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NEWS
ESTIMATES SHOW ISRAELI GDP ROSE 4.8% IN 2011 (01/2012) pic

According to preliminary estimates, Israel's gross domestic product grew by 4.8% in 2011, following a similar rise in 2010, and a 0.8% rise in 2009, when Israel crawled back out of the recession.

GDP per capita is expected to have risen 2.9% to $31,100.

 
MOODYS REITERATES “A1 – STABLE” RATING FOR ISRAEL (01/2012) pic

The rating is "underpinned by the country's high levels of economic, institutional and financial strength and moderate event risk." – Moody's

 
APPLE TO LAUNCH ISRAEL R&D CENTER (01/2012) pic

Apple Inc. has decided to open its first ever development center outside of its California headquarters in Israel.  The new center in Israel will focus on semiconductors.

 
FLASH COMPANY ANOBIT TO BE APPLE'S FIRST ISRAELI ACQUISITION (01/2012) pic

Leading computing company Apple is acquiring Anobit, a developer of flash controllers and smartphone memory enhancement technology.

 
AKAMAI BUYS ISRAELI COTENDO FOR $268 MLN (01/2012) pic

Akamai Technologies Inc., a Cambridge company that manages Web traffic for some of the Internet’s biggest sites, is acquiring website and mobile acceleration technology vendor Cotendo. Though a small competitor, Cotendo had been making big strides speeding up Web access on mobile phones, a fast growing segment of Akamai’s business.

 
CORNELL, TECHNION WIN NYCTECH CAMPUS PROJECT (01/2012) pic

Cornell University and the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology have been chosen to build a cutting-edge NYC Tech Campus that will serve as a global magnet for tech talent and entrepreneurship. The NYCTech Campus will combine cutting-edge technologies to create one of the most environmentally friendly and energy efficient campuses in the world.

 
US DELEGATIONS TO ISRAEL SEEK STRONGER BILATERAL TIES (01/2012) pic

Two high-level American delegations reached out to Israeli business leaders in December as they explored cooperation in renewable energy, aerospace, medicine and other technologies.

 
ISRAEL CORP. ACQUIRES CHILEAN POWER COMPANY (01/2012) pic

Israel Corporation has acquired Chilean power company Central Tierra Amarilla SA, which owns a 155-megawatt power station that uses open cycle diesel generators.

 
TOURISM TO ISRAEL IN NOVEMBER AT RECORD HIGH (01/2012) pic

Tourism to Israel in November rose 2% from the corresponding month in 2010 to 316,000 arrivals, and was the highest number of tourists for any November.

 
MICROSOFT ACQUIRED ISRAELI START UP VIDEOSURF (12/2011) pic

Microsoft bought visual identification video search engine Videosurf, which developed a technology that locates video clips on the Internet.

 
LEADING US COOPERATIVE CHS BUYS ISRAEL’S SOLBAR (12/2011) pic

CHS, a diversified energy, grains and foods cooperative owned by farmers, ranchers and co-ops across the United States, is acquiring Solbar Industries Ltd, a global leader in specialty soy proteins and soy isoflavones, for $113 million.

 
ISRAELI MODELITY WINS TECHNOLOGY INNOVATION AWARD (12/2011) pic

Israeli financial modeling company Modelity won the Structured Products Magazine’s technology innovation award for a second consecutive year.  Modelity, which develops and markets software for the financial market, combining innovative technology with advanced financial knowledge, was chosen from among the world's leading financial technology companies.

 
ISRAEL’S EVATURE WINS TRAVEL INNOVATION AWARD (12/2011) pic

Evature, a leading provider of free-text search technology for the travel industry, has won the DEMO award for the most game-changing travel innovation at the fourth annual Travel Innovation Summit in Miami as part of the industry-leading PhoCusWright Conference.

 
KEY DRUG COMPOUND FOR FA TREATMENT DEVELOPED IN ISRAELI LAB (12/2011) pic

OX1, a key drug compound that was developed by Dr. Daniel Chain while heading the Israeli company Mindset BioPharmaceuticals, has resulted in a $126 million global licensing deal for Manhattan-based Intellect Neurosciences which he currently heads as chairman and CEO.

 
FROM THE INNOVATION PIPELINE: MEDIGUS RAISES $2.5 MLN FOR WORLD’S SMALLEST MEDICAL CAMERA (12/2011) pic

Israel’s Medigus has raised 9.3 million shekels ($2.5 million) in order to progress with regulatory approvals for its medical procedure video camera.  At 0.99 mm in diameter, the camera is the world’s smallest video camera.

 

 
FROM THE INNOVATION PIPELINE: ISRAELI WEBSITE REVOLUTIONIZES SHARING OF MEDICAL DATA ONLINE (12/2011) pic

Treato, an Israeli web site that aggregates and analyzes user-generated data is said to revolutionize the way patients, physicians and drug companies share info about medications.

 
COMMUNICATIONS GIANT ARRIS GROUP BUYS ISRAEL'S BIGBAND NETWORKS FOR $158 MLN (11/2011) pic

"We are delighted to welcome the BigBand employees to ARRIS." - Bob Stanzione, ARRIS Chairman & CEO.

 
ISRAEL CORP UNIT TO BUILD $680 MLN PERU POWER STATION (11/2011) pic

Israel Corporation unit Cerro del Aguila SA has agreed to build a 510-megawatt hydroelectric power station in Peru at an investment of $680 million.

 
US-ISRAELI R&D FOUNDATION TO INVEST IN $8 MLN IN 9 NEW PROJECTS (11/2011) pic

The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation, approved $8.1 million of funding for nine new projects between Israeli and American companies. The approved projects involve innovations in the areas of life sciences, healthcare IT, electronics, software and energy.

 
ISRAELI START-UP WAZE DRAWS INVESTMENT FROM CHINESE BILLIONAIRE (11/2011) pic

Israeli navigation tech start-up Waze raised a $30 million investment from Hong Kong's Li Ka-shing, greater China's richest man.

 
HADASIT LAUNCHES JEWISH-ARAB BIOMED INCUBATOR IN GALILEE (11/2011) pic

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved KRYSTEXXA, a drug jointly created by Israel's Bio-technology General and US partner Mountain View Pharmaceuticals.

 
ISRAEL AND EU SIGN SPACE AND TOURISM ACCORD (11/2011) pic

European Commission Vice President Antonio Tajani and Israel's Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor Shalom Simhon, signed two joint statements of intent to improve cooperation in the fields of space and tourism.

 
INNOVATION PIPELINE (11/2011) pic

PLURISTEM REPORTS POSITIVE LIMB ISCHEMIA TRIAL RESULTS

 

Pluristem Therapeutics Ltd. reported positive 12-month results from the Phase I clinical trial of its placental stem cell treatment for critical limb ischemia (blockage of the arteries in the limbs, which can lead to gangrene and amputation).

 
INNOVATION PIPELINE (11/2011) pic

ISRAELI AIR FORCE TECHNOLOGY HELPS IMPROVE SPORT PERFORMANCE

Israel's Applied Cognitive Engineering Ltd (ACE), which specializes in computer-based cognitive simulation training, and USA Hockey, the national governing body for the sport of ice hockey in the United States, have created a ground-breaking product called Hockey IntelliGym that helps players develop perception and decision-making skills.

 
TECHNION PROF DANIEL SHECHTMAN WINS NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY (10/2011) pic

Professor Daniel Shechtman of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology has been designated the winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for 2011 for his discovery of quasicrystals - a new form of matter that has become a major subject field for physicists, materials scientists, mathematicians, and crystallographers.

 
ISRAEL TO TRADE FREELY WITH MERCOSUR; ARGENTINA - ISRAEL SIGN FTA (10/2011) pic
Argentina became the last of the South American Mercosur trade block of four to sign a free trade agreement with Israel.
 
CITIGROUP OPENS R&D CENTER IN ISRAEL (10/2011) pic

Citigroup intends to open a technology research and development center in Israel in December to support its global activities.

 
INTEL BUYS ISRAELI MOBILE NAVIGATION FIRM TELMAP (10/2011) pic

Chipmaker Intel Corp has agreed to acquire mobile navigation software maker Telmap.

 
BIOTECH GIANT MONSANTO BUYS ISRAEL'S BEEOLOGICS (10/2011) pic

The Monsanto Company, a US-based multinational agricultural biotechnology corporation, has acquired Beeologics Ltd., a developer of targeted biological pest and disease control solutions for bees and bee colonies.

 
ISRAELI START-UP SHAKER WINS TECHCRUNCH DISRUPT CONTEST (10/2011) pic

The TechCrunch blog named Shaker, a social game played via the Facebook platform, the winner of its TechCrunch Disrupt San Francisco 2011 start-up contest.

 
FROM THE INNOVATION PIPELINE (10/2011) pic

ISRAELI RESEARCHERS IDENTIFY KEY TO INSULIN PRODUCTION 

A multi-year project led by Prof. Yuval Dor of the Hebrew University's Institute for Medical Research has identified a glucose-sensing enzyme in the cells, glucokinase, as the key molecule that triggers beta cell regeneration in diabetic mice.

 
S&P UPGRADES ISRAEL TO A+ (09/2011) pic

Standard & Poor's upgraded Israel's long-term foreign-currency sovereign rating from A to A+ with a "Stable" outlook, citing Israel's "prosperous and resilient economy, strong institutions, ongoing fiscal consolidation, and robust external performance. The rating agency also reaffirmed Israel's local currency rating at AA-.

 
CIVILIAN R&D SPENDING UP IN 2010 (09/2011) pic
 
UNEMPLOYMENT DROPS TO 5.5% AS ISRAELI ECONOMY CONTINUES TO EXPAND (09/2011) pic
 
ISRAEL RANKED 22ND MOST COMPETITIVE COUNTRY BY WEF (09/2011) pic
 
HEBREW UNIVERSITY RANKS 57TH IN WORLD (09/2011) pic
 
GREAT HILL PARTNERS ACQUIRES ISRAEL'S PLIMUS (09/2011) pic
 
INTEL BUYS ISRAELI GRAPHICS DEVELOPER GRAPHTECH (09/2011) pic
 
WATEC TO HOST CLEANTECH START-UP PRODIGIES AT INNOVATION PAVILLION (09/2011) pic
 
MORGAN STANLEY SEES ISRAELI GROWTH AT 4.8% (08/2011) pic

U.S. Investment Bank Morgan Stanley raised its growth forecast for Israel to 4.8% for both 2011 and 2012 from its previous growth forecast of 4.3%, noting that the Israeli economy "remains one of the robust and well managed among both the developed and the emerging market economies."

 
FDI IN ISRAEL IN JUNE RISES ABOVE MONTHLY AVERAGE (08/2011) pic

Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Israel totaled $500 million in June, rising above the monthly average of $410 million for the first half of 2011. The majority of investments were made in the high tech sector.

 
TRADE MINISTRY LAUNCHES SPECIAL INCENTIVE PROMOTING TRADE WITH FAR EAST (08/2011) pic

Israel's Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor launched a new incentive to encourage and assist Israeli companies interested in trading in China and India.

 
S1 CORP BUYS ISRAEL'S FUNDTECH (08/2011) pic

Financial services provider S1 Corp is buying Fundtech Ltd, a provider of payment systems and services for $325 million.

 
ICQ FOUNDER SELLS ISRAEL'S DOTOMI FOR $295 MLN (08/2011) pic

ValueClick Inc. acquired digital marketer Dotomi Inc., a leader in personalized media, for $295 million.

 
ISRAEL'S OPHIR OPTRONICS ACQUIRED BY NEWPORT CORP (08/2011) pic

"Ophir has a history of impressive revenue growth. Their differentiated technologies, well-respected brands and strong customer relationships are an excellent fit with Newport's strategic agenda." - Newport president and CEO Robert J. Phillippy

 
AESTHETICS COMPANY RADIANCY MERGES WITH PHOTOMEDEX (08/2011) pic

Israel's Radiancy Inc., a privately held maker of at-home dermatological products, is merging with US company Photomedex in a share swap deal that gives Radiancy a $175 million valuation.

 
GE LIGHTING BUYS ISRAELI LED CO LIGHTECH (08/2011) pic