Thursday, April 28, 2011

Technology marches on . . . the last manual typewriter company closes down

Thursday, April 14, 2011

OTC Markets Announces Trading Statistics

The OTC Markets Group recently announced trading statistics for each of its tiers in 2010.  The numbers can be found here: http://bit.ly/gWiUce

We compared these statistics with those announced a year ago, covering 2009, which we found here: http://bit.ly/kBhBQT.  The OTC Markets Group tiers and the results of our comparisons are as follows:

OTCQX - the highest tier for companies that go through a rigorous review and meet certain financial standards.  This group more than doubled from 78 to 159 companies between 2009 and 2010

OTCQB - for companies that are "reporting" to the SEC or a banking regulator and are current in their reporting requirements.  This group (with the 2009 numbers combined between the OTCBB on Pink Quote and the OTCBB only) saw a 14% increase, rising from 3,390 to 3,851 reporting companies during the year.

OTC Pink Current Information - for companies that follow certain standards and make certain information available through the OTC Market's news and disclosure service.  This group rose 8% from 1,695 to 1,830 companies.

OTC Pink Limited Information - for companies that may or may not be troubled, but have not been current in reporting through the OTC Market's news and disclosure service.  This group remained at about the same number: 739 in 2009 and 749 in 2010.

OTC Pink No Information - which includes "defunct companies that have ceased operations as well as 'dark' companies with questionable management and market disclosure practices."  This group rose by a whopping 38%, from 2,445 in 2009 to 3,375 in 2010.

The reasons for the activity can be varied -- they could be newly listed companies making their stock available for trading for the first time or they could be companies that once traded on higher exchanges that have been downgraded.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

US government investment in nanotechnology research in 2012: $2.1B

The US government investment in research in nanotechnology, among all the different agencies (e.g., the Department of Energy, the National Science Foundation, Health & Human Services, NIST, etc.) will total $2.1 billion in 2012, according to the National Nanotechnology Initiative (NNI).
That's close to a 15% increase over spending in 2011.  It demonstrates the commitment of the US government to remain in the forefront of nanotechnology research.  Read more here: http://www.nano.gov/

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Drinking clean water from sewage: a nanomesh straw

There's a company called Seldon Technologies that is using nanotechnology in ways that certainly help the human condition.  Imagine being able to extract clean water from sewage, or a scummy pond or other bacteria-laden source.  
Think about the implications of that for places like Rwanda and Haiti, where clean water is scarce.
Forbes recently ran an article (here's a link: ) on Seldon detailing one of its products: a nanomesh filter that could solve a multitude of humanitarian issues, as well as some market potential for things like air, fuel and other filtration.
Another example of nanotechnology making our lives better.