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To understand the internet you have to be open to change.

  (C)MBN 2006

Content is King

 

Written by Joyce L Chow & William Hoehne

To come here you have to be able to read.

Monte says to ability to read is the most powerful weapon in the world

MBN®

www.montebubbles.com for more MBN® news

 

INTERNET ADVERTISING IS THE FUTURE

sales@montebubbles.net

 

Banner ads and other advertisements can now be purchased thru eBay: Item number: 220003013686

 

(C) MBN 2006

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monte Bubbles now Licensing her image for use.

First there was ABC,CBS,CNN,FOX and NBC and now there is MBN ® Now associate with Mounte Broadcasting Network

( MBN unofficially the sixth largest supplier

of NEWS by and American company

averaging 200 Pages of news a day. )

MBN® is the Avis of the news business. Because we are internet we have to try harder and do more on less.

 

MBN® is proud to announce Dear Monte: talktomontebubbles@montebubbles.net

SUNDAYS ARE NOW PICTURE DAY

 

International news from Asia and Latin news in English and Spanish here now along with NASA and Vatican news

 

More exciting changes coming each day.

 

PEOs Help Companies Navigate California's Complex Business Maze

-- Burdened by environmental, labor and other complicated regulations, California is considered by many experts to be the most difficult state in which to do business. These complexities have led to the tremendous growth and increasing need for the PEO -- Professional Employer Organization -- industry in California.

A recent study revealed that 60 percent of California business leaders were frustrated by policies that restrict job growth and are rife with oppressive regulatory standards. The study conducted by the consulting firm Bain & Co. reported that the price of doing business in California costs approximately 30 percent more than in other Western states, and that California regulations are "more costly, complex and uncertain than those in any other state, by a wide margin."

The result of this tough business environment has forced many California companies to cut costs by turning to PEOs like CPEhr. The Los Angeles-based company has been an industry leader in California since 1982, providing clients with an effective outlet to outsource human resource demands in the areas of benefits, payroll, workers' compensation and other HR consulting needs. It's a cost-effective solution for companies operating in a tumultuous business climate.

"CPEhr can help with an employer's frustration with California's strict regulations by providing them with a team of professionals that assist them with a variety of services," said Mitzi Branvold, CPEhr's Manager of Human Resources. "CPEhr takes pride in educating California employers on the laws and regulations. We explain the possible consequences in regards to acting on impulse. When a client is faced with an issue and seeks our advice, we educate them about the reasons behind our advice, as opposed to simply reciting the law."

Many of those clients are turning to CPEhr and other PEOs in record numbers. The PEO industry serves between two and three million employees per year and is experiencing an increase of more than 20 percent annually, according to NAPEO, the national trade association for the industry. PEOs have penetrated just a fraction of their potential market, leaving the prospect for substantial growth wide open as the sector continues to consolidate and become flush with capital.

"This has created a great opportunity for California and CPEhr," said Branvold, whose company has a vast supply of professionals who specialize in laws, policies and regulations that are unique to the state. "Because of these changing regulations, CPEhr has to constantly stay ahead of the game by offering customized PEO services to California employers. CPEhr is currently doing this with the flexibility and courtesy that our clients expect and deserve

 

 

ViTrue, Inc. Partners With Publicis Groupe's Denuo

ViTrue Provides User-Created Advertising to Denuo Client Base

-- ViTrue, Inc., pioneer of the world's first user-created advertising platform, today announced a partnership with Denuo, the media futures consulting practice of the world's fourth largest communications company, Publicis Groupe (Euronext Paris: FR0000130577) (NYSE: PUB). Under the agreement, ViTrue and Denuo will work together to bring the power of user-created content to Publicis Groupe's various agency brands and clients. ViTrue's partnership with Denuo marks the first time a global communications network has partnered with a user-created advertising technology innovator to harness the power of social networking.

Tim Hanlon, Denuo senior vice president, said, "As the world of marketing becomes more transparent and sophisticated, the reflective voice of the consumer has taken on supreme importance. With an ever-expanding array of paradigm-changing technological advances, consumers today have unprecedented ability to respond to -- and even initiate -- ad messaging, transforming the discipline of marketing from a one-way monologue into a multi-layered dialogue. ViTrue is at the forefront of this phenomenon and seeks to harmonize the interests of both marketers and consumers -- and we're excited to help them do it."

Hanlon, who oversees Denuo's ventures activity and previously helped launch Starcom MediaVest Group's groundbreaking TV 2.0 practice in 2001, added, "ViTrue offers a powerful technology platform, a keen understanding of consumer behavior and unique insight into leveraging consumer-created content to impact marketing." With the partnership, Hanlon joins ViTrue's Board of Advisors as its charter member, offering strategic insight into the development of advertising strategies that capitalize on ViTrue's platform.

ViTrue and Denuo to Educate and Empower Agencies to Harness Power of User-Created Advertising

Denuo and ViTrue will work together to create products and services geared to help Publicis network companies understand the benefits and harness the power of social networking, specifically user-created advertising. This process will be critical, as the industry expressed some concern about user-created content during the June 2006 Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. "Because ViTrue is on the frontline of this explosive market, creating the standards for user-created advertising, we are in the unique position to offer Denuo, the greater Publicis global network and their clients critical advice and insights into key technologies, standards, consumer feedback and community interest pertinent to maximizing this powerful medium," said Reggie Bradford, founder and CEO of ViTrue. "We understand that marketers may have some initial reservations about 'letting go' of their brands. However, ViTrue's technology platform ensures that brand stewards can actively participate in the process, easing them into the brand-consumer paradigm shift that is being accelerated by the Internet community."

Global Medium and Reach Equal Large Opportunity

The Denuo/ViTrue combination clearly illustrates and takes advantage of a true global marketplace. User-created content is a global phenomenon, evidenced by the fact that ViTrue's video sharing community, www.sharkle.com, at any given time has video submissions originating from more than 100 countries. Global user-created content, coupled with the depth and breadth of the Publicis network enables brands to gain global exposure.

About ViTrue, Inc.

Headquartered in Atlanta, ViTrue is reinventing the way brand marketing is created, priced and distributed via an online video platform that combines user services, user tools and brand partnerships. ViTrue's Platform is a user-created advertising product that enables brands to leverage consumer creativity to produce more relevant and engaging advertisements at a lower cost of production. The Company's premier online video sharing community, www.sharkle.com, is the destination for more than one million unique users each month to watch videos, share videos, build community, and vote for the videos they like most. For additional information, please visit www.vitrue.com.

About Denuo

Denuo is the media futures consulting practice of marketing communications company Publicis Groupe, S.A., focused on anticipating and exploiting the rapidly changing worlds of digital, interactive and mobile communications. Led by Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Innovation Officer of Publicis Groupe Media (PGM) and celebrated industry visionary who was identified by Business Week as one of the Top Business Leaders in 2005, and by TIME magazine as a key "Marketing Innovator," Denuo provides strategic consultation, venture partnership and catalyst/activation services to network agencies and brands to enrich their marketing and communication options. Web site: www.denuogroup.com

 

 

Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc. Enters Into Agreement With Earthport PLC

Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc. (PINKSHEETS: SMKG) (FRANKFURT: QYH), a leading provider of prepaid cards, value smart storage cards and payment transaction management services, announced today that they have entered into an agreement with Earthport PLC of London to be its preferred financial aggregator for debiting and crediting of funds for international services.

In addition, this relationship will allow for the seamless integration of both VelocityMoney™ and VelocityMerchant™ to benefit from international processing for money remittance and fund reconciliation in one hundred and thirty countries worldwide in thirteen possible currencies.

Smart Card CEO, Massimo Barone, stated, "Smart Card is further pursuing the full integration of a turnkey offering for prepaid vendors/merchants to grant complete funding and money remittance to compete with the existing industry leaders on an international level."

Earthport Chairman, Mike Harrison, added "The Smart Card agreement demonstrates the widening appeal of Earthport's infrastructure offering to those involved in the global remittance market."

About Earthport PLC

Earthport PLC is a UK-based company specialising in the provision of secure electronic payments services. Earthport's key product is its Universal Payment Network, a payment infrastructure which links directly to traditional and modern banking systems around the world. The UPN allows parties to make and collect payments using bank accounts and card services in a secure and compliant environment at affordable rates. The UPN enables payment delivery in over 190 countries and in multiple currencies. The UPN is bi-directional and caters for micro to macro payments. Further information may be obtained from Earthport's website at www.earthport.com

About Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc.

Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc. has taken a mainstream position in the smart and prepaid charge card market to develop, integrate and to jointly deploy turnkey co-branded solutions for loyalty and payment management transactions. Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc. seeks industry suppliers and creates channel partners to better the availability of API's (automated protocol interfaces) that respectively are only available to preferred corporations/clients and manages the required protocol in-place by the offering institution for the merchant.

Forward-Looking Statements. This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements about the expected future prospects of our business and all other statements in this release other than historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "would," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," "estimates," or "anticipates" or similar expressions which concern our strategy, plans or intentions. All statements we make relating to estimated and projected earnings, margins, costs, expenditures, cash flows, growth rates and financial results are forward-looking statements. In addition, we, through our senior management, from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning our expected future operations and performance and other developments. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may change at any time, and, therefore, our actual results may differ materially from those we expected. We derive most of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based upon many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and, of course, it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Some of the factors that we believe could affect our results include: general economic and market conditions, including the lingering effects of the economic slowdown and services revenue; the overall condition of the bank card industry, including the effect of any further consolidation among financial services firms; the regulatory, credit and market risks associated with our operations; the integration of acquired businesses, the performance of our businesses; the effect of war, terrorism or catastrophic events; the timing and magnitude of sales; the timing and scope of technological advances; the ability to retain and attract customers and key personnel; and the ability to obtain patent protection and avoid patent-related liabilities in the context of a rapidly developing legal framework for software and business-method patents. The factors described in this paragraph and other factors that may affect our business or future financial results and when applicable, will be discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf as a result of new information, future events or other factors

 

 

 

Mainstream Software Climbs FM Market With Customer WinMainstream was selected by Boddie-Noell Enterprises (BNE), one of the largest privately held companies in the U.S, to provide CrossForm software to manage their facility operations. CrossForm will be used to manage all of the Boddie-Noell Enterprises, most recognized by their number one enterprise, Hardee's restaurant.

Boddie-Noell covered new ground with the Hardee's restaurant when fast food was a new concept. When Boddie-Noell began in 1962 the staff consisted of only three people. Today, BNE has grown to employ over 11,000 individuals. Boddie-Noell is the largest franchisee of Hardee's, operating over 300 restaurants. Additional ventures include: Rose Hill Conference Center, BNE Land and Development, Texas Steakhouse, Café Carolina, BBQ & Ribs, Moe's Southwest Grill and The Highway Diner. Mainstream's CrossForm ASP solution improves management of BNE's 300 plus restaurant facilities and their valuable assets. BNE is currently enhancing their CrossForm application by adding CrossForm Mobile Tech, Mainstream's PDA based solution. Mobile Tech will enable BNE's 40 technicians to efficiently capture data while working offsite. Technicians will be able to synchronize to the CrossForm database to send and receive up-to-date work order information, streamlining BNE's operations.

Highlighted Links

Learn more about CrossForm
Get more information on BNE

"We have been extremely pleased with Mainstream Software, Inc.'s CrossForm ASP solution and the professional services they provide. On April 20, 2006 we replaced our current CMMS application with CrossForm. This conversion went exceptionally well. The application itself has proven to be very flexible and easily customized. Our dispatchers have made several comments about how user friendly it is to use. Prior to selecting CrossFrom, we looked at numerous other vendors' CMMS applications. CrossForm was the only one that met 95% of our requirements, budget included. We were somewhat skeptical of the results of their reference checks. They all gave them very high remarks for the application and professional services, on a scale of 0 to 10; they would get 8, 9 and 10s. To this date, I must say that their reference checks were very much in line. CrossForm is a very powerful CMMS application with excellent features and functionality," said Paul Davis, Facility Management Admin Manager at Boddie-Noell Enterprises.

"We are delighted to add Boddie-Noell to our client family. They are a first class organization whose commitment to success is evident. It was a pleasure to work with the project team. I look forward to a successful long term relationship between Mainstream software and Boddie-Noell," said Eddie Forse, Project Manager at Mainstream Software.

About Mainstream Software:

Founded in 1989, Mainstream Software has successfully delivered the CrossForm CMMS solution, providing superior software, quick implementation, and unsurpassed personal service. CrossForm guides over 10,000 satisfied end users in efficiently executing demand and preventive maintenance, asset and inventory management, reporting, and wireless/mobile solutions. Companies utilizing CrossForm benefit by increasing asset lifecycle, improving productivity, and reducing operational expenses.

About Boddie-Noell Enterprises, Inc.

Boddie-Noell Enterprises, Inc. (www.bneinc.com) is a major food service company and the largest franchisee of Hardee's restaurants (314) in the United States. A diversified company with retail food operations in five Mid-Atlantic states and other interests in land and property development. BNE also operates 32 Texas Steakhouse & Saloon restaurants, 8 Café Carolina and Bakery specialty bread/bakery cafes, 4 BBQ & Ribs Co. restaurants, 8 Moe's Southwest Grills and an old-fashioned Highway Diner. Family owned, BNE is headquartered in Rocky Mount, N.C. and employs more than 11,000 people. Nation's Restaurant News recently included BNE again in its 2004 Top 100 Food Service companies in the U.S.

 

Chinese Investor Increases Ownership in Joystar, Inc.

Joystar, Inc. (OTCBB: JYSR), one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing travel agency networks and leading seller of cruises and vacations, announced today that Jeffrey Wu, a.k.a. Myint J. Kyaw, has notified the Company he is filing with The Securities and Exchange Commission, confirmation his ownership has increased to 9,296,967 shares of common stock.

Mr. Wu reported he has accumulated an additional 713,000 shares of Joystar since February 7, 2006 when he filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, stating he owned 8,583,957 shares of the Company's common stock. In the filing, he also stated he "may seek to change or influence the control of the Issuer, or in connection with or as a participation in any transaction having that purpose or effect."

About Joystar, Inc.

Joystar, Inc. (www.joystar.com, www.joystarcruises.com) is the one of the nation's largest and fastest-growing leisure travel agency networks and a leading seller of cruises and vacations. The Company sells complex travel products including cruises, vacation packages and group travel through its growing national sales force of virtual travel agents and online affiliates. Joystar offers comprehensive business opportunities that combine innovative technology, marketing opportunities and expert support services to the Company's independent and home-based travel agents. With Joystar, experienced and new travel agents can concentrate on promoting travel and creating client loyalty without the administrative and financial burden of owning/operating a traditional storefront travel agency.

 

Highlighted Links
Joystar, Inc.

"Forward-looking statements" as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 may be included in this news release. These statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. These statements are only predictions and may differ materially from actual future events or results. Joystar, Inc. disclaims any intention or obligation to revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise. Please refer to the documents filed by Joystar, Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which identify important risk factors that could cause actual results to differ from those contained in forward-looking statements, including, but not limited to risks associated with our ability to (i) increase revenues, (ii) obtain profitability, and (iii) obtain additional financing, changes in general economic and business conditions (including in the online business and financial information industry), actions of our competitors, the extent to which we are able to develop new services and markets for our services, risks in connection with acquisitions, the time and expense involved in such development activities, the level of demand and market acceptance of our services and changes in our business strategies.

Additionally, forward-looking statements concerning the performance of the travel and leisure industry are based on current market conditions and risks, which may change as the result of certain regulatory, political or economic events, a shift in consumer travel preferences, as well as those risks and uncertainties described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which could cause actual events or results to differ materially from the events described in the forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements.

 

 

See World Satellites and HughesNet(TM) Bring High Speed Internet Access to Western Pennsylvania

See World Satellites, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of FTS Group, Inc. (OTCBB: FLIP), today announced that it has partnered with Hughes Network Services to offer its HughesNet™ broadband satellite service to consumers and small business owners across the western Pa. region.

FTS Group CEO Scott Gallagher stated, "In the western Pa. market there's still a considerable number of people who are unable to receive high-speed Internet access from traditional cable or DSL sources available in larger markets. For these consumers, satellite broadband offers a fantastic alternative to dial-up service." Gallagher went on to say, "In this digital age it's hard to believe there are still areas where consumers have a hard time gaining high speed access to the Internet. Hughes is bridging that gap with its HughesNet product and we're proud to be able to offer the thousands of customers See World has served over the years another high quality product from an industry leader."

Unlike terrestrial solutions, HughesNet™ satellite broadband does not rely on cable or phone wires, making affordable broadband services available to consumers and small businesses everywhere, regardless of geography, at speeds comparable to digital subscriber line (DSL). The compact antenna dish needs only to have a clear view of the southern sky.

HughesNet™ currently serves more than 300,000 broadband customers in nearly 26,000 zip codes underserved by cable and DSL, all of whom have access to a state-of-the-art email system, a personalized start page, and easily accessible customer support services.

About See World Satellites, Inc.

See World Satellites, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of FTS Group, Inc. (OTCBB: FLIP), a publicly traded holding company operating in the wireless industry through its wholly owned subsidiaries FTS Wireless, Inc. and See World Satellites, Inc. The Company operates through retail locations in Florida and Pennsylvania and globally over the Internet through its web sites www.FTSGroup.TV, www.CellChannel.com, www.SeeWorld.biz and www.FTSWireless.com. For additional information about FTS Group, Inc. or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries, please review the Company's quarterly, annual and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.SEC.gov or contact the Company at the email or phone number below.

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in providing broadband satellite networks and services for large enterprises, governments, small businesses, and consumers. HughesNet encompasses all broadband solutions and managed services from Hughes, bridging the best of satellite and terrestrial technologies. To date, Hughes has shipped more than one million systems to customers in over 100 countries. Its broadband satellite products are based on the IPoS (IP over Satellite) global standard, approved by the TIA, ETSI, and ITU standards organization.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes maintains sales and support offices worldwide. Hughes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Communications, Inc. For additional information, please visit www.hughes.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Included in this release are certain "forward-looking'' statements, involving risks and uncertainties, which are covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company's financial performance. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to or implied by such statements. In addition, actual future results may differ materially from those anticipated, depending on a variety of factors, sales and earnings growth, ability to attract and retain key personnel, and general economic conditions affecting consumer spending, including uncertainties relating to global political conditions, such as terrorism. Information with respect to important factors that should be considered is contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

 

 

 

See World Satellites and HughesNet(TM) Bring High Speed Internet Access to Western Pennsylvania

-- See World Satellites, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of FTS Group, Inc. (OTCBB: FLIP), today announced that it has partnered with Hughes Network Services to offer its HughesNet™ broadband satellite service to consumers and small business owners across the western Pa. region.

FTS Group CEO Scott Gallagher stated, "In the western Pa. market there's still a considerable number of people who are unable to receive high-speed Internet access from traditional cable or DSL sources available in larger markets. For these consumers, satellite broadband offers a fantastic alternative to dial-up service." Gallagher went on to say, "In this digital age it's hard to believe there are still areas where consumers have a hard time gaining high speed access to the Internet. Hughes is bridging that gap with its HughesNet product and we're proud to be able to offer the thousands of customers See World has served over the years another high quality product from an industry leader."

Unlike terrestrial solutions, HughesNet™ satellite broadband does not rely on cable or phone wires, making affordable broadband services available to consumers and small businesses everywhere, regardless of geography, at speeds comparable to digital subscriber line (DSL). The compact antenna dish needs only to have a clear view of the southern sky.

HughesNet™ currently serves more than 300,000 broadband customers in nearly 26,000 zip codes underserved by cable and DSL, all of whom have access to a state-of-the-art email system, a personalized start page, and easily accessible customer support services.

About See World Satellites, Inc.

See World Satellites, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of FTS Group, Inc. (OTCBB: FLIP), a publicly traded holding company operating in the wireless industry through its wholly owned subsidiaries FTS Wireless, Inc. and See World Satellites, Inc. The Company operates through retail locations in Florida and Pennsylvania and globally over the Internet through its web sites www.FTSGroup.TV, www.CellChannel.com, www.SeeWorld.biz and www.FTSWireless.com. For additional information about FTS Group, Inc. or any of its wholly owned subsidiaries, please review the Company's quarterly, annual and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission at http://www.SEC.gov or contact the Company at the email or phone number below.

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in providing broadband satellite networks and services for large enterprises, governments, small businesses, and consumers. HughesNet encompasses all broadband solutions and managed services from Hughes, bridging the best of satellite and terrestrial technologies. To date, Hughes has shipped more than one million systems to customers in over 100 countries. Its broadband satellite products are based on the IPoS (IP over Satellite) global standard, approved by the TIA, ETSI, and ITU standards organization.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes maintains sales and support offices worldwide. Hughes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Communications, Inc. For additional information, please visit www.hughes.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

Included in this release are certain "forward-looking'' statements, involving risks and uncertainties, which are covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the Company's financial performance. Such statements are based on management's current expectations and are subject to certain factors, risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, events and performance to differ materially from those referred to or implied by such statements. In addition, actual future results may differ materially from those anticipated, depending on a variety of factors, sales and earnings growth, ability to attract and retain key personnel, and general economic conditions affecting consumer spending, including uncertainties relating to global political conditions, such as terrorism. Information with respect to important factors that should be considered is contained in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof.

 

 

Fitness Website Does Part of the Heavy Lifting

Many Americans wish they
exercised more. It's a fact - a recent survey conducted by
the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association
(IHRSA) shows an overwhelming majority of respondents
admitting their overall health would be greatly improved if
they joined a health club. Oddly enough, only a small number
of those respondents claimed to have a health club
membership. So what's stopping us? For many Americans, the
first answer that comes to mind is time.

We still haven't figured out how to add more hours to the
day, but companies like SignatureSpecialists, Inc., have
made the search for a quality gym or health club a lot
easier. Launched in April of 2006,
http://www.SignatureHealthClubs.com helps users narrow down
their search for a local gym or health club by offering
detailed descriptions of the classes and amenities offered
at each location, as well as the opportunity to arrange
personal tours of these SignatureCertified(TM) facilities.
In addition, users can benefit from a number of health and
fitness resources, including the most recent industry news,
customized tools for shedding those extra pounds, as well as
special membership discounts available only through
SignatureHealthClubs. The website even features a fitness
reminder system which alerts users of their health club
workouts by sending a text message to their cell phone.

There are many reasons not to work out - long hours, a tight
budget or simply not knowing where to start.
SignatureHealthClubs.com is specifically designed to provide
the information and services people need to bring them one
step closer to maintaining a healthy, active lifestyle for
years to come.

Presented by SignatureSpecialists, Inc.

SignatureSpecialists is an Evanston, IL-based company that
is devoted to consumer advocacy and quality in a variety of
service industry markets. SignatureSpecialists has created a
large network of SignatureCertified service providers in the
U.S., with expansion into Canada, Puerto Rico, and
Australia.

Consumers use properties like
http://www.HairRemovalForum.com,
http://www.SignatureForum.com and
http://www.SignatureContractors.com to find, meet, evaluate,
and ultimately rate service providers in the Signature
network. This comprehensive service and consumer feedback
allows Signature's online community to make smart decisions
about cosmetic and service industry purchases.

 

Mobile Ready CEO to Appear on Wall Street Reporter

Mobile Ready Entertainment Corp (PINKSHEETS: MBRN) announced that its CEO, Josh Eikov had appeared on the Wall Street Reporter to discuss the recent acquisition of Key2Travel.com and the Company's overall strategy.

The interview can be heard on www.wallstreetreporter.com.

About Mobile Ready Entertainment

Mobile Ready Entertainment Corporation is a wireless and media holding company specializing in the entertainment and travel vertical market segments. Through our subsidiaries we will develop, market and sell wireless application software and entertainment-based content for mobile devices. Our value proposition is to unlock, integrate and seamlessly deliver all types of data to wireless devices, whether streaming movies, music video or television content and digital radio delivery to the growing consumer market via channel and content partners -- anytime, anywhere. We deliver these products and services globally across most of the major cellular networks and prominent wireless device operating systems. For more information about Mobile Ready, please visit its website at www.mymobilereadyec.com.

For information about Key2Travel please visit www.key2travel.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 provides a "safe harbor" for certain forward-looking statements. The statements contained or incorporated by reference in this website that are not historical facts (including without limitation statements to the effect that Mobile Ready Entertainment Corp. (the "Company" or "Mobile Ready") or its management "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "intends," "foresees," or other similar expressions) are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on the Company's current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects on the Company.

There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by the Company. All comments concerning the Company's expectations for future revenue and operating results are based on the Company's forecasts for existing operations and do not include the potential impact of any future acquisitions. These forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond the Company's control) and assumptions

 

 

Youth Enhancement Systems, Inc.

Infomercial leader Youth Enhancement Systems, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: YEHS), led by its proprietary male thinning hair product, ProCede, announced that its 2005 year-end gross revenues topped $5,600,000 in its very first year of marketing ProCede. www.procedetv.com

"We are very pleased with our numbers out of the box, but clearly we have much higher goals for '06 and beyond," said Kevin D. Sepe, CEO of Youth Enhancement Systems, Inc. "We are on pace to double that number for '06, with both the additional market penetration planned for ProCede, plus exciting new products that have already demonstrated great results in early testing."

Youth Enhancement Systems is the innovator and Direct Response marketer of highly effective products and services geared toward solving problems associated with aging and other underserved sectors. ProCede is consistently ranked in the top 5 most aired short form infomercials in the U.S., ranking in the top 5 for 14 consecutive months, and reaching number 1 of all products in the Health and Beauty category twice in that time period (Infomercial Monitoring Service). Its hair product, ProCede, is clinically tested and proven safe and effective for producing fuller thicker hair shafts after just a single application.

 

To date, ProCede has received registration approvals in 28 foreign countries including the European Union, United Arab Emirates and South Africa, and the company plans on making an announcement shortly outlining international distribution plans for its powerful patent-pending formula.

"The products in our pipeline solve problems in virtually every pertinent sector," said Ken Oxsalida, Chief Marketing Officer for the company. "You may not have heard of our company, but if you have a TV set, read newspapers, surf the net or listen to radio, you've definitely seen our products. You'll be seeing a lot more of us in the weeks to come."

For more information on Youth Enhancement Systems go to www.youthenhancement.com or call Donald Braxton at Investor Relations 1-866-383-3765.

Certain statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "future," "may," "will," "would," "should," "plan," "projected," "intend," and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company's future operating results are dependent upon many factors, including but not limited to the Company's ability to: (i) obtain sufficient capital or a strategic business arrangement to fund its expansion plans; (ii) build the management and human resources and infrastructure necessary to support the growth of its business; (iii) competitive factors and developments beyond the Company's control; and (iv) other risk factors.

 

 

 

Youth Enhancement Systems, Inc.

 Infomercial leader Youth Enhancement Systems, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: YEHS), led by its proprietary male thinning hair product, ProCede, announced that its 2005 year-end gross revenues topped $5,600,000 in its very first year of marketing ProCede. www.procedetv.com

"We are very pleased with our numbers out of the box, but clearly we have much higher goals for '06 and beyond," said Kevin D. Sepe, CEO of Youth Enhancement Systems, Inc. "We are on pace to double that number for '06, with both the additional market penetration planned for ProCede, plus exciting new products that have already demonstrated great results in early testing."

Youth Enhancement Systems is the innovator and Direct Response marketer of highly effective products and services geared toward solving problems associated with aging and other underserved sectors. ProCede is consistently ranked in the top 5 most aired short form infomercials in the U.S., ranking in the top 5 for 14 consecutive months, and reaching number 1 of all products in the Health and Beauty category twice in that time period (Infomercial Monitoring Service). Its hair product, ProCede, is clinically tested and proven safe and effective for producing fuller thicker hair shafts after just a single application.

 

To date, ProCede has received registration approvals in 28 foreign countries including the European Union, United Arab Emirates and South Africa, and the company plans on making an announcement shortly outlining international distribution plans for its powerful patent-pending formula.

"The products in our pipeline solve problems in virtually every pertinent sector," said Ken Oxsalida, Chief Marketing Officer for the company. "You may not have heard of our company, but if you have a TV set, read newspapers, surf the net or listen to radio, you've definitely seen our products. You'll be seeing a lot more of us in the weeks to come."

For more information on Youth Enhancement Systems go to www.youthenhancement.com or call Donald Braxton at Investor Relations 1-866-383-3765.

Certain statements in this release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "future," "may," "will," "would," "should," "plan," "projected," "intend," and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company's future operating results are dependent upon many factors, including but not limited to the Company's ability to: (i) obtain sufficient capital or a strategic business arrangement to fund its expansion plans; (ii) build the management and human resources and infrastructure necessary to support the growth of its business; (iii) competitive factors and developments beyond the Company's control; and (iv) other risk factors.

 

 

Real-World Ruby on Rails" One Day Seminar to Take Place on October 3, 2006, in Santa Clara, California

By the End of the Day Seminar Attendees Will Know First Hand Why Ruby on Rails Is Described as "Web 2.0 on Rocket Fuel"

 

 

 

 SYS-CON Events (www.events.sys-con.com) announced today that the first "Real-World Ruby on Rails" One-Day Seminar (www.rubyonrailsseminar.com) will take place on October 3, 2006, at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Santa Clara, California.

In December 2005, when Danish-born David Heinemeier Hansson unleashed into the world of Web applications version 1.0 of the open source application framework he called Rails, written in Ruby, his aim was to help developers achieve simplicity and allow them to develop real-world apps using less code than other frameworks and with a minimum of configuration.

Ruby on Rails, as it has come to be known ever since, certainly hit a dry spot. Armed with Hansson's mantra -- such as "Don't Repeat Yourself" and "Convention Over Configuration" -- developers found that Ruby on Rails (RoR) empowered them, allowing beautiful code to solve the problems most people have in Web-application development.

"It's about taking the pain away and making you happy," Hansson -- who was a speaker at SYS-CON Events' inaugural "Real-World AJAX" One-Day Seminar (www.sys-con.tv/read/195218.htm) in March 2006 -- has said.

He went on to argue that he usually advises people to cut their teeth in Web-development on the mainstream offerings first, before using Rails, because as he expresses it: "Once you've tried developing a substantial application in Java or PHP or C# or whatever, the difference in Rails will be readily apparent. You gotta feel the hurt before you can appreciate the cure."

Those attending SYS-CON Events' "Real-World Ruby on Rails" One-Day Seminar, on October 3, 2006 -- many of whom by definition have already felt the hurt -- can experience the happiness first hand, when top Ruby on Rails practitioners share their insights, expertise, and code.

 

Real-World Ruby on Rails Seminar
(Click here for details)
Real-World Ruby on Rails Seminar

Sessions range from Dave Hoover's "Acceptance Testing Rails" to Robby Russell's "Rails Meets the Legacy-World." Michael Huffington will be there to talk about "RoR & AJAX," Alex Bunardzic to explain how Rails reduces the number of decisions when building Web applications, and Steven Baker will describe "Behavior-Driven Development with RSpec."

Joe O'Brien will give a session about "Integrating Rails into the Enterprise Through SOA" and James Adam will discuss "Plugging into Rails."

Real-World RoR will reflect the fact that, after less than a year, there are people using Rails for everything from social sites to mortgage applications to selling baby clothes to sending invoices to managing humanitarian efforts. Rails is already represented in just about any Web-application domain you can imagine.

According to Hansson, Rails is about "The ability to quickly deliver functionality without feeling like a hack doing it" and it is in exactly that spirit that our "Real-World Ruby on Rails" One-Day Seminar will deliver an intense and high-octane education. Colocated with the AJAXWorld Conference & Expo, October 2-4, at the Santa Clara Convention Center, Santa Clara, CA, the one-day seminar is being held October 3.

By the end of the day one thing is certain: every seminar attendee will know first hand why Ruby on Rails has been described as "Web 2.0 on Rocket Fuel"!!

Speaker Lineup

James Adam (Plugging into Rails)

Dr. James Adam is the developer behind Rails Engines and author of the upcoming 'Rails Plugins' shortcut from Addison Wesley. He has 5 years experience as a contributor to the Ruby community and is a Rails early adopter and contributor. James currently is part of a small internal development team in London, producing real-world Rails applications within a corporate environment.

Steven Baker (Behaviour-Driven Development with RSpec)

Steven Baker is one of the key figures in the Ruby community when it comes to agile software development. He is the creator and lead developer of RSpec, the Behavior-Driven Development framework for Ruby, and is a featured speaker on applying agile methodologies at many of the Ruby and Ruby on Rails conferences. Steven continues to collaborate with leaders of the Agile and Ruby communities. He provides training and mentoring on how organizations can improve their productivity and efficiency through workshops and private sessions.

Michael Buffington (Ruby on Rails + AJAX)

Michael Buffington has been an entrepreneur and Web application developer for over 10 years. Michael cofounded Price.com Inc. in 1998, authored an advanced-level book on Macromedia's ColdFusion, and helped architect measuremap.com, Adaptive Path's new Weblog analytics service. Most recently, Michael has become notable in the Rails community for developing and managing the open source llor.nu online game, a highly addictive and massive game with some very simple underlying principles.

Alex Bunardzic (Rails Reduces the Number of Decisions When Building Web Applications)

Alex Bunardzic is a seasoned software developer, with 16 years of full-time experience building comprehensive software solutions. He specializes in delivering high-quality software products that are focused on helping users and businesses achieve their goals. In order to achieve and maintain high standards of delivery, Alex advocates the Less Technology/Less Infrastructure approach. This is the reason Alex embraces Ruby on Rails and AJAX, as these technologies allow him to deliver dramatically improved products with only a fraction of the effort usually needed to supply such solutions.

Dave Hoover (Acceptance Testing Rails Apps with Watir)

Dave Hoover is the lead agile practices consultant at Obtiva Corp and author of the upcoming 'Acceptance Testing Rails' shortcut from Addison Wesley. He enjoys learning about and contributing to the craft of software development.

Joe O'Brien (Integrating Rails into the Enterprise Through SOA)

Joe O'Brien is a co-founder of EdgeCase, LLC, a software development company based in central Ohio specializing in Ruby, Rails and Web 2.0 application development and training. Previously he was a developer with ThoughtWorks and spent much of his time working with large J2EE and .NET systems for Fortune 500 companies. He has spent his career as a developer, project manager, and everything in between. Joe is a passionate member of the open source community. Recently, he founded the Columbus Ruby Brigade and has helped organize the Chicago Area Ruby Users Group. His passions are agile development in the Enterprise, Ruby, and demonstrating to the Fortune 500 the elegance and power of this incredible language. Joe is currently working on a book for the Pragmatic Programmers on Ruby and SOA.

Robby Russell (Rails Meets the Legacy-World)

Robby Russell founded PLANET ARGON in 2002, and it has now grown to be one of the most well-known Rails development, consulting and hosting firms in operation. He is also currently finishing his long anticipated book, "Programming Rails," for the leading technical book publisher, O'Reilly Media. Robby is well known in the Rails community, thanks to his popular Rails-related blog, robbyonrails.com.

Ryan Davis (Test Driven Development)

Ryan Davis has been using Ruby since 2000 and is a founding member of the Seattle Ruby Brigade, the ass-kickingest ruby brigade (per-capita). He has worked on and released coco/ruby, ParseTree, ruby2c, RubyInline, ZenHacks, ZenTest, and ZenWeb. He has not yet released BFTS, metaruby, or zero2rails but they are coming out RSN. His presentation at RubyConf 2005 on ZenHacks was very pretty.

Eric Hodel (Real-World Scalability)

Eric Hodel has been using Ruby for over four years and is a founding member of the Seattle Ruby Brigade. He has presented twice at RubyConf, in 2003 on a web application framework called Borges and in 2005 on MetaRuby, a re-implementation of Ruby in Ruby.

Sponsorship and Exhibit Opportunities

The Seminar will be sponsored by leading technology vendors. Information on sponsorship and exhibit opportunities can be obtained by e-mail at events(at)sys-con.com or by phone at 201 802-3020.

About SYS-CON Media

SYS-CON Media, listed in Inc 500 three years in a row as the fastest-growing, privately held publishing company in America, is the world's leading publisher exclusively serving i-technology markets.

SYS-CON's well-known and highly respected magazines' Web portals include: AJAXWorld Magazine (www.ajax.sys-con.com); Java Developer's Journal (www.JavaDevelopersJournal.com); .NET Developer's Journal (www.DotNETDevelopersJournal.com); Enterprise Open Source Magazine (www.opensource.sys-con.com); Linux.SYS-CON.com (www.linux.sys-con.com); SOA Web Services Journal (www.WSJ2.com); Wireless Business & Technology (www.WBT2.com); XML-Journal (www.XML-Journal.com); WebLogic Developer's Journal (www.WeblogicDevelopersJournal.com); WebSphere Journal (www.WebSphereJournal.com); Web Developer's & Designer's Journal (www.webddj.sys-con.com); ColdFusion Developer's Journal (www.ColdFusionJournal.com); PowerBuilder Developer's Journal (www.PowerBuilderJournal.com); IT Solutions Guide (www.itsolutions.sys-con.com); Information Storage & Security Journal (www.issjournal.com); Eclipse Developer's Journal (www.eclipsedevelopersjournal.com); Symbian Developer's Journal (www.symbian.sys-con.com); Web Hosting Journal (www.webhosting.sys-con.com); and Web 2.0 Journal (www.web2.sys-con.com).

Each month SYS-CON Media reaches over two million i-technology professionals through its specialty journals, magazines, conferences, education programs (www.education.sys-con.com), SYS-CON.TV (www.SYS-CON.TV), the world's first branded blog community (www.blog-n-play.com), live and on-demand Webcasts (www.webcast.sys-con.com), and the SYS-CON interactive portal with more than 100 Websites at (www.sys-con.com).

About SYS-CON Events, Inc.

SYS-CON Events, Inc. (www.events.sys-con.com) is the world's leading producer of i-technology conferences, seminars and expos, including SOA Enterprise Open Source Conference (www.soaeosconference.sys-con.com), "Real-World AJAX" Seminar Series (www.ajaxseminar.com), "Real-World Flex" Seminar Series (www.flexseminar.com), iTVcon - Internet TV Conference & Expo 2006 (www.itvcon.com), International AJAXWorld Conference & Expo (www.ajaxworldexpo.com), and Real-World Ruby-on-Rails Seminar Series (www.rubyonrailsseminar.com).

 

 

Unico, Inc. Begins Operation of Screening Plant on Material at Deer Trail Mine

 Unico, Incorporated (OTCBB: UNCN), a natural resource company in the precious metals mining sector, today announced that subsidiary Deer Trail Mining Company, LLC has initiated screening plant operations at the upper Deer Trail Mine in Marysvale, Utah. Material is being run through the screening plant and then moved to the mill at the Deer Trail Mine in preparation for further processing.

Photographs of the operation of the screening plant have been added to the Unico website at www.uncn.com. A new picture gallery entitled "Screening Plant Operation" has been added to the "Media" section at www.uncn.com/news/othermedia.asp.

The Deer Trail Mining Company plans to screen the approximately 20,000 tons of material in the first targeted dump area, which was mined over several decades in first half of the 20th century. In total, the Company has identified approximately 80,000 tons of material from this area, which it plans to screen and process at the Deer Trail mill facility. Historically, the material mined in this area has contained economical values of both gold and silver.

"Screen analysis has been conducted on one of several mine dumps on the Deer Trail Mine property, and we have also completed in-house metallurgical work on the material contained there," stated Mark A. Lopez, chief executive officer of Unico, Inc. "This material is expected to provide additional feed for the mill and processing facility, and we are pleased to have initiated screening plant operations."

 

Highlighted Links
Unico, Inc. Website

As screening of the dump material has begun, the Deer Trail Mining Company is concurrently working to complete reconstruction of the mill and processing facility, so it can process the stockpiles of material and production of the concentrates to sell in fulfillment of the company's five-year purchase contract with PGM, LLC, a private subsidiary of Polymet Corporation.

"We hope that Unico shareholders will be encouraged by the progress being made at the Deer Trail Mine, especially as it relates to preparing for processing operation at the mill. The photographs we have added to our website again show tangible results from our efforts to establish revenue streams for the Deer Trail Mining Company, and we look forward to continued progress through the activities of all of our subsidiary mine properties," added Mr. Lopez.

Shareholders who would like to sign up to receive information by email directly from Unico, Inc., particularly when new press releases, SEC filings or other information is disclosed, are asked to visit the company's website at www.uncn.com/IR/mailinglist.asp.

About Unico, Inc.

Unico, Inc. (OTCBB: UNCN) is a publicly traded natural resource company in the precious metals mining sector that is focused on the exploration, development and production of gold, silver, lead, zinc, and copper concentrates at its three mine properties: the Deer Trail Mine, the Bromide Basin Mine and the Silver Bell Mine. For more information, please visit www.uncn.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and such Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The company may experience significant fluctuations in operating results due to a number of economic, competitive and other factors. These factors could cause operation results to vary significantly from those in prior periods, and those projected in forward-looking statements. Information with respect to these factors, which could materially affect the company and its operations, are included on certain forms the company files with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

 

 

 

World's Largest Roommate Matching Service Reduces Service Requests by 50% With Parature

RoommateClick Increases Customer Support Efficiency and Gains Critical Insights With Parature Customer Support Solution

Parature, provider of award-winning, on demand customer support software, announced today that MoveOnIn Network, operator of RoommateClick, the world's largest online roommate matching service, is using Parature's Customer Support Solution. Since deploying the solution in January 2006, MoveOnIn has seen a reduction in its volume of customer service requests by 50%, created service continuity across multiple departments, tracked and reported on support trends and metrics, and offered value-added services to customers. "Using Parature's Customer Support Solution makes much better sense for our business than using email or other outdated methods, particularly as it not only improves the quality of service we provide to our customers, but it enables us to directly impact our bottom line through value-added services that customers can opt to pay for," said David Dembowski, Director, Business Development, MoveOnIn Network.

RoommateClick is an online service that matches people with roommates and enables landlords to fill available rental property space. Servicing customer needs quickly and efficiently is imperative, especially in larger metropolitan areas where available rental space is scarce and tenant turnover is high. Prior to using Parature's Customer Support Solution, RoommateClick used the Microsoft Outlook® email program to manage and respond to customer support requests. As the company grew, it became increasingly difficult to maintain continuity of customer data across departments, track support issues from start through resolution, record commonly asked questions, and report on support department status to management. "Before using Parature we were in a reactive position, but now with the online support portal integrated into our website, customers often find answers to their own questions through our knowledge base articles and don't need to contact us, reducing the volume of support requests we receive by 50%," stated Mr. Dembowski. "Additionally, we've benefited significantly from the ability to generate reports on any data within the Parature system, and have already worked with our IT department to resolve some issues based on hard evidence found in the reports."

 

A key part of RoommateClick's strategy for consistent fast service is Parature's live online chat feature, as they now offer chat for a small fee to customers needing immediate assistance. The company plans to soon begin using Parature's online discussion forums, where customers can post public messages, also offering access to customers for a small fee. "The chat and forum features offer a lot of added value to customers, and adds another revenue stream into our business model, so it's a win-win situation," said Mr. Dembowski.

While researching customer support solutions, RoommateClick was told by other vendors that it would take six months or longer until the solution was functional, while Parature had its solution fully operational in only 3 weeks. "Parature is a great business partner and delivered everything they said they would, on time and on budget," stated Mr. Dembowski. "We had our doubts at first as we had heard much longer implementation timelines from the other companies, but were very pleasantly surprised when Parature had everything ready in a fraction of that time."

For information on how your organization can reduce support request volume by 50% or more through Parature's self-service options, please visit http://www.parature.com/client-knowledge-management.aspx

About MoveOnIn Network

MoveOnIn Network is a privately held, swiftly growing relocation and lifestyle services company. Based in New York City, the RoommateClick division of the company has pioneered the online roommate matching business since its inception in 2000. Each month, hundreds of thousands of users from throughout the U.S. and Canada search for prospective roommates on our website. Our recently launched sites FlatmateClick.co.uk in the UK, ColocationFrance.fr in France, WG-Klick.de in Germany solidify our position as the world's leading online roommate community. For more information, please visit www.roommateclick.com.

About Parature

Parature provides on demand customer support and help desk software, enabling companies to improve their internal and external support while reducing costs. Through its suite of modules, Parature allows companies to provide critical service information on a 24x7 basis via the Internet, resulting in reduction of inbound support load and significantly decreased support costs. With a consistent growth rate of over 100% year over year, Parature serves industry leaders such as Office Depot, ATI Technologies Inc. and Florida State University. For more information on Parature, or to sign up for the FREE 30 Day Trial, please visit www.parature.com

 

 

Delta Oil & Gas Commences First Ever Oil Production; Cumulative Production From the Oklahoma and Saskatchewan Wells Exceeds 10,000 Barrels of Oil Over the Last 45 Days

SEATTLE, WA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- July 25, 2006 -- Delta Oil & Gas Inc. (OTCBB: DOIG) is pleased to announce that its recently acquired interest in an oil well known as the Powell #2 at Owl Creek, Oklahoma has resulted in an important new discovery. The Powell #2 has produced approximately 5,346 barrels of oil to July 20, 2006 and is producing approximately 60,000 cubic feet natural gas per day. Delta has a 20% interest in this well. In light of the success of this well, Delta and partners have committed to drill the first of several direct offset wells in the area. The first well, when completed will be called the Isbill # 1-36. Drilling is expected to commence in early August.

Seismic data indicates that the Isbill #1-36 well should be structurally very similar to the successful Powell #2 well. This includes both the current lower producing zone in the Powell #2, and the additional prospective pay zones (including the upper Viola).

Delta is also pleased to announce that its horizontal well in the Wordsworth area, Saskatchewan, Canada is now producing steadily with the assistance of a pump. The well was drilled horizontally to a depth of 2033 meters encountering approximately 300 meters of oil pay. To the end of June, the well has produced 4,339 barrels of oil. Initial gas production from the same well is estimated to be in the 50,000 to 100,000 cubic feet per day but to the end of June, the gas has been flared off until it can be connected to a pipeline. Delta has a 15% interest in this well.

Delta and partners are planning additional seismic work and further drilling in the project area as soon as practicable, with the expectation of substantial production increases from the Alida pool which may contain up to 4 million barrels of oil

About Delta Oil and Gas

Delta Oil and Gas is a growing exploration company focused on developing North American oil and natural gas reserves. The Company's current focus is on the exploration of its land portfolio comprised of working interests in highly prospective acreage in the Southern Alberta Foothills area, its interest in the Cache Slough Project in California, its interest in the Strachan Prospect, its interest in its Mississippi prospect, its interest in a horizontal oil well in Saskatchewan and its newest interest at Owl Creek, Oklahoma. Delta Oil & Gas is seeking to expand its portfolio to include additional interests in Canada and the USA.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

DOUGLAS N. BOLEN, B.A., LL.B., President

Safe Harbor Statement

This news release includes statements about expected future events and/or results that are forward-looking in nature and subject to risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements in this release include, but are not limited to time frames, expectations for completion; the analysis of results and the intention to drill. Actual outcomes and the Company's results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause results to differ materially include general factors that affect all companies that explore for oil and gas, such as the uncertainty of the requirements demanded by environmental agencies, the fact that oil and gas extraction and production is risky, the potential that no commercial quantities of gas are found or recoverable, the price of oil and gas, geological problems that prevent us from reaching drilling targets and specific risks such as the Company's ability to raise financing.

 

 

YaSheng Group Has Submitted Application to China Agricultural Development Department to Build a High Tech E-Commerce Agricultural Terminal

-- YaSheng Group (PINKSHEETS: YHGG) YaSheng Group has submitted an application to China, GanSu Agricultural Development Department to build a High Tech E-Commerce Agricultural Terminal to develop the agro industry in the North West of China. The project will be located in the Lanzhou City, GanSu China which has a strategic importance for industrial logistics in the North West of China.

The expected total investment of this project is $60 million, the period of construction is two and half years. Investment of the project will consist of internal company investments with cooperation of local governmental and other national development agencies.

The High Tech E-Commerce Project will enhance the trade of agricultural products in large scale bringing consistent normalization to the industry. This will result in increased and rapid development of the agriculture of Gansu and the North West China resulting in a forum for the whole country by modernizing the systems of trade for the agricultural industry and eventually all commodities initially in the North West and all of China.

Yasheng Executive Management vision is to create a modernized exchange of Agro Commodities that will lead the way to an exchange that is similar to the original pioneer "Chicago Mercantile Exchange," creating a foundation to establish a normalized system of trading of China's Agricultural & other Commodities Sectors that is compatible and is systematic in relation to international commodities exchanges.

YaSheng Group has been internally developing this plan in coordination with their U.S. operations for over 3 years and has succeeded in gathering acceptance within the key components of the Peoples Republic of China regulatory bodies. This internal business model and external program has involved several aspects of E-Commerce, modern systems compatible with international systems of commodities trading, and North West China, and PRC National developments.

The Executive management of Yasheng believes, "There is only one vision and that is to realize the true value of Globalization as it relates to the commodities industries and allowing China to take part as a key player in this global economy where we belong."

About YaSheng Group:

The YaSheng Group (PINKSHEETS: YHGG) is a diversified industrial conglomerate incorporated in Redwood City, California, operates in hi-tech agriculture, salt chemistry and biological technology as its core Business with advantages in rich land, mineral resources, capital and technology reserves.

Through three major industries, Agriculture, Chemical, and Biotechnology, the company's operating categories include: chemical engineering, agricultural production, biotech, pharmaceuticals, textile products, printing and dyeing, commercial trading, beverages and inorganic salt manufacturing. With total assets of approximately $1.5 billion USD and over 15,000 employees, YaSheng Group has 155,097,355 shares issued and outstanding as of December 1, 2004.

Further information concerning YaSheng Group can be found on the corporate website: http://www.yashenggroup.com/

Forward-Looking Statements:

Certain statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. The statements contained herein that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

 

 

Produce Safety and Security International Introduces Sam Perricone III Chairman and CEO Atomic X

Sam Perricone III, Chairman & CEO of Perricone Wileman Group LLC, Is the Head of Atomic X(TM)

Produce Safety and Security International, Inc (Other OTC: PDSC.PK), an ozone and chemical sanitation disinfectant process supplier to the food and medical industries, introduces Sam Perricone III as head of its AtomicX™ division.

Perricone is the Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Perricone Wileman Group LLC, dba Atomic X Hydration Company. Since founding the Company, Perricone has developed four next-generation, high-margin, ready-to-market product lines directed to the fastest growing market segments in the beverage industry.

Perricone has also held the position of Distribution and Regional Sales for Perricone Juice Company, the largest manufacturer of fresh-squeezed citrus juices in the Western United States. During his tenure, Perricone was responsible for the expansion of this firm's citrus brands in the high-end food service sector.

Previous to this position, Perricone was employed with US Growers Cold Storage Inc., a 60 year old organization owned by the Perricone family. This firm handles billions of dollars in products from around the world in six refrigerated warehouses located in a campus type environment in Los Angeles, California.

Clarence W. Karney, CEO of Produce Safety & Security International, stated, "Sam Perricone is highly respected within the beverage and citrus community. His knowledge of the full spectrum of issues involved makes him the ideal person to lead Atomic X into the future. He, along with the highly enthusiastic professional Atomic X management team he assembled, has the character to make Atomic X a very special high profile company."

 

For more information on Atomic X Hydration Beverages go to www.atomic-x-hydration.com.

About Produce Safety & Security International, Inc. (PDSC)

PDSC has developed and patented products for extending the shelf life of perishables. The EPA-registered products sanitize and disinfect against food-borne illness pathogens and disease-causing bacteria. PDSC provides a range of options for retail stores, restaurants, cruise ship lines, disaster cleanups and municipal programs. Furthermore, the process incorporates a complete audit trail, an essential component for complying with government regulations in the USA, Canada and Mexico.

PDSC's state-of-the-art ozone process has been shown to extend the shelf life and remove food borne illness bacteria. This process will provide retail produce departments reduced shrinkage, increase the bottom line and provide a fresher product for the consumer. The customer will be assured of a safe food product, by use of this process, which may be used on organic produce to remove the pathogens. This process uses no chemicals thus meeting the requirements of organic certification.

For further product information, joint venture opportunities, distributorship program information, or program applications, please go to PDSC's website www.foodsafeint.com.

Safe Harbor

Forward-looking statements made in this release are made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements made by Produce Safety & Security International, Inc. are not a guarantee of future performance. This news release includes forward-looking statements, including with respect to the future level of business for the parties. These statements are necessarily subject to risk and uncertainty. Actual results could differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements as a result of certain risk factors that could cause results to differ materially from estimated results. Management cautions that all statements as to future results of operations are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and events that may be beyond the control of Produce Safety & Security International, Inc. and no assurance can be given that such results will be achieved. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, the ability to procure, properly price, retain and successfully complete projects, and changes in products and competition.

 

 

Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc. Enters Into Agreement With The Genesis Network

 Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc. (PINKSHEETS: SMKG) (FRANKFURT: QYH), a leading provider of prepaid cards, value smart storage cards and payment transaction management services, announced today that they have entered into an agreement with The Genesis Network to provide card fulfillment services.

The Genesis Network is a consulting company that specializes in the customer relations market and their existing client base is between three thousand and seven thousand active customers in the US and Canada and most of these would be directly enrolled in the prepaid card fulfillment campaign. The agreement states that the initial order will be for fifteen thousand prepaid Canadian MasterCards® and five thousand prepaid US MasterCards®. The cards will be used within the payday loan industry in North America.

The payday loan industry is a very captive financial service for low income and credit challenged individuals. The need to combine a payday loan with the facilitation of an immediate access card such as the prepaid MasterCard® and or Visa™ cards gives a larger potential for transaction sharing from funds distribution.

It is estimated that the prepaid MasterCard® or Visa™ cards generate between $45 and $70 USD a year in gross revenue per unit. Based on market evaluations, a program with five thousand active cards can generate up to $500,000.00 USD in gross profits from transactions alone.

Smart Card CEO, Massimo Barone stated, "Smart Card is positioning itself to be a main supplier of prepaid cards to financial service providers in North America. Each new distribution agreement brings the company one step closer to becoming the product of choice in the prepaid industry."

About The Genesis Network

The Genesis Network was established over five years ago as a consulting company specializing in the CRM (customer relations market), Media, and Business Process outsourcing market. The company's network of merchants in the financial sector will play an important role in complimenting the prepaid card programs offered by Smart Card and will create new market opportunities for both companies.

About Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc.

Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc. has taken a mainstream position in the smart and prepaid charge card market to develop, integrate and to jointly deploy turnkey co-branded solutions for loyalty and payment management transactions. Smart Card Marketing Systems Inc. seeks industry suppliers and creates channel partners to better the availability of API's (automated protocol interfaces) that respectively are only available to preferred corporations/clients and manages the required protocol in-place by the offering institution for the merchant.

Forward-Looking Statements. This news release contains "forward-looking statements," as that term is defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Statements about the expected future prospects of our business and all other statements in this release other than historical facts, constitute forward-looking statements. You can identify forward-looking statements because they contain words such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "would," "should," "seeks," "approximately," "intends," "plans," "estimates," or "anticipates" or similar expressions which concern our strategy, plans or intentions. All statements we make relating to estimated and projected earnings, margins, costs, expenditures, cash flows, growth rates and financial results are forward-looking statements. In addition, we, through our senior management, from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning our expected future operations and performance and other developments. All of these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may change at any time, and, therefore, our actual results may differ materially from those we expected. We derive most of our forward-looking statements from our operating budgets and forecasts, which are based upon many detailed assumptions. While we believe that our assumptions are reasonable, we caution that it is very difficult to predict the impact of known factors, and, of course, it is impossible for us to anticipate all factors that could affect our actual results. Some of the factors that we believe could affect our results include: general economic and market conditions, including the lingering effects of the economic slowdown and services revenue; the overall condition of the bank card industry, including the effect of any further consolidation among financial services firms; the regulatory, credit and market risks associated with our operations; the integration of acquired businesses, the performance of our businesses; the effect of war, terrorism or catastrophic events; the timing and magnitude of sales; the timing and scope of technological advances; the ability to retain and attract customers and key personnel; and the ability to obtain patent protection and avoid patent-related liabilities in the context of a rapidly developing legal framework for software and business-method patents. The factors described in this paragraph and other factors that may affect our business or future financial results and when applicable, will be discussed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We assume no obligation to update any written or oral forward-looking statement made by us or on our behalf as a result of new information, future events or other factors

 

 

PetroSun to Acquire Production and Development Interests in the Sibley Field

PetroSun Drilling, Incorporated (PINKSHEETS: PSUD) announced today that the company has entered into a Letter of Intent to acquire working interest in the Sibley Field of Webster Parish, Louisiana. The closing date of the transaction is scheduled for August 8, 2006, subject to the terms of an agreement with ALM Trust Properties, LLC and the Morgan Elizabeth Miles Trust.

The leasehold of approximately 1,000 acres includes four proven producing Pettit/Rodessa natural gas and/or oil wells and a minimum of fourteen proven undeveloped oil and natural gas locations as determined by the geological evaluation of well control data. The Pettit, Rodessa, Mooringsport and Paluxy are geological formations that produce oil and/or natural gas within the Sibley Field.

PetroSun will commence a development program targeting the Mooringsport and Paluxy oil reserves immediately after the closing of the acquisition.

About PetroSun

PetroSun's current operations are concentrated in the Ark-La-Tex region with plans to expand into New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Australia in 2006. PetroSun provides a comprehensive array of products and services to the oil industry. Algae BioFuels, a wholly owned subsidiary of PetroSun, is an emerging producer of biodiesel derived from the cultivation of algae. The Company's cutting edge technologies, combined with a proven ability to apply them effectively and safely within a disciplined ROI framework, creates long term value for PetroSun shareholders and partners. PetroSun is headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona. For more information about PetroSun visit the company's website at http://www.petrosun.us

Except historical matter contained herein, matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements and are made pursuant to the safe harbor provision of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements reflect assumptions and involve risks and uncertainties, which may affect the Company's business and prospects and cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements.

 

 

Collectible Concepts Group, Inc. to Exhibit at Specialty Retail Entrepreneur Expo (SPREE) and Conference, July 25-27 in Long Beach, CA

Collectible Concepts Group, Inc. (OTCBB: CCGI) today announced that it will present its products to buyers and other visitors from the specialty retail industry at the Specialty Retail Entrepreneur Expo (SPREE) and Conference from July 25 through July 27, 2006 at the Convention Center in Long Beach, CA.

Speaking about the importance of this event to CCGI, Martin Uniacke, CCGI Vice President of National Sales said, "We are launching our shared marketing arrangement holiday sales program. This is a major exposition for the specialty retail industry where buyers, distributors, and retailers from all sectors of business, converge seeking new and more exciting products. The Sports Memories In Wood joint holiday sales program is intended to be a partnering between the Specialty Retail Operator and Collectible Concepts Group, Inc."

The unique element of this year's offer is the "retail mix" that CCGI now commands. With Retails ranging from under five dollars to high-end limited edition, collectible wood products, CCGI covers the entire retail spectrum.

"In a tricky retail environment we have developed a program where the intent is to reduce the element of risk associated with holiday kiosk sales and maximize the profit potential for both entities," Uniacke said.

About Collectible Concepts

Collectible Concepts Group, Inc. develops and markets unique licensed sports and entertainment collectible merchandise for specialty, mass retail and online distribution. Nationally recognized in direct response marketing, replica design, mass-market distribution and E-commerce marketing, Collectible Concepts and its products are renowned both for quality and authenticity. Licenses include over 25 colleges and universities, including: The National Basketball Association (NBA), The National Hockey League (NHL), Arena Football, and others. For more information, visit: www.collectibleconcepts.com or www.otcfn.com/ccgi.

SAFE HARBOR STATEMENT

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"), and as such, may involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements, which are based on certain assumptions and describe future plans, strategies, and expectations, are generally identifiable by the use of words such as "believe," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," or similar expressions. These forward-looking statements relate to, among other things, expectations of the business environment in which the Company operates, projections of future performance, potential future performance, perceived opportunities in the market, and statements regarding the Company's mission and vision. The Company's actual results, performance, and achievements may differ materially from the results, performance, and achievements expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements

 

 

China Direct Receives $2,500,000 Credit Line Commitment From Its Chairman

 China Direct Trading Corp. (OTCBB: CHDT) (CHDT) announced today that it has received a credit line commitment of $2,500,000 from its chief executive officer and president, Howard Ullman. The credit line is to be used solely to fund the cash portion, if any, of any CHDT acquisition or investment consistent with its strategic vision for the Fiscal Year 2006.

CHDT has concluded that ownership of or investment in companies that are established distributors in the U.S. and potential distribution channels should be considered as part of the overall strategy to better exploit CHDT's contacts with over 30 Chinese manufacturing companies. As such, CHDT is seeking such investments or acquisitions opportunities funded in part by the $2.5 million credit line.

CHDT's Strategic Plan: CHDT has been engaged in an ongoing process of seeking investment or acquisition or merger opportunities with one or more companies that can potentially enhance CHDT shareholder value through increasing CHDT's revenues and net worth as well as possibly establishing a sustained positive cash flow. CHDT's board of directors is also committed to seeking possibly investing in or acquiring companies that could benefit from CHDT's contacts with Chinese manufacturing firms. CHDT's strategic plan has traditionally been to remain a trading company with low overhead and focused on exploiting its contacts with Chinese manufacturers to meet CHDT's customers' needs.

 

Under the credit line, CHDT has 4 years to repay any advances of credit, which repayment shall be made in calendar quarterly interest-only payments for the first 24 months of the term and equal calendar quarterly principal and interest installment payments for the last 24 months of the term. The interest rate is fixed at 8.0% per annum. Upon demand, the lender may convert all or a portion of any unpaid principal or interest into "restricted shares" (as defined in Rule 144 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended) of CHDT common stock at a price of 0.10 per share. The commitment comes from the personal funds of Mr. Ullman, including funding based on a collateral arrangement encumbering 25 million shares of Mr. Ullman's CHDT common stock and 376,000 preferred shares.

About CHDT: CHDT is a public holding company acting, through its subsidiaries, as a distributor of commercial and residential standby power generators as a trading company focused on selling Chinese-made goods in North America, especially roofing tiles and promotional, souvenir and gift items.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS: This press release, including the financial information that follows, contains "forward-looking statements" as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, which may cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the statements. The forward-looking statements may include statements regarding product development, product potential or financial performance. The fact that CHDT seeks or consummates investments in or acquisitions of other companies does not mean that such transactions will favorably affect CHDT's business or financial conditions -- in general or as forecasted. In fact, investments and acquisitions could have an adverse impact on CHDT. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and actual results may differ materially from those projected. CHDT undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release and risks associated with any investment in CHDT, which is a "penny stock" company, should be evaluated together with the many uncertainties that affect CHDT's business, particularly those mentioned in the cautionary statements in current and future CHDT's SEC Filings, which statements CHDT incorporates by reference herein.

 

 

Ingrian 4.3 Delivers Increased Database Performance and Support

New Software for DataSecure Platforms(R) Provides Validated Support for Oracle 10g R2 Platform and Eliminates Need for Application Code Changes to Perform Queries

-- Ingrian® Networks, Inc., the leading provider of data privacy solutions, today announced the availability of a new software release for its Ingrian DataSecure® family of products. The new 4.3 release provides increased support to enterprise networks deploying Oracle 10g R2 database and IBM DB2 Universal Database (UDB), enabling enterprises to better secure their databases.

"As the enterprise threat model continues to evolve, encryption is becoming a must-have for database security," said Karim Toubba, vice president of product management and corporate strategy for Ingrian Networks. "With DataSecure, enterprises can ensure that the private information on their networks remains private while allowing easy access to non-mission critical information."

New features in 4.3 are:

--  High performance searching on Oracle databases - ensuring support for     high performance equality queries on encrypted data on the Oracle platform,     requiring no application code changes for environments that perform this     type of query. --  Support for Oracle 10g R2 - offering validated support against the     Oracle 10g R2 platform. --  Support for UDB Partitioning - providing support for partitioned IBM     UDB databases. --  SEED Algorithm Support for the Korean Market - expanding language     support by adding the SEED algorithm developed by KISA (Korea Information     Security Agency).     

Ingrian 4.3 software is available now to new customers and existing customers with current service contracts. For more information, visit www.ingrian.com or contact info@ingrian.com.

About DataSecure Platforms

Ingrian DataSecure Platforms provide an intelligent, cost-effective way to protect critical data from both internal and external threats. Featuring dedicated hardware appliances and patent-pending cryptography software, Ingrian's solutions deliver capabilities for granular encryption, seamless integration, and centralized security management. With its solutions, Ingrian supports:

--  Retailers, financial institutions, and payment processors in adhering     to card issuer security policies like the Payment Card Industry (PCI) Data     Security Standard. --  Organizations around the world seeking to comply with privacy     legislation, such as California SB1386, the Europe Union Data Protection     Directive, and many others. --  Financial institutions seeking to comply with Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. --  Government agencies striving to adhere to the Federal Information     Security Management Act.     

About Ingrian Networks

Ingrian Networks brings complete data privacy to the enterprise. With Ingrian DataSecure Platforms, organizations can protect critical data from both internal and external threats, and ensure compliance with legislative and policy mandates for security. DataSecure features a dedicated security appliance and specialized software that enables organizations to encrypt critical data in applications and databases. With its capabilities for granular encryption, seamless integration, and centralized security management, DataSecure enables organizations to guard against a range of security threats, with unparalleled ease and cost effectiveness. Ingrian is a privately held company backed by such investors as Globespan Capital Partners, HighBAR Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Partech International, and Prism Venture Partners. For more information, visit http://www.ingrian.com.

 

 

ShowMgr.com Launches at the 2006 MLB All Star Game the ShowMgr.com Crew Card

ShowMgr.com, a leading provider of software applications for managing broadcast, production and post-production operations, announces the launch of the ShowMgr.com Crew Card. Last week at the 2006 MLB All Star Game, ShowMgr.com provided several hundred crew and field staff a personal crew card that enabled Fox Networks to trace, track and monitor catering costs at the event.

"As a ShowMgr.com customer for over 5 years, we rely on ShowMgr.com to provide us with an integrated, collaborative platform that minimizes duplication of effort and enables sharing and distribution of our production information," said Jerry Steinberg, Senior Vice President of Field Operations, Fox Sports. "The on-demand financial insight acquired from the crew card is just another example of ShowMgr.com developing creative tools that assist us with the overall management of the production process."

"Within 24 hours after the All Star event, ShowMgr.com was able to provide our production accountants a detailed break down including all of the distinct meals served over the five day production and cost allocation by percentage to seven different entities," continued Lynn King, Executive Director of Fox Sports. "Though we've used the crew card at several recent NASCAR events, this is the first time we have used the crew card at an MLB event. In the near future, we plan to utilize the crew card at the BCS Championship, NFC Championship as well as the Daytona 500."

With a powerful suite of software tools that automates the entire operational process, ShowMgr.com is built on a scalable Web architecture that pre-packages several important core technologies critical to the automation of field operations. "Since we have an enterprise perspective toward functional growth and the continued expansion of operational workflow," said Kevin M. Rosen, CEO of ShowMgr.com, "The crew card is a natural addition to enhancing the overall management of a remote or studio production."

About ShowMgr.com

Founded in 2001, ShowMgr.com™ provides the media industry with the most comprehensive suite of Web-based, broadcast operations management applications in the marketplace. Through centralized, on-demand access to automated tools and databases for broadcast operational functions, workflow, resources and personnel, users are empowered to make informed decisions, save time, control costs and maximize resources.

 

 

Labor Ready Selects Data Domain

Multinational Employment Agency Doubles Onsite Data Retention and Frees Up Costly SAN

-- Data Domain, the leading provider of Capacity Optimized Storage (COS) solutions, announced today that Labor Ready (NYSE: LRW), a leading international temporary manual labor staffing company, has selected Data Domain enterprise data protection solutions to backup and restore its data center's mission critical databases and applications. Up against six competitors, Labor Ready chose Data Domain for its cost-effective disk-based backup solution and ability to easily restore data.

The Data Domain DD460 Restorer replaced the company's relatively new HP tape drive solution and freed up an expensive SAN. Labor Ready's data center backs up 8-10 terabytes of data supporting a business that, by nature, requires data restores several times a month. Labor Ready was experiencing unacceptable delays in retrieval of crucial data from tape and reached capacity limits after attempting to use its existing SAN infrastructure for backup.

"After experiencing multiple attempts to accomplish a successful restore and watching our backup costs rise, we focused on finding a cost-effective, reliable disk-based backup solution that would enable us to backup at least two weeks worth of data and easily restore it," said Jeffrey Zuniga, director of IT Infrastructure at Labor Ready. "Data Domain has allowed us to double the amount of data stored onsite, and keep it onsite for a full month. This is twice what we had hoped for from any vendor. As well, the Data Domain DD460 was easily integrated with our CommVault Galaxy™ backup software and the combination has logged nearly 100 percent reliability with backups and restores, with no staff intervention."

Data Domain's DD460 Restorer enables users to store several months of backup data onsite, with up to 200 terabytes of storage capacity. The appliance also offers high-speed backups and restores, with throughput of several hundred gigabytes per hour. Working seamlessly with leading enterprise backup software, the Data Domain DD460 is easily integrated directly into existing customer environments -- bringing a level of data protection unmatched by any other storage system.

Since deploying the Data Domain DD460, Labor Ready has achieved impressive compression rates, allowing for longer onsite retention of data. Once the company moves to completely full backups, the compression rates will be even further optimized and contribute to safer recoveries. Labor Ready has reduced storage management time and staffing requirements since restores no longer tax the data center administrators. "As we moved over to disk-based backups and restores, the reliability factor went way up, the price point was much more attractive and our SAN is available for production data," said Zuniga. "These improvements demonstrate how Data Domain has positively impacted our business operations."

"Like many companies, Labor Ready is utilizing Data Domain capacity optimized storage to reap the benefits of disk-based backup storage, leveraging the cost point and simplicity of our approach," said Frank Slootman, president and CEO of Data Domain. "By replacing cumbersome and unreliable tape infrastructures with Data Domain's data protection solutions, our customers effortlessly extricate their storage budgets and infrastructure."

ABOUT LABOR READY

Labor Ready is an international provider of temporary employees for manual labor, light industrial and skilled trades, operating under the brand names of Labor Ready, Workforce, Spartan Staffing, and CLP Resources. Labor Ready's customers are primarily small- to mid-sized businesses in the transportation, warehousing, hospitality, landscaping, construction, light manufacturing, retail, wholesale, facilities and sanitation industries. Annually, Labor Ready serves approximately 300,000 customers and puts more than 600,000 people to work through its 887 branch locations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. For additional information, visit Labor Ready's website at www.laborready.com.

About Data Domain

Data Domain is the leading provider of Capacity Optimized Storage (COS) solutions, enabling reliable, cost-effective data protection for the enterprise. More than 400 companies worldwide use Data Domain's award-winning disk-based backup and recovery storage systems. Data Domain's Global Compression, data invulnerability and replication technologies offer breakthrough compression rates reducing the cost of disk-based backup and simplifying data recovery. Founded in 2001, Data Domain is a privately held company. For more information, visit Data Domain's web site at www.datadomain.com. Data Domain is headquartered at 2300 Central Expressway, Santa Clara, CA, 95050 and can be contacted by phone at 1-866-933-3873 or e-mail at sales@datadomain.com.

Note: Data Domain and Global Compression are registered trademarks of Data Domain, Inc. All other brands, products, service names, trademarks or registered service marks are used to identify the products or services of their respective

 

 

 

Homeland Security Group International to Brief Congress on Anti-IED Technology and Lightweight Ballistic Armor Solutions

Ballistic Division Completes Side Plate Carrier, Bids on Estimated $65 Million Dollar Contract

Homeland Security Group International (PINKSHEETS: HMSG) announced today that CEO Colonel Jeffrey Powers, USMC (Ret) and 1stSgt Mark Wilson, USMC (Ret) have been invited to return to Capitol Hill this week to brief key members of the House Armed Services Committee on the ARNISI ECM-1 Anti-IED device. While there, they will also be demonstrating the company's lightweight ballistic armor and new interoperable tactical radio communication system.

"This is a major breakthrough in our attempt to immediately field the ARNISI device in the current combat theater," commented Mark Wilson. "The technology has been proven and we welcome the opportunity to personally brief Congressmen on this important lifesaving device."

HMSG will be accompanied by representatives from FED-COMM USA who designed the ARNISI ECM-1 device and also by representatives from Trofholz Technologies, a new partner and designer of interoperable tactical radio communication solutions.

HMSG also announced today that their ballistics division has completed initial manufacture of the new side plate ballistic panel carrier. The carrier was designed specifically to respond to a need for side plate armor protection for military members as recently stated by the Department of Defense in numerous business solicitations. HMSG has partnered with Protective Enterprises LLC of Dulles, Virginia, to respond to a solicitation from the Marine Corps involving 180,000 panels and carriers. HMSG estimates the potential income from the contract to be in excess of $65 million.

ABOUT HOMELAND SECURITY GROUP INTERNATIONAL

Homeland Security Group International, Inc. (HMSG), (PINKSHEETS: HMSG) is a technology-based company with corporate headquarters in north county San Diego. HMSG's mission is to develop and commercialize technology focused on providing increased security for both civilian and military personnel throughout the world. Under the leadership of Colonel Jeffrey A. Powers, USMC (Retired), HMSG has assembled a portfolio of technology and services through alliances with established defense-related companies and through internal development that can be brought to market in a cost-efficient and timely manner. The Company has also entered into an alliance with Recon Mountaineer, LLC, (an Oceanside, CA.-based designer and manufacturer of military combat gear for the United States Armed Forces). The company has also partnered with GPS World Supply for the sale and distribution of GPS units with exclusive Iraq and Afghanistan databases. HMSG has also aligned itself with leading security firms to design and market surveillance systems for homeland defense security applications.

This press release contains forward-looking statements pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include risks and uncertainties that may cause the company's plans to change and are in no way intended to guarantee that the company will be successful in executing its plans. HMSG's common stock currently trades on the over-the-counter "Pink Sheets" under the symbol "HMSG." This press release in no way constitutes any recommendation regarding the securities of HMSG or its affiliates. Any person reading this press release is advised that this release should be considered in light of all facts and circumstances regarding the business and financial condition and prospects of HMSG, and no inference is made in this release contains all such information.

 

 

U.S. Venture Capital Investing Reaches $6.7 Billion, Highest Quarterly Investment Level Since 2001

Ernst & Young LLP and VentureOne Quarterly Venture Capital Report Shows Most Ever Invested in Biopharmaceuticals and Energy, Along With Increased Later Stage Funding

 -- U.S. venture capital investing reached its highest point in 4 1/2 years with $6.73 billion directed to 619 deals, according to the Quarterly Venture Capital Report released by Ernst & Young LLP and VentureOne, the publisher of VentureSource. Overall deal count increased 3% from the second quarter of 2005, and the capital was 5% higher than a year ago, representing the most venture capital invested in a single quarter since the fourth quarter of 2001.

The increase was boosted by the highest infusion of capital in recent quarters in the market's two major industry groups: health care and information technology. In fact, it was the most capital invested in information technology since 2004 and more significantly, the most invested in health care since 2000. Increased later stage funding was another important factor contributing to the overall rise in investment. One of the key emerging sectors in venture capital -- the energy segment -- also saw financing activity and investment increase significantly, driven mostly by alternative energy financings.

"A plethora of very promising and innovative life science companies and a public market climate that is supporting, at least moderately, health care IPOs over the past 2 1/2 years, is generating this strong level of investment activity. Thus, it's no surprise that health care investing, and in particular record-breaking investment in biopharmaceuticals, is surging ahead," said Stephen Harmston, director of global research at VentureOne. "Confidence in the market is also apparent in the level of current venture capital fund raising -- in which some particularly large funds are readying for deployment."

Capital investment in health care companies increased 25% over the same quarter a year ago, reaching $2.24 billion in 160 rounds. The biopharmaceutical segment was the major driver of this with 80 deals and $1.45 billion invested, including eight of the top 12 deals posted this quarter. Of note, a number of those large deals included partnering investments from major pharmaceutical companies. The total investment in biopharmaceuticals was the most capital investment in the segment since VentureOne began tracking the data in 1992. The medical devices segment also had a strong quarter with 58 deals and $617.6 million, increases of 32% and 30% respectively, over the same quarter last year. While the health care category was responsible for a number of the largest deals, investors also funded 58 seed and first-round health care deals this quarter, up from 47 in the same quarter of last year. The median size of a health care deal was $8 million, down slightly from $8.2 million a year ago.

"This quarter's financing activity shows that venture capital investors are oriented toward both providing their existing portfolio companies with the capital needed to exploit market opportunities and funding emerging sectors with exceptional growth potential," said Joseph Muscat, Americas Director of the Ernst & Young Venture Capital Advisory Group. "The $3.22 billion directed toward later rounds, the most capital devoted to this round class since 2001, indicates that investors are not troubled by significant capital deployment into existing portfolio companies with strong prospects, mainly in the traditional health care and IT segments. At the same time, we see investors pursing early stage opportunities in areas of new innovation, most notably alternative energy."

The growing interest in renewable sources of energy fueled increases in the alternative energy segment which had deal flow triple from a year ago to 15 and investments reach $239.1 million, a 290% increase. The energy category as a whole reached its highest level on record with $354.4 million invested in 25 deals. Of note, two of the largest deals this quarter were alternative energy investments: a $75 million later round for Nanosolar of Palo Alto, Calif., and a $50 million first round for Altra of Los Angeles, Calif.

While overshadowed by the health care data, information technology also posted significant activity in key areas. Overall deal count was steady at 363 and investment was up 2% over a year ago to $3.51 billion. Within the category, the information services segment posted a 76% increase in deal flow to 79 deals, and the capital rose 128% to $637 million. The electronics and computers segment also increased by five deals to 32, and the capital by 54% to $411.7 million invested. The software segment, which had 170 deals and $1.29 billion invested, was mostly steady with a year ago, as was the semiconductor segment, with 36 deals and $530.3 million. The communications and networking segment posted the only significant decline in IT with a 40% drop in capital and 22 fewer deals than the second quarter of 2005. The segment was home to the largest deal of the second quarter, the $130 million later round investment in Current Communications of Rochester, N.Y., which provides broadband over powerlines. Overall, the median size of an IT deal was $7.8 million, the highest IT median deal size since 2001.

In terms of round class, 38% of the quarter's deals were later-stage rounds, receiving 48% of the capital. Seed and first-round deals made up 33% of the activity and 20% of the investment this quarter. Second round deals represented 22% of the deal flow and 23% of the capital. The $1.55 billion invested in second rounds was the most capital for this round class since 2002. In addition, $575.3 million was invested in 40 recapitalization rounds this quarter, the most ever to this round type.

By region, the San Francisco Bay Area remained the dominant market for venture capital investing, with 207 deals and $2.42 billion invested, increases of 8% and 13%, respectively, over the same quarter of last year. The New England region also posted a significant increase in capital, 22%, to $740.3 million, although deal flow was down by 11 deals. In Southern California, deal flow was steady but the dollars invested were down by 8%. The New York metropolitan area posted strong deal growth of 37%, but the amount invested in this region decreased by almost half from a year ago, to $595.4 million.

The investment figures included in this release are based on aggregate findings of VentureOne's proprietary U.S. research and are contained in VentureSource. This data was collected by surveying professional venture capital firms, through in-depth interviews with company CEOs and CFOs, and from secondary sources. These venture capital statistics are for equity investments into early-stage, innovative companies and do not include companies receiving funding solely from corporate, individual, and/or government investors. No statement herein is to be construed as a recommendation to buy or sell securities or to provide investment advice. Copyright © 2006, VentureOne.

About VentureOne

Dow Jones VentureOne (www.ventureone.com and www.venturecapital.dowjones.com), a unit of Dow Jones Financial Information Services, has been the leading provider of finance and investment data to the venture capital industry for almost 20 years. Dow Jones VentureSource, a sophisticated electronic database on the venture capital industry, is published by VentureOne.

About Dow Jones Financial Information Services

Through its Financial Information Services group, Dow Jones produces focused, sector-specific online databases, newsletters and industry events for the private equity, venture capital and diversified markets. Newsletters published include Private Equity Analyst, VentureWire Professional and Daily Bankruptcy Review. In addition, Dow Jones & Company (NYSE: DJ) (www.dowjones.com) publishes the global Wall Street Journal with its international and online editions; Barron's; the Far Eastern Economic Review; Dow Jones Newswires and Indexes; MarketWatch; and Ottaway newspapers. Dow Jones co-owns Factiva with Reuters and SmartMoney with Hearst. Dow Jones also provides news content to CNBC and U.S. radio stations.

About Ernst & Young

Ernst & Young, a global leader in professional services, is committed to enhancing the public's trust in professional services firms and in the quality of financial reporting. Its 107,000 people in 140 countries pursue the highest levels of integrity, quality, and professionalism in providing a range of sophisticated services centered on our core competencies of auditing, accounting, tax, and transactions. Further information about Ernst & Young and its approach to a variety of business issues can be found at www.ey.com/perspectives. Ernst & Young refers to the global organization of member firms of Ernst & Young Global Limited, each of which is a separate legal entity. Ernst & Young Global Limited does not provide services to clients. Ernst & Young LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, is the U.S. client-serving member firm of Ernst & Young Global Limited.

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