Qualsec recently announced that VitaminSpice has secured an agreement with Cabo Foods Inc. Under the terms of the agreement, VitaminSpice’s vitamin-enhanced spices will be introduced to Cabo Foods’ West Coast distribution networks and major retail chains. VitaminSpice is a pioneer in the emerging foodceutical industry selling sells vitamin-, mineral- and antioxidant-infused spices and food products.

As a leading gourmet chip manufacturer, Cabo Foods currently has several high-end retail accounts, including Ralph’s Grocery, Albertsons, Whole Foods Market, Inc. Costco, Henry’s Farmers Market, Mother’s Market & Kitchen and Sprouts. This distribution agreement includes the states of California, Nevada, Arizona, Texas and Utah.

Ed Bukstel, chief executive officer of VitaminSpice, stated, “We are excited to work with Cabo Foods and their innovative line of healthy natural products.” Mr. Bukstel continued, “We should begin to further accelerate our sales with this new arrangement.”

Let us hear your thoughts below:

Some of the Western media has been picking up on the story of the summer here in Russia: our leaders have declared a war on alcoholism, which some consider to be a certain political grave.

Consider the odds: A ticket to the movies in Moscow costs more than a bottle of vodka. The entrance fee to a museum or an exhibition is also more than a bottle of vodka. A bottle of high quality beer (not to be confused with the swill drank on the trading floors) costs more than a bottle of vodka. Practically all wine - be it good or bad (except for one wine made by the French in Krasnodar Kray, all Russian

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DrStockPick.com Stock Report!

Monday August 17, 2009

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Acushnet Company, the golf business of Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), announced that on August 14, 2009, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit granted the company’s request for a new trial and issued other favorable decisions in its patent dispute with Callaway Golf.

Petroleum Development Corporation (Nasdaq: PETD) announced today that it has closed its public offering of 4,312,500 shares of common stock, including 562,500 shares issued upon full exercise of underwriters’ over-allotment option, at a price to the public of $12.00 per share. The net proceeds from the offering were approximately $48.6 million (after deducting underwriting discounts and

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Sino Payments, Inc., a company providing IP credit and debit card processing services to large retail chains in China and throughout Asia, announced that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Wincor-Nixdorf to provide the Sino Payments IP card processing system to retail chain, supermarket, and other retail customers initially in the Hong Kong market.

Matthew Mecke, Chairman & CEO of Sino Payments stated, “As one of the world’s largest and most important payment processing retail store hardware and ATM providers, Sino Payments is extremely pleased to work with Wincor-Nixdorf in HK to provide Sino Payments IP credit and debit card processing to Wincor-Nixdorf’s large regional client base. We hope to work closely as quickly as possible to identify potential customers in HK and Macau to provide our card processing services.”

Let us hear your thoughts below:

Consorteum Holdings, Inc., an innovative payment solution provider, uses a range of technologies to allow the convenient transfer of value to customers and employees. Their services include:

• Payroll Cards – Each pay period, funds are automatically deposited to the employee’s card account, providing them with immediate access to their payroll funds no matter where they are located. Cardholders can use their cards to obtain cash and pay for purchases as they would with any cash card. It’s an ideal solution for temp workers, students, and remote employees.

• Re-loadable Prepaid Cards – Many retailers prefer re-loadable cards as a convenient way for their repeat customers to pay for products, while encouraging brand loyalty. The cards can be reloaded at selected retail locations, online, or even at a bank.

• Non Re-loadable Gift Cards – These cards are especially popular for retail chains. They have

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“The Labor Department reported that prices received by producers of finished goods rose 0.3 percent last month, further blunting the prospect that the economy was veering into a vicious cycle of lower prices and lower wages known as deflation.” (See http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/business/economy/15econ.html?hp.) Analysts continue to be amazed that we have not yet moved into a deflationary spiral, given the weakness in the economy.

The amazement is due to the fact that most analysts still perceive the decline in the United States economy as one of a collapse in aggregate demand.

The amazement would disappear if these analysts considered that maybe the decline in economic activity was, at least, partially caused by a reduction in aggregate supply. However, most economists are still locked in their retreat to a fundamental Keynesian interpretation.

The banking industry has shrunk. The automobile industry has shrunk. Many retail chains have

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Sino Payments, Inc., a provider of IP credit and debit card processing services to large retail chains in China and throughout Asia, including supermarket chains and large regional multinational retailers, recently announced that the company is deploying its proprietary SinoPay Global Processing Platform (GPP) in Shanghai and Macau to service Asian regional retailers.

SinoPay GPP converts transaction processing systems from dial up point-of-sale terminals to a modern seamless IP transaction process, which reduces credit and debit card transaction checkout processing times by half. According to the Peoples Bank of China, the volume of bankcard-based transactions in China reached 16.7 billion, totaling roughly $18.6 trillion in 2008, up 22.5 percent over 2007.

“As the conversion from old dial up point-of-sale credit card terminals to Internet Protocol integrated card processing terminals picks up in Asia as it has at most retail chain stores and supermarkets in Europe and America, Sino Payments is poised

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Those elusive “green shoots” that economic optimists had been digging up lately were buried under disappointing data from the Commerce Department in Washington yesterday (Wednesday) when it was revealed that retail sales in the unexpectedly dropped in April.

Sales at U.S. retailers dropped 0.4%, the eighth monthly decline in the last 10 months, following a revised 1.3% drop in March that was larger than previously estimated.  Excluding auto dealers, sales fell 0.5%

Economists had expected an increase of 0.5% to 1.0%.  Since July, retail sales have shown increases only in January and February, and those were attributed to post-holiday sales.

The disappointing numbers indicate surging unemployment and the worst housing market in decades could temper consumers’ appetite for spending for years, analysts said. As long as consumer spending is muted, which accounts for about 70% of all economic activity, any recovery from the worst recession in over 50 years is likely to

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Investors are breathing a sigh of relief that 2008 is over, but they shouldn’t get too comfortable. After all, with a worldwide recession under way, investors can expect acceleration in corporate bankruptcies in 2009.

But the question is - which ones?

In the financial services sector, 2008 was a year of spectacular failures:

Bear Stearns Cos. and Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. were absorbed by JP Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Bank of America (BAC), respectively. Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (OTC: LEHMQ) filed for bankruptcy protection. And financial-sector giants American International Group Inc. (AIG) and Citigroup Inc. (C) were both bailed ...

We are in a transition between the old profligate energy economy and the new economy of relative scarcity, says James Howard Kunstler. He is not convinced the President-elect Obama is fully aware of the dramatic changes that lie ahead for America. Even if he were, says James, he’d probably be crucified for daring to talk about it.

This from Whisky & Gunpowder:

A lot of readers are twanging on me for refraining to castigate President-elect Obama for deeds yet undone. They’re discouraged by the advisors and cabinet secretaries he’s picked, ostensibly because the crew coming in are Washington “insiders,” meaning they can’t possibly see or do things differently.

My own starting point for this is the belief that in the years just ahead any sociopolitical entity organized at the giant scale will flounder — this includes everything from the federal government to global corporations to factory farms to centralized

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