Israel’s foreign debt falls 53% to record low
Posted on March 29, 2007 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Art and Culture | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Globes has reported that Israel’s net balance of external liabilities totaled $14 billion at the end of 2006, 53% less than at end of 2005, and the lowest ever figure as a proportion of GDP, according to the Bank of Israel.
Israel’s net external surplus (debt instruments) rose by of $10 billion during 2006 to reach a record $31.5 billion at the end of 2006. The short-term asset (debt-instrument) surplus rose by $8.3 billion to $47 billion at the end the year.
The Bank of Israel said, “The balance of assets abroad totaled about $156 billion at end of 2006, a rise of $34 billion on the end-2005 position. Most of this increase was due to an increase of about $13 billion in direct investments, with the Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. (Nasdaq: TEVA ; TASE: TEVA ) deal contributing some $10 billion of this. Portfolio investments grew by $10 billion due to continuing portfolio adjustments in the private non-banking sector in light of the tax reform.”
The Bank of Israel added, “The balance of other investments grew by $10 billion mainly due to the banking system’s deposit abroad (of $6 billion) as a result of their foreign-currency surplus, and deposits of the business sector abroad (principally through the transfer to deposits abroad of receipts from the Iscar deal).
“The balance of Israel’s external liabilities totaled some $171 billion at the end of 2006, a rise of about $18 billion compared with the end of 2005. Direct investments in Israel during 2006 were influenced by global trends, including growth led by an expansion in world trade, which increased both the amount of capital seeking investment opportunities and company profitability, as well as a wave of mergers and acquisitionsÂ… Among the most prominent components, one should mention the investment in Iscar Ltd. , the realization of the sale of the controlling interest in Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT ), investments in high-tech companies, and investments in real estate totaling $1.4 billion.”
Zeev Klein, “Israel’s foreign debt falls 53% to record low,” Globes, March 27, 2007»
Two Israel companies among Red Herring’s list of notable startups
Posted on March 29, 2007 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Technology | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Israeli hi-tech companies Promisec and Insightix are included Red Herring magazine’s list of 15 startups worth watching. Red Herring describes the companies on this list as companies that “will strike fear in the hearts of hackers for years to come.”
Promisec’s “agentless” Spectator software detects and prevents employees from leaking sensitive information by alerting the IT security manager in the case of unauthorized access or a violation of an organization’s regulations. Insightix claims its Insightix NAC software allows IT managers to find all network elements such as computers, routers, or switches on the organization’s network in real time, as well as identify types of users and deny access to those who are unauthorized. Most competing discovery technologies, the company claims, only enable the identification of a maximum of 65 percent of network devices.
ACE Israel to launch DIY chain in Turkey
Posted on March 28, 2007 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Business | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Sources inform ”Globes” that DIY retailer ACE Marketing Chains Consumer Products Ltd. has obtained permission from ACE Ltd. (NYSE: ACE) to operate in Turkey. The company will launch a chain of ACE and Auto Depot stores in the country.
ACE Israel is currently negotiating with three leading Turkish companies on opening stores in partnership with one of them. ACE Israel hopes to sign an agreement soon and open the first store this year.
Ilanit Hayut, “ACE Israel to launch DIY chain in Turkey,”Globes, March 27, 2007.
Intel’s Israelis Make Chip to Rescue Company From Profit Plunge
Posted on March 28, 2007 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Business, Technology | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Intel’s sales are dropping, and it may be the Israeli development team that saves the company.
Five hundred employees and guests crowded under a white tent half the length of a football field at Intel Corp.’s Santa Clara, California, headquarters as Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini put his company’s newest line of computer chips through their paces.
“These are the best microprocessors we’ve ever designed, the best microprocessors we’ve ever built,” Otellini told the audience. “This is not just incremental change; it’s a revolutionary leap.”Otellini’s pronouncement relegated to obsolescence Intel’s Pentium chip, which once powered more than 80 percent of the world’s personal computers. That wasn’t the only surprise last July.
A camera zoomed in on engineers in lab coats in Haifa, Israel. The video revealed that the chip Intel is counting on to recover from a battering by Advanced Micro Devices Inc. wasn’t invented in Silicon Valley. Instead, Intel is betting on a group of Israeli mavericks and a design bureau 7,400 miles (11,900 kilometers) away.
Doug Freedman, an analyst in San Francisco for Greenwich, Connecticut-based brokerage American Technology Research, says “[The Israelis] saved the company…Without those new products, Intel would be in a lot more trouble.”
Cleaning Up Israel
Posted on March 28, 2007 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Social | Tags: | Leave a Comment
In the face of the plethora of corruption scandals emerging from the Israeli Knesset, Israel now has to choose between becoming like Denmark or Nigeria.
Hillel Halkin, “Cleaning Up Israel,” contentions, Commentary Magazine, March 27, 2007.
Leading U.S. Journal Publishes Current Study of Israeli Nanotech R&D Activities
Posted on March 27, 2007 • By Miriam Schwab
Category: Technology | Tags: | Leave a Comment
Ramat Hasharon, Israel | Posted on March 27th, 2007
Nanotechnology Law & Business, a leading American journal, has published the first comprehensive summary of Israeli nanotech R&D activities. The article covers a broad range of current business, investment and legal topics relating to Israeli nanotechnology, including public and private funding policies, national research strengths, cultural issues and key aspects of technology transfer and intellectual property laws.
The article was authored by Bob Rosenbaum, a leading Israeli nanotechnology consultant, together with Mariana Ardetz, Dr. Daphne Getz, Dr. Daniel Shefer and Dr. Amnon Frenkel, widely respected technology researchers at the Samuel Neaman Institute for Advanced Studies located at the Technion Israel Institute of Technology, and with Heather A. Stone, a partner in the law firm of Gross, Kleinhendler, Hodak, Halevy, Greenberg & Co. who specializes in technology, venture capital, and intellectual property areas.
“We’re very pleased to see this publication in the NLB Journal.” said Bob Rosenbaum, who directs the Small Advantage consultancy. “The article distills the efforts of many people, experts in their fields, and it’s truly the first comprehensive study of its kind. We hope that it will prove useful to those who seek reliable background information on Israeli nanotech.”
The article helps to put Israeli nanotechnology capabilities and goals into a global perspective which can be clearly understood by business, manufacturing and IP stakeholders. Also included in the article is a unique high-level review of Israel’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) for the emerging nanotechnology arena.
The article appears in Volume 4.1 (March 2007) of the NLB journal and can be accessed at http://www.nanolabweb.com .
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About Nanotechnology Law & Business
Nanotechnology Law & Business (NLB) is a peer reviewed journal devoted to the legal, business, and policy aspects of small scale technologies. NLB provides valuable expert insights and analysis for all professionals involved in these fast-developing fields.
Small Advantage is a high tech marketing and business development consultancy that provides solutions in strategic communications, product differentiation, technical marketing, and channel building. Directed by Bob Rosenbaum, the firm provides marketing know-how for the advanced materials, IT and telecoms sectors, and offers unique expertise in emerging nanotechnologies.
For more information, please click here
Contacts:
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Ramat Hasharon 47116
Israel
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