Aaron Katsman
IsraelNewsletter.com

Red Red Red- That’s what the tape shows,
the market is going down everyone knows;
Step up and buy stocks off we go,
Homer, what would you say to a bank failure, Doh!

Sub-prime, oil, inflation and a weak dollar are to blame,
A year ago wasn’t the situation the same?
What goes up must come down was Newtons claim to fame,
It looks like only the shorts will be left standing at the end of the game.

Israeli stocks in the US have been shown the door,
but at current valuations isn’t there a floor?
Bears point to Iran and potential war,
Bulls say deal after deal signed, a rally we are in for.

Silicom (SILC), Alvarion (ALVR), Zoran (ZRAN), Amdocs (DOX) the list has no end,
It doesn’t look like the reversal is just around the bend;
Global banks are stuck they have no money to lend,
It will take time for all the carnage to mend.

But be optimistic there are deals to be had,
What’s great today used to be bad.
If you hit refresh on your portfolio you are sure to be sad,
Don’t fret a few good days and buying stocks will again be a popular fad.

Disclosure: Author’s fund has a position in SILC, DOX, ZRAN, ALVR. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 7/08/08.

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.

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Aaron Katsman
IsraelNewsletter.com

Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke’s tough talk on the US Dollar helped support the greenback against the major global currencies, but it caused a minor rally against the Israeli shekel. As a reminder, the shekel has been one of the world’s strongest currencies over the last year, and its strength, while serving as a seal of approval on the state of the Israeli economy, has crushed exporters as well as many Israeli hi-tech’s that sell globally but keep their R&D local, due to the fact that their expense line has increased from the currency differential. (Continue »)

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Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com  

I would like to start by taking this opportunity to wish my wife, Yael “Nefesh B’Nefesh” Katsman, a belated happy anniversary. Our anniversary was actually yesterday, and NO I didn’t forget, we had a tasty dinner, I just didn’t mention it in the blog. Give me a little credit.

The big news of the last 24 hours is the intervention in the currency market by the Bank of Israel (BOI). Yesterday afternoon in after-market trading the Shekel/USD rate fell to approximately 3.34. Then came the news that the BOI was intervening for the first time in more than a decade, and that send the greenback back up more than 1.5%. Today, the BOI announced more intervention, and that is helping the dollar even more. Local media reports have said that the BOI wants to get the exchange rate back to at least 3.60, which is about 4% high than today.

Why the sudden move by the BOI? The shekel has been the second strongest currency in the world YTD, and the impact on exporters has been huge. Losses continue to mount for them, and the BOI needed to do something.

This move could have profound impact on some Israeli stocks that trade in the US. Companies like Alvarion (ALVR), Nice Systems(NICE), Amdocs(DOX), all do R&D in Israel and their expense lines have increased due to the strength of the shekel. The recent BOI intervention could potentially have positive ramifications on earnings for these companies.

Disclosure: Author’s fund holds a position in ALVR, NICE and DOX. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 3/14/08.

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.

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Aaron Katsman
www.IsraelNewsletter.com  

With the NCAA tournament’s selection Sunday fast approaching, I need to speak about a different type of March Madness. WiMax leader Alvarion (ALVR) has gotten absolutely crushed, and that’s is pure and utter madness. Alvarion is trading at $5.65 a share and the stock has shed 25% since the beginning of the month. Why? What has so dramatically changed in 13 days? The stock is almost 40% down YTD. Yikes.

Colleague Zack Miller had a great post about Alvarion last month, and today he screamed, in a voice heard throuout IOI corporate headquarters, ” They just did a deal in Kenya, what’s going on?”

While I don’t think it’s accountable for all the recent losses in the stock, the impact that the Israel shekel has on Alvarion shouldn’t be dismissed. The greenback getting slammed this week against the shekel coincided with Alvarion stock falling sharply as well. In fact we highlighted that in our last issue of the newsletter. The company admitted that it is hurt by the weak U.S. dollar compared with the Israeli shekel in a recent earnings call.

Whether WiMax takes hold in the U.S. or not is not so relevant if you ask me. Alvarion is executing their business model quite well in developing nations and this is a nice little growth business, which I think the market has completely forgotten about.

If you are long-term investor, it may pay to have a look at Alvarion at these levels.

Disclosure: Author’s fund holds a position in ALVR. He has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 3/13/08.

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.

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