Compliments of Anglo-Saxon Ra’anana Real Estate
· The Israel Consumer Confidence Index rose by three points in January 2010 to 95.8 points, after falling in December and November 2009. Now that’s GN. Everything during January this year points to economic expansion and the positive figures reinforce consumers’ feeling that the economy is on the rebound. The balance of optimists over pessimists [we love those categories] when it comes to the current economic situation rose by 5.7 points in January.
· The Retinal Function Imager (RFI) is an integrated hardware and software turnkey system [a what, we hear you ask? well, we’ll tell you]. It’s a unique, ready to use tool for providing non-invasive early diagnosis of ophthalmic disease. This amazing device can map the retina to the resolution of single red blood cells moving through capillaries and offers clinicians and researchers insight into the pathogenesis [which means the development of an illness, so why didn’t we just say that in the first place?] of retinal diseases leading to better patient care. Optical Imaging Ltd. the Israeli company that developed this wonder has received approval from the US Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to market it in the US of A. Why are we not surprised?
· Foreign direct investment in Israel totaled $533 million in December, most of it in biotechnology companies, which was 45 percent higher than the monthly average for the first 10 months of the year.
· Laetitia Beck, of Caesarea, Israel, shot 4-over 147 at Hilton Head Island, South Carolina to win the Junior Heritage by two shots. Beck has three top 10s in three appearances at the Junior Heritage. After an excellent January, the other young lady who waves the Israeli sports banner high, Shahar Pe’er began February on the right track Tuesday, defeating Alize Cornet 6-4, 6-1 to reach the second round of the Open GDF Suez tournament in Paris. [STOP PRESS: Shahar won through to the Quarters last night]
· The EU wants green jet fuel to reduce carbon gas emissions by airplanes flying around their turf. The regulations will likely spur a large market for jet fuel made from algae. Israel spearheads research in the field. The result; a great business opportunity for the Jewish State. [The regulations will only come into effect in 2013, so there’s a little time yet]
· We told you last week that our Prime Minister and his good lady are the proud parents of a serving soldier, their elder son and a Jerusalem District Bible Quiz winner, their younger. What we didn’t tell you, simply because we didn’t know was that on the Bible champ’s mother’s side his uncle Amatzia came second in the International competition, no mean feat, his uncle Matanya won the National when he was only ten years old and his third uncle, Hagai was the International Quiz Laureate. So if genes have anything to do with it, and it certainly looks as if they have, you don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to guess who this year’s winner will be.
· Shari Arison-controlled subsidiary, Solel Boneh International Ltd. has signed a $210 million contract with the Kenyan government to rebuild a 135-kilometer road in western Kenya. Work on the road a major traffic artery, will take two and a half years. The Kenyan government and the World Bank are financing the project. By the way, we have no hesitation in saying that Ms Arison is one of our favorite ladies.
· The Madaba Map, part of a mosaic floor of a church in Madaba, Jordan, shows Jerusalem as it was in the Byzantine period, between the 4th and the 7th centuries. According to the map the earliest extant one of this area, the main entrance to the city was from the west, through a large gate at the start of a wide central street. And this week at a depth of over four meters under the present street level the archaeologists found a number of large paving stones, and that dear reader is the archaeological equivalent of striking gold, which they say prove the existence of an important street. They believe the historical thoroughfare’s route largely corresponds to the present day one, and say that the Jaffa Gate today stands near where the gate was in Byzantine times.
· The Bank of Israel today published its Survey of Economic Developments for September-December 2009 and this is what they said: 1) Israel consolidated its emergence from the economic crisis during this period. 2) Exports grew strongly. 3) Domestic demand increased, and 4) the labor market has begun to catch up with the expanding economy; the number of unemployed declined, there was more hiring than firing, there was an increase in the number of hours worked and shekels earned per worker and there were fewer job seekers . And all this happened without massive government bail outs and stimulus programs, which would have greatly boosted deficits and public debt that are still problems in the global financial system. What more can one say?
· While we’re talking jobs, demand for high-tech workers continued to grow in January 2010, compared with December, for the eighth consecutive month, according to Manpower Information Technologies Ltd. (MIT). Demand was 14.8% higher in January 2010 than in the same month ‘09. The quest for high-tech execs saw the sharpest rise in January. For the first time since the outbreak of the economic crisis, there was a call for graduates with no prior experience. The rise in the search for managers is a clear sign of market recovery
· Two more large gas fields have been discovered offshore and based on a third-party evaluation report compiled by Chapman Petroleum Engineering, Bontan estimates the reserves contained at the Mira site, that’s one of them, at around 120 billion cubic meters, and 41 billion cubic meters at Sarah, that’s the other. Mira and Sarah comprise nearly 400 square kilometers apiece. Chapman projects Mira’s present value in the range of $2.5 billion to $5.4 billion. As for Sarah, Chapman foresees a value of $1 billion to $2.2 billion. That’s a whole lot of gas and that’s GN
· Intel Israel said yesterday that its exports surged 145% in 2009 to a record $3.4 billion. Amazing by any standards. The company, which runs two huge installations here, says it hopes growth will continue, with further expansion in Israel.
· There is nothing fishy about this story, in fact it’s all fact. In Israel it’s known as lokus in most parts of the world it’s called whitefish and as fish go, some would say it’s fairly attractive but all fish connoisseurs are agreed that it is a piscatorial culinary delight with a price to match of course. But help is at hand, a group of Israeli scientists working under conditions of absolute secrecy have replaced a gene here and mutated a gene there and for the first time ever, have turned the locus from a denizen of the sea to a fresh water loving fish. A number of kibbutzim in the Beit Shean valley are busy stocking their fish ponds as we write producing this delectable item at lower prices and with greater availability.
Israpundit.com
