Companies featured in the current edition of the newsletter:  CVM, PHC, IMUC, IWEB, MFGD, NWCI

The markets stumbled into February in what appeared to be a rollercoaster ride of a week for the major indices.   The Dow, after falling below the psychologically significant 10,000 level, battled back to close out the week at 10,012, down 0.55% or 55 points from last week and 3.99% since January 1st.  The NASDAQ suffered mildly, losing 6 points or 0.29% to close at 2141.  It is now down 5.64% YTD.  The S&P 500 fell 8 points to finish the week at 1066, losing 0.72%.  The Russell 2000 slipped as well, giving up 9 points, or 1.50%, to close the week out at 593.  Both the S&P & the Russell are down 4.39% and 5.18%, respectively, for the year.

Earnings reports were a mixed bag last week.  The oil industry suffered as its two largest companies, Royal Dutch and Shell, sustained double-digit fourth-quarter profit losses, with Shell's dropping 23% and Royal Dutch's falling by 75%.  UPS posted slightly-better-than-expected profits, beating predictions by $0.01 and announcing its first dividend increase in two years.  Visa, Time Warner, and Cigna also reported Q4 profit gains.

Economic releases brought generally upbeat news.  Despite reports of a decline in jobs in some major sectors, unemployment surprisingly slimmed down to 9.7%.  Consumer Credit fell for the eleventh consecutive month in a row, dropping by almost $2 billion, and hitting its lowest level since 1975.  The ISM reported that its non-manufacturing index, a reflection of the strength of the service sector, encouragingly climbed over 50% to 50.5, but left most unimpressed after falling short of expected growth. 

Those companies reporting earnings this week include CVS Caremark Corp (NYSE: CVS) and Hasbro, Inc. (NYSE: HAS) on Monday morning.  On Tuesday, Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Pulte Homes, Inc. (NYSE: PHM) announce before the bell, with The Walt-Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) announcing after.  Wednesday, Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. (NYSE: SNI), Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S), and the Omnicom Group (NYSE: OMC) will make pre-market announcements, with Boston Scientific Corp. (NYSE: BSX) coming in after the bell.  Thursday morning will unveil earnings for Alcatel-Lucent (NYSE: ALU), PepsiCo. (NYSE: PEP), and Viacom (NYSE: VIA.B).

Economic releases get started later than usual, with Wholesales Inventories at 10:00am on Tuesday.  Wednesday morning weekly Crude Inventories will be announced, followed by the Treasury Budget at 2:00pm.  Initial and Continuing Jobless Claims and Retail Sales for January will both be announced Thursday morning at 8:30am, and Friday morning at 9:55am, the University of Michigan will issue its Consumer Sentiment report for February.

The conference schedule for the week kicks off Monday with the three-day UBS Global Healthcare Services Conference in New York.  ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Inc. (OTCBB: IMUC) and CEL-SCI Corporation (AMEX: CVM) will both be presenting at the two-day 12^th Annual BIO CEO and Investor Conference beginning the same day in New York.  Monday also sees the start of the three-day 2010 Deutsche Bank Securities Small and Mid Cap Conference in Naples, Florida and the Technology and Telecom Conference sponsored by Thomas Weisel in San Francisco.  The 5^th Annual Sterne, Agee & Leach Financial Services Symposium will be held the 8^th - 9^th in Orlando.  Wednesday, the two-day Stifel Nicolaus Transportation & Logistics Conference begins in Key Biscayne, FL, as well as the 31^st Annual Aerospace/Defense Conference presented by Cowen and Company in New York, the 2010 Credit Suisse Financial Services Conference in Miami and BB&T Capital Markets's 25^th Annual Transportation Services Conference.

Earnings Preview:  Healthcareservices company PHC, Inc.  (NYSE AMEX: PHC) is scheduled to report 2010 fiscal second quarter results  for the period ended December 31, 2009, on Thursday before the market opens.  PHC has reported several quarters of improved operating results, including Q1 revenue from continuing operations of $12.6 million compared to $11.7 million for the year-earlier period. Net income applicable to common shareholders was $223,604, or $0.01 per diluted share, compared to a net loss of $332,703 or $0.02 per share in the fiscal 2009 first quarter. The 2010 fiscal first quarter represented the company's third consecutive quarter of profitability. Operating results could be further enhanced by the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA), which is expected to apply to health plans beginning in July. Under the law, payers are required to treat mental health claims the same way they treat other healthcare services. Shares ended the week at $1.23, up $0.01.

Volume Alert:  Shares of Money4Gold Holdings (OTCBB: MFGD) rallied 26% to close at $0.33, highlighted by more than three times average volume on Thursday.   Last week Liberty Analytics initiated coverage of the company in a report highlighting Money4Gold's substantial growth. For the third quarter ended September, 2009, the company reported gross revenue of $6.8 million, an increase of 871.4% compared to gross revenue of $0.7 million in the year-earlier period and 460.4% compared to gross revenue of $1.5 million in the previous quarter. Even more impressively, the company said it expects Q4 revenue to double sequentially to approximately $13.5 million. Shares ended the week at $0.35, up 8 cents.

NewCardio, Inc. (OTCBB: NWCI), a cardiac diagnostic technology provider, said last week that its Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Ihor Gussak MD, PhD, FACC, a world-recognized expert in electrocardiology and cardiac safety,  will provide a special lecture at the prestigious Japanese Idiopathic Ventricular Fibrillation (J-IVFS) Annual Meeting in Tokyo, Japan on Monday.  The presentation will show how a three-dimensional ECG analysis, made possible by NewCardio's CardioBip technology, provides additional information on subtle or non-conclusive changes, which clinicians can use to assess risk of sudden cardiac arrest more appropriately and effectively.  In an extremely volatile week for the markets, shares of NWCI ended the week at $1.60, up 22% on strong volume.

IceWEB, Inc. (OTCBB: IWEB), a leading provider of Unified Data Storage, building blocks for cloud storage networks and of purpose built appliances announced today that the company's Iplicity Unified Storage Platform has been proven to provide a true Converged Storage Environment (CSE).  Shares ended the week unchanged at $0.10.

A profile, description, or other mention of a company in the newsletter is neither an offer nor solicitation to buy or sell any securities mentioned. While we believe all sources of information to be factual and reliable, in no way do we represent or guarantee the accuracy thereof, nor the statements made herein. THE READER SHOULD VERIFY ALL CLAIMS AND DO ITS OWN DUE DILIGENCE BEFORE INVESTING IN ANY SECURITIES MENTIONED. This publication accepts compensation from companies that it features. This newsletter should not be regarded as an independent publication. Our editors may, from time to time, acquire positions in the companies that they cover. This could represent a conflict of interest. The CEOcast newsletter shall be under no obligation to inform readers about its trading activities. CEOcast's editors reserve the right to buy or sell shares in these companies at any time. The following companies, featured in this newsletter, have compensated CEOcast: iceWEB, seven thousand five hundred dollars per month in cash, plus seven thousand five hundred dollars in stock per month for a six-month agreement, NewCardio, seven thousand five hundred dollars per month and two hundred thousand shares of stock for a six-month agreement, ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, twelve thousand five hundred dollars per month, PHC, Inc. seven thousand five hundred dollars per month, CEL SCI Corporation, five thousand dollars and three hundred fifty thousand shares of stock for a one-year program, Money4Gold, nine thousand dollars per month and four hundred thousand shares of stock for a six-month agreement.