Companies in the mining business are frequently exploring new avenues to make the jump from an exploration stage company up to a sought after company with revenue production. Much like a caterpillar has a relatively dull, uneventful life until it reaches the cocoon stage and emerges as a beautiful butterfly with wings to explore and display its magnificence for the entire world to enjoy, Star Mountain Resources, Inc. (OTC: SMRS) has been in the dull exploration stage searching for a reliable property to call home before it can reap the benefits of mining operations and revenue production. Well, with the recent announcement of its acquisition of the Balmat Zinc Mine in New York, Star Mountain has emerged from its cocoon, so to speak, and should have a much more eventful life moving forward.

The Balmat mining complex – including a 4,000-foot-deep mine, a 5,000-ton-per day flotation mill, an office building and necessary infrastructure for mine operation – was originally shuttered as a result of declining zinc prices, but forecasts for the coming months are promising. According to Mark Osterberg, president and chief operating officer of Star Mountain, zinc prices are set to increase beginning next year following the closure of several zinc mines with depleted reserves.

Demand is the driving force behind most operational business decisions. Basically, if the demand for zinc increases, the price will go up, and companies with proven reserves and production will be very happy – along with their shareholders. This acquisition and the company’s announcement to begin the hiring process for the Balmat Mine may have given Star Mountain the jolt it needed to attract the attention of new investors and analysts. One thing is for sure: once a company starts producing revenue, more people are going to realize that it has started to walk the walk instead of just talking the talk. Making good on your plans and promises is essential for establishing and maintaining your reputation, which, in the small and micro cap space, is worth its weight in gold, or zinc in this case.

For more information, visit www.starmountainresources.com

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Banner days are back for the timeshare industry. According to the recently published State of the Vacation Timeshare Industry: United States Study 2015 Edition, in 2014, the last full year for which data is available, the U.S. timeshare industry grew faster than the economy. U.S. GDP growth in 2014 was 2.4 percent, while the study estimates U.S. timeshare industry growth at a strong 4 percent. Total sales volume increased from $7.6 billion in 2013 to $7.9 billion in 2014. Since 2010, sales volume has been rising steadily. It was $6.4 billion in 2010; $6.5 billion in 2011; $6.9 billion in 2012; $7.6 billion in 2013; and $7.9 billion in 2014, recording a compound annual growth rate of 4.3 percent over the five year period. Timeshare sales volume peaked at $10.6 billion in 2007 and fell significantly in the next two years due to the recession – hitting a floor at $6.3 billion in 2009. Since then, the industry has undergone a steady resurgence. 2014 marked the fifth straight year of increases in sales volume. With sales on the upswing, re-sale growth has been rising as well.

Timeshares offer the opportunity to own or have use of a vacation home for a set time every year on a recurring basis. The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) calls them ‘vacation ownership’ and explains in a promotional brochure: ‘Owning a timeshare is your ticket to better vacationing. This means an ever-expanding choice of accommodations, amenities, locations, pricing, use plans, and timeshare exchange. You can tailor vacations to meet your lifestyle needs and travel dreams at more than 5,000 resorts in almost 100 countries around the world.’ Many timeshare contracts give the purchaser a deeded interest in real estate and grant ownership rights in the property at a fraction of its total cost. The timeshare owner will pay an annual maintenance fee. The typical timeshare arrangement is for a week or two. Longer periods are referred to as fractionals. Large resort owners who develop the properties will usually offer programs that allow timeshares to be traded. Someone who owns a timeshare to a property in Florida may do a swap with someone who owns a timeshare to a property in Hawaii. This is a large market, since, undoubtedly, preferences change over time. As the old saying goes, variety is the spice of life.

The anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that selling a timeshare is not so easy, however. Data on the resale market is difficult to obtain, but, judging from the prices, it’s a buyer’s market. According to Redweek.com (http://dtn.fm/2c3MG), which bills itself as the largest online marketplace for timeshares for sale, ‘Timeshare re-sales… are typically priced 30-50% below the original developer or resort price.’ A story (http://dtn.fm/Pg0Jk) in Kiplinger backs that up: ‘With brand-name developments, such as Disney, Marriott and Wyndham, you typically pay 30% to 50% less than the developer’s price. You’ll save more money buying from a lesser-known developer – probably 50% to 70% off the property’s price when it was first put on the market.’

There are two large exchange companies, Interval International and RCI (formerly Resort Condominiums International), that offer both timeshares by developers and those for re-sale. Typically, timeshare owners are allowed to save or ‘bank’ vacation time for use in a subsequent year. This is usually a prerequisite to trading the timeshare. But FlexWeek (OTC: FXWK) allows owners to share and exchange their timeshares directly with other owners and non-owners alike. The FlexWeek platform eliminates the need for timeshare owners to bank unused weeks with existing high fee trading networks such as RCI and Interval International. FlexWeek is a true peer-to-peer network that empowers individuals to arrange travel with one another based on true supply and demand metrics.

FlexWeek is a pioneer in the global peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace with the introduction of a unique platform that allows timeshare owners to discover, book and offer unused vacation time directly to the public and other timeshare owners. This approach eliminates the need for timeshare owners to use costly trading platforms while potentially reducing unused timeshare inventory.

For more information, visit www.flexweek.com

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According to the latest official data published by the American Lung Association, the extremely debilitating and incurable progressive lung disease known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) currently impacts as many as 24 million Americans (http://dtn.fm/4hUgy). The WHO estimates that by 2030, COPD will be the third leading cause of death and has ruled the disease a global epidemic. This statistic is, unfortunately, already true here in the U.S., where we have around 13.6 million cases currently diagnosed. COPD is actually a catch-all term for a host of lung diseases and associated ailments, like chronic bronchitis (increased mucus and inflammation) and emphysema (progressive alveoli damage), as well as refractory asthma and bronchiectasis (scarring/enlargement in damaged airways), to name but a few.

Naturally, because there is no cure, there is a sizable and growing treatment market for COPD, and one whose growth is being spurred on globally by an increasingly elderly population. In fact, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that the older population in America alone will increase by some 120 percent through 2060. Compared to 2013’s ratio of about 14 percent (one out of every seven citizens), the number of COPD patients will more than double over this interval, to a total somewhere around 100 million.

Given that women are at particular mortality risk (http://dtn.fm/bogA1) due to a sizable uptick in female smokers starting around the late 1960’s, and that women have an inordinate susceptibility to COPD when compared to men, due to their smaller-on-average lungs and the fact that estrogen plays a key role in the worsening of the disease, COPD-related death is notably higher among women. The roughly 7 million women in the U.S. who are currently diagnosed with COPD are not only severely debilitated by an inability to breathe properly, they face a higher risk of having their lives cut short by this disease, which was historically considered to be more of a man’s disease. A four-fold increase in fatalities among women over the past three decades has thrown a bright spotlight on how misdiagnosed the disease is among women, but the problem still persists, meaning that the emergence of new and easy to use treatments are highly sought after by this eager demographic.

Thankfully a number of treatments have already emerged to help prevent complications, such as airflow obstruction and bronchospasm, in COPD patients, including GlaxoSmithKline’s (NYSE: GSK) Anoro Ellipta, a so-called LAMA/LABA (long-acting muscarinic antagonist/beta agonist) once-daily, which was designed to also help maintain profitability for GSK as its mainstay Seretide/Advair (salmeterol and fluticasone) product is opened up to generic competition. One of the big hurdles generics have faced, however, is the difficulty in getting the delivery mechanism, an inhaler, properly designed – a factor which has led to much slower than expected onset of generic competition for GSK. Novartis (NYSE: NVS) also made progress in this same area last year with solid results in a pivotal U.S. Phase III clinical trial of twice-daily QVA149 (indacaterol/glycopyrronium bromide) and NVA237 (glycopyrronium bromide), as well as a more recent expansion of its relationship with Qualcomm’s (NASDAQ: QCOM) Qualcomm Life subsidiary, aimed at powering Novartis’ next-gen Breezhaler delivery system for its COPD portfolio (Onbrez, Seebri and Ultibro).

According to leading business intelligence provider GBI Research, the global COPD market is estimated to be worth approximately $11.3 billion (http://dtn.fm/vJc6I) and is on-track to grow by around 38 percent over the next few years, reaching upwards of $15.6 billion on the strength of LABA/LAMA bronchodilators by 2019. One of the extremely attractive contenders amid this multibillion dollar market is clinical stage biopharma Pulmatrix (NASDAQ: PULM), which has already completed a Phase 1b in patients with moderate to severe COPD using its branded generic bronchodilator PUR0200, for which there is currently no generic competition. PUR0200 has demonstrated efficacy at a much smaller dose than the reference target and the Phase 1b also clearly documented the efficiency of what is the company’s first small molecule formulation using its iSPERSE inhaled dry powder technology (http://dtn.fm/mW252), via comparison with traditional lactose blend formulations.

This is great news for the company and indicates to investors the potential for PULM’s technology, considering how iSPERSE now very strikingly appears to have the potential to enable delivery of entirely new classes of compounds directly to the lungs, something not possible with traditional lactose delivery technologies. An R&D partnership with global pharmaceutical developer and generics juggernaut Mylan (NASDAQ: MYL) in Europe spells big things for Pulmatrix’s PUR0200, and the drug could become the first branded generic for what is a roughly $5 billion segment of the larger global COPD market.

Moreover, the company has a robust IP position with some 37 issued patents worldwide covering its core dry powder technology, iSPERSE (inhaled small particles easily respirable and emitted), a proprietary platform solution that hurdles many of the lagging formulation problems facing the industry today that are typically seen with other lactose blend and metered dose inhaler technologies. Because iSPERSE particles don’t require a carrier such as lactose and can be engineered to carry anywhere from less than one percent to more than eighty percent of an active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), Pulmatrix has an extremely versatile delivery technology on its hands that is suitable for a wide range of drug loading roles – from small molecules, to peptides and proteins, or even antibodies. Pulmatrix could go toe to toe and even surpass sector heavy-hitters such as AstraZeneca (NYSE: AZN) and Bayer (OTC: BAYRY) in certain areas of the COPD market with this technology, and the company’s team of engineers have a deep understanding of the iSPERSE platform that spans the implantation gamut, from feasibility to clinical manufacturing, something which makes PULM a force to be reckoned with when it comes to novel inhalation products.

Indeed, such formulation prowess is just the tip of the iceberg for PULM’s iSPERSE platform, as the technology features numerous other characteristics that set it apart from competitors when it comes to significantly improving the treatment of a whole host of pulmonary diseases, as well as opening the door to important new inhalation products with important characteristics such as reproducible, one-step, scalable manufacturing – using a unique spray drying process that offers high quality, consistent yields of end product, which are completely independent of specific API physical chemistries. When you stack this advantage up against the optimum dispersibility across a range of flow rates, noting that iSPERSE formulations nevertheless feature consistent emitted dose and particle sizes, one can see that you get an easy to churn out, reliable dosing solution, a solution which is right for all patient populations and which uniquely addresses the problem of delivery variance from patient to patient.

Additionally, because iSPERSE allows for the delivery of macromolecules and biologics such as antibodies, peptides and nucleic acids across such wide range of drug loads – and because the technology enables the creation of dual and even triple homogenous combinations of multiple drugs – this platform technology is an ideal vehicle for Pulmatrix’s future candidates, and the Pulmatrix pipeline (http://dtn.fm/4vAdS) already offers some other exciting candidates alongside its lead, such as PUR1900 and PUR1500, designed (respectively) to treat the pulmonary fungal infections that affect half or more of all cystic fibrosis patients, as well as the loss of lung tissue oxygen transport capability common in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

PUR1900 is particularly interesting, as it has been shown to be both active and potent in animal models (http://dtn.fm/6HxEb), achieving high lung concentrations and low systemic exposure, and because it would be the first ever inhalable anti-fungal for cystic fibrosis. Because PUR1900 directly targets aspergillus infection – which is typical of several other conditions such as suppressed immune function among leukemia-related chemotherapy or tuberculosis, and is seen in non-invasive nose, ear and eye infections – there are tantalizing upper limits when it comes to PUR1900’s broader applicability.

With a $1.7 million NIH research grant under its belt to work on an inhaled anti-fibrotic with Celdara, Inc. (http://dtn.fm/bTLl5), as well as a strong cash position of some $22 million (http://dtn.fm/FE1f9) that should see development efforts at the company through to the middle of next year, Pulmatrix is in an enviable position, with a robust pipeline of candidates, the capital muscle, and the bedrock tech to back up its aspirations. The company has a truly impressive drug delivery/manufacturing technology in iSPERSE that should continue to produce upside moving forward and investors will want to keep a close eye on PULM for news regarding further PUR0200 developments that are on the immediate horizon.

Take a closer look, visit http://pulmatrix.com/index.php

Earlier today, OurPet’s Company (OTCQX: OPCO) announced a new strategic partnership with Aplix IP Holdings Corp., a leading Japan-based software and solutions provider, designed to help the company enhance the bond between pets and humans through the development of innovative new products fueled by smart technology.

According to the American Pet Products Association, there are approximately 85.5 million domesticated cats and 77.8 million domesticated dogs in the United States, and owners are spending more than ever on their furry family members. Over the past 20 years, the U.S. pet industry has grown from $16 billion to over $60 billion, and additional, sustained growth appears to be on the horizon. OurPet’s is aware of this growth, and the company’s goal, through its partnership with Aplix, is to employ technology related to Bluetooth and Wi-Fi to develop products that improve the relationship between pets and pet owners by providing harmonious, healthy experiences for the animal.

“We literally searched the world for the strategic partner who shares the same passion as we do and would closely work with us to bring these ideas to reality,” Dr. Steve Tsengas, chief executive officer of OurPet’s, stated in the news release. “We’re fortunate to have found what we were looking for in Aplix of Japan, a world leader in Bluetooth and Wi-Fi design, development and manufacture of related components.”

Moving forward, Aplix will work with OurPet’s to help the company advance development of its innovative product line, which targets unmet needs in the expansive pet supply industry. The two partners have already invested “extensive resources” toward the development of new products that implement smart technology, according to Tsengas, and additional collaborations resulting from this strategic partnership are expected to contribute to the development of marketable breakthroughs on a forward path toward commercialization.

OurPet’s has a long history of driving innovation in the pet industry, beginning with its launch in 1995. The company’s intellectual property portfolio currently includes more than 160 issued or pending patents – including proven products such as the Big Dog Feeder® elevated feeders, Play-N-Squeak® cat toys, and SmartScoop® automated litter box. Today, more than 75 percent of OPCO’s revenue is derived from the sale of its proprietary products. By partnering with Aplix, the company is demonstrating a commitment to building on its history of innovation by driving the evolution of the growing pet industry into the future.

“We have experienced rapid growth in sales and profits by means of a simple strategy – listening to pet owners and retailers and applying our extensive knowledge related to pet behavior, geriatrics and nutrition and the extensive engineering technology/manufacturing,” continued Tsengas. “We’re excited to see where this new strategic partnership takes us.”

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

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Healthcare waste has the potential to infect hospital patients, healthcare workers and the general public. While roughly 85% of the amount of waste generated in the healthcare industry is non-hazardous, the remaining 15% is hazardous and may be infectious, toxic or radioactive. That’s according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which cites particular concern about infection with HIV, hepatitis B and C – only a few of many possible infectious diseases – for which there is strong evidence of transmission from improper healthcare waste management.

Obviously, medical personnel, especially in emergency situations, aren’t always privy to whether or not a patient’s fluids are infectious, and outdated manual fluid handling methods, which require hand carrying and emptying filled fluid canisters, present an exposure risk and potential liability.

Skyline Medical, Inc. (NASDAQ: SKLN) is in the market to buck these risks with its fully automated, patented, FDA-cleared waste fluid disposal system that virtually eliminates staff exposure to blood, irrigation fluid and other potentially infectious fluids found in the healthcare environment.

The company’s STREAMWAY® System fully automates the collection, measurement and disposal of waste fluids. Aside from providing a measure of safety against biohazard exposure, the system is designed to: reduce overhead costs to hospitals and surgical centers; improve compliance with Occupational State and Health Association (OSHA) and other regulatory agency safety guidelines; improve efficiency in the operating room, and radiology and endoscopy departments; and help eliminate the approximately 50 million potentially disease-infected canisters dumped into U.S. landfills each year.

Installed in or on the wall, STREAMWAY features an illuminated touch screen that provides the user control over surgical suction levels and displays automated measurement of volumes. The single patient procedure filter and tissue trap both prevent cross contamination and allow for tissue retrieval. When it comes time to clean up, the user detaches the filter, connects the cleaning solution bottle, and activates the five-minute clean cycle using the touch screen.

In one case study, STREAMWAY user Fran Hahn, BSN, RN, CNOR at Huntingdon Valley Surgery Center in Pennsylvania stated, “I cringe when I have to do an arthroscopic procedure in one of the rooms without STREAMWAY. It’s so much easier and safer to use than canisters.”

Read the entire cast study here: http://www.skylinemedical.com/wp-content/uploads/STREAMWAY_CaseStudy_HuntingdonValleySC.pdf

Unlike Hahn’s experience, Skyline has found that the majority of radiology and imaging rooms, in particular, are not even aware that automated fluid disposal technology exists. To counter this finding, Skyline recently partnered with the Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing (“ARIN”) to market Skyline products and services to medical professionals performing paracentesis and thoracentesis procedures.

“Our research has shown that most radiology and imaging rooms do not currently use, nor are they aware of automated fluid disposal technology, despite the major potential safety and cost benefits. As it is the nurses and technologists that often perform these procedures and can help influence purchasing decisions, we expect our partnership with ARIN to create new sales opportunities,” Josh Kornberg, president and CEO of Skyline, stated in the news release announcing the partnership.

As an ARIN sponsor, Skyline has access to nurses in the imaging and radiology space, and, on April 3, will have the opportunity to attend the ARIN Spring Convention in Vancouver, where the company’s sales representatives will demonstrate Skyline products to nurses, technologists and other industry decision makers.

In the first nine months of 2015, Skyline shipped and sold 15 of its STREAMWAY Systems, and by November had initiated 12 new trials of the system in eight different U.S. states. From past experience, the company’s trial strategy yields significant success.

“Our sales strategy encourages hospital and surgical centers to trial the STREAMWAY, as we are confident that the unique benefits of our exposure prevention system will be quickly recognized throughout the facilities. This approach has proven to be successful with our trial-to-sale conversion rate standing at an impressive 98%,” Kornberg stated. “There are currently more than 48 hospital and surgical centers using our STREAMWAY System in the United States. We are looking to rapidly expand our customer base through the implementation of an aggressive sales and marketing strategy over the next year, which will include a dedicated salesforce and a network of distributors.”

This “aggressive sales and marketing strategy” includes international expansion, and Skyline has started the process of filing international patent applications in Canada and select European countries for the technologies and processes applied in the STREAMWAY System.

For its domestic focus, Skyline is gaining mounting confidence in the capability and acceptance of its technology.

“Our success selling to major hospitals indicates that medical centers are shifting away from, and we are displacing, alternative fluid management solutions that have been in place for many years. For us to have achieved this, despite our limited sales and marketing capabilities, truly validates the quality and effectiveness of the STREAMWAY™ System. The STREAMWAY is currently installed in a wide variety of procedure rooms, including surgery, interventional radiology and endoscopy suites, demonstrating very significant market potential for the product. Moreover, we are starting to see repeat orders from some of these customers,” Kornberg stated in a previous news release.

As more medical facilities are seeing, STREAMWAY eliminates one of the most dangerous aspects of being a healthcare professional: handling surgical fluid canisters and their contents. With rising market acceptance, Skyline continues to focus on establishing STREAMWAY as the premier surgical fluid disposal device, providing an unprecedented standard of safety, efficiency and environmental benefits for hospitals and surgical centers worldwide.

For more information, visit www.skylinemedical.com

Social media is the most popular game in town. Everyone on the planet, for the most part, uses some form of social media for entertainment, communication, advertising, or research. Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) and Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) dominate the space, but countless others like Pandora, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat, Vine, YouTube, and others have emerged and grown like kudzu over the past few years. Virtually untapped markets like China and India present an alluring growth opportunity for companies such as Moxian, Inc. (OTCQB: MOXC), which provides social marketing and promotion platforms designed to help merchants accelerate and advertise their business growth through social media.

China’s number of social network users is projected to eclipse 525 million by 2017, according to Statista.com, up from just 176 million in 2009. Facebook – which is banned in China – for comparison purposes, has 1.23 billion monthly active users and is worth more than $300 billion. China is home to the world’s largest population with 1.4 billion, followed by India with 1.3 billion. The market for users and merchants looking to utilize an effective social media marketing campaign is limitless.

Moxian offers targeted advertising campaigns that enhance interaction between user and merchant by using consumer behavior data compiled from the company’s database of user activities. The company has two core products: Moxian+ User App and Moxian+ Business App. The Moxian+ User App is designed for consumers to collect loyalty points from issuing merchants; to play games; and to win universal MO-Coins, which can be used globally with any merchant in the Moxian eco-system. The Moxian+ User App also provides consumers a set of social networking features to set up a personalized multimedia profile; to look for friends, interest groups, clans and topics; and to share and chat with their social circles.

The Moxian+ Business App provides merchants with the tools needed to convert customers into members and fans; to issue loyalty points and redeem rewards; to respond to customer inquiries through instant messaging; to conduct targeted marketing campaigns to members of the Moxian community in the form of ads and games; to list products in a light weight online shop; and to process orders. The app also provides business reports and analytical insights for merchants.

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

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After a long and disastrous night out with their young children, Joey and Dorsa Parsi decided it was finally time to build a place where families can enjoy a nice meal together. Giggles N’ Hugs (OTCQB: GIGL), a children’s play center and restaurant, is a pioneer in the playspace and entertainment industry. This is the only restaurant of its kind that fuses organic food and play for kids.

The 6,000 square foot space includes a 2,000 square foot play area for children to play games and participate in exciting activities. Meanwhile, the restaurant offers healthy food options that parents will enjoy and feel comfortable offering their kids. Children can have nutritious macaroni and cheese, hot dogs, and pizza. The restaurant even sneaks in healthy vegetables like spinach and squash in these popular food items, so children can’t tell the difference. Adults also have a wide selection of entrees, including salads, paninis, and pasta.

Giggles N’ Hugs also provides hosting opportunities for families. Themed birthday parties are a huge hit with parents since the restaurant handles everything from set up to clean up. These parties can also be individualized to suit the needs and wants of the family. The restaurant even plans nightly entertainment, like magic shows, concerts, puppet shows, and more, to keep children engaged and the adults happy.

Despite opening its doors during a recession, Giggles N’ Hugs has grown exponentially since 2004. The company recently partnered with Chardon Capital, an investment bank, to help raise capital to further its expansion goals. Giggles N’ Hugs intends to raise $5 million through a 506c offering to help fund 2016’s growth initiatives, which include adding more locations. So far, Westfield Corp. (OTC: WEFIF), a leading mall landlord, has given the company access to its entire mall portfolio for future spaces, since Giggles N’ Hugs provides tremendous foot traffic within its current locations in California.

The company generates its revenue from admission fees, birthday parties, drop-off service, branded in-store and retail outlet merchandising, franchising, and licensing. The company also intends to offer branded items like clothing, lunch boxes, and school supplies for even more growth this year.

Learn more by visiting www.gigglesnhugs.com

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Debate over tax policy is an obviously crucial issue because it impacts everything from various government services like police and infrastructure and judicial system and military funding, to having a successful educational system, and so forth.

Between the two political parties, one area of debate which hasn’t really been brought to close scrutiny is corporate taxation. Republicans argue that America has the highest corporate tax rate at 39.1%, which is well above the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) average of 24.1%. Democrats point out that if you look at the effective tax rate, the largest corporations of the S&P 500 are paying effective tax rates well below that level and typically average out to around 15%.

Essentially, due to years of lobbying the politicians, corporate lawyers have continuously changed tax rules to lean in favor of the largest of corporations. Transnational corporations effectively manage a type of tax arbitrage, where profits are realized in subsidiaries headquartered in parts of the world where the taxes are the least, and losses are realized in subsidiaries which are located in regions where taxes are the highest. Usage of subsidiaries with addresses in countries that act as tax havens, like the Cayman Islands, Switzerland and Ireland, have become a common practice. As a result, revenue to the government from the S&P 500 companies has plummeted over the years as can be seen below:

Corporate Taxes as a Percentage of Federal Revenue
1955 . . . 27.3%
2010 . . . 8.9%

Corporate Taxes as a Percentage of GDP
1955 . . . 4.3%
2010 . . . 1.3%

Individual Income/Payrolls as a Percentage of Federal Revenue
1955 . . . 58.0%
2010 . . . 81.5%

Since 2014, the above figures have generally stayed precisely the same. In other words, as corporations paid less, an even greater burden has been placed on individuals. About 54 of the S&P 500 corporations paid no taxes at all, with the majority getting refunds. For example, from 2010 to 2014, General Electric (GE) made $33 billion in profits, but paid zero in income taxes, and actually received $1.4 billion in tax refunds over that same stretch of time.

One way companies have been cutting their taxes is by corporate inversion, in other words, moving their headquarters offshore to cut their taxes. There is a progressive solution which is given the complicated name of single sales factor apportioned corporate tax. This simply means that if a company has only X percentage of its sales in the United States of America, it only pays taxes on X percentage of its earnings. So if a corporation has a mere 30% of its sales in the United States, it only pays taxes on 30% of its earnings. This was proposed by economist Michael Udell of the District Economics Group. Unfortunately, lobbying groups for special interests manage to succeed in allowing this concept to even be brought before Congress.

Real estate investment trust (REIT) structures have an effective tax rate of close to 10%, and are typically publicly traded real estate management companies that pay-out 90% of their taxable income as a dividend to shareholders. Supposedly, 75% of the REIT’s assets are supposed to be real estate. Over the past decade, however, many corporations have switched to REIT structures to cut their tax obligations. For example, prison management companies like Correctional Corporations of America (CXW) and GEO Group Inc. (GEO), cell phone tower management company American Tower (AMT), document storage company Iron Mountain (IRM), and timber company Weyerhauser (WY) avoided taxes altogether using a REIT structure, and it appears that the railroads and power line management companies may adopt this structure as well.

Setting aside corporations, what about taxes on individuals? Franklin D. Roosevelt had a top tax bracket for the rich of 91%. Of course, that isn’t 91% of all income as our tax system is a graduated structure with brackets. In today’s dollars, every dollar made above something like $1.4 million was taxed at 91 cents at the dollar. This tax bracket was lowered to 70% under President Kennedy and then cut down to as low as 28% under Ronald Reagan, and since then has been raised. What do we have today? A top rate of 39.6% for every dollar made above $406,751, and the rich rarely ever pay that. Most of the rich don’t have a salary that can be taxed as income but earn their money from a portfolio of stocks and bonds.

Taxes on cash dividends used to be taxed as ordinary income; however, that tax has been cut so those dividends are now taxed at 15%. Taxes on corporate bonds are taxed at the ordinary income rate, but if you put the corporate bonds into a fund or a unit investment trust, and then have the bond’s interest payments payed out as dividends to unit holders of that trust, you effectively lower that rate to 15%. Municipal bonds are free of federal taxes and, depending on the bond, may be free of your own state tax as well. Sales from long-term capital gains – stocks held more than a year – are taxed as a rate of 15%. As a result, the rich in the top 1% typically end up paying at an effective tax rate of 15%, which is well below the middle class that typically ends up at a 35% tax bracket. This is why famed investor Warren Buffet of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) pointed out that his tax rate was well below that of his own secretary.

As mentioned, in the 1980s, Reagan cut the top tax bracket down to 28%. To make up for the decrease in government revenue, Reagan raised the payroll tax 11 times, which amounted to the largest tax increase on the middle class in history. He is better remembered for his tax cuts, but those cuts only benefitted the richest in American society.

Bottom line, not only is the bulk of the government revenue now coming from individuals, a great deal more is now coming from the middle class than it was in the 1950s. So, we went from a system in which the bulk of the tax burden was on capital and far less on labor. Now we are in a system where labor is subsidizing capital.

One of the dominant economic theories is supply side economics, which suggest that greater economic growth is achieved if capital is not taxed and is freed up to invest in assets which encourage job growth and grow the economy. However, historical data counters that narrative. Through what is referred to as globalization, U.S. multinational corporations have been investing since the 1980s in assets offshore seeking cheaper labor costs to enhance profit. For those assets not invested, they are hoarded in savings in other countries to the point where over $2.1 trillion of the S&P 500’s free cash is held in offshore tax havens.

The United States exhibited its highest growth rate in the 1960s when the highest marginal tax rate was initially at levels of 90%, 77%, and 70% throughout that decade, and far higher corporate tax revenue was collected as well. When wealthy elites paid their fair share of taxes, the country benefitted, and both the public and private sectors worked in better balance. Now we appear to be in a system where there is a distribution of wealth from the bottom 90% up to the wealthiest Americans. As a result, the middle class is shrinking, and our infrastructure is poorly funded and falling to disrepair. Republicans continually advocate for flat taxes, which act as yet another tax cut for the rich and further increases the tax burden on the middle class and the poor. Putting in place a more progressive tax structure while eliminating loop holes would aid in growing the middle class, and re-invigorating economic growth.

CEL-SCI Corp.’s (NYSE MKT: CVM) body of work with the human immune system is one of perseverance and a passion for survival despite odds that would make the vast majority of biotech companies fold their tents and choose easier endeavors. Faced with trending downturns in the biotech sector, limited funding, and an arduous clinical trial process connected with the development of its investigational therapy for advanced primary head and neck cancer, the company’s mission is now well within sight. CVM’s lead investigational immunotherapy, Multikine® (Leukocyte Interleukin, Injection), has been tested in Phase I and II clinical trials, and is now enrolling patients for a global Phase III trial.

The inception of CVM’s journey began at the Max Planck Institute in Germany in the late 1970s and has been fueled with science and research supporting the theory that the immune system is inherently a cancer fighter. Company founder, Maximilian de Clara, believed strongly that the immune system is pivotal in fighting this disease, but he did not have the technology to transition his concept to product. Brushing off discouragement, Maximilian funded the early Multikine research at the Max Plank Institute in 1978, founded CEL-SCI around the idea of Multikine in 1983, and later took CVM public.

The company’s mission is to improve the treatment of cancer and other diseases by utilizing the immune system. CEL-SCI Corp. aims to create shareholder value by developing unique therapies that address medical needs that are commonly unmet. The company is dedicated to developing its therapies using a scientific and data-driven approach.

CVM’s undying spirit aims to be science-based and data driven – taking no shortcuts on its road to drug development. The company is steadfast in its ethics and integrity while being economical in its daily approach to creating shareholder value.

Multikine is the registered trademark under which CEL-SCI has its investigational therapy. The proprietary name is subject to FDA review in connection with additional, anticipated regulatory submission for approval measures. Multikine has not been licensed or approved for sale by the FDA or any other regulatory agency at this time and its safety or efficacy has not been established for any use. Further research is required, and early-phase clinical trial results must be confirmed in Phase III clinical trials, which are currently underway. CEL-SCI Corporation is headquartered in Vienna, Virginia.

For more information on this company visit http://www.cel-sci.com

Flextronics International Ltd. (NASDAQ: FLEX), a provider of innovative design, engineering, manufacturing, real-time supply chain insight and logistics services, today posted its third-quarter 2015 financial results, marked by record adjusted earnings per share (EPS), an increase in operating margin, and better-than-expected operating income.

Net sales for the third quarter ended December 31, 2015, were approximately $6.8 billion, in line with the company’s previously provided revenue guidance range of $6.2 billion-$6.8 billion. Adjusted EPS of $0.35 topped the company’s previously provided guidance range of $0.28-$0.34, and represents the all-time highest quarterly adjusted EPS in the company’s history.

Third-quarter adjusted operating income increased 20% sequentially and 14% year-over-year to $236 million, edging the guidance range of $195 million-$235 million. Adjusted operating margin expanded 40 basis points sequentially and 60 basis points year-over-year to 3.5%.

“We continue to position our company as a leader in the IoT space, and our third quarter demonstrated sequential growth across all four of our business groups, resulting from new programs and an improving engagement model,” Mike McNamara, chief executive officer at FLEX, stated in the news release. “Operating margins improved both sequentially and year-over-year, a testament to the stronger value proposition we are delivering to our customers.”

The company also reported $278 million in cash flow from operations and $158 million in free cash flow during the quarter, which CFO Chris Collier said “reflects our strong discipline and execution and enables our consistent stock repurchase.”

For the fourth quarter ending March 31, 2016, Flex said it expects non-GAAP EPS of $0.25-$0.31 on sales between $5.5 billion-$6.1 billion. GAAP EPS is expected to be lower than the adjusted EPS guidance by approximately $0.07 per diluted share for estimated intangible amortization and stock-based compensation expense.

Flex management will hold an earnings call today at 5 p.m. ET. The conference call will be broadcast via the Internet and may be accessed by logging on to the company’s website at www.flextronics.com. Additional information in the form of a slide presentation may also be found on the company’s site, and a replay of the broadcast will remain available on the company’s website afterward.