Holding company Player’s Network, Inc. (OTCQB: PNTV) on May 30 had the sixth highest volume on the OTCQB stock exchange (http://nnw.fm/B8bdC) after announcing that it had received its medical marijuana licenses to begin cultivation and production operations right away. The trend continued on May 31, when Player’s Network had the 10th highest volume on the OTCQB, up 9.2 percent and closing at $0.070 per share. Following yesterday’s news of a corporate milestone and first revenues, Player’s Network continued to climb, setting a new 52-week high of $0.075 at market close.

In a press release (http://nnw.fm/y8hOK) on Tuesday, Player’s Network said the medical marijuana licenses will allow the company to grow an unlimited amount of plant and to produce marijuana extracts and edible products in its 27,000-square-foot production facility located in North Las Vegas, Nevada. Cultivation and production operations would be conducted by Green Leaf Farms Holdings, LLC, where Player’s Network owns an 85 percent stake. Green Leaf Farms planned to begin planting operations immediately, with rosin and cold-water hash products to be the first products taken to the Nevada market in the near future.

In addition, PNTV followed this up on Thursday by announcing its first revenues and the awarding of Nevada licenses that allow the company to supply recreational marijuana products to Nevada-based retail dispensaries (http://nnw.fm/XMQ4u). Once distribution of recreational marijuana to Nevada dispensaries begins, as early as the first of July, this represents another source of revenue for Green Leaf and further opens the company to the burgeoning Nevada tourism market.

Player’s Network Director Brett Pojunis said the company expects the market to respond well to its products, as it has with other public companies that have gone through the same licensing process. Pojunis also said he expected the company to start generating significant revenue and that becoming fully operational after obtaining its cultivation and production licenses was a major milestone for Player’s Network. The sentiment was echoed by CEO Mark Bradley, who said the licensing finally allows Player’s Network to focus on its goal of developing high-quality brands within the medical marijuana industry. Bradley also voiced appreciation for the company’s production facility, which, he said, is likely to become one of the leading medical marijuana production hubs in the world once it is fully built.

A diversified holding company with a presence in the marijuana and media industries, Player’s Network focuses on developing profitable businesses in the cannabis industry. The company provides investors with various opportunities on the market and its current holdings range from startups to fully operational firms. A large part of its operations on the medical marijuana market, including cultivation and production of extracts and edibles, is conducted via Green Leaf Farms.

The company’s activity in the media sector is represented by wholly owned subsidiary WeedTV.com, a lifestyle channel and niche social network for the cannabis industry. The channel aims to be a leading source of information, products, services and entertainment for people interested in the marijuana industry and lifestyle.

Company division Marijuana Accelerator is also an important component of Player’s Network marijuana industry operations. A smart ecosystem specifically designed to connect investors and entrepreneurs to the company’s network, Marijuana Accelerator’s main goal is to identify resources for Player’s Network.

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

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Diversified zinc fertilizer and silver producing green technology company Itronics (OTC: ITRO) recently announced it has commenced silver bullion production using e-scrap as a cost-reducing, precious metal-bearing raw material. E-scrap, which is ground-up computer circuit boards, is plentifully available and, therefore, offers a prime resource and an exceptional opportunity for the expansion of the company’s breakthrough recovery operation.

The bullion sales resulting from Itronics’ pioneering extraction process are anticipated to begin generating revenue for the company early in the third quarter of 2017. This new revenue stream will come online just as seasonal fertilizer sales start declining for the year.

Itronics is the creator and operator of a vertically integrated silver-bearing photoliquid recycling business that specializes in manufacturing specialty chelated liquid fertilizers, which are sold under the GOLD’n GRO brand, as well as pure silver bullion and silver-bearing glass. In essence, the company takes one of the most toxic liquid waste products produced in the United States and transforms virtually every bit of it into usable products. Sales of the environmentally beneficial GOLD’n GRO fertilizer are exceeding expectations, and this new revenue stream from silver bullion will bring yet another addition to Itronics’ revenues in the second half of 2017.

Using one of its large furnaces, the company has completed more than 20 test melts, which generated a portion of the silver bullion shipped by Itronics earlier this year and has since produce several hundred ounces more that have not yet been shipped. Because of the success of these test melts, Itronics has begun operating its second large melting furnace, as well. Both furnaces are currently in operation now, and the company is establishing an operating schedule for its bullion production, with current silver bullion production at an estimated 1,500 troy ounces per month.

The company continues to optimize its process and identify and implement potential furnace operation improvements on its way toward continual operation. Itronics tripled its “per melt” production between January and mid-April 2017, going from 500 ounces per month to 1,500. It is the company’s belief that further improvements in the coming several months could even further increase these “per melt” recoveries by as much as 50 percent. According to the Itronics bullion sales agreement, the time elapse from shipment to payment is about 60 days. Silver bullion shipped by the company during the second quarter of 2017 will be reported in Itronics’ third-quarter sales results.

It is anticipated that this new “zero waste” technology of using e-scrap as raw material will substantially increase both the profitability of Itronics’ silver recovery operation and the company’s revenues. Because of the cost-reducing attributes of this breakthrough recovery technology, Itronics’ silver bullion production segment may prove to be the stable, non-seasonal cash flow-generating revenue stream the company has been looking for. As the silver recovery operation grows, the addition of gold, palladium and copper will even further expand and stabilize revenues for Itronics.

For more information about the company, visit www.itronics.com.

Now that 29 states and the District of Columbia have legalized medical or recreational marijuana, or are on the way to doing so, the buzz in the industry is being supported with hard data. A new comprehensive report from Marijuana Business Daily (MBD) is replete with figures, charts, projections and analyses that support the upbeat ‘animal spirits’ in the industry. Titled the Marijuana Business Factbook 2017 (http://nnw.fm/L2Tnt), the paper projects that revenues from medical and recreational marijuana products will surpass $5 billion in annual sales for the first time in 2017. However, until federal statute allows, banks are unlikely to handle these “high risk” payments, which opens the door for innovative fintech companies like SinglePoint (OTC: SING) to step in. The company is positioning itself to be a ‘first mover’ in providing payment solutions to the cannabis vertical through its SingleSeed payments subsidiary.

The MBD report, summarizing the responses of more than 800 business owners, executives, entrepreneurs and investors, reveals a more uncertain industry outlook. In the 2016 survey, the hazard of federal intervention ranked as the third-most worrying challenge facing marijuana business owners. This year, that troubling threat is now their primary concern.

However, there is a silver lining as sales of recreational marijuana have been going up. Adult-use sales in Colorado and Washington, which became legal in both states in 2014, exceeded $1.5 billion in 2016. Voters in the two states approved the legalization proposals in November 2012. In 2017, total retail sales of all categories of marijuana are forecast to climb by 30 percent over 2016, ‘hitting $5.1 billion-$6.1 billion,’ according to the MBD report. And in 2017, recreational sales are expected to surpass medical for the first time. Since the banks do not want to facilitate these marijuana-related transactions, that leaves an awful lot of cash on the table.

With its suite of payment options, SinglePoint is poised to take some of that cash off the table. The company is offering innovative ways in which customers and patients can pay for all their marijuana purchases. Its SingleSeed payments subsidiary provides cannabis shops and dispensaries with solutions that closely resemble the typical debit/credit card terminal.

SinglePoint also provides Pay-by-Text technology, which facilitates both promotional outreach and payments. Pay-by-Text offers a swipe-less payment option to customers. The purchaser makes a payment by sending a text message to the payment provider, who clears the transaction with the vendor.

With these technological tools, SinglePoint is taking its ‘no touch’ approach to the cannabis industry a step further.

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

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A prescient report (http://nnw.fm/T19dA) from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) lays bare the dearth of “basic” and vocational skills in the U.S. Despite a relatively high level of education, the U.S. experiences a weakness in basic skills when compared to other developed countries, according to the report. As a result, the authors of the study recommend making skills training for young adults more accessible, while linking this training to career development. This is exactly what vocational training company ProBility Media Corp. (OTC: PBYA) is doing. With its suite of training and test preparation solutions, the Texas-based educational technology company is out to develop the first full service training and career advancement brand for technical vocations and skilled trades.

ProBility is aiming to disrupt the technical vocations training and certification industry by creating the first full service training and career advancement brand in the technical fields. A major plank in this strategy is the development of online training programs employing virtual reality technology. In the HVAC field, for example, ProBility’s eLearning products under development include a full HVAC technician’s course that simulates the hands-on experience of a lab and physical school. This practical training is supplemented with a handbook produced by ProBility’s publishing division.

Details of the OECD report show the market opportunity America’s skills gap presents for ProBility. As expected, the ability to cultivate the aptitude needed to work at a trade is impeded if basic skills are lacking. Some math proficiency, for example, is required in most vocations, leading, generally, to a greater awareness and emphasis on developing numerate skills. However, literacy is just as important. Language is an important medium not just for learning but also for reasoning. Most of the time, our conscious cogitation is in verbal terms as we “talk” ourselves through a series of actions or a problem solving sequence. Having a command of grammar and syntax also aids in interpreting and assessing information. This may be why the U.S. also scored low on a related skill: problem solving in technology-rich environments.

More so than in other OECD countries, “socio-economic economic background has a stronger influence on adult basic skills.” However, basic skills are linked not only to employment outcomes, but also to personal and social well-being, the report goes on to point out. The odds of having low levels of health are four times higher for low-skilled U.S. adults than for those with the highest skills, a ratio that is twice the OECD cross-country average.

Other findings of the study point to opportunities for ProBility to deploy its extensive array of online training programs. Most (63%) low-skilled adults in the U.S. are employed, a higher proportion than in other countries. Consequently, they can be targeted through workforce development and evening adult programs. In addition, “participation rates in adult education and training are higher in the U.S. than in most countries at all skill levels, although, as elsewhere, low-skilled adults are less likely to participate.”

On par with these findings, ProBility is continually expanding the range of its training and testing services, through organic growth and by acquisitions, as it executes its strategy of defragmenting the vocational training industry. The company is positioning itself as a one-stop-shop for individuals, small- and medium-size businesses (SMEs), and large enterprise customers in the market for high-quality training services and materials to promote career advancement. ProBility is now, also, one of the largest wholesale supplier of electrical codes in the U.S. and provides exam preparation and certification in 22 states.

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

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There are clear skies over the NYC headquarters of UGE International (OTCQB: UGEIF) (TSXV: UGE) as the energy solutions company continues to build its business organically and through acquisitions. UGE recently announced its first-quarter 2017 financial results, boasting record revenues of $5.5 million, up 903% over the prior year period. Now, the global provider of solar energy services is on track to take that top line even higher as its order book swells.

The solar power industry is driven by renewable portfolio standard (RPS) targets, state and federal tax credits, grants, and favorable public support for ‘green’ energy. A renewable portfolio standard (RPS), or renewable electricity standard, is a regulatory mandate to increase production of energy from renewable sources such as wind, solar, biomass and other alternatives to fossil and nuclear electric generation. The industry has experienced phenomenal growth over the past five years, achieving annual growth rate of approximately 76 percent from 2011 through 2016. A new report from GTM Research and SEIA (http://nnw.fm/bnLW5) indicates that rate could be trending even higher, revealing that the U.S. solar power market grew by 95 percent in 2016.

UGE is on the frontline of this industry as it powers its way into photovoltaic energy solutions; its recent financial results reflect that position. In the first quarter of 2017, UGE reported triple-digit growth in revenues (as noted above) and lowered its net loss to $0.4 million, compared to $1.7 million reported in the first quarter of 2016, marking the smallest loss in the last three years and bringing the company closer to profitability.

At March 31, 2017, the company also reported that its order backlog reached $31.6 million, of which $20.5 million were “confirmed” projects and $11.1 million of which were “contracted” projects.
“Our first quarter results further illustrate the progress we are making as a company to grow profitably in the commercial solar sector,” UGE CEO Nick Blitterswyk stated in the news release. “Our team continues to focus on growing and executing on our backlog, as our expectations for the future continue to grow as well.”

UGE provides services at all stages of the solar photovoltaic (PV) project lifecycle, including consulting and project management, engineering and design, turnkey construction, and development. The company has been engaged in a number of high-profile projects in the Northeast United States, Canada, Panama and the Philippines.

It was involved in the 84-panel installation that will provide 25.2 kW DC to the San Francisco campus of file-hosting company, Dropbox, and also undertook the utility scale ground mount installation at Sandringham and Woodville Solar Farms for Invenergy Clean Power of Ontario that will generate 25 MW (megawatts) of power. With a resume of over 130 commercial and industrial projects, UGE has already participated in installations with a capacity of over 280 MW.

With such a sunny prognosis, UGE’s share price has been on the rise, increasing by about 30 percent over the 12 months.

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

Two significant acquisitions in the last three months is more than a pattern. It’s an out-right destination. This recent audio interview http://nnw.fm/8w4N9 with Greg Lambrecht, CEO of SinglePoint (OTC: SING), discusses some of the synergies and the immense opportunities that come with the company’s recent acquisition of 90% of Discount Indoor Garden Supply (“DIGS”) (www.DIGSHydro.com).

These strategic accretive acquisitions position SinglePoint to become a dominant player in the California cannabis market while never actually touching the plant.

In March, SinglePoint announced its acquisition of Orange County-based Convectium, which provides branding, packaging, equipment and a proprietary oil filling system ready to rock the cannabis market.
Earlier this month, SinglePoint added southern California-based DIGS to its portfolio (http://nnw.fm/oh7ZW), which brings immediate revenues to SinglePoint and positions the company as a leader in online products, retail stores, cannabis consulting and equipment throughout California.

Many cannabis-related businesses turn to DIGS Hydro’s online store and retail locations for anything and everything needed to cultivate cannabis products, except the seed and plant itself. The owner of DIGS, Carey Haas, has 25 years of experience in the California cannabis markets and brings his knowledge, experience and vast contacts with him to the SinglePoint family of companies.

As a specialized holding company, SinglePoint is building strong relationships as well uncommon companies in its quest to become the dominant force supplying products and services to the California cannabis industry.

The company is rapidly expanding its portfolio in the cannabis markets with strategic accretive acquisitions that profit from servicing the cannabis industry. There’s little doubt the marijuana market in the United States is poised for further explosive upside growth. SinglePoint understands its destination and has taken another huge step toward dominating markets and reaping the attendant rewards.

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

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ChineseInvestors.com’s (OTCQB: CIIX) first retail store is expected to open in June in San Gabriel, California. It will be among the first stores to sell “OptHemp,” a premium health product line launched by CIIX’s wholly owned subsidiary chinesehempoil.com, Inc. The “OptHemp” line will include OptHemp Ultra Premium Hemp Oil, the company’s first private label product.

CIIX offers educational tools and consulting services for Chinese investors. Recently, it has been pursuing its niche in the expanding cannabis (CBD) market. The company’s goal is to become a leading Chinese publicly traded company in the nutritional industry. CIIX’s retail store in California will primarily sell hemp oil-based products, which it will market via a new website, mobile application, and online distribution program to penetrate the rapidly growing hemp-based CBD market.

“I am very pleased to announce the launch of our first premium OptHemp product,” Warren Wang, founder and CEO of CIIX, stated in a recent news release. “Hemp oil is believed to have positive balancing effects on the mind and body of persons using them.”

The formula for OptHemp has been optimized to manage inflammation and pain relief. The OptHemp premium line is GMO-free, reinforcing the product’s purity to users. It is grown in organic farms in Colorado using a CO2 extraction technology.

“We believe that the desire for better quality of life in the Chinese community, coupled with the fact that the aging population continues to grow, will lead to continued growth in the alternative health sector and increased demand for natural hemp-based health products,” Wang said. “CIIX is confident that its OptHemp product line will lay a solid foundation for the Company’s entrance into the legal hemp industry and the alternative health sector.”

In the future, CIIX will focus on the distribution and R&D into the CBD market. Its products can be used for patients with epilepsy, Alzheimer’s disease, and cirrhosis of the liver. In China, use of marijuana is forbidden, though hemp-based CBDs are legal, creating a target market of approximately 2 billion consumers.

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

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Zinc prices soared over the last few days after top consumer China increased imports of the metal in wake of the country’s halting production as part of an environmental crackdown on the local steel industry. The Asian nation’s move to curb zinc and nickel production is likely to have a significant impact on global supply, with inventories already under pressure from growing demand and currently at about 342,675 tons (roughly 20 percent lower than last year), according to Reuters (http://dtn.fm/gP0yM). Zinc exploration corporations such as Vancouver-based Kootenay Zinc Corp. (CSE: ZNK) (OTCQB: KTNNF) are already exploring ways to step up efforts to find deposits so as to help meet the global demand for zinc.

Refined zinc imports to China jumped 21 percent year-over-year last month, reaching 47,469 tons (http://dtn.fm/H9mbb). Similarly, shipments of zinc ore and concentrates increased by 44 percent, Reuters said. This led to a significant increase in zinc prices, with the London Metal Exchange benchmark zinc closing up one percent at $2,658 per ton earlier this week – the highest since the beginning of the month.

Nickel prices also soared to $9,395, the highest in three weeks, as a result of growing Chinese imports. The halt in Chinese nickel production is unlikely to have a major impact, since the country accounts for only four percent of global supply. The situation, however, is significantly different when it comes to zinc, as the Asian nation accounted for at least 38 percent of global production before the crackdown. Both nickel and zinc are used in the steel manufacturing process – zinc for galvanized steel and nickel for stainless steel.

It is yet unclear how much of the country’s zinc and nickel production will be affected by the crackdown, but industry sources say the government is shutting down all steel mills that emit excessive pollution, along with zinc and nickel mining operations. Several of these operations might be reopened if they are found in compliance with environmental regulations, the sources added.

China’s move is likely to drive zinc demand even higher. According to the International Lead and Zinc Study Group, demand for the metal is already exceeding supply, and the difference is expected to reach 226,000 tons this year (http://dtn.fm/Lb7BC).

To help meet the rising demand, Canada’s Kootenay Zinc Corp. has already taken steps to expand its exploration program at its Sully property in British Columbia. The property is located near the legendary Sullivan Mine, which was one of the world’s largest reserves of zinc, with an output of over 17 million tons of zinc and lead until it was closed down in 2001. Kootenay’s Sully Project is located 18 miles from Sullivan, and both properties share different environments of the same basin.

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

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The global mobile revolution continues to accelerate. It’s estimated that, currently, about 4.8 billion individuals globally use a mobile phone, with about 2.3 billion of them being smart phone users. Smartphone subscribers now represent over half of the global mobile population. Mobile devices are fast becoming the go-to technology, even in mature economies where people can use alternative devices at home. Expanded mobile usage even engenders and propagates new behavior sets among consumers.

More mobile usage even drives the usage of mobile devices to make purchases. Approximately $37 billion in mobile transactions occurred in 2015, and that total is expected to explode to over $800 billion by 2019. Like the mobile phones and devices themselves, mobile transactions and payments will soon be commonplace.

Paying for transactions with mobile devices has taken off as a convenient and constructive option for both consumers and merchants. Consumers find it easier to rely on their phones for payments, while mobile point-of-sale transactions give merchants the ability to integrate loyalty and incentive programs into mobile payment applications, track customer trends and inventory, increase check-out speed and save money on credit card fees.

Net Element (NASDAQ: NETE) has been at the vanguard of facilitating this mobile point-of-sale (m-POS) boom, providing speed, security, accuracy, value-add and the convenience of mobile transactions. Net Element owns and operates a global mobile payments and transactional processing provider, TOT Group. TOT Group companies include Aptito, Digital Provider, Restoactive, PayOnline and Unified Payments, which was named the fastest-growing private company in America in 2012 by Inc. Magazine.

Through its wholly owned group of companies, Net Element delivers tailored turnkey solutions that fit merchant needs. The company’s online and offline payment capabilities allow merchants to transact business anywhere, any way and at any time. Simultaneously, Net Element’s mobile payments and value-added transactional platforms deliver speed and convenience to mobile customers, giving them the ability to make purchases with just a few clicks on their mobile devices, and provide an alternative to cash payments.

For these and many other reasons, SeeThruEquity, a leading independent equity research firm, recently issued an update and reaffirmed its price target of $2.45 on shares of Net Element. It appears that the mobile payments boom could be very rewarding for Net Element and its shareholders.

For more information, visit www.NetElement.com

India Globalization Capital, Inc. (NYSE MKT: IGC) has named Craig Cheifetz, M.D., as an advisor to aid the company in its clinical trials in microbiology, immunology, neuroscience, and biotechnology. IGC is engaged in the development of cannabis-based therapies, which treat pain, terminal neurological and oncological diagnosis, PTSD, seizures, and other life altering issues. The company, based in Bethesda, Maryland, has a portfolio of patent filings for its phytocannabinoid-based treatments.

In a news release, Ram Mukunda, CEO of IGC, welcomed Cheifetz to the company’s advisory team, noting that he looks forward to Chiefetz’s contributions as IGC develops unique cannabis combination therapies.

Cheifetz is the Medical Director of Inova VIP 360, Northern Virginia’s Concierge Medicine Program. He is also Regional Dean at Virginia Commonwealth University Inova Fairfax Campus.

He received his M.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo and also attended Georgetown University, where he trained in internal medicine. He was National GRMC Chairman from 2011 to 2013.

“We remain committed to accelerating our initiatives and building robust a portfolio of compounds to address large market conditions,” Mukunda noted in the release.

The company anticipates clinical trials in 2017 for several indications, including pain, a huge market. IGC has already filed for six patents in areas such as eating disorders and epilepsy, in addition to pain. It is working on several more filings for indications including depression, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Its lead candidate is IGC-501, and it has filed patents for the candidate in the United States, Canada and Europe.

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

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