoid of the 85 or so found in cannabis. Unlike THC, CBD is non-psychotropic. Plants with a preponderance of CBD are called hemp.

Hemp oil is rich in protein, polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega 6, omega 3 and insoluble fiber. It is a good source of tocopherols or Vitamin E antioxidants and is packed with minerals such as potassium, magnesium, iron, zinc, calcium, and phosphorus, as well as microelements like strontium, thorium, arsenic and chromium. Hemp oil is thought to increase immunity, counteract aging skin and improve cardiovascular health. Several studies show that the linoleic acid present in hemp oil can slow down the aging process and fight psoriasis.

There have been encouraging reports (http://dtn.fm/P6Ps1) of CBD helping epileptics, and Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE) has called for more study (http://dtn.fm/Rp9cM) into the use of CBD to treat epilepsy.

Unlike their western counterparts, Chinese companies have a long history of researching and developing cannabis products. Data published by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) indicate that Chinese firms account for about half of the filings for patents on cannabis products.

Late last month, CIIX announced it was launching the world’s first CBD health products online store in the Chinese language under the domain name www.ChineseCBDoil.com. The company will use the site to sell CBD oil products to customers in the Chinese mainland, where hemp oil-derived products are legal, and to Chinese speakers in the U.S. and Canada.

At present, the competitive landscape is clear, with virtually no rivals, and CIIX has signed an agreement with a San Diego producer to white label and distribute a number of CBD products, which, since they are not THC based, are legal in all 50 U.S. states, as well as in China.

The prospects for success are excellent. Founder and CEO of CIIX, Warren Wang, recently cited an industry study as he announced an alliance with a Chinese private equity firm to raise capital for investment in medical and recreational marijuana ventures:

“According to The CBD Report published by The Hemp Business Journal, cannabidiol is one of the fastest growing market categories in the U.S. hemp and legal marijuana industries. In 2015, the CBD industry grew from a nearly invisible market… to $202 million in consumer sales, and it is further expected to grow to $2.1 billion in consumer sales by 2020. We are very excited that CIIX is launching the world’s first CBD online store focused on providing CBD health products for Chinese-speaking customers and making it possible for them to order various types of CBD products through www.chinesecbdoil.com.”

Traditional Chinese medicine is about to experience a renaissance.

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

At the end of 2016, the Federal Reserve announced that it would be raising its key interest rate for the first time since the housing bubble burst between 2005 and 2006. According to an article on Realtor.com (http://dtn.fm/M08dy), the interest on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage is expected to grow from under 4.2% in 2016 to anywhere between 4.5% and 5% by the end of this year.

Despite the rise in home prices slowing, they are still expected to go up 4% in 2017. In addition, Realtor.com (http://dtn.fm/SaW2o) reported 12% less available homes for sale in November 2016 than in the previous year. Despite a shortage of homes on the market, the U.S. Commerce Department’s new residential sales report (http://dtn.fm/eC1Ww) stated that permits to put up new residences fell in November 2016. This was accompanied by fewer home constructions during the month, down nearly 20% below the revised October 2016 estimates. With the rise in mortgages and home prices, coupled with the low inventory of houses on the market today, buyers are expected to struggle to find their perfect homes.

Although the end of 2016 showed cause for concern for real estate businesses across the country, inventory for January moved at a 4% faster annual rate (http://dtn.fm/IhtZ6). This stronger than usual off-season has left a low volume of available homes for sale with very high prices. But this dip in volume has not halted the rising interest in eXp World Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: EXPI), holding company of eXp Realty LLC, or its growth.

The agent-owned, cloud-based real estate brokerage has continued to see a significant rise in new agents and brokers, with a growth rate of over 100% thanks to its technology revenue sharing and ownership. The company has accepted over 100 new agents and brokers into its team in the month of February alone, leading to more virtual meetings with a significant growth in attendance.

The company’s stock price has been powering higher for the best part of two years, reaching $3.96 per share in afternoon trading on Tuesday. EXPI recently announced the addition of its newest team member, real estate veteran and former quarterback for the Los Angeles Rams Vince Ferragamo.

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

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On a recent episode of Money TV with Donald Baillargeon (http://dtn.fm/6Fu9t), an internationally syndicated television program focusing on financial and economic issues, Singlepoint, Inc. (OTC: SING) chief executive officer, founder, and President Greg Lambrecht discussed his company’s exponential growth and its immediate acquisition plans as the driving force behind the recent increase in stock volume and price. Lambrecht and Baillargeon started the interview by noting how appropriate the company’s ticker symbol is, given that the company has indeed been “singing” lately on the stock market. Singlepoint has been one of the highest volume OTC companies for the last two weeks, Lambrecht said.

The Singlepoint CEO underlined that his company’s main strategy is based on strategic acquisitions that can help it expand its portfolio and get its revenues up. A leading provider of mobile technology, mobile marketing and mobile payment services, Singlepoint already has acquisitions in several verticals, including fantasy sports, mobile payment and auction software, digital advertising and more. Its most recent focus, however, has been the ever-growing cannabis industry. In the wake of last year’s election that made medical and/or recreational marijuana use legal in eight more states, bringing the total number of states that allow the substance to 28, Singlepoint reactivated its SingleSeed Payments subsidiary – a merchant payment processing company aiming to serve legal marijuana businesses. The company also announced plans to expand its reach on the market through new acquisitions.

“We put up an LOI a couple of weeks ago, and you’re going to hear about that soon,” Lambrecht said during the interview. “We also have two other LOIs out there so we are really focusing on acquisitions, and Singlepoint is going to be presenting some very big and very good news on those acquisitions in the near future.”

The Singlepoint CEO did not go into more detail about what acquisitions his company is planning, but he did speak more extensively about the main criteria for these acquisitions. “One of the main criteria right now is that they are in the cannabis business and particularly that they’re in the cannabis business but they don’t actually touch the cannabis – just like us, a merchant processor in the dispensaries,” he explained. One of the companies that meets this criterion and that Singlepoint is already targeting for acquisition is Convectium, which manufactures a unique and innovative oil filling machine able to fill cartridges and disposable vape pens for dispensaries or wholesale distribution. Besides Convectium, Singlepoint is also discussing acquisition with a company that is on the software side of the cannabis industry, Lambrecht said.

In addition to this criterion, another major factor that can decide an acquisition is, naturally, the target company’s financials. “The other companies that we’re looking at have really strong EBITDA and strong revenue numbers,” the Singlepoint CEO said.

Lambrecht also discussed his company’s joint ventures, including venture plans with a couple of mobile pay companies that are expected to be revealed soon and could bring considerable revenue to Singlepoint. The company’s massive success on the market in terms of stock price and volume has also drawn the interest of institutional investors. “We’re getting a lot of attention from Wall Street and other that, even though we’re a Pink and right now we’re offering rule 144, that doesn’t seem to bother them. With our volume and stock price, we have a lot of interested parties that want to invest in Singlepoint and I get why: they know that through the next year, with our acquisitions and joint ventures that we have planned, hopefully the stock in 12 months (…) is going to be the same volume and certainly higher price,” Lambrecht explained.

Furthermore, he said that all the money raised from these investments is going directly toward acquiring companies. “That’s where it should go and that’s where it’s going and this is just going to make the company stronger and have a higher market cap.”

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

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Maupintour (www.maupintour.com), a specialized tour operator owned by Monaker Group, Inc. (OTCQB: MKGI), is a hidden gem for both Monaker and its users. Maupintour, founded by Tom Maupin, designs comprehensive and creative tours for groups and individuals, offering travelers the opportunity to arrange uniquely customized tours to exotic locales. Other travel companies have booking engines that can arrange business travel, but Monaker has the unique advantage of owning a subsidiary, Maupintour, which designs specialized tours for the business traveler seeking to turn a business trip into a customized leisure adventure.

According to a 2016 Global Business Travel Association Index study (http://dtn.fm/iZ8rA), 45% of business travelers at firms with 1-249 employees extend their trips to combine business and leisure travel. Especially for younger travelers, extending company paid travel with additional days of personal travel offers them the chance to explore destinations they have already reached. Monaker’s booking engine is perfect for them to integrate the booking of business and leisure travel using the company’s efficient NextTrip.com site. For Monaker, Maupintour represents an important additional revenue stream.

To high-tech travelers, Monaker Group’s Maupintour is something very special. This 65-year-old tour arm of the company specializes in tailored tours to travelers who are adventurous and curious to try exotic trips. A business trip to Athens, Greece, can become a Maupintour archeology tour. A business meeting in Rome can become a specialized tour of the Vatican. A meeting in Chile can be extended and turned into a customized wine-tasting tour. A ho-hum business trip to a foreign location can become, by extension, an economical but glorious leisure trip, as well.

The Index study found that these travelers would use leisure travel not only to explore these destinations, but also to visit family and friends. In addition, it found that learning about a destination’s cultural offerings was important to these employees.

Monaker Group is a technology-focused company that is travel-driven, targeting the alternative lodging market (ALM). Bill Kerby, founder, chairman, and CEO of Monaker, sees ALR as one of the fastest expanding sectors of the entire travel market, projected by industry experts to reach $169 billion by 2019.

The company’s real-time booking engine offers ALR inventory, plus access to air, conventional lodging, business travel needs, and a library of greater than 15,000 video clips of destinations and leisure activities, cruises, and other travel, all on one site.

For more information, visit www.MonakerGroup.com

After a century of service providing quotes on stocks and bonds to investors around the world, the OTC markets have come of age, and the recently published Annual Markets Review (http://dtn.fm/IW0iC) from OTC Markets Group, Inc. (OTCQX: OTCM) reveals that maturity. The company’s over-the-counter (OTC) platforms now host some 9,620 U.S. and global securities that generate an annual trading dollar volume of around $193 billion. Its OTCQX Best Market and OTCQB Venture Market provide price and liquidity information on some of the world’s best companies, and over 100 broker-dealers play an active part as market-makers. For companies, both big and small, being quoted on the OTC markets makes being public decidedly less painful.

The current tiered market structure makes it easier for companies to demonstrate their financial and corporate governance standards and to provide current information, avoiding the trading hurdles due to the opacity associated with the old pink sheets. The almost 10,000 securities included in the OTC Markets quotation system are organized into three markets, OTCQX, OTCQB, and Pink, to better inform investors.

The OTCQX Best Market is the premier quotation platform. To be quoted on the OTCQX market, a company must meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws, and have a professional third-party sponsor introduction. Penny stocks, shell companies and companies in bankruptcy cannot qualify for OTCQX. The companies whose securities appear on the OTCQX are distinguished by the integrity of their operations and the diligence with which they convey their qualifications. The OTCQX Best Market, which welcomed some 50 new companies in 2016, offers transparent and efficient trading… without the cost and complexity of a U.S. exchange listing.

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. To be eligible, a company must be current in its reporting and undergo an annual verification and management certification process. It must, also, meet a $0.01 bid test and may not be in bankruptcy. In 2016, 230 new companies joined the platform.

The Pink Open Market approximates most closely to the traditional pink sheets, although a particular market tier classification is not an indication of either the value of the security or an endorsement (or not) of the issuer. Market tiers are based only on the quality and timeliness of the information provided. OTCQB Venture Market and Pink Open Market quotes may be of securities for companies of high quality, as well as of those for speculative, distressed, or questionable companies.

Since May 16, 2013, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has considered the OTCQB and OTCQX marketplaces to be public marketplaces for purposes of establishing a public market price when registering securities for resale in equity line financings.

During 2016, the OTC Markets Group platforms passed some memorable milestones. Some 280 new companies made their debut on the OTCQX and OTCQB markets. In particular, the OTCQX shone under the spotlight: the OTCQX Best 50 companies (http://dtn.fm/0XznV) delivered an average total return of 130 percent compared to the S&P 500, which went up by 9.5 percent in 2016.

Twenty U.S. states now recognize the OTC markets for the purposes of their Blue Sky Manual Exemptions. Blue Sky laws are U.S. state securities laws designed to protect the public from securities fraud. The aim is to achieve Blue Sky recognition from all 50 states. In addition, seven share transfer agents participate in a new program that makes current verified information available to the public.

Client companies are voicing their approval of the measures to improve the OTC markets. As global information services giant Experian plc explained:

“…OTCQX offered a liquid trading platform for our ADRs, enabling US investors to invest directly in Experian stock via a US traded instrument, but it did not require us to list on a US exchange or register with the SEC. As a result, we continue to comply with the regulation and governance requirements of our primary London listing and are not subject to onerous duplicate regulation and governance requirements by virtue of our ADRs being traded in the US.”

It looks like the OTC Markets have definitely come of age by making being public much less painful.

For more information, please visit www.OTCMarkets.com