The Good News from Israel! - 19 August 2011

Good News Israel - Anglo Saxon Ra'anana
   
Quote for the Week:
"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
Albert Einstein and we all know who he was. We acknowledge him for the part that he played in the establishment of the Hebrew University and a lot else of course [see item #1]
 

    With a total population of about seven million to draw from our universities do pretty well, very well in fact, in their competition with like institutions the world over. The Shanghai Index measures these achievements and here are some of the results. The Hebrew University of Jerusalem established in 1925 [see quote for the week above] climbed to 57th place out of 500 in the annual university rankings published by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in China - a sharp rise from 72nd place last year. One of the main reasons for the jump was Prof. Elon Lindenstrauss's winning the 2010 Fields Medal, considered the world's most prestigious award in mathematics. The Index also ranked individual departments, with Israel gaining particular recognition this year in the field of computer science: The Weizmann Institute has been ranked an impressive 11th among 500 universities around the world in computer studies, up from 12th last year; the Technion was 15th, unchanged from last year and Tel Aviv was 28th, up three places. So there we are, GN indeed.
    
    Gas! – the temptation to make witty comments in bad taste is great but we won’t succumb, however there does seem no end to the success story here. The latest? A revised estimate of reserves in the Tamar reservoir of 9.44 trillion cubic feet from NSAI, and who or what are they, we hear you ask? We’ll tell you, they are Netherland, Sewell & Associates, Inc. who know all about these things. The previous best estimate was 8.6 trillion cubic feet of gas. NSAI also notified Isramco that Tamar's net contingent cash flow which is what it’s all worth to the company in hard cash after taxes and royalties, and it comes to $7.2 billion and that’s GN in anybody’s language. Perhaps we should remind you that Tamar is only one of at least five fields discovered so far.    
    Now we always believed that Shakespeare was responsible for writing thirty seven plays with the occasional sonnet thrown in. Well we weren’t correct, not entirely anyway. The illustrious name is also attached to a British caf? chain with an annual turnover of over €8 million (about $11.5 million) from selling cups of coffee in over 4,500 restaurants throughout Scotland, England and Wales.  Shakespeare and Co. and Mey Eden, Israeli purveyor of spring water, announced the acquisition this week of the British coffee operation incorporating thousands of Shakespeare's customers into the Company’s customer base, including the Enterprises expertise in the field of coffee, and the operation’s sales of coffee and hot beverage machines.
    
    Determined to become a soldier young Jewish American, Mr Stern had the choice of the US Armed Forces or the IDF and in his own words, “I didn’t feel they [the USAF] really needed me,” so the IDF it is and that’s why he found himself at Kennedy International on Wednesday where he was about to board a plane bound for Israel together with 359 olim on their way to the Holy Land and that’s GN. But it gets even better, of those 359 very welcome new Israelis there were 104 who were of one mind – to join with their Israeli cousins in defense of the country, most of them ready to become combat soldiers. What more can one ask?
    
    Israeli electronic battle equipment manufacturer, Elbit Systems Ltd. has won several contracts in Asia for dozens of observation systems for maritime patrol aircraft, vessels and land-based towers. The contracts are worth over $20 million altogether. This follows an order for a like amount taken a short while ago.
    
    When rain is a rare – and very precious – commodity, even in the wet season then when it falls in the usually arid month of August it becomes an anomaly bordering on a miracle but fall it did, not exactly in Noachide proportions more of a light drizzle actually, in the center of the country. It came as a relief, probably psychological rather than physical, albeit a brief one, but nice all the same, from the rather hot weather.
    
    Beating the analysts' consensus and what can give management more satisfaction than that, of $1.78 billion, Israel Chemicals Ltd. this week reported double-digit revenue and profit growth for the second quarter of 2011. Revenue rose 29% to $1.93 billion from $1.49 billion for the corresponding quarter of 2010. Profit for Q2 showed healthy improvement too rising 44% to $426.2 million for the second quarter from $295.9 million for the same quarter in 2010, beating the analysts' consensus of $327 million.
   
    A veritable kaleidoscope of sights and sounds from all over the world, the International Arts and Crafts Fair, one of Jerusalem’s best loved and long-held traditions, now celebrating its 36th year in the city is upon us once again in the ancient area of Sultan’s Pool, opposite the Tower of David at the foot of the Old City Walls. Over 130 craftsmen and artists from thirty five countries are there as we write, displaying their talents and their wares to the thousands of visitors thronging the area.
    
    They work their culinary magic as the private chefs of presidents, prime ministers and monarchs and that qualifies them to be part of the thirty member-strong exclusive, very exclusive club, Club de Chefs de Chefs which currently includes the chefs of the French president, the queen of England and the White House. There is one exception to the rule and he is recently appointed Israeli Chef Shalom Kadosh who, even though he doesn’t cook for princes and emperors, is so good they simply could not have considered keeping him out. So next time you’re in Israel make a point of visiting … Hotel in Jerusalem where Chef Kadosh presides and it’s strictly kosher too.    
    One of Israel’s largest Companies Amdocs Ltd. became a little bigger this week when it completed the acquisition of Canada's Bridgewater Systems Corporation for C$211 million, [213m $US approx] Bridgewater develops policy management and network control solutions, which will expand Amdocs' Customer Experience Systems (CES) portfolio for network service providers. Bridgewater is now a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amdocs.
    
    A brief but important item; Israel’s economy was up by 0.2% in July, the latest figure available. We’re still on a growth trajectory with exports of goods and services increased by 3.4% year-on-year in the second quarter; while private consumption rose 2.2%; public consumption by 6.3%; and investments in fixed assets by 8.8%, which all looks pretty good to us.
    
    Microsoft ran a competition in Israel for the most innovative apps for mobile phones and the winners were…Two College of Management students, Aviv Zazati and Eyal Atzmon who won first prize for their application, Dirty Bit, which can build e-music files and change the beat using body movements while holding a mobile phone. Close behind in second place were Ben Gurion University of the Negev students Vitali Margolin and Sarit Kadosh with their application, Wake Me Up, designed for people traveling on public transport who tend to fall asleep during the ride. Using the Smartphone’s GPS, the application wakes the person up five minutes before arriving at his or her destination. What will they think of next!