Knesset panel seeks to keep CNN on HOT

Calling the issue a "public matter," the Knesset Economics Committee summoned representatives of HOT Television and CNN to a special committee session on Monday in a last ditch effort to prevent HOT from dropping broadcasts of the international news channel.
"While the Knesset cannot force HOT and CNN to come to an agreement, it is important for them to know that this is an issue which greatly concerns the public as two-thirds of all television subscriptions are with HOT," said MK Avshalom Vilan (Meretz). "It also would make the country look bad for its largest cable provider to not carry CNN." For the full article, click on the link below...
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New law allows misled consumers to sue retailers

Consumers who have been damaged by retailers due to dishonest advertising will be allowed to sue those store owners for up to NIS 10,000 in small-claims court as part of new legislation introduced to curtail dishonesty in the marketplace.
The legislation, announced Monday by Yitzhak Kimche, the overseer of Consumer Protection in the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry also includes clauses that extend to return policies and warranties. For the full article, click on the link below...
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Water-tech exports to reach $1.1b. by year-end

Israel is expected to increase its water technology exports to some $1.1 billion by the end of this year, a significant jump from 2006's $850 million, but only a drop in the bucket of an industry that is worth an estimated $410b., the Industry, Trade and Labor Ministry reported Sunday ahead of this week's WATEC Israel 2007 conference.
"In many different areas of water technology, Israel has the appearance of a country that is a world leader in research and development, innovation and initiative," said the Ministry's report. "Today, there exist many different water technologies that were developed in Israel, and on a constant basis the country hosts water leaders from around the world who come here to learn from our innovation and our success." For the full article, click on the link below...
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Pay attention to cleantech, Israel urged

While Israeli technology start-ups have changed the world with their innovative ideas and enjoyed tremendous success in attracting venture capital funds over the last decade, industry leaders warned on Thursday that the local technology sector must significantly alter its approach if it wants to maintain its status as a world technology leader.
"I see a number of primary obstacles facing Israel, chief among them being a strong shift among venture capitalists to cleantech companies," said Ronen Barel, managing partner of Ernst & Young Israel, at the company's Journeys '07 conference in Tel Aviv. "Nations around the world are all looking for more efficient sources of energy and we must, therefore, continue to grow our cleantech sector. Over the past number of years, the focus of VCs has significantly shifted to more cleantech companies and Israel must become more involved." For the full article, click on the link below...
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Q3 inflation claims more victims

The number of Israeli companies affected by higher third-quarter inflation grew on Wednesday as Discount Investment Corp. and Bezeq said financial costs were "significantly higher"due to rising costs, while Phoenix Holdings warned of a quarterly loss and Ma'alot, the Israel Securities Rating Company, said Avis and New-Kopel also would post losses.
"These leasing companies have their liabilities tied to the Consumer Price Index and when it spikes, their financial expenses also spike," Yuval Torbati, the director of corporate ratings at Ma'alot, told The Jerusalem Post. "For the third quarter, they will record a net loss because of the huge spike in their financial expenses." For the full article, click on the link below...
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Cellular firms barred from using free minutes to push sales

In an unprecedented decision, the Communications Ministry on Tuesday informed cell phone companies that it intends to make it illegal for them to continue to subsidize purchases of more expensive handsets by offering free minutes to customers.
"Disconnecting the ties between the purchase of cell phones and free airtime will remove the corruption that currently exists in the cell phone market, will close the gaps between companies and will increase transparency in monthly phone bills ahead of the introduction of the number portability program," said Communications Minister Ariel Attias. "This decision will also increase competition in the market and allow new players to gain a foothold by increasing their market share," he said. For full story, click on the link below...
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Brosh, Eini look to bring on the luck of the Irish

Israel should look to the Irish economic model as a roadmap for constructing a healthier and more fruitful local economy, Histadrut Labor Organization Chairman Ofer Eini and Chairman of the Federation of Israeli Economic Organizations Shraga Brosh urged Tuesday.

"Despite the differences in our economies, there are many elements from the Irish model that we should incorporate into the Israeli economy," Brosh said. "These include the establishment of an economic-social policy that is geared towards the long-term outlook of the economy and developing the optimal conditions to encourage investment." For the full story, click on the link below...
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'Banks lag behind OECD countries'

The country's banking system has improved in some areas but still has a ways to go in others to reach the national averages of OECD member countries, according to a Bank of Israel study released Sunday.
"The banking system in Israel needs to improve in order to attain averages of OECD countries in the two most important fields of banking stability - capital adequacy and nonperforming loans," the first-ever such study conducted by the central bank said. For full article, click on the link below...

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Fewer hi-tech firms raise more funds in Q3

Seventy-four hi-tech companies raised some $350 million in venture funds during the third quarter, about 10 percent more than 80 companies raised in the second quarter and 39% above the levels raised by 66 companies in the third quarter of 2006, the accounting firm Kesselman & Kesselman, PriceWaterhouseCoopers said in a Money Tree report on Sunday.
"The investments that we have seen in Israeli hi-tech companies and the developments that they have made testify to the strength of the venture capital sector in this country," said Joseph Fellus, a partner, advisory and hi-tech practice leader at Kesselman & Kesselman, PwC. "We will continue to see higher numbers in terms of VC money invested in Israeli hi-tech as long as the companies here continue to perform like they are now." For full article, click on the link below...

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Higher inflation rates likely to take a toll on third-quarter earnings

Rising inflation is beginning to show in Israel's businesses with at least four of the country's largest companies to warn over the past week they expect to post substantial increases in financing expenses over the third quarter, with costs estimated to rise by tens of millions of shekels.
"This is happening because these companies have bonds and a lot of debt linked to the Consumer Price Index. Once the CPI increased in size like it did over the third quarter, it pushed the amount of interest that the companies have to pay even higher," said one local analyst. For full story, click on the link below...
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Foreign investment in Israel to drop

Foreign direct investment in Israel is expected to reach $9.5 billion, a drop from the record $14.3b. achieved in 2006 but still the second-highest level in the country's history, a new study released Tuesday predicted.
The World Investment Report, an annual publication of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), expects the downward trend to continue over the next few years given an expected economic slowdown in the US. For full article, click on the link below...

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Israel lags behind world leaders in adopting new Internet protocol

While Israel may be an international leader in the hi-tech world, it is destined to be stuck with the moniker of tag-along when it comes to adapting Internet Protocol version 6 (Ipv6) industry leaders warned Sunday.
"The Internet is growing very fast and by 2010, we expect that we will run out of IP addresses," Latif Ladid, IPv6 Forum president, told The Jerusalem Post at the VON (Voice, Video & Vision)-Israel Conference. "That leaves us only two-and-a-half years, and the question for the Israeli market is - does it want to be a leader of the industry or does it want to sit on the side? For full article, click the link below...
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Bezeq may face rocky future

The future of Bezeq Ltd. was unclear Thursday after Israel's largest telecommunications company saw four of its senior executives resign, including Chief Financial Officer Ran Oz, this week.
"It's never good for a company to lose so many senior executives in one week,"said Ori Licht, a telecom analyst at Israel Brokerage and Investments Ltd. "We don't know why Ran Oz left the company, but he came to Bezeq from Nice where he did an excellent job, and Bezeq was expecting him to help turn the company around, but that didn't really happen." For full article, click below...
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Jerusalem pre-schools start year without security

Many Jerusalem day care centers started the new school year without guards, with teachers saying the municipality decided not to pay for security, citing budgetary constraints.
"Two days before we opened for the school year, we got a call from a municipal representative telling us that they think our security situation at the school is safe enough and that we wouldn't be getting security," said the director of a pre-school in Jerusalem's Baka neighborhood. For full article, click below...
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Phone companies brace for cell-number portability

As the country's fixed-line and cellular service companies make final preparations for the start of the Communications Ministry's long awaited number portability program on December 1, analysts differ on the affect the program will have on the country's communications sector. For full article, click on the link below...
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Israeli manufacturing productivity to fall for 1st time in 25 years

For the first time in a quarter of a century, manufacturing productivity is expected to fall, the Manufacturers Association of Israel said Monday, citing the strength of the shekel against the dollar as one of the primary factors in the forecasted decline. For the full article, click on the link below...
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D&B Israel: Biotech's days numbered

A majority of Israel's publicly-traded biotechnology companies will be forced to halt their research and development activities in as little as two-and-a-half years if they do not alter their business strategies immediately, research company Dun & Bradstreet Israel warned on Sunday.
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21Ventures

21Ventures, a US investment company, said on Monday, October 1, that it has invested $3 million in surveillance software company Agent Video Intelligence Inc., in a B financing round, bringing its total investment in Agent Video to $13m.
Going forward, the firm plans to invest only in Israeli businesses, anticipating investments of $20m. in 2008. David Anthony, managing partner of 21Ventures, thinks the firm will add another 10-15 companies to its portfolio over the next three to five years.
"I think that our model could work anywhere in the world, but just think that Israel is the best place in the world to invest," he said. For the full article, click on the link below...
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