Written by: Aaron Katsman | June 30, 2009
Barclays Capital came out predicting a quick end to the shallow Israeli recession, and a return to decent growth of 2.9% by next year. Keep in mind that the Israeli economy was late to the ‘recession game’ and looks to be an early ‘exiter’ from economic turmoil as well.
With all this great news Barclays said that they expect an Israeli Shekel/USD exchange rate of 3.65 buy the end of the year. That’s a big move from the 3.93 area that the currency is trading at now.
According to Globes: “Barclays sees a less severe recession in Israel, and relatively quick growth recovery. The investment house bases its optimism on the fact that about 75% of Israeli exports are high-tech goods, and Barclays says that a rise in the Tech-Pulse Index - showing a US high-tech recovery - points to stronger Israeli exports. The Tech-Pulse Index, measured by the San Francisco branch of the US Federal Reserve, tracks the US information technology sector.”
It looks like we have started to see this happen. As Tech has led the stock market turnaround in the US, Israeli stocks that trade in the US have been flying, up over 33% this year. Keep in mind that, like it or no, President Obama’s push for alternative energy sources will be huge for Israel, as Israel is one of the big global players in cleantech and water technology. If this trend of a ‘tech led recovery’ continues, look for the Israeli hi-tech scene, from small and mid-cap tech plays on the NASDAQ to M&A to Israeli VC, to have a very strong 2nd half of ‘09, and lights out for 2010.
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Category:
cleantech,
investing,
israel ingenuity,
m&A,
shekel
Tags:
Israeli cleantech,
israeli economy,
israeli exports,
Israeli hi-tech,
Israeli M&A,
Israeli shekel,
israeli stocks,
Israeli stocsk that trade in the US,
Israeli water technology
Written by: Aaron Katsman | April 2, 2009
Looking to cut costs wherever possible, an overwhelming majority of Israeli Hi-tech companies plan to close for the duration of the Passover holiday.
According to Globes: “90% of high-tech companies who responded to a Manufacturers Association of Israel survey will be closed over the week-long Passover holiday. The survey covered over 90 industrial enterprises. 70% of food companies, 56% of metals and electrical companies, 34% of textile companies, 25% of construction and consumer companies, and 55% of chemicals and pharmaceutical companies, will also be closed. 76% of factories will extend the Passover vacation to 14 days this year. 28% of industrial companies are changing their policy and sending their employees on organized leave over the holiday. 59% of industrial companies will be closed over the holiday and will send their employees on paid leave over the holiday, compared with 35% of industrial companies last year.”
Happy Holiday!
Written by: Aaron Katsman | March 12, 2009
Despite a sharp drop in overall Israeli exports, Israeli hi-tech exports actually surged in the December-Feb. ‘09 period.
According to Globes: “High-tech exports, 52% of all industrial exports excluding diamonds, rose by an annualized 21% in December-February, after falling by an annualized 8.1% in September-November. Exports of mixed high-tech goods, 25% of total industrial exports, fell by an annualized 44% in December-February, after falling by an annualized 37.1% in September-November. Chemicals exports fell by an annualized 30% in December-February.The collapse of Israel’s diamond industry worsened further. Exports of rough and polished diamonds amounted to $800 million in January-February, in original figures, 65% less than the $2.3 billion in exports in the corresponding months of 2008. Imports of rough and polished diamonds amounted to $346 million in January-February, 76% less than the $1.48 billion in exports in the corresponding months of last year.”
Written by: Aaron Katsman | February 5, 2009
The deal that took Israeli tech firm NDS private after a buyout from Newscorp (NYSE: NWS), was completed. According to Globes: “NDS Group plc is now a private company, after the High Court of Justice in England and Wales approved the remaining elements of the share buyout by Robert Murdoch’s News Corporation and two subsidiaries of funds advised by Permira Advisers LLP, effective today. NDS’s share was delisted from trading on Nasdaq yesterday. News Corp and Permira bought the public’s stake in NDS at $63 per share for a total of $3.7 billion.”
This marks the end of one of Israel’s better performing stocks.
