Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Sunday, 2 January 2011





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Israel's Week in Business & Technology
for week ended December 31

The week's top storiesContents
Israel's GDP grows 4.5%
Leviathan as big as estimated
Avner tops Tel Aviv 25 stocks in 2010
Dankner sells Makhteshim
Idea of merging IAI, Rafael and IMI gains momentum
Information systems giant EMC plans Negev R&D center
El Al raises prices due to higher fuel costs
Fischer: We saw the beginning of a bubble
Katsav will lose benefits, not pension
Start-ups and VC
Information technology
Healthcare
Telecom and media
Defense and aerospace
Real estate
Transport and infrastructure
Tourism and aviation
Water
Energy
Legal
Financial services
Capital markets
Economy
Features and analysis



Start-ups and VC
Information security co Covertix raises $1m
CEO Alon Samia: The major WikiLeaks affair woke up the industry.
Xenia invests $650,000 in visual search co Superfish
Israeli start-up Spikko offers calls via UK


Information technology
Information systems giant EMC plans Negev R&D center
The center will be set up at a new high tech park near Ben Gurion University in Beersheva.
Comverse names bankers for partial Verint sale
IncrediMail extends Google deal for 2 years
Babylon extends deal with Google
Clal Industries sells Nova Measuring shares
VoIP co AudioCodes shares fall as year winds down


Healthcare
CollPlant teams with Edwards LifeSciences
If the project succeeds, the parties will negotiate exclusive rights to the products.
Drug discovery co Compugen signs $5m R&D funding deal
BiolineRX reports success in warts removal study
ITGI reports success in new stent use
Diabetes co Oramed gets NIS 2.9m OCS grant
Mazor marks first Dutch SpineAssist sale
NeatStitch signs NIH deal in US


Telecom and media
French tycoon mulls bid for new mobile operator
Xavier Niel is also interested in the IEC telecommunications infrastructure venture.
HOT owner Drahi mulls undersea cable to France
Hamashbir returns MVNO license


Defense and aerospace
Idea of merging IAI, Rafael and IMI gains momentum
A merger of the three government-owned companies would create the world's 20th largest defense corporation.
Defense electronics co Elbit Systems to restructure subsidiaries
Elbit Systems wins Asian air force order
Elbit Systems acquires two Brazilian companies
Vehicle maker Hatehof fights for survival


Real estate
Fischer: We saw the beginning of a bubble
"It is a tendency of bubbles to burst."
Harel buys lower Manhattan property
Elbit Imaging sells stakes in 3 London hotels
Aviv Arlon continues US real estate buys
Recanati's Gmul sells 2 hotels to Jordache owners
Electra Real Estate to build Tel Aviv office tower


Transport and infrastructure
Nat'l Road Co. lays first eco-friendly road
1,900 used tires were used to pave the experimental section.
Fast lane to Tel Aviv to open January 7
Israel Railways to pay fire damage for uninsured cars
Ashtrom Properties buys Jerusalem light rail stake
Solel Boneh Int'l wins Tanzania road deal


Tourism and aviation
El Al raises prices due to higher fuel costs
The higher fares will take effect January 3.
300-room Haifa hotel wins approval
Nazareth to get 140-room hotel


Water
Israel looks to export water tech to world's mines
The Foreign Trade Administration has a new plan to double Israel's water technology exports, by 2012.


Energy
Leviathan as big as estimated
Noble Energy CEO Davidson: Leviathan is easily the largest exploration discovery in our history.
"Leviathan discovery not well timed"
No overspill for Steinmetz near Leviathan
US co ATP agrees deal to buy Myra, Sarah stakes
Ormat foregoes $330m US gov't guarantees
Isramco must present Shimshon drilling plan in January
Givot continues Meged 5 development
Middle East Tube continues solar energy push
Gasoline price to hit NIS 7.14 per liter


Legal
Katsav will lose benefits, not pension
Benefits accruing to former president Moshe Katsav's wife, Gila, are not affected.
Teva exec suspected of insider trading
Receiver appointed for cell phone developer modu
Fuel cos sued for alleged systematic cheating on gasoline sales


Financial services
Mizrahi nears deal with PayPal
The bank's credit card will be linked to PayPal accounts.


Capital markets
Dankner sells Makhteshim
IDB chairman Nochi Dankner went to China on Sunday to close the deal.
"Makhteshim opens door to more Chinese deals"
Avner tops Tel Aviv 25 stocks in 2010
Court appoints receiver for Boymelgreen
Equity offerings jump in 2010
Bank Hapoalim buys Strauss stake
S&P considers another rating downgrade for IEC
Tshuva sells Vitania stake to clear Phoenix debt
Fox extends Bar Refaeli deal
Digal bondholders favor Al-Masri offer
Dapei Zahav selling D&B Israel stake
Leumi Partners buys Road 6 stake
Biomedix increases stake in Spearhead Investments
Nonwoven textile co Avgol buys Cleaver Associates


Economy
Israel's GDP grows 4.5%
Growth in 2010 was well above the OECD average.
Bank of Israel keeps interest rate unchanged
Export Institute sees slower export growth in 2011
Treasury stealthily adds NIS 6.5b to defense budget
Coalition budget deals cost NIS 1.1b
Manufacturers warn price hikes will bring layoffs
20 Israeli cos boycott settlers' products
Israel's population nears 7.7m
Immigration rises for second consecutive year


Features and analysis
Hapoalim narrows the gap with Leumi
The bank is diversifying its non bank holdings.
Building a bridge over cleantech's valley of death
It is possible to create a quality cleantech industry here. All that needs to be done is to advance an incentive policy which will allows this potential to break out,
Low profits and high risk
The international operations of Israeli banks are of questionable value.
Energy-starved Asia waits for Leviathan
It is now clear that the natural gas discovery at Leviathan will turn Israel into a natural gas power.