Market Newsdesk

SAN MATEO, Calif., Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Farsight Security®, Inc., the leader in DNS Intelligence, today introduced the Farsight DNSDB Enrichment Playbook App for the ThreatConnect Platform. Threat hunters and other security professionals now can automatically enrich suspicious IP addresses, domain names, and other indicators of compromise (IoCs) to map malicious adversary infrastructure used in phishing, brand infringement and other types of cybercrime.

“ThreatConnect users have long enjoyed interactive access to Farsight data for threat investigation and indicator enrichment,” said Andy Pendergast, EVP of Product for ThreatConnect. “With this new app, users instantly have Farsight data available in Playbooks for analysis and decision-making as part of automation and orchestration.”

“Digital attacks often depend on the rapid use and disposal of domain names, IP addresses and other Internet infrastructure to evade detection. Defenders using DNSDB, our historical DNS Intelligence database, can automatically uncover the missing pieces of an investigation to help determine the intention — and target — of an online adversary,” said Farsight CEO Dr. Paul Vixie. “ThreatConnect is one of our charter partners and we are extremely happy to be delivering these new playbook capabilities to our joint customers, especially DNSDB 2.0’s time-fencing feature which makes it possible to focus an investigation on a select period of time.”

Farsight DNSDB, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, sets the industry standard for historical DNS Intelligence. Farsight DNSDB is used daily around the world by threat hunting and incident response teams for leading government agencies and Fortune 500 corporations. Combined with ThreatConnect’s intelligence-driven security operations platform, Farsight DNSDB automatically delivers high fidelity DNS Intelligence to enable security analysts and other professionals to measurably improve the detection of and response to today’s threats.

Using the Farsight DNSDB Enrichment Playbook App for ThreatConnect, users can:

• Gather IP Enrichment: Enable the retrieval of hostnames that resolve to IP addresses.
• Identify Hostname Relationships: Find all IPs that a hostname has been observed resolving to around the time of observation as well as other hostnames that have resolved to the same IP address as the target hostname. This is especially helpful for identifying related command-and-control infrastructure using common infrastructure.
• Drive Automated Pivoting: Use the Farsight DNSDB app as part of a custom Playbook to pivot from initial result sets, and identify new relationships and infrastructure likely to be weaponized.

About Farsight Security, Inc.

Farsight Security, Inc. is the world’s largest provider of historical and real-time passive DNS data. We enable security teams to qualify, enrich and correlate all sources of threat data and ultimately save time when it is most critical – during an attack or investigation. Our solutions provide enterprise, government and security industry personnel and platforms with unmatched global visibility, context and response. Farsight Security is headquartered in San Mateo, California, USA. Learn more about how we can empower your threat platform and security team with Farsight Security passive DNS solutions at https://www.farsightsecurity.com/ or follow us on Twitter: @FarsightSecInc.

About ThreatConnect, Inc.

ThreatConnect, Inc. provides cybersecurity software that reduces complexity for everyone, makes decision making easy by turning intelligence into action, and integrates processes and technologies to continually strengthen defenses and drive down risk. Designed by analysts but built for the entire team (security leadership, risk, security operations, threat intelligence, and incident response), ThreatConnect’s decision and operational support platform is the only solution available today with cyber risk quantification, intelligence, automation, analytics, and workflows in one. To learn more about our Cyber Risk Quantification, Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP) or Security Orchestration, Automation, and Response (SOAR) solutions, visit www.ThreatConnect.com.

Karen Burke
Director of Corporate Communications
Farsight Security, Inc.
[email protected] 

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Apollo Global Management, Inc. (NYSE: APO) (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “Apollo” or the “Firm”) has been named as one of America’s Most Responsible Companies by Newsweek and Statistic Inc. in recognition of its corporate performance in environmental, social and governance areas as well as corporate social responsibility.

Apollo, ranked 194th on Newsweek‘s 400–company list, was the only alternative asset manager recognized. In earning this distinction, Apollo was evaluated amongst the top 2,000 US-based companies by revenue for its ESG performance and the results of an independent survey on its CSR activities.

The recognition from Newsweek caps a year in which the Firm has made significant strides in its commitments to corporate citizenship and expanding its robust ESG program:

• Apollo became a founding signatory of the Institutional Limited Partners Association’s (ILPA) newly launched Diversity in Action initiative, a commitment to continue taking specific steps and to report on progress in furthering diversity, equity and inclusion at Apollo and across the private equity industry. Apollo is also signatory to the UN Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), which set forth investment principles to ensure ESG considerations are integrated throughout the investment lifecycle.  
• The Firm released its 11^th annual ESG Report entitled, “Turning Challenges into Opportunities.” Previously only available to LPs, the in-depth report provides a comprehensive overview of Apollo’s ESG program and performance as well as its portfolio company engagement and reporting program, which includes more than 150 individual ESG metrics that capture both qualitative and quantitative data on portfolio company performance. Over the last 11 years, more than 125 companies have participated in Apollo’s ESG program, producing more than 430 reports containing 26,000+ data points.
• Launched in partnership with CareerBuilder, the Apollo Veterans Talent Network, a career portal dedicated to helping veterans find jobs at all levels across Apollo’s broader network, helped to place more than 3,000 talented veterans in positions across the portfolio this year.
• Apollo also made key hires in newly created roles designed to continue to strengthen culture, diversity & inclusion, retention and citizenship at the Firm. Jonathan Simon joined as Global Head of Leadership Development and Diversity; Arturo Poire joined as Head of Talent Development; and Lauren Coape-Arnold joined as Global Head of Citizenship.

“As an employer and investment manager, we believe Apollo can and should have a positive impact on society,” said Laurie Medley, Global Head of ESG and General Counsel, Private Equity at Apollo. “We are proud to be recognized as one of the nation’s most responsible companies and believe it’s a testament to our longstanding commitment to championing ESG, diversity and inclusion, and strong corporate citizenship. Equally important, we continue to increase the resources and time dedicated to these efforts to keep improving our performance. It’s a strategic imperative for Apollo and our funds’ investments, and enables us to be the most effective organization possible.”

Rob Esposito, ESG Counsel at Apollo, added, “In a year where many faced difficult and unprecedented circumstances, we’re proud of the steadfast progress made at Apollo and across the broader network, including all the important efforts to keep our people safe and give back to the communities where we live and work.”

About Apollo

Apollo is a leading global alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, San Diego, Houston, Bethesda, London, Frankfurt, Madrid, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Delhi, Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo. Apollo had assets under management of approximately $433 billion as of September 30, 2020 in credit, private equity and real assets funds invested across a core group of nine industries where Apollo has considerable knowledge and resources. For more information about Apollo, please visit www.apollo.com.

Contact Information

For investors please contact:

Peter Mintzberg
Head of Investor Relations
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0528
[email protected]

Ann Dai
Investor Relations Manager
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0678
[email protected]

For media inquiries please contact:

Joanna Rose
Global Head of Corporate Communications
Apollo Global Management, Inc.
(212) 822-0491
[email protected]

BOSTON, Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Block & Leviton LLP (www.blockleviton.com), a national securities litigation firm, reminds investors that securities class actions have been filed against Interface, Inc. (NASDAQ: TILE), JOYY, Inc. (NASDAQ: YY), and K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN). Shareholders interested in serving as lead plaintiff have until the deadlines listed below to move the court. Further details about the cases are described below. There is no cost or obligation to you.

TILE Shareholders – Click Here: https://www.blockleviton.com/cases/tile

YY Shareholders – Click Here: https://www.blockleviton.com/cases/joyy

LRN Shareholders – Click Here: https://www.blockleviton.com/cases/k12

Interface


, Inc. (NASDAQ:


TILE


) – Lead Plaintiff Deadline of


January 11


, 202


1

On September 28, 2020, Interface announced the conclusion of the long-awaited investigation by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission into Interface’s historical quarterly earnings per share calculations and rounding practices. Interface agreed to pay a $5 million fine to resolve the matter, and was ordered to cease-and-desist from violating the federal securities laws. According to the Wall Street Journal, the SEC had charged Interface for reporting earnings that did not comply with the Generally Accepted Accounting Principles for multiple quarters in 2015 and 2016. Interface allegedly made unsupported, manual accounting adjustments, often when internal forecasts indicated the Company would fall short of Wall Street estimates, the SEC found. Per the SEC, Interface would then report earnings that met or exceeded those consensus estimates. In addition to the Company’s $5 million fine, two of Interface’s former executives agreed to pay penalties of $45,000 and $70,000.

A lawsuit alleging violations of federal securities laws has been filed against Interface and certain of its officers and directors. The suit alleges that between March 2, 2018 and September 28, 2020, Interface misled investors by, among other things, reporting artificially inflated income and earnings per share in 2015 and 2016, failing to disclose and/or downplaying that Interface and certain of its employees were under investigation by the SEC, and having inadequate disclosure controls and procedures and internal controls over financial reporting. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York, and is captioned Swanson v. Interface, Inc., et al., No. 20-cv-5518.

JOYY, Inc


.


(


NASDAQ: YY


) – Lead Plaintiff Deadline of


January 19


, 202


1

On November 18, 2020, analyst Muddy Waters announced that it would short JOYY, calling the Company “a multibillion-dollar fraud.” Muddy Waters wrote that “YY’s component businesses are a fraction of the size it reports, and that the company’s reported user metrics, revenues, and cash balances are predominantly fraudulent.” The market was stunned by this report, and as a result, shares of JOYY common stock fell over 26% in just a few hours.

A lawsuit alleging violations of federal securities laws has been filed against JOYY and certain of its officers and directors. The suit alleges a class period of April 28, 2016 and November 18, 2020. The lawsuit asserts that JOYY dramatically overstated its revenues from live streaming sources. It further alleges that at any given time, the majority of JOYY’s users were bots, which JOYY used to effect a roundtripping scheme that manufactured the false appearance of revenues. Moreover, the lawsuit asserts that JOYY’s acquisition of Bigo was largely contrived to benefit corporate insiders. The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, and is captioned Hershewe v. JOYY Inc., et al., No. 20-cv-10611 (C.D. Cal.).

K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN) – Lead Plaintiff


Deadline of January 19, 2021

K12, as a technology-based education company, appeared primed to benefit from the shift to online and virtual learning necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and embarked on a campaign to portray itself as capable and ready to take advantage of the shift to virtual instruction. In reality, K12 was neither ready nor capable. As this became clear to the market, the stock price plunged over 50% from its 2020 peak price of over $50.00 per share.

A lawsuit has been filed against K12 and certain of its executives in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, alleging a class period of April 27, 2020 to September 18, 2020. The lawsuit is captioned Lee v. K12 Inc., et al., No. 1:20-cv-01419 (E.D. Va.). The suit alleges that K12 issued false and misleading statements concerning, among other things, K12’s technological capabilities, infrastructure, and expertise to support the increased demand for virtual and blended education necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The suit further asserts that K12 lacked adequate cybersecurity protocols and protections to prevent the disabling of its computer systems, yet misrepresented its data security strength.

If you purchased or acquired shares of TILE, YY, or LRN and have questions about your legal rights or possess information relevant to these matters, please contact Block & Leviton attorneys at (617) 398-5600, via email at [email protected], or via the links provided above.

Block & Leviton LLP is a firm dedicated to representing investors and maintaining the integrity of the country’s financial markets. The firm represents many of the nation’s largest institutional investors as well as individual investors in securities litigation throughout the United States. The firm’s lawyers have recovered billions of dollars for its clients.

This notice may constitute attorney advertising.

CONTACT:
BLOCK & LEVITON LLP
260 Franklin St., Suite 1860
Boston, MA 02110
Phone: (617) 398-5600
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE: Block & Leviton LLP
www.blockleviton.com

COLDWATER, Mich., Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Board of Directors of Southern Michigan Bancorp, Inc. (OTC Pink: SOMC) declared a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share on the outstanding shares of the corporation’s stock. The dividend is payable on January 22, 2021 to shareholders of record January 8, 2021. The annualized cash dividend of $0.92 per share represents a 2.87% dividend yield based on the current market price of $32.05 per share.

Southern Michigan Bancorp, Inc. is a bank holding company and the parent company of Southern Michigan Bank & Trust. It operates 13 branches within Branch, Calhoun, Hillsdale, Kalamazoo, and St. Joseph Counties, providing a broad range of consumer, business, and wealth management services throughout the region. For more information, please visit the Southern Michigan Bank & Trust website, www.smb-t.com.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are based on management’s beliefs, assumptions, current expectations, estimates and projections about the financial services industry, the economy, and Southern Michigan Bancorp, Inc. Although we currently expect to continue to pay a quarterly cash dividend, each future dividend will be considered and declared by the board of directors in its discretion. Whether the board of directors continues to declare dividends depends on a number of factors, including our future financial condition and profitability. Forward-looking statements are based upon current beliefs and expectations and involve substantial risks, uncertainties, and assumptions (“risk factors”), which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. We undertake no obligation to update or revise our forward-looking statements to reflect developments that occur, or information obtained after the date of this report.

CONTACT: John H. Castle, CEO 
(517) 279-5500

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Meritage Homes, the seventh-largest homebuilder in the U.S., today announced that through its charitable foundation, Meritage Cares, it has donated $750,000 in 2020 to non-profits across the country that are focused on helping those affected by COVID-19, fighting hunger, combating homelessness, and promoting racial equity nationwide.

“The impacts of the pandemic made it more important than ever for us to expand our dedication to corporate giving this year,” said Phillippe Lord, COO and incoming CEO of Meritage Homes. “As a homebuilder, fostering healthy communities that value equity and diversity is both a responsibility and a passion that everyone here collectively shares. I have been extremely proud to watch our teams come together to make a meaningful difference.”

Ongoing 2020 efforts through Meritage Cares included:

• A $250,000 donation to Feeding America to address food insecurity, particularly related to those impacted by COVID-19
• A $100,000 donation to Americares for medical and health programs as a result of the pandemic
• $200,000 donations split between the INROADS program and United Negro College Fund as an initial commitment of support for racial diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives
• Employee volunteer hours in our local markets, including the Second Harvest Food Bank in Orange County, CA, Hope House of Colorado, and the Atlanta Ronald McDonald House
• Corporate and employee support of Arizona military families in partnership with the Military Assistance Mission to purchase toys and gifts for the holiday season

Steve Hilton, outgoing CEO and Chairman of the Board at Meritage Homes added, “Giving back has been a core company value for the last 35 years and this year is no exception. Meritage Cares has enabled us to make charity a pillar of our business and provided community service opportunities to our employees throughout the year. Especially in these unprecedented times, the desire to give to others across our organization is inspiring.”

For more information on Meritage Cares, please visit: https://www.meritagehomes.com/why-meritage/meritage-cares.

About Meritage Homes

Meritage Homes is the seventh-largest public homebuilder in the United States, based on homes closed in 2019. Meritage Homes offers a variety of homes that are designed with a focus on first-time and first move-up buyers in Arizona, California, Colorado, Texas, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee.

The Company has designed and built over 135,000 homes in its 35-year history, and has a reputation for its distinctive style, quality construction, and award-winning customer experience. Meritage Homes is the industry leader in energy-efficient homebuilding and a seven-year recipient of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for Sustained Excellence Award since 2013 for innovation and industry leadership in energy efficient homebuilding.

For more information, visit www.meritagehomes.com.

Contacts:	Emily Tadano, VP Investor Relations
	(480) 515-8979 (office)
	[email protected]

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Simplify Medical, Inc., a privately-held company focused on cervical spinal disc arthroplasty and developer of the Simplify_® Cervical Artificial Disc, today announced its first surgery following the recent FDA approval for 1-level use. The Simplify Disc is designed for MRI compatibility*, physiologic motion, and anatomical height-matching, with the goals of improving patient outcomes and expanding treatment options for patients. The Simplify Disc achieved superiority to the fusion control on the trial’s composite primary endpoint (93.0% vs. 73.6%).  

The first Simplify Cervical Artificial Disc commercial procedure was performed at the Texas Back Institute (TBI) in Plano, TX on a thirty-two-year-old man from the Dallas-Fort Worth area, by Dr. Richard Guyer, along with Dr. Scott Blumenthal and Dr. Jack Zigler, founders of the Center for Disc Replacement at TBI.

“I am honored to perform the first cervical total disc replacement procedure using the Simplify Disc post-FDA approval. The patient is doing very well after this procedure. We are pleased to offer this advanced cervical disc replacement to our patients as a potential alternative to fusion. The Simplify Disc offers unique benefits of lower height discs, as well as virtually distortion-free MR imaging. I believe this state-of-the-art disc replacement will improve clinical outcomes for patients undergoing treatment for cervical disc disease,” commented Richard Guyer, MD, Chairman of the Texas Back Research Institute Foundation

David Hovda, President and CEO of Simplify Medical, said, “As a co-Primary Investigator in our 1- and 2-level clinical trials, we are excited Dr. Guyer performed the first procedure following our PMA approval. Having this surgery performed at TBI is a fitting recognition of his efforts. In addition, the tremendous support of co-Primary Investigator Domagoj Coric, MD, Chief, Department of Neurosurgery at Carolinas Medical Center, as well as the support from all of our dedicated surgeon investigators, their teams and the patients who participated in the trial, was essential to achieving this milestone.”

Mr. Hovda continued, “We believe Simplify Disc sets a new standard for clinical success in treating cervical radiculopathy in our clinical study, and we are excited to provide an option for patients that achieved superiority to fusion for a 1-level indication. We plan a controlled, targeted commercial launch with an extensive training and education program to support the best possible outcomes for our patients.”  

The Simplify Disc is also being evaluated in a separate IDE study in the U.S. for 2-level indications. The enrollment for the 2-level trial was completed in November 2018. Simplify Disc is limited to investigational use for this indication.

The Simplify Disc is CE Marked in Europe and commercially available in select European markets.

About Simplify_® Disc
Simplify_® Disc is a motion-preserving cervical artificial disc designed to allow for advanced imaging capability of MRI, to better match patients’ anatomies, and for physiologic movement. It is composed of advanced, primarily non-metal materials (PEEK-on-ceramic) to permit the full diagnostic imaging capability of MRI, potentially minimizing patient exposure to ionizing radiation. The three-piece disc, with a semi-constrained mobile core, is designed to mimic/replicate the natural biomechanical motion of a healthy disc. Implantation of the Simplify Disc is accomplished in a straightforward, three-step procedure.

About Simplify Medical

Simplify Medical, Inc. is a medical device company focused on cervical spinal disc arthroplasty, using innovative, MRI-compatible materials designed to optimize diagnostic imaging and decrease the need for ionizing radiation. Simplify Medical is located in Sunnyvale, California. To learn more, visit http://www.simplifymedical.com/.

*MR Conditional per ASTM F2503

CAUTION: Simplify Disc is limited to investigational use for 2-level indication.

Company Contact:
Simplify Medical
Kelsey Welch
Director of Marketing
+1-951-836-1062
[email protected] 

Investor Contact:
LifeSci Advisors, LLC
Bob Yedid
+1-646-597-6989
[email protected]  

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Guardion Health Sciences, Inc. (Nasdaq: GHSI) (“Guardion” or the “Company”), a specialty health sciences company that develops clinically supported nutrition, medical foods and medical devices, with a focus in the ocular health marketplace, announced progress on the introduction of its new vision support/energy drink, Epiq-V, which is under development for the United States and international markets.

Epiq-V contains Lutein, a primary ingredient in the Company’s flagship product, Lumega-Z, and is being developed for an adult market as a vision health and support product concurrently with a second formulation for introduction as a visual attention and energy drink primarily focused on the youth market to support video gaming and other close-up device viewing requirements for this age group. The initial round of testing has been completed and the final round is currently underway and expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2021.   The commercial product is expected to be available 12 to 16 weeks after the final round of testing. With respect to the Asian market, specifically China, the Company has already filed and been granted a trademark (utilizing Chinese characters) for the Epiq-V brand name. Trademark protection for the brand has also been submitted for approval in the United States.

David Evans, Ph.D., Guardion’s interim President and Chief Executive Officer, and Chief Science Officer, stated, “We have long emphasized the importance of using our unique formulation capabilities to access markets both in the United States and internationally, and during 2020 we established a presence in Asia. With the development and eventual distribution of Epiq-V, we hope to expand our presence in Asia by providing a product line that is designed to support overall ocular health and attention.”

Dr. Evans concluded, “We are very proud of our approach to product development, which includes the integration of research-driven science combined with the development of innovative products that appeal to a wide range of demographics. We look forward to providing further updates on Epiq-V and other products as warranted.”

About Guardion Health Sciences

Guardion is a specialty health sciences company that develops clinically supported nutrition, medical foods and medical devices, with a focus in the ocular health marketplace. Located in San Diego, California, the Company combines targeted nutrition with innovative, evidence-based diagnostic technology. Guardion boasts impressive Scientific and Medical Advisory Boards. Information and risk factors with respect to Guardion and its business, including its ability to successfully develop and commercialize its proprietary products and technologies, may be obtained in the Company’s filings with the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Forward-Looking Statement Disclaimer

With the exception of the historical information contained in this news release, the matters described herein may contain 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. Statements preceded by, followed by or that otherwise include the words “believes,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “projects,” “estimates,” “plans” and similar expressions or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “should,” “would,” “may” and “could” are generally forward- looking in nature and not historical facts, although not all forward-looking statements include the foregoing. These statements involve unknown risks and uncertainties that may individually or materially impact the matters discussed herein for a variety of reasons that are outside the control of the Company, including, but not limited to, the Company’s ability to raise sufficient financing to implement its business plan, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Company’s business, operations and the economy in general, and the Company’s ability to successfully develop and commercialize its proprietary products and technologies. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward- looking statements, as actual results could differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements contained herein. Readers are urged to read the risk factors set forth in the Company’s filings with the SEC, which are available at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Investor Relations Contact:
CORE IR
Scott Arnold
516-222-2560
[email protected] 

Media Relations Contact:
Jules Abraham
Director of Public Relations
CORE IR
917-885-7378
[email protected] 

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Cypress Development Corp. (TSX-V:CYP) (OTCQB:CYDVF) (Frankfurt:C1Z1) (“Cypress” or “the Company”) is pleased to report the first stage in the scoping level study into the extraction of lithium using chloride-based leaching is completed. This work consisted of preparation and acid leaching of a large sample from the Company’s Clayton Valley Lithium Project and was accomplished at Continental Metallurgical Services Inc. (CMS) in Butte, Montana. Samples of the leach solution and the initial and final solids were shipped for assay. The remaining steps of testing will focus on the treatment of the leach solutions and are expected to be completed by month end.

Sample Selection GCH-08

For the testing, sample material was obtained from Cypress drill hole GCH-08. As reported in April 3, 2019 news release, GCH-08 encountered lithium mineralization from 3 m to 112 m depth (109 meters) averaging 1127 ppm Li. The drill hole is in the area of proposed initial mining as described in the Company’s May 19, 2020 Prefeasibility Study (PFS) where overburden is negligible. (see map). Samples were transported from storage at ALS in Reno to Butte Montana. A bulk sample was prepared from 1 kg splits taken from (33) 3 m intervals for total 33 kg sample. (see photo, sample bags).

Location of Drill Hole GCH-08 used as Sample Material:


20201215_cvlp_gch_08.jpg (1154×
1
500) (cypressdevelopmentcorp.com)

Sample Bags Shipped to Continental Metallurgical Services (CMS):

https://cypressdevelopmentcorp.com/site/
a
ssets/files/3947/20201215_cvlp_dhsb.jpg

Large Sample Leach

At CMS, the 33 kg bulk sample was prepared and mixed into a slurry with heated sodium chloride brine solution. Additional salt was added to simulate levels expected in a chloride system. Once the slurry was mixed and at temperature, hydrochloric acid was added to achieve target conditions and the slurry was leached for four hours. Samples of the slurry were taken at regular intervals throughout the leaching.

Leach Setup for Claystone from Clayton Valley Project:


20201215_cvlp_cls.jpg (675×
9
00) (cypressdevelopmentcorp.com)

Leach Solution (PLS) Samples from Clayton Valley Project
:


20201215_cvlp_ls.jpg (675×900
)
(cypressdevelopmentcorp.com)

Upon addition of acid, vigorous frothing was observed. The filtered leachate was yellow versus the lime green seen with the sulfuric acid leach. Notable in test was the slurry separated into solid and liquids portion in the span of several hours, to the extent leach solution was decanted from the mixing tank with no filtration which could be an advantage over sulfuric acid leach.

Filtering of Leach Solution from Clayton Valley Project:


20201215_cvlp_clt.jpg (675×900) (cypressdevelopmentcorp.com)

Remaining Work

Purification of the leach solution will be examined by pH adjustments. This work has been conducted on bench scale test with 200 g and 400 g samples. Of interest in the results will be the deportment of impurities including rare earth elements, which in bench testing appeared to have higher extraction rates than observed in sulfuric acid leaching.

Leach slurry samples were shipped to Pocock in Salt Lake for testing on solid-liquid separation. These results will be important in determining if changes in the filtration and tailings handling portions of the plant design will be warranted.

Further bench scale tests on feed material will be conducted to determine if lithium grades in solution can be increased by the subsequent leaching of fresh feed material (i.e. preg loading).

Implications on Pilot Program

All test work for the scoping study is expected to be completed by month end and the study is on track for completion in January 2021. All major elements of the leaching and filtration portions of the pilot plant are expected to remain unchanged. If the chloride leaching is successful and is indicated to be economically justified, steps within the lithium concentration and recovery process will require additional equipment in the pilot program to evaluate.

Qualified Person:

Todd Fayram, MMSA-QP, is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and has approved the technical information in this release.

About Cypress Development Corp.:

Cypress Development Corp. is a publicly traded exploration company focused on developing the Company’s 100%-owned Clayton Valley Lithium Project in Nevada. Exploration and development by Cypress discovered a world-class resource of lithium-bearing claystone adjacent to the Albemarle Silver Peak mine, North America’s only lithium brine operation. The size of the resource makes the Clayton Valley Project a premier source that has the potential to impact the supply of lithium for the fast-growing global energy storage battery market.

Clayton Valley Lithium Project, Nevada Claims Map:


cyp_cypress_-_albemarle_properties_map.jpg (1060×706) (cypressdevelopmentcorp.com)

Cypress Development Corp. has approximately 98.7 million shares issued and outstanding.

To find out more about Cypress Development Corp. (TSX-V: CYP), visit our website at www.cypressdevelopmentcorp.com.

CYPRESS DEVELOPMENT CORP.

“Dr. Bill Willoughby”

WILLIAM WILLOUGHBY, PhD., PE

Chief Executive Officer

For further information contact myself or:
Don Myers
Cypress Development Corp.
Director, Corporate Communications
Telephone: 604-639-3851
Toll Free: 800-567-8181
Facsimile: 604-687-3119
Email: [email protected]

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THE CONTENT OF THIS NEWS RELEASE.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed to be “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address events or developments that management of the Company expects, are forward-looking statements. Although management believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance, and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management’s beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements, include market prices, exploration and development successes, continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Please see the public filings of the Company at www.sedar.com for further information.

NEW YORK, Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CrossTower Inc., a digital asset exchange operator founded by capital markets veterans on a mission to mainstream digital asset investing, today announced it has been added as a liquidity source to the Blockfills ECN. Launched earlier this year, CrossTower is one of the fastest growing U.S.-regulated crypto exchanges.

Blockfills is an electronic, off exchange, digital liquidity provider that operates using an electronic communication network model (“ECN”). Blockfills offers its clients deep liquidity and cutting-edge technologies to deploy this liquidity and market data to end-users anonymously and in an impactful way. Adding CrossTower’s liquidity and competitive pricing to the Blockfills ECN will give Blockfills’ clients an opportunity to trade at even lower costs. In addition, CrossTower will gain deep liquidity access from Blockfills.

“Being added to the Blockfills ECN is recognition of the liquidity we’ve built on our platform in such a short time,” said CrossTower Co-Founder and CEO Kapil Rathi. “We’re excited to partner with BlockFills and look forward to helping their clients achieve best execution and lower their total cost of trading.” 

“We believe our clients will greatly benefit from having CrossTower added as a source of liquidity on our ECN,” said Blockfills CEO, Nick Hammer. “We’ve been keeping an eye on CrossTower and found the spreads and depth of their order book to be among the best in the digital asset industry. They should be a great source of liquidity and a very attractive place to trade given their creative and competitive pricing model.”

Today, CrossTower operates two exchanges, CrossTower Global supports international customers and CrossTower US supports domestic United States customers.

Those interested can access the CrossTower platform here. 

ABOUT CROSSTOWER

CrossTower is an exchange operator founded by capital markets veterans on a mission to mainstream digital asset trading and investing. We have built a multi-asset platform for institutional and individual investors with best-in-class safeguards, services and capabilities to make the next-generation financial markets a reality. CrossTower has methodically built its platform, leveraging its trading experience, technology, operational infrastructure, innovative pricing as well as regulatory and client service models, to ensure the success of the exchange at launch and well into the future. For more information, visit www.crosstower.com.

ABOUT BLOCKFILLS

Blockfills was the first electronic, off-exchange, digital liquidity and technology provider operating using an electronic communication network model (“ECN”). The Company has successfully built and deployed a cutting-edge multi-asset technology platform that provides price discovery, electronic order matching, smart order routing and trade reconciliation solutions for institutions in the digital spot, derivatives and lending markets. Blockfills has clients in over 50 countries with offices in Chicago, New York, London and the Cayman Islands. For more information, visit https://www.blockfills.com/

CrossTower
[email protected]

MENLO PARK, Calif., Dec. 16, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (Nasdaq:PACB), a leading provider of high-quality sequencing of genomes, transcriptomes and epigenomes, today announced initial findings from the company’s research collaboration with Labcorp that is focused on SARS-CoV-2 and the related immune response to COVID-19.

Announced in April 2020, PacBio and Labcorp are collaborating to develop a production-scale assay for sequencing the complete genome of thousands of SARS-CoV-2 viruses from de-identified positive patient samples using the PacBio Sequel^® II System. Labcorp is currently using this information to shed light on viral evolution during the early pandemic, mutations arising in different geographic regions, and the implications for disease severity and outcomes.

“COVID-19 will continue to be an area of significant clinical research in the months and years to come as we work toward gaining a more detailed understanding of this complex disease and the human host’s immune response,” said Jonas Korlach, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer at PacBio. “Labcorp has demonstrated how production-scale assays, developed for the PacBio platform, can enable near real-time sequencing of samples to enhance pathogen surveillance and better inform response. We look forward to expanding our collaborations with leading clinical organizations like Labcorp that are focused on the development of new tools for monitoring, diagnosing, and treating infectious diseases.”

Utilizing PacBio’s Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT^®) Sequencing platform, Labcorp has generated more than 6,500 high-resolution complete genomes from people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus who were sampled in the United States during the early phase of the pandemic (approximately March – May 2020). The viral sequencing assay developed by Labcorp makes use of 1.2 kb overlapping amplicons multiplexed at a cost-effective level of 600-1,000 patient samples per SMRT Cell.

The highly accurate long-read sequencing data generated by the Sequel II System has been integrated with additional phenotypic information collected by Labcorp to highlight the role of geography, demographics, and temporal details. As vaccines are widely implemented and immune pressure is increased, data may be useful in the surveillance of new viral mutations as they appear in the population.

Future research initiatives planned include the sequencing of some 20,000 archived samples from before March 15, 2020 which could be used to identify when and where specific genotypes entered the United States and establish a baseline for tracking viral evolution over time. Labcorp also hopes to perform follow-on sequencing of full-length HLA (Human Leukocyte Antigen) genes from the same samples to further examine immune response to COVID-19.

SMRT Sequencing technology is uniquely able to generate HiFi reads, which are both highly accurate and long. These qualities are well-suited for applications like viral sequencing, which requires the ability to distinguish variants within complex populations of closely related virions that may differ by very few single nucleotide variants across an entire viral genome or viral gene. For example, with the release of new therapeutics and the imminent release of several vaccines, scientists will want to monitor how SARS-CoV-2 continues to evolve within hosts, over time in a community, and across geographic regions.

Initial findings from this collaboration were presented by Michael Levandoski, PhD, Research Scientist, at Labcorp on December 8, 2020 during the American Society for Microbiology NGS Conference in a presentation titled, “Geographic and Temporal Mapping of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic in the United States.” More information can be found at: https://asm.org/Events/ASM-NGS/Scientific-Program.

About Pacific Biosciences

Pacific Biosciences of California, Inc. (NASDAQ: PACB) is empowering life scientists with highly accurate long-read sequencing. The company’s innovative instruments are based on Single Molecule, Real-Time (SMRT®) Sequencing technology, which delivers a comprehensive view of genomes, transcriptomes, and epigenomes, enabling access to the full spectrum of genetic variation in any organism. Cited in thousands of peer-reviewed publications, PacBio® sequencing systems are in use by scientists around the world to drive discovery in human biomedical research, plant and animal sciences, and microbiology. For more information please visit www.pacb.com and follow @PacBio.

PacBio products are for Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release that are not historical are forward-looking statements, including, among other things, statements relating to market leadership, uses, accuracy, quality or performance of, or benefits of using, our products or technologies, including SMRT sequencing technology, the expected benefits, suitability or utility of our methods, products or technologies for particular applications or projects, including for sequencing of viral samples for mutation surveillance, baseline tracking, and immune responses, COVID-19 as an area of area of continued significant clinical research, and the ability of the Company to be successful in reaching its technological and commercial potential, and other future events. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because they involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, changes in circumstances and other factors that are, in some cases, beyond Pacific Biosciences’ control and could cause actual results to differ materially from the information expressed or implied by forward-looking statements made in this press release. Factors that could materially affect actual results can be found in Pacific Biosciences’ most recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including Pacific Biosciences’ most recent reports on Forms 8-K, 10-K and 10-Q, and include those listed under the caption “Risk Factors.” Pacific Biosciences undertakes no obligation to revise or update information in this press release to reflect events or circumstances in the future, even if new information becomes available.

Contacts

Investors: Trevin Rard 650.521.8450
[email protected]

Media: Colin Sanford 203.918.4347
[email protected]