Israel developing products for Nestle

It is common knowlege that Israel is a hi tech powerhouse.  Israel’s entrepeneurial spirit also extends to food.  Nestle Executive Vice President and CTO Werner Bauer said to Globes, “Snack foods developed and first produced at the Osem development center in Sderot will be included in Nestle’s products worldwide. There are snacks that have gone from Israel to other countries, including in Europe and Indonesia.”

Wharton & Israelis

I have to give a shout out to my alma mater, the Wharton Shool. They accepted 21 students from Israel for the incoming MBA class. A record number of 110 Israeli have been accepted to American MBA Programs.

Israel influencing the price of oil

How weird is it that the price of oil for the last two Fridays has been influenced by comments out of non oil producing Israel rather than Saudi Arabia? On June 13, former Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said that Israel is considering going to war with Iran. The price of oil had the largest one day price rally in history. On June 20, the New York Times reported that the Israeli Air Force had practiced an invasion into Iran.  Oil rallied almost $4.

Who knows where the price of oil is going? Goldman Sachs says it can hit $200. There seems to be some pressure to lower the price.  The Chinese government has lowered its subsidization of the price even before the Olympics.

The striking TASE

Israel is sometimes caught between two worlds -the old socialist, Kibbutz mentality and the glossy hi tech present day veneer. Well, today it caught up with Israel. The Tel Aviv stock exchange (TASE) went on strike. The stock exchange never opened for trading today. The TASE is one of the few or maybe only exchange in the world that can even strike.

Can you imagine the New York Stock Exchange on strike? Traders in  $5000 suits and Gucci loafers walking the picket line.

Israel has dreams of being a financial center. It is never going to happen if it does not get its labor problems under control.