Finance News

Second Israeli pill camera co mulls IPO

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

by Shiri Habib-Valdhorn

Sources inform ”Globes” that CheckCap Ltd., which is developing a sonar-based pill imaging device for early colon cancer detection, is considering an IPO on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE). Another company, Given Imaging Ltd., developer of the PillCam endoscopic camera, is one of Israel’s most successful biomedical companies. CheckCap wants to raise tens of millions of shekels at a company value of $100 million. The company does not rule out other ways of raising capital, including an IPO in the US, or a financing round from private investors and equity funds. The company has already met with Israeli and foreign underwriters. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000586222&fid=1725

Getting a handle on web chat that affects stocks

Tuesday, August 31st, 2010

by David Shamah

In an Internet age, investors are more or less at the mercy of media analysts, experts, bloggers and others expressing their opinions about, for example, how a news story will affect the price of a stock. To get a handle on the aggregate of these opinions – known as ‘the sentiment’ – that affects the way a specific stock or investment sector is perceived, an Israeli start-up called Sentigo has developed powerful algorithms, large databases, and superior search and sort tools. Sentigo co-founder Gadi Shvadron tells ISRAEL21c that his company keeps an ear to the Net, and analyzes every scrap of public information that can affect share prices. With Sentigo, he says, it is now possible to parse through huge amounts of opinion and translate it into sentiment that is quantifiable or can be manipulated. This transforms the sentiment into a tool investors can deploy when deciding how, where, and even whether or not, to invest. http://www.israel21c.org/201008308255/technology/getting-a-handle-on-web-chat-that-affects-your-stocks

Credit card with changing password

Wednesday, July 21st, 2010

by Meir Orbach

Payments technology company Visa has introduced a new credit card in Europe featuring a keypad and digital display, thus taking the battle against online fraud to the next level, Calcalist reported Tuesday. Visa CAL is the only Israeli partner taking part in the program, and is believed to be considering introducing the card for regular use, Calcalist has learned. Some 300 Visa CAL clients are currently participating in the pilot program in Israel. Despite its keypad, the card’s dimensions are identical to those of its standard counterpart, and it is used just like any other credit card. http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3922704,00.html

Wells Fargo extends Tower Semiconductor credit lines

Thursday, July 1st, 2010
Tower Semiconductor , which trades under the name TowerJazz, has announced it an agreement with its lender, Wells Fargo Capital Finance, part of Wells Fargo & Company to extend its credit lines from September 2011 to September 2014. Under the agreement, the four-year lines totaling $45 million will bear an interest rate equal to, at the company’s option, the USD LIBOR rate plus a margin ranging from 2.25% to 2.75% per annum, or the lender’s prime rate plus a margin ranging from 0.50% to 1.00%. http://www.globes.co.il/serveen/globes/docview.asp?did=1000570924&fid=1725