Reed’s, Inc. makes top-selling sodas sold in natural food markets nationwide. The company’s product offerings are being sold through specialty gourmet and natural food stores, retail supermarkets, and restaurants across the US and Canada.

The company’s six award-winning, non-alcoholic ginger brews are unique in the beverage industry. Reed’s beverages are brewed, not manufactured, and Reed’s uses fresh ginger, spices, and fruits in a unique brewing process. This brewing process originated in the Caribbean and predates modern soft drinks. The company also makes other related products, including ginger candies and ginger ice creams.

Ginger, derived from a root, is known around the globe for its health benefits. Ginger has traditionally been used to treat various ailments, including improving digestion, helping with arthritic pain, and curing motion and morning sickness. Recent studies have shown that ginger is also an anti-cancer agent.

This worldwide perception of the health benefits of ginger has helped Reed’s expand their

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AuthenTec, Inc. stock was upgraded from “Outperform” to “Strong Buy” by Raymond James Financial on Thursday (June 12th). The announcement fueled a rapid appreciation of 12.3 percent for the day.

AuthenTec itself has been growing by leaps and bounds, seeing a 67 percent revenue increase in the first quarter of 2008. In a recent conference call held to discuss the quarter ended March 31st, the company expressed the belief that 2008 revenues will only continue to grow. It is estimated that earnings for the second quarter will total more than $17.2 million, as a result of large-volume shipments of the company’s “AES 2810″ PC fingerprint-authentication product. It has also been reported that Intel’s Montevina laptops will come equipped with the AES 2810 sensors, to begin shipping in the second half of 2008.

In addition, AuthenTec has announced its intent to step up research and development efforts in a play for an

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Some companies just have all the luck. They work to find what they know could be a lucrative product, and find it. Then, to top off the find, the product’s value shoots through the roof just as the company’s efforts hit their production stride. Timing and luck - there is little one can do to predict it, but when the two get together there’s a solid payday on the way.

New Century Energy Corp., an oil and gas exploration and development company, works to explore and develop oil and gas properties in Texas. The company currently owns over 20,000 acres of oil producing properties and is working to increase its holdings through 2008. Where many smaller oil and gas exploration companies are looking to recapture or find new sources of oil and gas, New Century Energy is producing oil and gas with positive revenue results.

In the first quarter of 2008, the

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Last Mile Logistics Group, Inc. (OTCBB: LMLG) reported an increase of 37% in revenues for the first quarter of 2008. This prosperous increase follows last year’s increase of 47% compared to the fourth quarter of 2006. Although fuel costs have increased dramatically in the past couple of months, the company’s gross margin also increased in the first quarter of 2008 by 26%, totaling $230,207. This increase is attributed to the growth in revenue and fuel surcharge agreements with customers to offset these cost increases.

Increases in revenue are attributed to business from a major new client for the home delivery of cabinets, as well as several other new customers in 2007. Despite an economic slowdown, the company has benefited from the continued outsourcing by companies to reduce their cost structure, combined with continued online purchasing of goods and electrics, which is dependent on a distribution channel that

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Ultralife Batteries Inc. (ULBI), a battery company that also offers products and services ranging from portable and standby power solutions to communications and electronics systems, recently increased the company’s second quarter 2008 revenue outlook from $65 million to $70 million to more than $75 million as product demand continues to increase and customers require expedited deliveries.

Ultralife’s stock posted a 25% increase in trading volume following the release of the higher earnings estimate. After evaluating recent sales and deliveries, the company boosted its earnings estimate due to strong demand from government, defense and commercial customers across the globe and increased shipments over the past quarter.

During the first quarter of this year, Ultralife Batteries formed a joint venture with its distributor partner in India. This new entity, Ultralife Batteries India Private Limited, is expected to expand the company’s global market share and increase sales to commercial, government and defense accounts throughout

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S&P Equity Research Analyst Scott Kessler rates SHANDA INTERACTIVE ENTERTAINMENT (SNDA) a STRONG BUY based on : 1. Solid first quarter results and conservative second quarter guidance provided early yesterday. 2. The recent sell-off offers an enhanced entry point. 3. Company is a well-diversified leader in the high-growth Chinese online games category, and in-game advertising unit and literature portal have considerable unrealized value. 4. Company is very undervalued. Follow the performance of this pick and Scott Kessler’s other recommendations at: http://www.trackthepros.com/categories.php?category_id=229

Yesterday we learned that non-farm productivity rose 2.2% in the first quarter of this year. Anyone who was working in an office or factory when the last recession hit in 2001 knows what that means—a lot of people have been laid off or had their hours cut back, and the lucky ones who haven’t are filling in the gap left by their colleagues’ absence. Here’s how the Bureau of Labor Statistics explained the current numbers: Productivity gains were due primarily to declines in hours worked. . . The decrease in hours was the largest since the second quarter of 2003, when they fell 2.1 percent. A look back to the 2001 – 2003 period reminds us that productivity continued to grow at a healthy pace throughout the recession. Wages, on a per-hour basis, rose, but not enough to keep up with inflation: Hourly ...

JoJo writes: "Now that Citigroup has posted its first quarter earning for 2008, do you still stand by your original analysis, or you think you have to revise it?" Thanks for getting my butt in gear for the update I promised, JoJo. As many of you may know, Citigroup (C) reported a loss of $5.1 billion in the first quarter, which hardly makes it easy to figure out what a more "normal" quarter would look like for them. While the losses and writedowns did go down in Q1, versus Q4, there is still plenty of cloudiness in Citi's results. Nonetheless, there is no point in shying away from digging through the numbers, even if they are complicated, which is why I even bothered writing about Citi in the first place. The first thing I did was update my spreadsheet showing Citi's quarterly income results by segment going all the way back to 2007. This ...