First China (OTC:FCPG) Hits New 52-Week High

First China Pharmaceutical Group (OTC:FCPG), a rapidly growing pharmaceutical distribution company headquartered in Yunnan, China, announced yesterday the signing of three new agreements for the distribution of its growing inventory of over 5,000 medicinal and pharmaceutical product lines to a number of hospitals located in areas that mark significant penetration into new regions of China.

Shares of First China hit a new 52-week high of $1.77 per share today on moderate volume of 305,000 shares. The company has a market cap of $80 million and a 52-week range between $0.80 and $1.77 per share.

These recent agreements bring the Company to a total of thirteen new hospital-level contracts signed in just under 60 days, a new benchmark of success demonstrating Management's extraordinary level of effort and commitment towards increased market growth.

First China is very pleased to extend greetings to the management and staff of the No.1 Peoples Hospital of Hefei (pop. 4,900,000) located in the capital of Anhui province, as well as the Affiliated Hospital of Jilin Medical College located in the northeastern city of Jilin City (pop. 4,500,000), and to the Hospital of No.4 Agriculture Division of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps located in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (pop. 21,590,000), and warmly welcomes them to the Company's rapidly growing national portfolio of institutional-grade clientele.

This news comes on the heels of recent announcements on November 3rd outlining the Company's intent to acquire the interests of De Xin Pharmacy of Kunming City as a retail flagship operation, followed by the November 30th news announcing intent to acquire the interests of well-positioned regional distributor Shandong Run Kang Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. of Jinan City -- located only 250 miles from the national capital of Beijing.

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Google Unveils Its Own iPad

Google Mobile Platform vice president Andy Rubin literally arrived with a bag full of tricks at the D: Get Into Mobile Conference, showing publicly for the very first time an Android "Honeycomb" tablet.

The roughly 10-inch Motorola device was sleek, black, thin, and sported an Android interface unlike any we've seen before. There was a very clean homepage, but the app page looked almost Apple iPad-like. Plus, when Rubin brought up the Gmail app, it looked almost exactly like Gmail on the iPad.

Rubin didn't offer my many spec details on the tablet, which he joked would cost $10,000, but he did say it was running an Nvidia dual core CPU (presumably a Tegra).

Mostly, Rubin showed off an upcoming version of Google Maps for Android (which should release "within days"). It adds a new vector-based map drawing system, which appeared to improve speed and map flexibility. As Rubin manipulated the map with his fingers, it changed from a flat map to a three-dimensional outline of the roads and buildings.

In general, Rubin said he believes tablets "represent a fundamental change in the way computing works." By allowing users to interact with them physically, tablets have, Rubin explained, "removed a degree of abstraction."

Honeycomb should release sometime next year and most major OEMs planning on building Android tablets have expressed interest in using this version of the Android platform—which Rubin said is built for tablets. He did, however, say that Honeycomb adds APIs called fragments that allow one app to hold multiple views for different platforms (phones and tablets).

Rubin also showed off the recently unveiled Google Nexus S. Like the Nexus One, the S is a "pure Android, pure Google phone." It's available at Best Buy for $199 with a T-Mobile contract and $529 unlocked. Google is not trying to sell the Nexus S on its own. Rubin admitted that with the Nexus One and Google online retail store, the company "bit off more than it could chew," and realized that instead of trying to negotiate deals with every carrier in every language, their resources could be better used elsewhere.

Rubin literally waved around the small black phone to show off its new gyroscope. He also demonstrated the Nexus S's new Near Field Communication capabilities. Built on Android 2.3 (Gingerbread), this is the first Android phone to natively support NFC. Since NFC support is actually part of Gingerbread, Rubin expects to see many more phones offering the technology. To demonstrate how it works, Rubin held the back of the phone (which has an NFC antenna embedded in the back of its case) against a special card. It read the code in the card, which led the phone to a URL and a video, which then played on the phone's large screen.

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Stocks to Watch Today

Home Depot, the No. 1 home-improvement retailer, said Wednesday it expects fiscal-year sales to rise 2.3% with earnings from continuing operations up 27% to $1.97 a share.Shares of the company were a tad lower at $33.46, down 0.3% in premarket trading.

Costco said fiscal first-quarter earnings rose 17% as sales at its warehouse stores jumped 11%. Shares of Costco were 0.2% lower to $69.49 in premarket trading Wednesday.

Texas Instruments tightened its fiscal fourth-quarter outlook after Tuesday's closing bell saying it now sees earnings of 61 cent sto 65 cents a share on revenue ranging from $3.43 billion to $3.57 billion. Texas Instruments shares fell 0.8% to $33.15 in premarket trading.

Fortune Brands on Wednesday confirmed reports it will break itself into three separate companies. The company, whose products include Maker's Mark bourbon whisky and Titleist golf products, said it will spin off its home and security division to shareholders, try to sell or spin off its golf products business, and continue as a public liquor company. Shares were rising in the premarket by $3.35, or 5.48%, to $64.50.

The U.S. Treasury has reached terms on the sale of the remainder of its stake in Citigroup, pricing the final 2.4 billion common shares at $4.35 each. Citigroup shares were down 0.2% to $4.61.

Men's Wearhouse, the Houston-based men's apparel retailer, forecast a much wider than expected loss for the current quarter, citing increased costs from bonus payments and medical expenses. There were no premarket quotes for Men's Wearhouse. The stock settled 0.4% higher at $28.74 Tuesday, but tumbled 8.7% to $26.24 in after-hours trading.

Netflix said Chief Financial Officer Brian McCarthy is leaving. McCarthy's departure is effective Friday, making for a rather abrupt transition for replacement David Wells, who most recently served as vice president of financial planning and analysis. Shares of the company were down 3.7% to $182.80 in premarket trading.

Orexigen Therapeutics' Contrave, the weight loss drug, has been recommended for approval by a Food and Drug Administration panel. Shares of Orexigen surged 139.7% to $11.41. Other companies also working on diet drugs include Vivus and Arena Pharmaceuticals. The stocks rose 15.4% to $9 and 11.4% to $1.57, respectively.

H&R Block posted weaker-than-expected quarterly financial results after the closing bell Tuesday. There were no premarket quotes for the stock. It settled 4.1% higher at $13.55 on Tuesday.

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Google Will Decapitate Amazon

We expected Google to launch its upcoming e-book store before the end of the year, and the company announced Monday that the new Google eBookstore is now open for business in the US. Google is touting the "open" nature of its e-books by making them accessible to the widest array of popular e-reader devices, including the iPad, Nook, and Sony Reader.

Google's new eBookstore works a little differently than other stores—at least when it comes to reading via computer. All purchased titles are kept in Google's cloud-based storage and accessed via a browser. When reading via an iOS or Android-based device, a dedicated app can download and cache titles for reading offline. And for devices compatible with Adobe's DRM-protected e-book formats—including Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble Nook—PDF or EPUB files can be downloaded and transferred to your device using Adobe Editions software.

Those hoping Google meant "DRM-free" when it said "open" will be disappointed, though, as may users of Amazon's popular Kindle e-reader. "Currently, Google eBooks are not compatible with Amazon Kindle devices, though we are open to supporting them in the future," the company noted in a support document.

Google has also partnered with Powell's, Alibris, and participating members of the American Booksellers Association to offer rebranded Google e-books through their respective websites. "You can choose where to buy your e-books like you choose where to buy your print books, and keep them all on the same bookshelf regardless of where you got them," according to Google Books product manager Abraham Murray.

Google said that its library of over 3 million books is one of the largest in the world. "Hundreds of thousands" are on sale (similar to libraries from Amazon, Kobo, and Apple) while the rest are public domain titles available from the Google Books project.

The proposed settlement to sell e-book versions of copyrighted books hasn't yet received final approval from the courts, but the Google eBookstore puts all the technological pieces in to place so additional titles can be made available once it is. Some publishers worried that approval of the deal could create an e-book duopoly between Amazon and Google, but Apple's iBookstore and Barnes & Noble's Kobo-powered store have opened since it was originally announced.

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WikiLeaks CEO Arrested in London

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested Tuesday on a Swedish warrant, London's Metropolitan Police said.

Assange turned himself in at a London police station at 9:30 a.m. and will appear at the City of Westminster Magistrate's Court at 2 p.m., police said.

Swedish authorities had issued the warrant for Assange so they can talk to him about sex-crime allegations unrelated to WikiLeaks' recent disclosure of secret U.S. documents.

Assange has not been charged.

At court, Assange will be able to respond to the arrest warrant, and the court will then have roughly 21 days to decide whether to extradite him, said Mark Ellis, executive director of the International Bar Association.

Even though the Swedish warrant is a European arrest warrant designed for easy transfer of suspects among European states, Assange may still choose to fight it -- something his London lawyer has promised to do, according to the Press Association.

If the court does decide to allow his extradition, Assange will be allowed to appeal that decision, too, elongating the legal process, Ellis said.

Assange, a 39-year-old Australian, has said he has long feared retribution for his website's disclosures and has called the rape allegations against him a smear campaign.

Sweden first issued the arrest warrant for Assange in November, saying he is suspected of one count of rape, two counts of sexual molestation and one count of unlawful coercion -- or illegal use of force -- allegedly committed in August.

The Australian High Commission in London said Tuesday it was providing consular assistance to Assange as they "would to any Australian under arrest."

Last week, at the request of Sweden's Stockholm Criminal Court, Interpol issued a "red notice" placing Assange on a list of wanted suspects.

A spokesman for WikiLeaks said Tuesday the legal proceedings in London had not affected the site, which facilitates the anonymous leaking of secret information.

"WikiLeaks is operating as normal, and we plan to release documents on schedule," spokesman Kristinn Hrafnson said.

WikiLeaks has been under intense pressure from the United States and its allies since it began posting the first of more than 250,000 U.S. State Department documents November 28.

Since then, the site has been hit with denial-of-service attacks, been kicked off servers in the United States and France, and found itself cut off from funds in the United States and Switzerland.

In response, the site has rallied supporters to mirror its content "in order to make it impossible to ever fully remove WikiLeaks from the internet," with more than 500 sites responding to the appeal by Monday evening, it said.

WikiLeaks has also posted a massive, closely encrypted file, identified as "insurance" -- a file Assange's lawyer has described as a "thermonuclear device." Assange has said the more than 100,000 people who have downloaded the file will receive the key to decoding it should anything happen to him or should the site be taken down.

"The insurance file will only be activated in the gravest of circumstances if WikiLeaks is no longer operational," Hrafnson said.

Ira Winkler, a former National Security Agency analyst, said the file is nearly impossible to decode without the key.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said he has authorized "significant" actions related to a criminal investigation of WikiLeaks, saying U.S. national security has been put at risk.

"We are doing everything that we can," Holder said Monday, though he declined to answer questions about the possibility that the U.S. government could shut down WikiLeaks.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the leaked information is also a danger to British national security, calling the leaks "reprehensible" and "irresponsible."

"Governments have to be able to transmit confidential information, to share confidential information, of course, for them to be able to go about their job," Hague told CNN affiliate ITN. "We think it can be a danger to our national security."

Holder also refused to say whether the actions involved search warrants or requests under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which authorizes wiretaps or other means, describing them only as "significant."

Asked Tuesday in Afghanistan for his response to the arrest, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said, "I haven't heard that, but it sounds like good news to me."

Monday, WikiLeaks published a secret U.S. diplomatic cable listing places the United States considers vital to its national security, prompting criticism from both the United States and Britain that the site is inviting terrorist attacks on American interests.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said the disclosure "gives a group like al Qaeda a targeting list."

The sites are included in a lengthy cable the State Department sent in February 2009 to its posts around the world, asking American diplomats to identify installations overseas "whose loss could critically impact the public health, economic security, and/or national and homeland security of the United States."

The diplomats identified dozens of places on every continent, including mines, manufacturing complexes, ports and research establishments. CNN is not publishing specific details from the list, which refers to pipelines and undersea telecommunications cables as well as the location of minerals or chemicals critical to U.S. industry.

Other leaked documents reveal confidential information relayed by U.S. embassies around the world that shed light on the United States and other countries.

A cable prepared for the visit of U.S. Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke to Saudi Arabia earlier this year says terrorist funding emanating from the kingdom remains a "serious concern."

A series of cables from last year show Chinese officials were increasingly anxious about their citizens obtaining uncensored online content through Google. One Politburo member said he believed the search engine was a "tool" of the U.S. government.

U.S. diplomatic cables from Mexico say their war against drug cartels is frustrated by a risk-averse army and interagency rivalries. It does, however, highlight outstanding successes against cartel bosses.

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LargeCap Stocks to Watch Today

AutoZone reported an increase in first-quarter net income of 20.1% from a year earlier to $172.1 million, or $3.77 a share. Net sales rose about 12.7% to $1.79 billion. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $3.40 a share on sales of $1.71 billion. Domestic same-store sales increased 9.5% in the quarter. AutoZone shares rose 1.5% to $265.75 in premarket trading Tuesday.

Sprint Nextel says it plans to spend between $4 billion and $5 billion to upgrade its U.S. network plan for U.S. customers. Sprint estimates the financial benefit of the investment for a seven-year period to be between $10 billion and $11 billion. Shares of Sprint have risen 3.1% to $4.30 in premarket trading Tuesday.

AGL Resources will buy Nicor in a cash and stock deal with an enterprise value of $3.1 billion. The merger creates one of the top U.S. natural gas distributors. Nicor shares rose 7.9% to $50.45 in premarket trading Tuesday while AGL shares fell 0.8% to $36.85.

Molycorp, a rare-earths company, is reportedly in talks with Japan's Sumitomo Corp. for the Japanese trading firm to buy a stake in Molycorp. Molycorp was up 0.5% to $33.03 in premarket trading Tuesday. The stock rose 18.2% to $32.86 on Monday after reports of a deal with Sumitomo surfaced.

Ahead of its participation in an analysts meeting in New York Tuesday, 3M said it expects to earn $6.17 to $6.37 a share, excluding pension expenses, in 2011. Analysts expect 2011 earnings of $6.20 a share. The company expects 2011 sales of $29 billion to $30.5 billion vs. the consensus target of $29.15 billion. 3M shares have tacked on 0.7% to $87.50 in early trading Tuesday.

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Sad Day for Cub Fans: Ron Santo Dead at 70

Legendary Chicago Cubs player and broadcaster Ron Santo died Thursday night in Arizona. He was 70. Friends of Santo's family said the North Side icon lapsed into a coma on Wednesday before dying Thursday. Santo died of complications from bladder cancer, WGN-AM 720 reported. "He absolutely loved the Cubs," said Santo's broadcast partner, Pat Hughes. "The Cubs have lost their biggest fan."

Hughes noted that with all the medical problems Santo had--including diabetes with resulting leg amputations, his heart and bladder cancer--"he never complained. He wanted to have fun. He wanted to talk baseball."

"He considered going to games therapeutic. He enjoyed himself in the booth right to the end."

"We were together for so long," said a mournful Billy Williams, who played alongside Santo for many years. "We formed a bond. It's just like losing a brother."

Cubs Chairman Tom Ricketts released a statement: "My siblings and I first knew Ron Santo as fans, listening to him in the broadcast booth. We knew him for his passion, his loyalty, his great personal courage and his tremendous sense of humor. It was our great honor to get to know him personally in our first year as owners.

"Ronnie will forever be the heart and soul of Cubs fans."

The former Cubs third baseman had continued to work as a Cubs analyst on WGN, the team's flagship radio broadcast, despite his health issues. He was expected to return for the 2011 season. He missed several road trips in 2010 but insisted he would return.

"What else am I going to do?" Santo said during this past season. "Doing the Cubs games is like therapy for me."

Former Cubs teammate Randy Hundley, who also worked in the broadcast booth with Santo, said none of Santo's teammates realized he had diabetes until one night in St. Louis when he made a bad throw to first base and went down on one knee in pain.

Later they found out Santo had had the disease for six years, Hundley said. "We kidded him about it quite a bit, made his life miserable at times," said the former catcher.

Former Cubs President John McDonough compared Santo to Harry Caray, another baseball broadcasting legend, noting neither had a filter, broadcast with unvarnished emotion and were enormously entertaining.

Santo mangled names, sometimes lost track of what was going on in a game and occasionally didn't realize some player had been on the roster for months, but none of that mattered because people loved it, McDonough said. "We almost thought he was doing it on purpose," he said. "It added so much entertainment value."

One of the rare times he saw Santo visibly upset, McDonough recalled, was after Frank Sinatra Jr. sang during the 7th-inning stretch years ago. As Sinatra left the booth, he turned to Santo and told him he thought Santo was one of the best pitchers he had ever seen. "Ronny lost it," McDonough said.

Santo was the quintessential Cubs fan and made no apologies for his on-air cheerleading or his utter frustration over a Cub's misplay.

On many occasions, when Santo was upset with the way things were going for the team, a simple grunt sufficed.

"I'm a fan," he explained last summer. "I can't plan what I do. I get embarrassed sometimes when I hear what I said, like, 'Oh, no, what's going on?' But it's an emotion.

"This is being a Cub fan."

Alternative Energy Policy Suffers from Myopia

By: Brittney Barrett

Amid mounting concern regarding the U.S. dependence on fossil fuels, biofuels, which are grown and not processed, have been lauded as the solution to sustainability. New reports released by the ETC Group, an international sustainability and conservation organization; however, are revealing biofuels are not as green as many originally believed.

The 84-page document released by the ETC, presents a protracted analysis of what it calls "the new bioeconomy," arguing that the use of biofuels for energy and resources can in some instances, present environmental consequences that rival those of coal. Emission wise, when something like a tree is burned in order to create fuel, it lets out an amount of carbon dioxide comparable to coal. Despite this, there appears to be a public understanding of biofuel as carbon neutral, the result of an early miscalculation from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) pertaining to biofuel’s potential to reduce carbon emissions. The categorization of biomass for energy as “Low-carbon energy supply systems,” with the potential to “directly reduce CO2 emission has led to destructive national renewables policies, carbon trading, and technology transfer activities.

In addition to posing similar emission related risks to the environments, biomass, or the living matter intended to replace fossil carbon, could pose a huge threat to the food supply.

“The most productive and accessible biomass is in the global South – exactly where by 2050, there may be another 2 billion mouths to feed on lands that (thanks to climate chaos) may yield 20-50% less,” the report’s author writes. “Although this would seem to be the worst time possible to put new pressures on living systems, governments are being told that “Synthetic Biology” – a technology just being invented – will make and transform all the biomass we will ever need to replace all the fossil fuels we currently use.”

Synthetic biology is essentially the creation of new organisms that have never existed in nature that will be used in order to create biofuel. This sector of biomass creationism is moving very quickly and with little regulation, meaning it’s difficult to determine how successful or dangerous a venture this will be. The author of the study believes that research should cease until we are able to predict the consequences that the introduction of new organisms would pose for climate change, the world’s ecosystems, food and energy supplies and for livelihoods and land rights.

This full force ahead approach to research and implementation of biomass and biofuel related endeavors, born from the urgency of diminishing fossil fuels is problematic. Finding a viable alternative is necessary, but as could be observed by the backlash met from the European Union’s mandate (requiring that biodiesel account for 10% of all transportation fuel) impetuousness comes at a cost. Recent drafts from the EU reveal modeling exercises that indicate the mandate could yield undesirable global consequences via commodity markets.

One draft report cautions, “The simulated effects of EU biofuel policies imply a considerable shock to the agricultural commodity markets.”

Another, according to a Reuter’s article claims, "Current and future support of biofuels...is likely to accelerate the expansion of land under crops, particularly in Latin America and Asia."

Responding to these developments, the United Nations has spoken out regarding the potential dangers of the continued implementation of these policies and are actively urging the EU to reconsider their commitment to biofuel until its extended consequences can be fully recognized.

Early claims that the earth can produce enough biomass to support a biomass-based economy are being rescinded as new reports indicate we are already, in the words of Jim Thomas at the ETC “deeply overdrawn at the biomass bank.”

“Attempts to define a limit for human use of natural resources beyond which ecosystems lose resilience and begin to break down reveal that we consumed past such limits twenty years ago and are now in severe ‘Earth overshoot,’” he adds.

Even in light of these revelations, scientists and policy makers, desperate to solve the daunting dilemma that is nonrenewable resources are following every possible lead, in many cases, with perilous enthusiasm.

There is a degree of tunnel vision among policy makers that has blocked out peripheral possibilities for extending the lifeline of current fossil fuels and creating policies that are sustainable and implemented at a pace that allows for long-term risk assessment.

Laboratory research from one Santa Barbara based company, Save the World Air (OTCBB: ZERO) shows their Applied Oil Technology, AOT™ requires approximately ten times less energy than existing heating and chemical additive treatments, and has the potential to reduce viscosity of crude oil by up to 50%. This in turn, would reduce the amount of energy consumed worldwide in the production of energy on an enormous scale, buying us time while science explores new technologies and energy sources rather than crashing head on into unforeseen obstacles with unproven technologies. STWA’s other technology, Elektra, provides a similar solution for diesel-fueled fleets, including trucks, military vessels, cargo ships, airplanes, and rail systems. The technology promotes greater efficiency and emission reduction by improving the misting capabilities of the fuel prior to its combustion with the aim of increasing fuel economy.

The lack of media attention these sort of developments have received is indicative of the mindset policy makers have taken toward the fossil fuel problem up until this point.

“Everyone is looking for an overnight fix to bridge the gap before energy alternatives such as solar power or hybrid systems become commercially viable,” said Cecil Bond Kyte the company’s C.E.O. “Until we figure out how to reduce the fully burdened cost of those technologies, we have to find a more efficient way to use our existing energy sources.”

3 Things you need to know before Trading Today

Stocks in Asian trade were generally little changed and with mixed results overnight. The Hang Seng lost a half percent, but Australia was up a third of a percent, while the Nikkei and Shanghai were both essentially unchanged. Similar story for European Indexes, with both the Dax and Footsie unchanged at the moment. US stock futures are basically unchanged.

*The November reading of China’s service sector Purchasing Managers Index was sharply lower on the month, down to 53.2 from an October result of 60.5. It is the lowest mark since February.

*European debt spreads continue to narrow this morning as reports circulate that the ECB is buying the debt of Ireland and Portugal.

*The final November reading of Germany’s service sector PMI was surprisingly revised higher to 59.2 from 58.6, a steady result was expected.

*The November reading of Switzerland’s Consumer Price Index was a tenth more than forecast at +0.2% on a month on month basis and +0.2% year on year.

*The November reading of the UK’s service sector PMI was down two tenths to 53.0, it had been expected to be steady at 53.2.

*The November reading of the Employment Situation Report is due out at 7:30am CST. The Unemployment Rate is expected to be steady at 9.6%; total Non-farm Payrolls are forecast to be +150k and the private sector reading estimate is +160k; Average Hourly Earnings are expected to be +0.2% on a month on month basis and the Average Work Week estimate is steady at 34.3 hours. The November reading of the ISM Non-manufacturing Index is due out at 9:00am CST, it is expected to rise a half point on the month to 54.8. Also due out at 9:00am CST is the October reading of Factory Orders, the estimate is -1.2% from the month before.

*The Fed is scheduled to buy Treasuries today that are due to mature between 6/15/13 and 11/30/14; the results of the operation will be announced just after 10:00am CST.

True 2 Beauty (Pinksheets:TRTB): Over Subscribed and Cashed Up

True 2 Beauty (Pinksheets:TRTB ), a leading manufacturer and distributor of male sexual potency pills and liquid products in the United States, announced the "Libigrow" family of products (www.libigrow.com) will have much larger production capacity as a result of a private placement of five million dollars. The financing is at $0.20 per share and no warrants are attached. The first $2,300,000 has been subscribed and the first wire transfer order has been received. Accredited investor customers of True 2 Beauty and European Accredited investors are the subscribers. The company expects to have the offering over subscribed.

Proceeds will be used to increase the company's Los Angeles manufacturing facility from its current one million pills per month to twenty million pills per month. Alex Hbaiu, President and CEO of True 2 Beauty, Inc., stated, "This financing to expand our production will allow us to quickly fill our order backlog and to sign new orders from customers we met at this month's National Convenience Store Trade Show (NACS) which has 143,000 members in the United States."

About True 2 Beauty, Inc. True 2 Beauty, Inc. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of male sexual potency pills and liquid products in the United States. The True 2 Beauty, Inc. line of current products includes Libigrow, Libigirl, Libiliquid Shots and the Libiliquid Relaxation Drink. More information on the Company and its line of products can be found at www.libigrow.com.

First China (OTC:FCPG) Signs Distribution Agreements with Hospitals in China

First China Pharmaceutical Group, Inc. (OTC:FCPG) hit a new 52-week high today of $1.49 on heavy volume after announcing new distribution clients in China. In late trading, shares of First China were still up 20 percent at $1.38 per share on volume of more than 718,000 shares compared to its average daily volume of only 237,000 shares. First China has a market cap of $62 million with a 52-week between $0.80 and $1.49 per share.

First China, a rapidly growing pharmaceutical distribution company headquartered in Yunnan, China, announced the recent signing of agreements to distribute its full inventory of over 5,000 medicinal and pharmaceutical product lines to two district hospitals in Yunnan Province, resulting in a total of ten new hospital agreements in less than 60 days, a significant increase in market share for the Company.

First China's Management welcomes the Kunming Maternal & Child Health Care Hospital and Kunming General Hospital of Chengdu Military Command to the Company's rapidly growing list of institutional customers.

First China plans to continue its strategic growth of the company as demonstrated by announcements on November 3rd outlining the Company's intent to acquire the interests of De Xin Pharmacy of Kunming City as a potential flagship retail outlet, and the November 30th news announcing intent to acquire the interests of Shandong Run Kang Pharmaceutical Co. Inc. of Jinan City in Shandong Province, a well-positioned and undervalued regional distribution company offering excellent development upside potential.

First China plans to continue the growth of the company from its current position as a provider of approximately 5,000 drugs to more than 4,700 pharmacies, hospitals and clinics in China's Yunnan Province. The Company intends for its business model to leverage the efficiencies of internet ordering and fulfillment and to rapidly expand its capacity to approximately 30,000 products. It is estimated that a broader product line will ensure customers will be able to order 60% to 70% of their product needs directly from the Company.

First China aims to develop a high growth pharmaceutical distribution company generating significant revenue from the sale of healthcare products in China. As part of its business strategy, the Company has acquired the assets of Kun Ming Xin Yuan Tang Pharmacies Co. Ltd., which includes a strategic advantage over its competitors as it is believed to be one of a limited number of pharmaceutical distribution companies in Yunnan Province that has obtained government approval to fulfill orders over the Internet.

For more information visit: www.firstchinapharma.com

DISCLOSURE: NO POSITIONS

Zumiez (NASDAQ:ZUMZ): Retail Run into Holidays

Zumiez reported 3Q comps, revenue, and EPS of 14.4%, $135.9M, and $0.40, versus estimates for 14.4%, $135.9M, and $0.36 (consensus $0.36.) EPS upside was a function of better than expected gross margin, which came in at 39% versus estimates for 37% and up 362bp Y/Y. Total SG&A as a percentage of revenue was 25.1% versus estimates for 24.7%. SG&A as a percentage of revenue was down 261bp Y/Y as a function of leverage on the 14.4% comp.

Solid inventory management, with benefits from DC relocation. Total inventories of $87M were up 8.8 Y/Y on 20% Y/Y revenue growth, bringing days inventory to 78 days, down 5 days Y/Y and $3.9M below estimates. Inventories benefited from reduced in-transit inventories with relocation of the DC to California (70% of suppliers located in California.)

November comp momentum continues. November comps were reported in conjunction with 3Q results. Comps were up 20.7% bringing total sales to $40.4M, versus prior model for 17.5% comps. On a two-year stack, comps were up 12.2%, versus 12.6% two-year comps in October. Thanksgiving comps were similar to full month results. Comps were led by transactions, offset by dollars per transaction, as a result of lower AUR and units per transaction. The South led the comp in the month. All categories, with the exception of boys posted positive comps.

4Q comp guidance ahead of our expectations, EPS guidance brackets prior model. 4Q guidance was introduced for: 1) low double-digit to mid-teen comps (implies high single to low double-digit comps in December and January); 2) Revenue of $153-157M in revenue; 3) Approximately 200bp of gross margin expansion: 4) Approximately 100bp or SG&A leverage: 5) Operating margin of 13-14%; and 5) EPS of $0.43-0.47. Our F4Q comp, revenue, and EPS estimates were for 9.2%, $150.8M, and $0.44 (consensus 7.9%, $149.4M, $0.41.) Management noted that it expects slowing comps as it faces more challenging comparisons. Preliminary commentary for 2011 was introduced for: 1) Store growth of 8-10% Y/Y; and 2) merchandise margin pressure, particularly in 2H, due to labor, commodity, and transportation cost pressure.

We continue to expect a slowing of comps to a sustainable 4-5%; long-term potential for store productivity of $460/square foot. Over the past five years, store productivity has declined from a peak of $503.5/average square foot in 2006 to $379.1/average square foot, a 25% decline. In our view, this is a function of both: 1) structural changes (increasing presence in markets where the action sports lifestyle has less resonance, shifting competitive environment within the mall); and 2) macro-level changes (declining consumer apparel spend, juniors fashion shift.) We expect these structural changes will hold back recovery of the concept, and as such view it as appropriate to lay out a cautious scenario for 4-5% comps going forward, bringing productivity back to $460/square foot over the next 5 years.

ZAGG (Nasdaq:ZAGG): Smartphone Surge + Accessories

Despite a decline in consumer electronics this season, the smartphone market remains in excellent health. A report from Flurry Analytics indicated a growth in smartphone sales of 21% week-over-week with nearly 275,000 units sold as well as a 57% week-over-week increase for Black Friday with just short of 370,000 units sold. Cyber Monday sales were even better, exceeding Black Friday by 31% according to IBM Coremetrics. The tech behemoth’s aren’t the only ones benefitting from the high sales; however. These numbers bode well for tech behemoth’s like Apple, Google and Samsung and accessories and application makers both. Tech trinkets don’t come cheap and for every iPhone or iPad sold, a cover of portable keypad is likely to be purchased either with it or in the aftermath of the first scratch meaning investors looking to get a piece of the smartphone pie have a new avenue to pursue.

ZAGG (Nasdaq:ZAGG), which designs, manufactures and distributes protective coverings audio accessories and power solutions for consumer electronic and hand-held devices, is among the public companies reaping the benefitting from the staggering rise in smartphone sales. For the third quarter that ended September 30, 2010 ZAGG posted revenue of $23.1 million, a 137% increase over the same period last year and a 53% increase from the prior quarter.

The positive impact of the new mobile device introductions and high sales can be expected to continue through the holiday season as sales of smartphones surge to their highest levels.
When ZAGG first began it was a small company traded on the Pink Sheets but the rate of Smartphone adoption has been such that the company is now traded on NASDAQ and has been steadily making gains for some time. Its products, sold under the brand names invisibleSHIELD, ZAGGaudio and ZAGGaudio have been awarded shelf space at many top retailers alongside smartphones, attracting the attention of conscientious buyers.

Aligning themselves with smartphones and more recently tablet computer’s like Apple’s wildly popular iPad has been a highly successful endeavor for the company, prompting ZAGG to expand their product list to include the ZAGGmate a mobile keyboard for the iPad that debuted at Best Buy on Black Friday. ZAGG's tangential approach to the smartphone and tablet market is one that could be potentially mimicked by investor's trying to turn a profit from smartphones without directly investing in the companies that create them.

New Wind Farm Gives Far East Wind Power (OTC:FEWP) Solid Jump

It has been a very active day for FEWP today after announcing big news yesterday about a new wind farm project in China. In late trading, shares of the Company were up more than 12 percent at $0.41 per share on volume of 1 million shares compared to its average daily volume of about 243,000 shares. FEWP has a market cap of $17 million and a 52-week range between $0.12 and $1.51 per share.

Far East Wind Power Corp. (OTC:FEWP) has entered into a binding Letter of Intent ("LOI") with Tianlanhengfeng Electrical Power Corporation of Hohhot, Inner Mongolia (the "Owner") in order to jointly develop and operate a wind farm project located in Wulatehou Qi, Inner Mongolia, China (the "Project").

The Mongolian project is planned for a total capacity of 300MW with a first phase of 50MW. Development plans call for a total of 6 phases at 50MW each. The Owner has obtained all the necessary approvals and permits from the local government and has commenced construction.

Far East and the owner plan to establish a Joint Venture (JV) in order to develop the first 50MW collectively and then aim to proceed with ongoing phases to completion. Details regarding the establishment of the JV will be announced upon completion of negotiations.

James Crane, Company CFO, stated, "We continue to take advantage of a niche marketplace in China. As previously stated, Chinese state-owned enterprises are developing wind farms but there is not enough development to meet China's stated renewable energy goals and many entrepreneurs in China are attempting to enter the wind farm marketplace. Consequently, we are diligently working with these entrepreneurs to provide them with capital and refine their business plans so that, as partners, we can develop assets that will generate substantial mutual cash flow for many years to come."

Far East's Chairman and CEO, Liu Xiaobu, states, "We are very confident regarding this project as it is a mature and highly promising prospect. We also look forward to a long-term relationship with Mr. He Jianxun, Chairman of Tianlanhengfeng Electrical Power Corporation, a well-known and respected leader in the industry who has shown great interest and enthusiasm for our proposals and has indicated the desire to sign a definitive agreement as soon as reasonably possible."

Far East Wind Power aims to generate clean and profitable energy in one of the world's fastest growing energy sectors through access to a portfolio of utility-class wind power development projects. Far East will inject innovation to drive cost out of turbine manufacturing, introduce new technologies and strategic relationships, and aggressively pursue all available low costs of capital to deliver the most competitive cost per capacity and highest rates of return in the Asian marketplace.

For more information, visit: www.fareastwind.com.

DISCLOSURE: NO POSITIONS

Steady Growth and Profits for Earthstone Energy (OTC:BSIC)

Steady growth for Earthstone Energy (OTC:BSIC) has attracted quite a number of buyers today as the stock’s volume has spiked to nearly a million shares traded compared to its average daily volume of only 16,000 shares. BSIC also hit a new 52-week high of $2.40 per share today which represents nearly a 100 percent increase in its stock price for the day. This lightly traded SmallCap stock has a market cap of $31 million and a 52-week range between $0.60 and $2.40 per share.

Revenues for the three and six months ended September 30, 2010 was $1,970,000 and $3,733,000, compared to revenues of $2,010,000 and $3,470,000 for the three and six months ended September 30, 2009.

Net income for the three and six months ended September 30, 2010 was $724,000 and $1,102,000, compared to net income of $271,000 and $520,000 for the three and six months ended September 30, 2009.

Oil sales volume decreased 6.3%, from 27,266 barrels in 2009 to 25,551 barrels in 2010 while there was an increase of 2.4% in the average price per barrel from $62.75 in 2009 to $64.26 in 2010. Gas sales volume decreased 47.3% from 84,140 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) in 2009 to 44,338 Mcf in 2010, while the average price per Mcf increased 108.5%, from $3.55 in 2009 to $7.40 in 2010.

Earthstone Energy is an independent oil and gas exploration and production company with primary operations in the Williston Basin, the Denver-Julesburg Basin in Colorado, southern Texas and the onshore Gulf Coast area.

Information on Earthstone can be found at its web site: www.earthstoneenergy.com.

DISCLOSURE: NO POSITIONS

New 52-Week High for New Energy Tech (OTC:NENE)

New Energy Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB:NENE) today announced that the Company has entered into an expanded License Agreement with the University of South Florida Research Foundation, Inc. (USFRF) to include several additional technologies which enable development of SolarWindow, the world’s first-of-its-kind product capable of generating electricity on see-thru glass windows.

Shares of New Energy responded very favorably to the news hitting a new 52-week high of $1.89 per share on more than double its average daily volume.

Under terms of the agreement, the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, New Energy Solar Corporation, obtained an exclusive worldwide commercial license to numerous discoveries important to achieving transparency and ease of manufacturing of SolarWindow. Included are new patent filings and inventions, which:

• Allow electricity-generating coatings to be sprayed onto surfaces while remaining see-thru; and
• Enable fabrication of novel ‘contacts’ which conduct electricity on SolarWindow, yet remain see-thru. Conventional contacts for conducting electricity make use of metals which can block visibility and inhibit transparency.

“Through our licensing arrangement, each new scientific and technical discovery in the research facility brings SolarWindow one step closer to commercialization,” stated Mr. John A. Conklin, President & CEO of New Energy Technologies, Inc. “This expanded License Agreement strengthens New Energy’s intellectual property portfolio and reinforces our confidence in knowing that important technologies are secured exclusively for our worldwide use as we move SolarWindow towards pre-production scale-up and eventual commercial launch.”

"It's exciting to see bench research applied to the development of meaningful commercial products. Our ongoing collaboration, through this expanded license agreement, with New Energy to develop the SolarWindow technology could transform the way in which we view the use of solar energy for our homes, offices, and commercial buildings," stated Ms. Valerie Landrio McDevitt, Assistant Vice President for Research, Division of Patents and Licensing, University of South Florida, and U.S. Registered Patent Attorney.

USFRF has licensed numerous groundbreaking discoveries and important commercial processes and applications to New Energy for the development of its SolarWindow. These inventions have been discovered under the auspices of Lead Researcher and Physicist, Dr. Xiaomei Jiang at the University of South Florida.

Currently under development, SolarWindow is the first-of-its-kind see-thru glass window technology capable of generating electricity, and according to the Company’s internal financial modeling and energy savings calculations, able to outperform conventional rooftop solar installations by more than 300% when applied to the window facades of commercial skyscrapers. One aspect of New Energy's technology and product development plans for SolarWindow addresses the potential application and use in the estimated 5 million commercial buildings in America (Energy Information Administration) and more than 80 million single detached homes.

Shares of New Energy responded very favorably to the news hitting a new 52-week high of $1.89 per share on more than double its average daily volume.