Companies featured in the current edition of the newsletter: ACTC, CUR, ENZ, FMTI, IMUC, IWEB, MCLN, NWCI, XSNX

The year started out with a bang, as all of the major indices continued the momentum established at the end of the year. The Dow rose 190 points, or 1.8%, to 10618. The Nasdaq surged 48 points, or 2.1% to close at 2269. The S&P 500 added 30 points, good for a 2.7% gain to 1144, while the Russell 2000 tacked on 19 points, making it the best-forming index for the week with a 3.1% gain.

With economic data continuing to support arguments of both the bulls and bears (disappointing Employment Report on Friday, for example), the favorable technical indicators, such as the "January Effect" seem to be underpinning the strength in stocks. The S&P broke out last week from a 5-week consolidation, supported by intermediate-term upward momentum, with the 20-day exponential moving average trending above the rising 50-day simple moving average. When that technical element is present, it often suggests that buying equities on weakness has been a profitable trade. Buyers may become more hesitant however, as the S&P challenges its 3-month upper channel resistance line around the 1137/1140 level. There also appears to be a possible Negative Divergence in RSI-5 underway, and the Volatility Index (VIX) has been approaching levels suggesting levels of complacency often seen at market tops.

Volatility could increase this week as Earnings Season begins in earnest. As is customary, Alcoa (NYSE: AA) is the first to report results on Monday after the close. Estimates are for the company to earn $0.06 per share. Tech bellweather Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) is expected to earn $0.30 per share when it posts results after the market closes on Thursday. On Friday morning, JP Morgan (NYSE: JPM) is expected to provide an indication as to whether the banking sector continues to improve its financial condition.

The economic calendar will be active, with several reports expected to provide insight into the strength of the recovery. On Tuesday, the trade balance for November is release. Wednesday's highlight is the Fed's Beige Book, which measures regional economic activity. Also, energy traders will pay attention to the report on crude oil inventories. Thursday brings weekly employment claims, and December Retail sales, which are expected to rise 0.5% year-over-year. Friday brings a report on the Consumer Price Index, December Industrial Production and Capacity Utilization, and a report on consumer sentiment in the form of the Michigan Sentiment Index for January.

The conference schedule is active, highlighted by the four-day JP Morgan Healthcare Conference in San Francisco beginning Monday. The same day, Sidoti and Company hosts a two-day Micro Conference. Cowen & Company holds a two-day Consumer Conference in New York beginning Monday. Needham & Company hosts its three-day 12^th Annual Growth Conference beginning Wednesday in New York. Goldman Sachs holds its two-day Global Energy Conference beginning Tuesday in Tampa. CJS Securities holds its 10^th Annual New Ideas for the New Year on Thursday in New York.

Volume Alert: Shares of stem cell company Neuralstem (NYSE AMEX: CUR) surged 8% on Friday on more than twice average volume, helped by more than a 6% move in the index of stem cell stocks. The company recently said that its Phase I trial to treat Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS or Lou Gehrig's disease) with its spinal cord stem cells was approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) at Emory University in Atlanta, GA. The trial, which was approved by the FDA in September, will take place at the Emory ALS Center, under the direction of Dr. Jonathan Glass M.D., Director of the Emory ALS Center, who will serve as the site Principal Investigator. Shares ended the week at $1.95, up 16 cents.

Shares of Enzo Biochem (NYSE: ENZ) rallied 4% on Friday on a 50% increase in volume, as the stock broke above its 50-day moving average for the first time in nearly three months. In the process, the stock closed at its highest level since mid-November. Shares ended the week at $6.14, up 76 cents.

Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. (NASDAQ: FMTI) said last week that it had received a Nasdaq Staff Deficiency Letter indicating that it does not meet The Nasdaq Capital Market initial listing standard set forth in Listing Rule 5505 and unless the company requests an appeal of the Staff's determination, the Company's common shares will be suspended at the opening of business on January 15, 2010, and a Form 25-NSE will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission which will remove the company's common shares from listing and registration on The Nasdaq Stock Market. FMTI said it is considering its options. Shares fell 7 cents to close at $0.31.

Volume Alert: Shares of NewCardio, Inc., (OTC Bulletin Board: NWCI) a cardiac diagnostic technology provider, surged 32% on more than seven times average volume last week, after the company announced two encouraging validation studies related to CardioBip, its hand-held patient-activated device for recording and wireless transmission of reconstructed 12-lead ECGs. The studies confirmed the product's ability to accurately provide wireless remote patient monitoring. CardioBip features fully integrated electrodes and requires no wires to acquire the signal. The acquired signals are transmitted via wireless telephony to a call center where 12-lead ECGs are reconstructed using NewCardio-proprietary algorithms. Shares rose 23 cents for the week to close at $0.95.

Advanced Cell Technology, Inc. (OTCBB: ACTC), a biotechnology company applying cellular technology in the field of regenerative medicine, said last week that it had received notification from the US Food and Drug Administration that the Agency is currently drafting a response to the Company relating to the Investigational New Drug Application it filed in November seeking clearance to initiate a Phase I/II multicenter study using embryonic stem cell derived retinal cells to treat patients with Stargardt's Macular Dystrophy (SMD). ACT is currently on clinical hold pending a response from the Agency, which it expects within the next few weeks. Shares rose 2 cents on the week to close at $0.11.

XsunX, Inc. (XSNX), the developer of advanced, thin-film photovoltaic (TFPV) solar cell technologies and manufacturing processes, said last week it had completed the development of a fully-functional CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium di Selenide) thin-film solar device.  The company is developing a hybrid solar cell technology that adapts manufacturing processes from the Hard Disk Drive (HDD) industry to produce CIGS solar cells deposited onto stainless steel substrate with "pseudo square" configuration which the company believes can replace traditional silicon wafer solar cells. The newly produced cell presents several compelling advantages over silicon solar wafers available on the market today. Shares rose 2 cents to end the week at $0.18

ImmunoCellular Therapeutics, Ltd. (OTCBB: IMUC), a biotechnology company that is focused on the development of novel immune-based cancer therapies, will present at the OneMedForum 2010 Emerging Company Finance Conference on Wednesday, January 13 at the Sir Francis Drake Hotel in San Francisco, CA in the Windsor & Renaissance Rooms. The company will present a corporate overview at 4:15 p.m. in addition to providing a clinical update highlighting some of the recent positive clinical results that the company's portfolio of cancer immunotherapies have displayed, including results from Phase I testing in ICT-107, which was demonstrated to significantly increase life expectancy in patients with glioblastoma compared to the current standard of care. Shares rose 1 cent on the week to $1.00.

IceWEB, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: IWEB), a provider of purpose built appliances and building blocks for cloud storage networks,  announced last week that it had filed a provisional patent application with the United States Patent and Trademark Office covering its Locally Connected Cloud Storage Device under U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/289,714. The locally connected cloud storage device (LCCSD) offers businesses a device that provides the benefits of the cloud storage model while reducing the risks such as poor quality of service, vendor lock-in and data security.  It provides a cloud storage architecture that is scalable, and can be preconfigured, tuned and may be quickly deployable to companies to provide cloud storage services to their employees, applications and business partners. Shares rose 1 cent on the week to close at $0.13.

SPECIAL SITUATION:

MedClean Technologies, Inc. (OTCBB: MCLN) $0.027

With healthcare reform at the top of President Obama's to do list, healthcare providers are rethinking the way they do business, seeking ways to lower costs and limit liabilities like never before.  One significant expense and area of risk mitigation for hospitals and clinics is the growing cost of disposing of medical waste and destruction of HIPAA documents. That's where MedClean Technologies comes in. The company provides innovative technology and services for the onsite treatment and disposal of regulated medical waste and the destruction of HIPAA documents. It offers fully integrated, turnkey solutions that enable hospitals and healthcare providers to safely and cost-effectively convert bio-hazardous regulated waste into sterilized, unrecognizable municipal waste.

The opportunity for the company is significant. The regulated medical waste disposal and HIPAA document destruction sector plays a critical role in the healthcare sector, generating an estimated $4 billion in revenue for the mostly fragmented industry. Government policy and an aging population are anticipated to generate increased utilization of healthcare facilities that is expected to drive near-term growth in the sector.

Since the industry is highly regulated, disposal of medical waste must be managed carefully. Bandages, infectious bodily fluids, needles, cultures and non-sterile instruments or medical devices can create large liabilities if not handled carefully.   MCLN provides customers with a compelling value, as it provides onsite technology and services, that ensures regulatory compliance, limits the frequency of hazardous waste handling, reduces costs, and mitigates risk by eliminating transportation of hazardous waste, reducing carbon footprint, and providing pandemic preparedness.

The company currently targets the large hospitals of 200+ beds, representing more than 6,600 potential customers. Nearly all of the company's targets use traditional haulers of medical waste, due to the fact that prior to MCLN's launch of the MedClean Series onsite technology was capital intensive and often required facility modifications. The company's new on-demand container/mobile system configurations become an extension of the facility and are now provided without any capital outlay, plug and play with existing utilities, and provide cost savings immediately on arrival.  The company continues to innovate by scaling its product line to address more than 200,000 targets in the future opening up another 2 Billion dollar market segment that includes nursing homes, blood labs and smaller quantity medical waste generators.

One group that knows how to capitalize from a rapidly expanding market opportunity and recurring revenue business model is the company's management team. Comprised largely of executives from eResearchTechnology, a company that capitalized on the FDA's directive for greater cardiac safety testing by becoming one of the hottest growth stocks five years ago. With both cost pressures and growing regulation likely to drive greater adoption, history could repeat itself. Already the new management team is generating impressive results. For the third quarter ended September 30, 2009, the company reported revenue of $1.6 million, an increase of 108% compared to $749,000 for the third quarter in 2008. MCLN reported $343,000 in operating income, compared to a loss from operations of $1.1 million last year. Similarly, net income for the quarter was $340,000, compared to a net loss of $1.3 million in the year-ago period.

The stock has reacted to the positive financial developments. Shares have more than tripled over the past few months on a surge in volume, although the company still has a market capitalization of approximately $20 million. However, with a strong management team, a favorable regulatory environment, growing revenue and profits and proprietary technology, MedClean's shares could be well positioned to increase significantly.

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: Neuralstem seven-thousand five hundred dollars per month and forty-five thousand shares of stock for a six-month agreement. 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, XsunX, Thirteen thousand seven hundred fifty dollars per month through a combination of cash and stock, NewCardio, seven thousand five hundred dollars per month and two hundred thousand shares of stock for a six-month agreement, Forbes Medi-Tech, ten thousand dollars per month, Advanced Cell Technology, seven thousand five hundred dollars per month and one million shares of stock for a one-year agreement; MedClean Technologies, seven thousand five hundred dollars per month and six million shares for a one-year agreement.