Slower hi-tech exports worry local sector

Exports of hi-tech products have slowed considerably over the last four months, the Manufacturers' Association of Israel reported on Wednesday, leading to concern among business leaders that the technology-reliant export sector may be headed for a big drop-off during the next few years.
Since July, hi-tech exports, including electronic items, computers, communications equipment, aerospace products and medicines have grown only 0.5 percent, the Association said.
For the full story, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546756056&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Local business not 'excited' by Annapolis

As the country's political leaders gathered in Annapolis to negotiate a possible final status agreement with the Palestinian Authority, economists and business leaders were mixed over the potential impact such a settlement is likely to have on the resilient local economy.
"It depends if everything goes well, it could have a positive effect, but if not, it can go the other way as well," Shlomo Maoz, chief economist at Excellence Nessuah, told The Jerusalem Post. "We have seen a massive increase in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) over the last few years and if an agreement is reached, it could really increase this amount, while no progress could bring about a drop-off as much as 20 percent in FDI as investors would then shy away."
For the full story, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546746661&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Ahead of number portability, companies fight for bigger market share

Ahead of the looming December 1 deadline of the Communications Ministry's long-awaited number portability program, the country's fixed-line and cellular companies are in the midst of a fierce marketing campaign aimed at increasing their respective market shares in the country's ultra-competitive communications sector.
"All of the companies are offering benefits that have not been given before," said Tsahi Avraham, a communications and technology analyst at Clal Finance Batucha. "We are going to see a lot of advertising in the media as the start date gets closer as all of the companies know that they need to work hard to retain their current customers and attract new ones."
For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195546703906&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Gov't expected to join financing of huge northern development project

There is a "high probability" that the government will contribute significant funding to The Galilee Finance Facility, an initiative aimed at strengthening and developing the northern economy through the construction of a number of large infrastructure projects, The Jerusalem Post has learned.
The initiative is the brainchild of the Milken Institute and the Koret Economic Development Fund, and was hatched as a result of the Milken Financial Innovations Lab, held earlier this year, which focused on economic recovery and development in northern Israel. For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1195127516602&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Business leaders call for trade talks at Annapolis

In an effort to ensure that economic issues are included in this month's Israel-Palestinian Authority Peace Summit, manufacturing leaders from both sides called on their respective governments late Sunday night to also discuss the reopening of the Paris Trade Protocols and the re-establishment of the Israel-PA Economic Forum at the negotiating tables of Annapolis. For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380804012&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Intel takes the silicon out of chips

Once again led by its research and development center in Haifa, Intel Corp., the world's largest semiconductor manufacturer, on Monday unveiled its smallest and fastest processing chipset. Codenamed Penryn, the processors, including 16 eco-friendly and "cooler" chips, are the first to be produced on the company's 45 nanometer (nm) manufacturing process.
"The intellects, physics and designs that went into solving one of the industry's most daunting challenges are awe-inspiring and I congratulate the Intel teams for this breakthrough achievement," said Paul Otellini, Intel president and CEO, as he unveiled the product. "Best yet, this feat, coupled with our industry-leading architectures, means faster and sleeker computers, longer battery life and better energy efficiency. Our objective is to bring consumers a new class of computers delivering a full Internet experience in ever-smaller, more portable form factors." For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380803053&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

New project to help fund development of the North

Looking to build on this year's successful $25 million northern business revitalization campaign, the Milken Institute and the Koret Economic Development Fund have initiated the Galilee Finance Facility, a project aimed at strengthening and developing the northern economy.
The idea for the project came as a result of the Milken Institute's Financial Innovations Lab, held earlier this year, which focused on economic recovery and development in northern Israel. The Milken Institute's Israel Center accelerates and supports Israel's path toward economic independence and broad-based prosperity through capital-market development, financial innovation and job creation. For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380803742&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

'Brain-drain threatens to set back hi-tech'

Should the government not intervene soon to stem the country's ever-increasing "brain-drain," the local hi-tech and science sectors could suffer a serious downturn in productivity quality and quantity in the foreseeable future.
"The government has failed to advance the local sector enough to prevent our best hi-tech workers, scientists, researchers, academics and doctors from leaving the country for better opportunities abroad," Manufacturers Association of Israel President Shraga Brosh warned at the annual Sderot Conference for Society on Wednesday. For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380770958&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Consumer bill aims to prevent identity theft

In an effort to combat identity theft and help ensure that sensitive information does not end up in the wrong hands, the Knesset Economics Committee on Tuesday proposed a new law limiting information that appears on customer credit card receipts to just the first or last four digits of the purchaser's card number. Today, approximately 40 percent of supermarkets and retailers print receipts that display the entire credit card number.
"The main reason we moved to introduce such a law in the Knesset is because it is important that personal information isn't given away and used to steal with," said MK Robert Ilatov (Israel Beitenu) who, along with MK Yosef Shagal (Israel Beitenu), co-authored the law. "We have the technology in this country to make it possible for all places of business to install the right software for this." For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380754799&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Study: Lack of competitive tax system costs foreign investment

Israel is being urged to overhaul its "outdated and complex" tax system and replace it with a simpler, more efficient "flat tax" system that will boost economic growth, increase state income and lead to a rise in direct foreign investment.
"Israel cannot afford to be without an efficient, fair and simple tax system," said economist Shahar Shlush, a "Koret Fellow" and the author of an international tax study released by the Koret-Milken Fellowship Program ahead of next week's Koret-Milken Conference on Economic Development. For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380746408&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Consumers feel pinch of record oil prices

As the price of oil races toward the $100-a-barrel mark, analysts are divided over the impact the rapid increase will have on the local economy, yet are confident that it will hit consumers where it hurts the most: at the cash register.
"This is a country that is driven by the strength of its hi-tech market, a sector that does not rely so much on energy consumption as it does on human resources," said Jonathan Katz, a macro-strategist at HSBC. "I don't see a major impact on the GDP, but I do think that consumers will feel the pinch as costs rise."
The rise in oil prices is also expected to affect the Consumer Price Index (CPI), a measure of a country's inflation level. For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380745264&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

HOT pulls the plug on CNN

In a surprise move, HOT Television terminated its contract with CNN on Thursday, despite saying on Tuesday that it would continue to broadcast the international news channel at least until November 10th.
"The decision to end our contract with CNN comes after the network's chief executive in the Middle Eastern region, Ron Ciccone, refused to come to Israel to negotiate with us," said Yossi Lubaton, HOT's Vice President of marketing. "We feel that they never took seriously the negotiations and did not make an offer reasonable enough to allow us to enter into serious negotiations." For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380704761&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israel-China 'water-trade' to rise significantly

Israel expects "to significantly increase" its water technology exports to China over the next few years following a successful round of meetings between National Infrastructures Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer and Chinese water-technology leaders attending WATEC Israel 2007.
"China is highly interested in the Israeli expertise in water management," Hezi Kugler, director general of the National Infrastructures Ministry told The Jerusalem Post. "They are very interested in our desalination techniques - the entire delegation travelled to see IDE Technology's desalination plant in Ashkelon - there is definitely a lot of interest." For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380707655&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Israel #17 in WEF's Global Competitiveness Report

Israel fell three spots to number 17 in the World Economic Forum's annual Global Competitiveness Report, which provides a comprehensive picture of the competitiveness landscape in countries around the world at all stages of development.
The US took the number one spot on the survey, while Chad came in at the bottom of the 131-country study. For the full article, click on the link below...
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1192380707236&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull