Giggles N’ Hugs, owner and operator of family-friendly restaurants that bring together high-end, organic food with active, cutting-edge play and entertainment for children, today reports that it has been in active negotiations for its expansion with several of the largest mall owners in the U.S., including General Growth Properties, Simon Property Group, and Westfield Group, which collectively own more than 500 properties worldwide.

Current negotiations are focused on expanding Giggles N’ Hugs’ presence on the West Coast, initially targeting five properties in markets that include Seattle and San Francisco in the north and San Diego and Orange County in the south. Lease terms have been received for the proposed properties, which will be similar in size to the company’s current locations in Los Angeles.

The company also plans on expanding its footprint nationwide. Longer term and pending additional funding, Giggles N’ Hugs expects to grow from its three existing locations in Southern California to dozens of locations in key markets across the nation.

As part of its negotiations, Giggles N’ Hugs is seeking significant rent discounts and attractive tenant allowances to reduce construction costs for each new Giggles N’ Hugs location. The company has also retained the services of Todd Star, a highly regarded and successful senior executive with nearly three decades of real estate industry experience, to aid in its negotiations and growth strategy development. Star’s experience as a senior executive for Westfield, overseeing leasing operations for over 13 years, places him as one of the most knowledgeable and best in negotiating deals with mall operators. Todd currently serves as principal at Star Retail Advisors.

“We’re very excited to enter our next phase of operations and to begin replicating the success we’ve experienced with our first three locations in Los Angeles,” commented Giggles N’ Hugs CEO Joey Parsi. “While we’re doing good in Southern California, where we’re known for our warm weather and sunny climate, we anticipate our results will be even better in markets where the weather is often less than ideal.”

Parsi noted an increase in Giggles N’ Hugs traffics when it rains and how that advantage will fare well in locations with frequent precipitation.

“When it rains … people tend to come indoors to Giggles N’ Hugs to play rather than go to the park or other outdoor spaces. The same is true with birthday parties, which are a very high-margin business for us,” he said. “People can’t do parties in their backyard or a park when it rains, so we get massive bookings on rainy days and our sales spike. This unique aspect of our business should produce higher revenues and profit margins in markets like San Francisco and Seattle, driving strong shareholder value growth as we move forward with our expansion.”

For more information, visit www.gigglesnhugs.com/investor-relations/

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On the Move Systems this morning highlighted a new industry forecast that the trucking industry will soon experience an Uber-style transformation, where shared economy platforms and apps, like the one now under development by OMVS, will play an integral component of operations and revenue-generation.

The Frost & Sullivan report predicts that by 2025 such platforms will generate $26.4 billion in freight movement revenues as trucking companies take advantage of online, on-demand offerings such as route optimization. This key advantage will enable companies to more effectively utilize equipment and human resources to ensure mileage driven produces revenue rather than hauling an empty trailer.

OMVS also points to a Forbes.com article co-written by Frost & Sullivan’s Wallace Lau, who writes that smartphone-enabled shared economy apps, “will also help the driver locate nearby freight and carry it to its destination if the truck is also headed there. At the heart of this change will be mobile devices like smartphones that will enable people to connect freight to trucks, with spare freight-carrying capacity on an on-demand, ad-hoc, networked manner.”

OMVS CEO Robert Wilson agrees, noting his growing confidence in the company’s impending platform.

“Mr. Lau is certainly speaking our language and his market research hits right on target, backing up what we’ve found and validating our business model. The shared economy is going to transform logistics, from scheduling and route optimization to the hiring of drivers. This survey shows why we’re confident of the revenue potential of our upcoming platform, now under development,” says Wilson.

OMVS recently signed a letter of intent for development for its online, on-demand trucking platform, patterned on Uber’s cutting-edge shared economy model.

For more information visit www.onthemovesystems.com

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The Aristocrat Group Corp. announced that it plans on launching RWB Ultra-Premium Handcrafted Vodka in Canada using the same marketing tactics that made the brand a success in the U.S.

Late last month, the company revealed that its joint venture partner in Canada, Westcoast Spirits Company, Ltd., had begun a campaign to promote RWB Vodka in British Columbia. The international market expansion is a major step forward for the brand.

After the product is picked up by Canadian distributors, the company will set up in-store promotional events featuring RWB-branded swag and complimentary tastings at British Columbia Liquor Board-operated outlets as well as independent distilled spirits stores. Future plans call for potential sponsorship of rising music stars and sporting events, too, just as the company has successfully done in the U.S.

“Canada is an important market for us, so we plan to invest heavily in RWB’s success in British Columbia in order to establish a foothold,” ASCC CEO Robert Federowicz said. “Thanks to our experience in the U.S. market, we know which promotions are most effective. We’ll be putting that knowledge to good use in Canada.”

Handcrafted, American-made RWB Ultra-Premium Handcrafted Vodka is made with the highest-quality, non-GMO Idaho potatoes and pure mountain spring water and then refined by a five-stage filtration system that produces a gluten-free high-class vodka without the high-class price. It is available online to U.S. consumers and at more than 60 retail locations and 250 clubs, bars and restaurants.

For more information, visit www.aristocratgroupcorp.com/investors

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Great Basin Scientific is a molecular diagnostics company developing, manufacturing and commercializing breakthrough chip-based technologies that enable cost-effective, reliable infectious disease testing. By focusing on affordability and ease-of-use, the company is working to make molecular testing available to every patient, providing the means for greatly reduced misdiagnoses while significantly limiting the spread of dangerous infectious diseases.

In the first quarter of 2015, Great Basin successfully leveraged the marketability of its innovative product portfolio to realize strong financial growth. The company’s revenue for the three month period was $458,730, which represented a 31.4 percent year-over-year improvement. This performance was attributable to Great Basin’s tremendous progress in expanding upon its established customer base. As of the end of the quarter, the company reported just over 100 U.S. customers, which was a year-over-year increase of more than 42 percent.

The company has taken considerable steps toward building on this financial growth in recent weeks, highlighted by the commercial launch of its Group B Streptococcus (GBS) test in July. Early adopters of Great Basin’s new product – which received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance in April – have hailed the test’s ease-of-use and cost savings. Shortly after its release, the company announced that more than 40 sites were in active evaluation or scheduled to evaluate the sample-to-result test, further demonstrating the immense marketability of Great Basin’s groundbreaking technology.

“Initial response to our GBS test has exceeded our expectations,” Ryan Ashton, chief executive officer of Great Basin, stated in a news release. “We believe this speaks to an unmet need in the market that Great Basin addresses by delivering simplified workflow at appropriate cost [with] the sensitivity, specificity and speed of molecular testing that our lab customers demand.”

According to industry reports, the global molecular diagnostics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.7 percent from 2013 to 2018, climbing to nearly $8 billion by the end of the period. For Great Basin, this market performance should provide a platform upon which to promote strong financial growth.

For more information, visit www.gbscience.com

Canadian biotech Aquinox Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: AQXP) created quite the industry buzz last week when the company reported positive mid-stage trial results for its bladder pain drug, AQX-1125.

In addition to meeting secondary endpoints, the LEADERSHIP trial also demonstrated that a high proportion of patients (49%) achieved a clinically meaningful improvement in pain (2 points or greater on an 11-point NRS scale) as compared to placebo (39%).

“Consistently positive results from multiple secondary endpoints have strengthened our confidence in further development of AQX-1125 for BPS/IC,” David Main, president and CEO of Aquinox stated in the news release. “The encouraging effect of AQX-1125 observed on the primary endpoint of reduction in pain together with several statistically significant secondary endpoints, underscore the potential of AQX-1125 as a once daily, oral therapy for this debilitating disease.”

Aquinox also provided a general business update, recapping news from July when the company reported negative FLAGSHIP trial results for AQX-1125 as treatment for chronic pulmonary disease (COPD). As such, the company said it is not planning further development of AQX-1125 as a potential treatment for COPD.

Aquinox instead is reallocating resources to the prioritization of its activities to support possible future registration and planned pivotal clinical trials with AQX-1125 for bladder pain syndrome/interstitial cystitis (BPS/IC) and is deferring the initiation of its phase 2 trial in chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps.

Also on deck is approaching top line data in KINSHIP, a phase 2 clinical trial to evaluate the safety and efficacy of AQX-1125 in atopic dermatitis. Target enrollment in the KINSHIP trial was achieved in early May 2015, and the company anticipates top line data from the trial in Q4 2015.

With Aquinox successfully advancing AQX-1125 for the treatment of a disease affecting between 5 and 12 million Americans each year, the company is aptly positioned to drive shareholder value – warranting a second glance at the small company making big waves in the biotech market.

For more information visit www.aqxpharma.com

PEDEVCO is focused on acquiring and developing high growth energy projects, including shale oil and gas assets, in the United States. Though the company’s principal asset is its D-J Basin Asset located in the D-J Basin in Colorado, PEDEVCO last month reported the initiation of drilling operations on seven new Wattenberg horizontal wells in Weld County, Colorado. The company has a 25 percent working interest in each of the seven wells and is on the fast-track to finish 2015 with strength.

Since its founding as a private company in 2011, PEDEVCO has steadily increased its acreage holding from less than 5,000 acres to current holdings of more than 25,000 net acres, demonstrating the company’s ability to identify and move-in on key growth opportunities. The Wattenberg locations represent one of several near-term growth drivers for PEDEVCO, which also include strategic downspacing, improved drilling and completion techniques and reducing costs.

A more long-term driver is the company’s intended merger with Dome Energy. In May 2015, PEDEVCO announced its merger agreement with Dome in which PEDEVCO will acquire all the U.S. oil and gas assets of Dome. On the operational side, PEDEVCO management sees great benefits in Dome’s expertise in conventional plays, diverse portfolio of operated wells, low cost and low risk production, and long-life, low decline production. Financially, Dome comes to the table with a strong balance sheet and cash flow generation, long-term hedges significantly above current market rates, low OPEX production, and a lower cost of capital with a 3.75 percent bank credit facility. Combined, PEDEVCO anticipates increased pro forma production to 3,300 BOE/D at closing, and an estimated PV10 of 1P reserves of approximately $280 million.

If PEDEVCO’s track record is any inclination, the company is well prepared to fully take advantage of these drivers.

Spearheading this momentum is a management team with collective decades of global experience in the oil and gas industry. PEDEVCO CEO Frank Ingriselli has more than 35 years of experience in the industry as a seasoned leader and entrepreneur with wide-ranging E&P experience in diverse geographies, business climates and political environments. Ingriselli is the founder of Pacific Asia Petroleum, Inc. – later known as CAMAC Energy Inc. (NYSE:CAK) – which has operations in Africa.

Prior to Pacific Asia Petroleum, Ingriselli spent 23 years at Texaco in diverse senior executive positions involving in power and gas operations, merger and acquisition activities, pipeline operations and corporate development. His tenure at Texaco included the positions of:

• President of Texaco Technology Ventures
• President and CEO of the Timan Pechora Company (owned by affiliates of Texaco, Exxon, Amoco, Norsk Hydro and Lukoil)
• President of Texaco International Operations Inc.

Ingriselli led Texaco’s global initiatives in exploration and development in key new countries at that time, including China and Russia, and was integral in the signing the company’s first successful international oil contract in China in 1983, which today is still generating over $1 billion a year in revenues.

Under this leadership, and despite a more than 50-percent drop in the price of oil, PEDEVCO in the first quarter of 2015 grew revenues to approximately $1.5 million compared to $1 million the year prior. Production for the same period grew to approximately 49,000 BOE from approximately 13,000 BOE in the comparable quarter of 2014.

Moving forward, PEDEVCO in a news release said it plans to maintain its pace, close its merger with Dome, and continue its focus on building shareholder value.

For more information, visit www.pacificenergydevelopment.com

Successful Close of $41.4 Million Launches “The Vape Store” Retail Expansion

One of the leading U.S. based distributors and retailers of e-cigs, e-liquids, e-hookahs and personal vaporizers, Vapor Corp. recently closed on a $41.4 million capital raise (NASDAQ: VAPO) (NASDAQ: VPCOU). The newly traded 3.76 million units consist of one-fourth of a share of Series A preferred stock and 20 Series A warrants, offering an intriguing investment opportunity.

“Following the completion of our recent public offering, we are extraordinarily well funded and well-positioned to execute against our business plan swiftly and judiciously,” said Jeff Holman, CEO of Vapor Corp. “This significant infusion of capital will allow us to accelerate our retail expansion through a combination of new store launches and a roll up, in the form of purchasing existing, profitable vape store locations. The current retail environment is highly fragmented and ripe for consolidation. “

Vapor Corp. designs, markets, and distributes electronic cigarettes and accessories and has a broad array of products already available in the company’s portfolio, including the most popular disposable electronic cigarette in the industry, KRAVE®, which uses proprietary technology to offer consumers a product that looks and feels like a real cigarette, but without ash, flame, odor, tar, or second-hand smoke, Vapor Corp. has an established retail presence which will enable the company to expand quickly through both traditional and emerging channels. They have a commitment to innovation demonstrated by the early adoption of patent-pending biometric fingerprint locking system and the first-ever Mechanical Vaping Lock (MVL), important adaptations to help prevent minors from using the products.

E-cig sales in the U.S. more than doubled between 2012 and 2013 to over $630 million and Wells Fargo analysts put subsequent year-over-year growth at 47 percent for the overall e-cig market. Euromonitor data indicates equivalent growth for the space last year, with estimates of 40 to 50 percent growth to as high as $3 billion domestically and $5 billion internationally during 2014. Wells Fargo has even predicted that the e-cig market will outstrip traditional cigarettes by as early as 2024. Combined UBS and Wells Fargo data indicates that the U.S. e-cig market will likely be worth around $10 billion within the next two years alone. These estimates confirm projections out earlier this year by BIS Research, which put the overall industry as being on track to hit upwards of $25 billion by 2025, growing at a 22.36 percent compounded annual growth rate. This is explosive growth by almost anyone’s standards.

Even more compelling is the underlying structure of the deal which holds intriguing profit possibilities. Initially priced at $11, each unit contains one-fourth of a share of Series A preferred stock which is convertible into 10 shares of common stock and 20 Series A warrantsexercisable at $1.24 per share. However the warrants were valued at the offering utilizing the Black-Scholes valuation method. Black-Scholes is a mathematical model used by the financial industry to value derivative securities such as options and warrants. This model places the intrinsic value of just the 20 warrants at $21.80. Digging further into SEC filings reveals that even if the price of the unit declines the unit holders are entitled to more shares in exchange for their warrants virtually guaranteeing them a substantial profit (https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/844856/000149315215003079/ex4-2.htm).

The track record of Dawson James in this arena is exceptional. The firm recently underwrote a similarly structured highly successful offering, Great Basin Scientific (NASDAQ: GBSNU), which has nearly doubled since March.

Vapor Corp. now has the kind of capital momentum needed to execute its expansion strategy and, given the structure of the deal, investors have even more compelling reasons to own the units.

To learn more please visit www.vapor-corp.com

Palatin Technologies, Inc. (NYSE MKT: PTN) is a biopharmaceutical company developing targeted, receptor-specific peptide therapeutics for the treatment of diseases with significant unmet medical need. The company’s leading product candidate, Bremelanotide, is currently set to begin two phase III clinical trials for the treatment of female sexual dysfunction (FSD). Additionally, Palatin’s development pipeline features a collection of programs and drug candidates addressing erectile dysfunction, pulmonary diseases, heart failure, obesity, inflammatory diseases and dermatologic diseases.

In the fiscal quarter ending March 31, Palatin made significant progress toward the eventual commercialization of Bremelanotide. In February, the company launched a clinical trial website in support of the impending phase III reconnect study that will serve as a source of information for women interested in participating in the Bremelanotide trials. As of its latest update, enrollment for Palatin’s trials was meeting target objectives, clearing the way for initiation of the pivotal study in the months to come.

“We are extremely pleased that enrollment in our two phase III studies of Bremelanotide for the treatment of FSD is on track,” Carl Spana, president and chief executive officer of Palatin, stated in a news release. “[W]e anticipate completing enrollment in the second half of calendar year 2015 and reporting top-line results in mid-calendar year 2016.”

Upon completion of clinical development, Bremelanotide is expected to become the first product approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of FSD, giving Palatin a significant strategic advantage following commercialization. According to Florida Hospital, an estimated 63 million women in the U.S., or 40 percent of the female population, suffer from FSD. As a point of comparison, consider that the market for erectile dysfunction (ED) therapy, which affects an estimated 30 million men in the U.S., is expected to account for sales of approximately $2.5 billion this year, according to Medtech Insight. Although no FSD treatment is currently approved, the strong performance of the ED treatment market could provide some insight into the massive commercial potential of Bremelanotide in the years to come.

As of its latest financial report, Palatin reported $36.7 million in cash and cash equivalents, which is expected to adequately fund its operations through the quarter ending June 30, 2016. For prospective shareholders, the company’s favorable cash position, as well as the considerable market potential of its leading product candidate, makes Palatin an intriguing investment opportunity moving forward.

For more information, visit www.palatin.com

Northern Freegold Resources Ltd. (OTC: NFRGF) (VSE: NFR.CA) is a growth-oriented precious metals exploration and development company headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. The company’s primary exploration property, the Freegold Mountain Project, is located in south-central Yukon and covers zones of mineralization that host established inferred gold resources, including an extensive collection of claims staked in recent decades by Bill Harris, the company’s founder and director. NFRGF’s second project, located on its Burro Creek property in Arizona, also features a historical resource with significant expansion potential, as well as ideal climate conditions to foster year-round field operations. Through the continued exploration and development of these promising properties, NFRGF will look to promote strong financial growth and sustainable investor returns moving forward.

In 2014, prospective shareholders were given a preview of the production potential of the company’s Yukon project, as the Fraser Institute’s Annual Survey of Mining Companies ranked the Yukon Territory within the world’s top 10 jurisdictions in terms of both mineral potential and investment attractiveness. This recognition followed an exploration boom in the region from 2010 to 2012 that resulted in the identification of more than 7.3 million ounces of gold in new discoveries and 23 million ounces of gold added to known deposits. As a member of the Yukon Mining Alliance, this potential could foreshadow big opportunities for NFRGF in the future.

“Yukon remains one of the top jurisdictions in the world for mineral investment and has weathered the challenging markets faced by all junior explorers and developers,” John McConnell, chairman of the Yukon Mining Alliance, stated in a news release. “The Yukon government works collaboratively with our member companies, industry representatives and First Nations to advance and improve opportunities in the minerals sector for our communities, our economy and our shareholders.”

To date, NFRGF has identified more than 20 mineralized zones on its expansive Freegold Mountain Project – including 1.3 million indicated and 0.8 million inferred gold ounces delineated at its promising Nucleus deposit, as well as more than 1.0 million inferred gold ounces delineated at the adjacent Revenue deposit. In the coming months, the company will lean on the expertise of its seasoned management team, which features well over a century of combined industry experience, as it continues to make progress toward translating its considerable resources into improved financial returns.

For more information, visit www.northernfreegold.com

Operators around the globe are actively seeking franchise opportunities with Giggles N’ Hugs, owner of a growing number of family-friendly restaurants on the West Coast of the United States. Since the company opened the doors of its first Southern California location in 2008, franchisees (large, small, domestic and international) have sought to take its concept into new markets. Large multi-unit franchising operators and small individual franchisees from Asia, Australia, Canada, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and almost every major city in the United States have expressed interest in Giggles N’ Hugs franchise opportunities because the company’s formula has proven effective.

1. Location, Location, Location

In the five years since its founding, Giggles N’ Hugs has set up three thriving locations in the Los Angeles, California area. It has one restaurant in the Westfield Mall in Century City, another in the Westfield Topanga shopping center in Woodland Hills and a third in the Glendale Galleria in Glendale. And it has structured them so that each restaurant offers, under one roof, the upscale, organic food that adults care about as well as the active, cutting-edge entertainment that kids care even more about. At Giggles N’ Hugs’ restaurants, parents can come in and relax with outstanding food while their kids have a blast.

2. Celebrity Endorsements

Owing to their proximity to Hollywood, the Giggles N’ Hugs restaurants count among their clientele many of America’s glitterati, including celebrity parents Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Victoria Beckham, Marcia Cross, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tobey Maguire, Ellen Pompeo, Adam Sandler, Dennis Quaid and Mark Walhberg. The award-winning company has also received stamps of approval from Yelp and CitySearch (it was voted the #1 Family Restaurant) and Nickelodeon (it was voted the #1 Birthday Party Place).

3. Unlimited Play

Every Giggles N’ Hugs location offers a posh, adult-friendly and kid-friendly ambiance and a unique, custom-made 2000 square-foot play area for children 10 and younger. All-day activities (e.g. crafts, face painting and karaoke) and nightly entertainment (e.g. concerts, magic shows and puppet shows) are also on the menu as are fresh and local organic foods. And for the families that want to host special occasions for their kids either at one of the company’s locations or in their own homes, Giggles N’ Hugs offers hugely popular themed birthday party packages (rated #1 in Los Angeles), such as a Marvel superhero party to a Disney princess party.

Giggles N’ Hugs is a growing restaurant chain that believes everyone needs some giggles and hugs.

For more information, visit www.gigglesnhugs.com/investor-relations/

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