Direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians opened today. Read More »
Globes Online 
Israel's Business Arena
visit
MTS springs surprise in TA light rail saga
MTS has accepted the government’s proposal for a new franchise agreement. Read More »
Cellcom sees NIS 320m sliced off net profit
The company is considering legal action over the cut in interconnect fees. Read More »
Peace talks begin with right noises
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in the White House that he was ready for “an historic compromise. Read More »
Makhteshim gets permit for 120-MW power plant
Turkey’s Zorlu Energy is one of the companies that will be involved in building the $200 million project. Read More »
Only 2% of lawyers want their jobs
Israeli lawyers see their current jobs as stations on the way to somewhere else. Read More »
Library solutions co Ex Libris in Finnish National Library deal
Ex Libris will provide a unified interface for its collections and electronic resources. Read More »
Teva loses Evista appeal
The company won’t market a generic version of Eli Lilly’s osteoporosis drug Evista. Read More »
Second Israeli pill camera co mulls IPO
CheckCap’s product is at an earlier stage than Given Imaging’s products. Read More »
Sialo advances with new dental implant
Sialo’s share price rose 5.7%. Read More »
Top TASE share in 5770: up 621%
Leviathan partner Ratio Oil Exploration led a very strong oil and gas sector. Read More »
No winner yet in Comverse land sale
Sources: Comverse will hold an auction next week, and will likely announce the winner by the end of the month. Read More »
Elbit Systems buys Mikal subsidiaries, not Mikal
After buying all or most of three subsidiaries, Elbit Systems will sell its existing stake in Mikal. Read More »
Kardan unit sells Russian bank stake to partner
TBIF sold part of Sovcombank for €32 million. Read More »
Allium stents implanted in first French patients
Allium develops and manufactures non-vascular peripheral stents to keep open urinary and gastrointestinal passageways. Read More »
Israeli car sales growth among world’s fastest
Nearly 19,000 new vehicles were delivered in August, another step toward the record deliveries expected for 2010. Read More »
Communications minister slams mobile phone cos as he cuts rates
Moshe Kahlon cut the connectivity fee 73% to to NIS 0.068 per minute, effective January 1. Read More »
IBI’s Ayalet Nir sees interest rate hike for October
IBI’s chief economist expects the CPI to rise by 0.3% in August. Read More »
Pit deepens for Scorpio
Beny Steinmetz’s real estate firm reported a shareholders’ equity deficit of NIS 361 million Read More »
YouTube launches Hebrew interface
YouTube’s popularity has greatly grown in recent months, surpassing Hebrew news site ynet and portal Walla! Read More »
Workers reject First Int’l Bank bonus offer
The multiyear offer does not specify the amount for 2010. Read More »
Shekel strength continues
Asian stock markets are trading higher today, following yesterday’s big jumps on Wall Street. Read More »
AFI Development secures Russian bank funding
The loan will finance completion of Phase III of the Ozerkovskaya Embankment project. Read More »
Makhteshim drops US co acquisition bid
Missouri-based Albaugh is the world’s largest private agrochemicals producer. Read More »
Fischer: Real peace will boost economy 5-6%
The Governor of the Bank of Israel was addressing the governing board of the World Jewish Congress in Jerusalem. Read More »
Gov’t claims solar energy tariffs follow global norm
The state was responding to a request for a class action on green energy subsidies. Read More »
Regulator: Electricity rates “scapegoat” for IEC
Public Utilities Authority: We call on the company to come and to show us with numbers where there are mistakes in the rates. Read More »
Housing Ministry markets land for another 3,000 homes
An especially large amount of land will be marketed in the Southern District, which the Housing Ministry says “has recently seen especially heavy demand”. Read More »
Gov’t nixes delay of new mobile co tender
Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon: The tender will be published on September 15. Read More »
Polar Investments claims Holyland sales continue
The company posted a net loss due to a write-off on the project’s inventory of unbuilt apartments and land. Read More »
August was top month this year for mutual funds
Assets managed by mutual funds hit a record NIS 150 billion. Read More »
Online foreign markets trading resumes after glitch
Shinhav provides banks and investment houses a foreign securities trading platform. Read More »
HOT completes new Internet network ahead of time
The ultrafast Internet (UFI) network is based on an upgrade by Cisco Systems. Read More »
FMS armor kits don’t protect against weak euro
FMS: In order to strengthen business and increase sales, we’re considering either setting up a factory in Europe, or acquiring a company. Read More »
Mazor wins FDA nod for combined surgical systems
The firm will begin marketing the navigation and imaging system in early 2011. Read More »
Emblaze in talks to sell Formula stake
Negotiations value Formula at NIS 1 billion. Read More »
Internet ads improve Ma’ariv results
The media and publishing company cut its net loss by 15%. Read More »
Consumer confidence rises after four month drop
July’s survey had already begun to show signs of optimism, and the August figures seem to confirm it. Read More »
Shekel strengthens against dollar, euro
Foreign currency trading comes after a string of macroeconomic figures released yesterday, both locally and overseas. Read More »
Hadasit Bio Holdings raises NIS 11.5m in TASE offering
In the second quarter of 2010, Hadasit recorded its first ever significant profit of NIS 13 million due to capital raised by portfolio company ProtAb. Read More »
ECI spin-off Celtro raises $2.7m
The company develops switching solutions for mobile carriers. Read More »
Osem profit boosted by Materna acquisition
Net profit rose 18.5% and revenue was up 10% from the corresponding quarter. Read More »
Israel Corp execs given more options
“The purpose of granting the options is to incentivize the continued long-term employment of talented and skilled managers at the company. Read More »
IEC to raise NIS 1b more in debt
The offering is part of a previously approved debt offering of NIS 4 billion through 2011, while it must repay NIS 5.5 billion. Read More »
Tel Aviv’s Basel Leonardo Hotel to get residences
Fattal Hotel Management’s new plan will give the building six floors and partial rooftop floor. Read More »
RedHill Biopharma raises $3.5m ahead of IPO
RedHill has signed a co-development and commercialization agreement for IntelGenx’ first oral thin film anti-migraine product. Read More »
IDB Q2 profit down 90% to NIS 50m
IDB Tourism lost NIS 36.7 million in the first half. Read More »
Arkia offers $99 one-way fares to Paris, Amsterdam
A limited number of return reservations can also be booked at $99, luggage not included. Read More »
Fines add to Menorah Mivtachim woes in Q2
The insurance company posted a net loss of NIS 23.1 million for the second quarter. Read More »
Partner turns to court to halt rate reduction
The mobile carrier wants the court to order the Communications Ministry to hand over all documents about the connectivity fees hearing. Read More »
Drahi seeks to buy out partners’ HOT stakes
Patrick Drahi is in contact with banks for financing to buy the stakes of Eliezer Fishman and Noni Mozes. Read More »
3M buys Attenti for $230m
The Tel Aviv based company, formerly Dmatek, develops and manufactures electronic ankle bracelets to monitor a person’s whereabouts. Read More »
Housing starts slump to one year low
Despite the rise in housing prices, contractors are in no rush to build. Read More »
Capital Group buys Palm Beach project stake
CEO Alon Herzog: Tightening terms for buyers groups is causing potential investors to head overseas, especially to the US. Read More »
Delek Group profit falls sharply as US unit stumbles
Yitzhak Tshuva’s gas exploration units contributed NIS 24 million to Delek Group’s net profit, up six-fold from the corresponding quarter. Read More »
Rate of unemployment drops sharply
The unemployment rate in Israel is at its lowest point since 2008. Read More »
Troubled Elad Canada offering succeeds
It won’t matter that Elad Tshuva’s holding is not considered public holdings. Read More »
Intec records Parkinson’s clinical trial success
The number of pills required was nearly halved. Read More »
Jump in salary costs cut First Int’l profit
Workers committee: There is no connection between the figure that salary costs rose by 20% and the employees’ actual salaries. Read More »
Discount Bank CEO: We’re experiencing a slowdown
Profit fell 53% compared with the corresponding quarter of last year. Read More »
