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ValidSoft CEO Predicts Strong Year in 2012
With Its Class-Leading Telecommunications-Based Technologies, Elephant Talk Communications’ Subsidiary Is Poised to Take Advantage of Mobile-Based Payment and Banking Trends, Says ValidSoft CEO Patrick Carroll
LONDON – (12/28/11) – ValidSoft, a global supplier of telecommunications-based fraud prevention solutions (www.validsoft.com), today announced CEO Patrick Carroll’s outlook for 2012. ValidSoft, a subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (AMEX: ETAK) (www.elephanttalk.com), is perfectly positioned to capitalize on both key industry trends as well as emerging security threats, said Carroll: “We see 2012 as being a big year for us.”
2011 has seen major initiatives and announcements globally around the ongoing exploitation of the mobile phone and smart-phone as a convergence device for payments and banking. M-banking, mobile payments, the mobile wallet and NFC are all technologies where individual entrants and consortiums are fighting for market acceptance, let alone dominance. Whilst competing technologies and strategies abound, the delivery platform remains constant.
A new report by Barclays Corporate, for instance, predicts that consumer spending using mobile devices will jump 15-fold in the next decade, while Gartner foresees more than $429 billion of mobile banking transactions by 2015.
At the same time, 2011 has also seen a large increase in attacks aimed at the mobile phone, including phone-resident Trojans aimed squarely at the smart-phone as well as the relatively new concept of Pseudo Device Theft, including SIM Swap fraud. The latter is already proving to be a potentially huge target for fraudsters, as the rewards on offer are massive.
Card fraud remains a huge problem, with actual losses and the cost of fraud prevention, namely fraud operational costs, lost interchange revenue and disgruntled customers being a major cost item for banks.
These trends mean that payment and banking security technology is more vital than ever. For the expected explosion in the use of mobile devices for banking, payments and wallets to become a reality, a major requirement is that consumers, banks, and retailers have faith that these transactions are safe and secure.
In the sweet spot
Based on this outlook, we believe ValidSoft’s products are very much in the sweet spot. All of ValidSoft’s security solutions are based on real-time telecommunications, primarily using a mobile phone. Whether transacting over traditional channels, such as Internet and Telephone banking, ATM or Point-of-Sale, or over the emerging channels, such as M-banking or mobile wallet, only the mobile device will be required for providing security, both visible and invisible, regardless of whether that device is securing a secondary payment channel or is itself the payment channel.
“We believe we have the most advanced solutions for all of today’s and tomorrow’s security problems,” explained Carroll.
Three-track strategy
ValidSoft has also honed its strategy for bringing the products to market, which is expected to result in significant revenues for ValidSoft in 2012, predicted Carroll. The approach has three major prongs:
Firstly, ValidSoft will commence their joint rollout with their strategic partner Adeptra, the world’s leading automated communications company for servicing, fraud-processing, marketing and collections, in offering ValidSoft’s solutions around SIM Swap and card-present fraud.
Secondly, ValidSoft is positioned to provide the security technology that will enable the use of mobile-banking, mobile payments and mobile-wallets to take off in a secure fashion, Carroll said. “That market leverages everything that we are doing and should provide major long term growth for us,” he said. “We expect to be working with some major providers in 2012.”
Thirdly, ValidSoft will look to concentrate on the roll-out strategy for VALid-POS, the card-present fraud prevention solution. “We have now proven the efficacy of this product in a number of trials around the world, and have generated a lot of interest in the product from many issuing banks. We will focus on delivery of the service in 2012,” said Carroll.
About Elephant Talk Communications
Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (AMEX: ETAK) is an international provider of business software and services to the telecommunications and financial services industry. The company enables both mobile carriers and virtual operators to offer a full suite of products, delivery platforms, support services, superior industry expertise and high quality customer service without substantial upfront investments from clients. Elephant Talk provides global telecommunication companies, mobile network operators, banks, supermarkets, consumer product companies, media firms, and other businesses a full suite of products and services that enables them to fully provide telecom services as part of their business offerings. The company offers various dynamic products that include remote health care, credit card fraud prevention, mobile internet ID security, multi-country discounted phone services, loyalty management services, and a whole range of other emerging customized mobile services. For more information, visit (www.elephanttalk.com).
About ValidSoft
ValidSoft is a subsidiary of Elephant Talk Communications Corp. (AMEX: ETAK), (www.elephanttalk.com) and is a market leader in providing solutions to counter electronic fraud relating to card, the internet, and telephone channels. ValidSoft’s solutions are at the cutting edge of the market and are used to verify the authenticity of both parties to a transaction (Mutual Authentication), and the integrity of the transaction itself (Transaction Verification) for the mass market, in a highly cost effective and secure manner, yet easy to use and intuitive. For more information, please visit (www.validsoft.com).
ThermoEnergy Completes Facility Expansion to Support Significant Revenue Growth in 2012
WORCESTER, Mass. , Dec. 28, 2011 — ThermoEnergy Corp. (OTCBB: TMEN.OB), a diversified technologies company engaged in development and sales of municipal and industrial wastewater recovery and clean power generation technologies, has announced that it has completed a 28,000 square foot expansion that more than doubles the manufacturing space at the company’s Worcester, Massachusetts corporate headquarters. “The expansion allows us to complete the manufacturing stage of our $27 million contract with the City of New York to deploy an ammonia recovery system at the 26th Ward wastewater treatment plant by Jamaica Bay,” said Cary Bullock , ThermoEnergy Corporation’s Chairman and CEO. “The manufacturing stage of the contract is valued at $13.7M and we expect much of that to be earned in 2012. We estimate that we now have manufacturing space capacity to support at least $25 million dollars of sales revenue, and have begun preliminary steps to prepare for additional capacity expansion when needed.”
ThermoEnergy announced the completion the engineering design phase of the NYC project in August and has now moved to procurement, fabrication and construction of the system components. Once in full operation, the company’s Ammonia Recovery Process (ARP) will have the potential to prevent as much as 2.4 million pounds of ammonia from entering Jamaica Bay each year, helping the City to achieve its goal of improving the health of Jamaica Bay as outlined under Mayor Bloomberg’s Jamaica Bay Watershed Protection Plan.
About ThermoEnergy
Founded in 1988, ThermoEnergy is a diversified technologies company engaged in the worldwide development, sales and commercialization of patented and/or proprietary municipal and industrial wastewater treatment and power generation technologies. Additional information on the Company and its technologies can be found on its website at www.thermoenergy.com.
Cereplast Remains Confident in Collecting Outstanding Accounts Receivable and Has Implemented New Payment Terms
Under New Payment Terms, Accounts Receivable Has Not Increased
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 27, 2011 – Cereplast, Inc. (Nasdaq:CERP), a leading manufacturer of proprietary biobased, compostable and sustainable plastics, is providing shareholders with an update on the implementation of new payment terms being offered to customers. The Company also expects to collect all outstanding accounts receivables.
Cereplast has made adjustments in improving its current customer payment policy. First, all shipments to customers with outstanding invoices over 150 days have been halted. Second, more rigorous credit practices have been implemented including requiring advance payments, letters of credit or bank guarantees. As a result of the new payment terms, receivables outstanding have not increased. Also worth noting, Chairman and CEO Frederic Scheer has personally met with senior level executives of all of the customers with overdue invoices over the last two months.
Additionally, on December 21, 2011, the Company filed an amendment to its quarterly filing for the period ending September 30, 2011 to revise the disclosure in “Concentration of Credit Risk” and “Revenue Recognition” in Note 2 of the notes to the financial statements contained in the Form 10-Q. Cereplast had one large European customer that accounted for $7.6 million, or 36% of our accounts receivables, and another large European customer with $6.1 million, or 29% of our receivables. Management expects to be paid during the period December 2011 through February 2012, in accordance with agreed payments terms. These customers have acknowledged to Cereplast their agreement with the amounts owing and do not dispute the amounts recognized in revenue or recorded in accounts receivables by Cereplast.
As a result of the economic conditions in Europe felt by Cereplast’s European customers, Cereplast increased its allowance for doubtful accounts by $1.7 million in the quarter ended September 30, 2011 to reflect management’s assessment of credit risk associated with these customer balances. Cereplast is working with all customers to mitigate credit risk and ensure collection of all outstanding amounts.
Frederic Scheer, Chairman and CEO, stated, “Management has taken aggressive action to ensure that Cereplast will collect its outstanding receivables and has designed more rigorous standards for getting paid. While Europe’s macroeconomic conditions can be blamed for much of what we experienced, we had to adjust our payment terms to customers which will reduce the risk of outstanding balances becoming extended past our normal acceptable period. I have personally met with our major customers recently and I am working closely with each party to come to an agreement on payment plans to collect all of outstanding monies in a timely fashion. Two customers in particular accounted for 65% of the receivables outstanding as at September 30th, and we believe that the ability to make collections is manageable. I remain confident in our ability to collect on our outstanding receivables and look forward to updating our shareholders as we make progress.”
About Cereplast, Inc.
Cereplast, Inc. (Nasdaq:CERP) designs and manufactures proprietary biobased, sustainable plastics which are used as substitutes for traditional plastics in all major converting processes – such as injection molding, thermoforming, blow molding and extrusions – at a pricing structure that is competitive with traditional plastics. On the cutting edge of bioplastic material development, Cereplast now offers resins to meet a variety of customer demands. Cereplast Compostables(R) resins are ideally suited for single-use applications where high biobased content and compostability are advantageous, especially in the foodservice industry. Cereplast Sustainables(R) resins combine high biobased content with the durability and endurance of traditional plastic, making them ideal for applications in industries such as automotive, consumer electronics and packaging. Learn more at www.cereplast.com. You may also visit the Cereplast social networking pages at Facebook.com/Cereplast, Twitter.com/Cereplast, Youtube.com/Cereplastinc and Stocktwits.com/symbol/CERP.
Z Trim Holdings Seeks to Leverage International Expansion Opportunities in 2012
Company Expects Growth from New and Existing Global Markets
MUNDELEIN, Ill. , Dec. 20, 2011 — Z Trim Holdings, Inc. (OTC: ZTHO.PK), manufacturer of multifunctional dietary fiber ingredients for the food industry, today renewed its commitment to the development and expansion of its business in international markets expected to contribute to its continued growth in 2012.
In addition to leveraging new distribution and contract manufacturing agreements in the US, the Company is actively pursuing additional international expansion adding to recently signed agreements with Kienast & Kratschmer Ltda in Brazil and FX Morales & Associates in Mexico . Ongoing discussions with these companies and other potential partners are expected to result in new regional expansion activities in 2012.
“Throughout 2011 management has remained committed to building our capabilities and infrastructure to support our growth domestically and internationally, and we believe the stage is now set for success throughout 2012,” stated Steve Cohen , Chief Executive Officer of Z Trim Holdings. “The unique product attributes and functional benefits that our multifunctional dietary fiber provides positions us to capitalize on the numerous opportunities that lay ahead of us, this includes expanding into untapped markets such as the Middle East and Asia , as well as, expanded regional developments throughout Latin and South America .”
Through existing international relationships, Z Trim is exploring both distribution partnership as well as product development relationships that will allow Z Trim to enter new geographies as well as food categories such as meats and ingredient blending.
ABOUT Z TRIM®
Z Trim Holdings, Incorporated, www.ztrim.com, deploys technology, formulation, and product performance solutions built around cutting edge multifunctional dietary fibers for both domestic and international food markets. Made from either corn bran or oat hulls, Z Trim® fiber ingredients contribute multifunctional attributes for food product design and processing, including moisture management, texture and appearance quality, fat and calorie reduction, clean labeling, and cost-control. Z Trim® can provide enhanced eating quality, outstanding product performance, and frequently, improved nutritional profiles in meats, sauces, dressings, microwaveable hand-held snacks, baked goods, fillings, toppings, prepared meals, ice cream, cream cheese, dips, and many other food products.
Inuvo and Vertro Showcase Synergies with Launch of Daily Deal App “Kowabunga” on the ALOT.com App Platform
CLEARWATER, Fla.–Inuvo®, Inc. (NYSE Amex:INUV), an online marketing technology and services company, has partnered with Vertro™ (NASDAQ:VTRO), owner of the ALOT™ product line, to launch a Kowabunga® branded daily deals app on the ALOT App Platform. The Kowabunga app is currently available to the ALOT App Platform’s U.S. users, which make up a significant portion of the platform’s over eight million consumers.
The two companies, who recently announced their intention to merge and are awaiting the approval of the merger from regulatory authorities, see this as an example of the synergies to be had by merging Inuvo’s innovative products and Vertro’s platform distribution together.
Kowabunga (www.kowabunga.com), a daily deals site operated by Inuvo, delivers over 1,800 local and national retail deals covering more than 80 U.S. markets. Kowabunga is positioned to compete for the millions of dollars in monthly daily deals sales currently being generated on the ALOT App Platform via daily deal partners including Living Social, Ebay and others.
“Our ability to deploy a daily deals application within the ALOT App Platform in so short a period of time reflects well on the combined companies’ ability to deliver on the anticipated synergies,” said Rich Howe, CEO at Inuvo.
With over 25 million downloads a year, the ALOT App Platform offers consumers the ability to create a personalized browsing experience for surfing the web. Users can enhance the ALOT experience by adding apps from many popular categories including entertainment, news, social networking and shopping. Easily accessible at the www.ALOT.com homepage, the Kowabunga app can be installed from within the shopping category to instantly provide the consumer with daily deals across specific shopping interests such as dining, recreation, health and beauty, and much more. With a single click, consumers can also access local deals without ever having to leave the webpage they are on.
About Inuvo, Inc . and Kowabunga
Inuvo®, Inc. (NYSE Amex:INUV), is an online marketing technology and services company specialized in driving clicks, leads and sales through targeting that utilizes unique data and sophisticated analytics. Kowabunga® (www.kowabunga.com), an Inuvo brand, is a daily deals website that brings more deals in more places to both consumers and affiliates. To find out more about how you can work with Inuvo or Kowabunga, please visit http://www.inuvo.com.
About Vertro, Inc.
Vertro, Inc., together with its wholly-owned subsidiaries, is an Internet company that owns and operates the ALOT product portfolio. ALOT offers two primary products to consumers: ALOT Home, a homepage product, and ALOT Appbar, a piece of software that integrates into users’ web browsers. ALOT Home and the ALOT Appbar are used by consumers to display apps (also sometimes referred to as widgets or buttons). These apps provide consumers with a quick and easy way to access their favorite content online. There are hundreds of apps available for consumers to choose from, ranging from a weather app that provides an at-a-glance snapshot of the weather for the coming four days, to a radio app that enables consumers to listen to thousands of radio stations from around the world. All ALOT products and apps are free to download and use.
Z Trim Featured in Investors Business Daily
Surround Yourself With Best Thinkers To Stay On Top
By Sonja Carberry
Lonely at the top? Not necessarily. Leaders stay upbeat with the help of shrewd advice givers.
How to gather intellectual support:
· Win them over. Talk about a lucky break. Z Trim Holdings was being visited by Richard Mayer, former CEO of Kentucky Fried Chicken (YUM) and Kraft Foods (KFT).
Mayer was doing due diligence for a friend who was considering investing in the food ingredient manufacturer.
“We were smart enough to make some fried chicken with Z Trim for him,” CEO Steve Cohen told IBD.
After tasting the zero-calorie dietary fiber and learning how it’s used for salad dressings, snacks and the like, Mayer signed on as an adviser — and as an investor through Brightline Ventures.
· Drop that name. Energized, Cohen aimed for an entire board of industry experts. His next big get was Jack Greenberg, former CEO of McDonald’s (MCD). “It started snowballing,” Cohen said.
Z Trim’s who’s-who advisory board includes Roger Enrico, former CEO of PepsiCo (PEP), and C-suite executives from Procter & Gamble (PG), Unilever (UN), Hershey’s (HSY), Quaker Oats and Monsanto (MON). Each brings professional insight and personal investment to the table. “The far reach they have will be instrumental to our future growth,” Cohen said.
· Share the excitement. What won them over? Cohen points to his groundbreaking product and solid business plan. Plus: “We have a small company of employees who are truly inspired and believe in this technology,” he said. “I believe they saw that inspiration.”
· Reach out. “Some CEOs see it as a weakness to have to ask questions.” So says Datalink (DTLK) CEO Paul Lidsky. He views his board of directors as the brains who have the data center firm’s back.
· Ask for commitment. What ups a group’s effectiveness? “People who are willing to spend time with the CEO and the management team independent of the board meetings,” Lidsky said. “That’s how you leverage their expertise.”
· Do your part. Those advising you must understand the details of your business. Lidsky is consistently forthcoming with information.
“That fosters a relationship of trust,” he said. “If you lose the trust and the credibility, it’s hard to gain that back.”
· Bring in expertise. “The smartest people want the best talent around them,” said Jack Dunn, CEO of FTI Consulting (FCN). The management consulting firm delivers critical thinkers to clients in need.
Smart Executives Create A Circle Of Shrewd Thinkers And Tap Their Advice
Xtreme Oil & Gas to Present at the 4th Annual LD MICRO Growth Conference
PLANO, TX-(11/30/11)- Xtreme Oil & Gas, Inc. (OTCQB: XTOG.OB) (OTC.BB: XTOG.OB), a Dallas-based independent energy and oilfield services company engaged in the exploration and production of oil and gas properties in the U.S and a leading provider of salt water disposal services to the industry, announced today management will be presenting at the LD MICRO Growth Conference on Thursday, December 8th at 12:30 (PST) on Track 4.
The conference will have 101 companies presenting over two days and is being held at the Luxe Sunset Bel Air Hotel in Los Angeles, California. The LD MICRO Invitational showcases some of the fastest growing and profitable names on the OTC, NASDAQ, and NYSE.
Xtreme Oil & Gas
Xtreme Oil & Gas, Inc. is a rapidly growing Dallas-based independent energy company engaged in the exploration, development, acquisition, and production of crude oil and natural gas with operations producing oil and gas from properties it owns and operates in Texas and Oklahoma.
About LD MICRO
LD MICRO is a by-invitation only newsletter firm that focuses on finding undervalued companies in the micro-cap space. Since 2002, the firm has published an annual list of recommended stocks as well as comprehensive reports on select companies throughout the year. LD MICRO concentrates on finding, researching, and investing in companies that are overlooked by institutional investors. It is a non-registered investment advisor. To learn more, please call 408-457-1042 or visit http://www.ldmicro.com
Vertro Agrees To Be Acquired By Inuvo, Deal Valued At $19.57M
Vertro Inc. (VTRO) has agreed to be acquired by fellow digital media company Inuvo Inc. (INUV) in a deal valuing it at roughly $19.57 million.
Vertro is an Internet company that owns and operates two primary products for Internet browsing. Inuvo, meanwhile, provides marketing and other services to advertisers and publishers on the Web. Continue reading
Top 10 Advertising Stocks with Highest Return on Assets…SGRP
SPAR Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGRP) has the 6th highest Return on Assets in this segment of the market. Its ROA was 14.15% for the last 12 months. Its Asset Turnover ratio (revenue divided by assets) was 3.81 for the same period. Continue reading
BOPH, CMDI and CNW: Overlooked Small Cap Chinese Stocks With Earnings to Report
At least up until the middle of this year, small cap Chinese stocks BOPH, CMDI and CNW don’t seem to be showing any signs of an impending earnings slowdown. Continue reading
Elephant Talk’s ValidSoft Could Save The Financial Industry Billions
However, an innovative technology company named ValidSoft, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Elephant Talk (ETAK.OB), claims to have a real-time fraud prevention solution for this multi-billion dollar problem.
The Great Recession and the recent global slowdown have bankrupted some of the world’s most high profile financial companies and forced others like Citigroup (C), Bank of America (BAC) to lean on government support. Companies have responded to their new reality by reducing risky clients, keeping more cash, and cutting some services. Continue reading
ECTY, MOVE, MTG: Three Stocks Recovering Faster Than Indices
While equity markets continue with their ‘up one day, down the next’ play, Ecotality Inc (NASDAQ: ECTY), Move Inc (NASDAQ: MOVE) and MGIC Investment Corp (NYSE: MTG) are some good stocks to put money on as they are recovering faster than the indices. At the same time, these stocks are not exorbitantly priced and still available at lower levels. Continue reading
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