Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com
If “Initiative 97″ makes it on the ballot in the fall, citizens of Seattle will be asked to approve a measure that would prohibit the city from investing its pension funds in corporations that benefit from the Iraq war, or companies that provide material support to the Israeli government within the so-called “occupied territories.” The opposition to the initiative is being led by StandWithUs.org. It strikes me as a bit odd that a measure that seems to be intended to protest the U.S. Iraq policy also includes divestment from Israel.
Why the connection?
(Continue »)
Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com
Tomorrow is my daughter’s 7th birthday, so as is customary here at IOI, I will highlight a birthday stock to use as a gift for her. I must note that my wife has been racking her brains as to what present we should get, and she, not surprisingly, did a great job of getting a gift that we think our 7 year old will love. For full disclosure, my contribution consisted of a few grunts, when my wife asked my opinion of certain possibilities.
Because she is turning 7, why not look at a stock that is trading in that range. Well for starters we have Orckit Communications(ORCT). They develop telecommunication equipment that enables transmission of broadband services. They are a classic old-school Israeli company that has cutting edge technology, but virtually no one to buy it. They have one real customer, KDDI in Japan, and we have been hearing for a few years now about another customer that is about to make a purchase. Unfortunately, outside of a small deal with Deutsche Telecom(DT), where we have yet to see much in the way of revenue, it’s the same story quarter after quarter. Orckit may be a good stock to get my mother in law for mother’s day, but doesn’t make the grade for my oldest child.
The stock that we will purchase for her is Ulticom(ULCM.pk). They provide service essential signaling solutions for wireless, wireline, and Internet communications. One of our favorites, Comverse Technology(CMVT.pk) owns a huge stake in the company, and as we have written, we are looking for Comverse to try and sell off Ulticom. Comverse is trying to strealine their business, and create shareholder value. Hopefully, a sale of Ulticom should fetch a nice premium.
Happy birthday sweety, and I hope that you are blessed with a year filled with health and happiness.
Disclosure: Author’s fund has a position in CMVT.pk and ULCM.pk. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 5/9/08.
Please see our Disclaimer HERE.
NEW! Introducing Israel Opportunity Investor, our monthly subscription-only newsletter. Stay ahead of the game and make smart decisions in Israel stocks. Go here to learn more.
Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.
The entire interview with Gemini’s Carmel Sofer is part of our new subscription newsletter, Israel Opportunity Investor. You can find out more about the product and the opportunities we cover at www.israelnewsletter.com.
Can you tell us a bit about Gemini?
Carmel Sofer, Partner: Gemini was one of Israel’s first VCs and is 15 years old. We now manage more than $600 million via 4 funds. We’ve just closed our 4th fund and are in the process of raising our 5th fund, which we’re targeting to be $200 million. We’ve had over 30 exits including Saifun and recently, Traiana. (Continue »)
Written by: Aaron Katsman | December 31, 2007
Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com
With 2007 about to finish, it’s time to look forward to 2008. Here are a few of my predictions for the new year. Before I start I just want to make clear I don’t expect anyone to hold me to what I say, but of course if I actually get something right, rest assured I will let you know about it.
1- At some point during the year the price of crude oil will trade below $75 a barrel. This will be great for the consumer as they save a lot of money at the pump, and will cause a crashing of many alternative energy stocks, especially the Solar plays like First Solar(FSLR).
2- There will be no recession in the US economy, despite the best efforts of the media to “will” one. While the economy should slow somewhat during the first half of ‘08, the economy will grow enough to stay out of a recession, and the second half of ‘08 should bring back 4+% GDP growth.
3- The Rudy Giuliani/John McCain ticket will surprisingly win the US presidential election. With Republicans given virtually no chance to hang on to the White House, with a strong economy and the continued new-found success of the war in Iraq, they not only win but win back control of Congress as well.
4- Late in the summer the current Israeli government headed by PM Ehud Olmert will fall, and new elections will be called.
5- Picking up from a lackluster ‘07, with regard to M&A of Israeli publicly traded companies in the US, ‘08 will have no less than 6 major deals. Look for Gilat(GILT), Retalix(RTLX), Commtouch(CTCH), Comverse Technology(CMVT.pk), CEVA(CEVA), and Fundtech(FNDT) to be acquired.
6- The earth will cool, there will be no global warming.
7- After completing an undefeated season and winning the Super Bowl, the New England Patriots’ winning streak is snapped in week 3 of the ‘08 NFL season.
8- As much as I would like, most of these predictions will not come true.
We should all have a year of health, and happiness.
Disclosure: Author’s fund holds a position in GILT,CMVT.pk,CTCH,RTLX and FNDT. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 12/31/07.
Please see our Disclaimer HERE.
NEW! Introducing Israel Opportunity Investor, our monthly subscription-only newsletter. Stay ahead of the game and make smart decisions in Israel stocks. Go here to learn more.
Aaron Katsman is Managing Editor of the Israel Opportunity Investor newsletter. He is lead portfolio manager for the Israel Growth Portfolio and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. For more information, go to www.israelnewsletter.com or call 1-888-327-6179, or email aaron@profile-financial.com.
