Calcalist

Ernst & Young is investing $100 million in rewards for employees who demonstrate adaptability, innovation, and critical thinking. The program aims to balance AI integration by fostering essential human traits.

Ashtrom has agreed to sell the Rosh Pinna Mall to GT Real Estate for 48.5 million shekels. The new owner aims to boost the property's annual net operating income from 3 million to 5 million shekels.

The foreign exchange market shows a mixed trend as investors await the Bank of Israel's interest rate decision. Bank Hapoalim analysts warn that the window of opportunity for a rate cut may soon close.

Ultra-fast fashion giant SHEIN opened its first trading day on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with a 10% drop, which later recovered to 2.5%. The company raised $1.7 billion at a valuation of $26.5 billion.

Fattal Holdings is merging its ROOMS workspaces with SwitchUp. Following the deal, valued at 1.4 billion NIS, the Phoenix insurance group will hold a 20% stake in the combined entity.

Ronit Ashed Levi, CEO of Africa Israel Residences, identified the three main barriers to lowering housing costs in Israel: taxation, bureaucracy, and uncertainty.

The Binyan complex, a major development project in central Jerusalem, is being offered for sale with a starting price of 420 million shekels. The 10-dunam site is zoned for residential towers and hotels.

The strengthening of the shekel has negatively impacted the results of Israeli hotel chains operating abroad, yet companies maintain that this effect is temporary and will not halt their international expansion strategy.

The Arieli Group has reached a framework agreement with Phoenix Investment House to settle debts, ensuring it retains control of Elron. The lender had previously demanded repayment due to a decline in the value of the pledged shares.

The US Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against Amazon, accusing the e-commerce giant of systematically overcharging advertisers. The regulator claims that auction manipulation generated $20 billion in illicit gains.

In the United States, about 4% of workers may be replaced by AI, yet a JLL study reveals that this shift is fueling, rather than reducing, demand for office space in tech hubs.

Danya Cebus has secured a NTA tender for the second phase of preparatory works at the Segula depot for the M2 metro line, valued at over 100 million shekels.

The Ministry of Communications has approved the transfer of control over cellular provider Hot Mobile from Altice to a group led by Delek Retail and the Keystone fund. The deal is valued at 1.8 billion shekels.

Insurance company Harel has filed a 6.4 million shekel lawsuit against logistics firm DSV. Due to a warehouse employee's error, a shipment of high-value medicine requiring 2–8°C storage was left in improper conditions for seven days and subsequently destroyed.

Even luxury assets are facing demand challenges: for half a year, not a single apartment has been sold in the project of the Aviv Group and Lenny Group on Herbert Samuel Street in Tel Aviv. In the tower, which rises to a height of 18 floors on the waterfront, 50 apartments are being built with some of the highest price tags in the country.

Enlight has signed a 12-year agreement to purchase green electricity from Rapac Energy. The total consideration for the deal is estimated to reach approximately 495 million shekels.

Shein has completed its initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange at a valuation of approximately $26 billion, after raising $1.7 billion. This is significantly lower than the 2022 valuation.

Maof Group is acquiring a 50% stake in home medical services provider Sharan at a valuation of 110 million shekels. This deal marks Maof's entry into the healthcare market.

Startup Entitle sold its intellectual property to its parent company BeyondTrust for 124 million shekels. The company is expected to pay approximately 29 million shekels in taxes on the transfer.

SAP has appointed Michal Romi as the new CEO of SAP Labs Israel. She will take office on September 1, succeeding Orna Kleinmann, who is moving to a senior global leadership role within the company.

Israel Railways concludes the second quarter of 2026 with a 9% revenue increase to 984.6 million shekels, while net profit dropped by 68% to 18.6 million shekels due to rising operational costs.

Direct Insurance CEO Kobi Haber has informed the board of his intention to resign in the coming months. During his eight-year tenure, he led a strategic shift toward portfolio optimization and expansion into health and long-term savings.

Maron Greenberg, a shareholder of Ram-On Investments, has defined Eldav's entry into the board as a destabilization attempt. The parties are in dispute over the company's development strategy and methods for unlocking value.

Squishy toys have become one of the most prominent trends in the US market in 2026. Sales of these soft, flexible products reached approximately $297 million through June, marking a fourfold increase compared to the same period last year.

The foreign exchange market is opening the week with a slight rise in the shekel against the dollar ahead of the Bank of Israel's interest rate decision. The dollar is down 0.2%, trading around 2.99 shekels.

Apartment sales among public companies during the second quarter of 2026 reflect a volatile market. Companies are reporting sharp fluctuations in sales figures, driven primarily by aggressive promotional campaigns.

Keshet Taamim is preparing for an IPO in early 2027. The chain has begun preliminary consultations with financial entities, targeting a valuation of approximately one billion shekels.

According to a recent Deutsche Bank report, Israel is one of the three economies most vulnerable to AI-driven service disruptions due to its heavy reliance on high-tech service exports.

The holding company Allied is in advanced negotiations to acquire control of Tzamal Medical from its founder, Yehoshua Katz. The deal values the company at approximately 300 million shekels.

Maytronics continues to experience a decline in sales, but excluding currency exchange rates, it seems that they have stabilized slightly. The company recorded a net loss of 8 million shekels in Q2.

Senior venture capital investor Oren Zeev criticizes the trend of incorporating startups in Israel, warning that choosing the US (Delaware) over Israel can save founders millions in taxes and avoid critical regulatory risks.

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered a reduction in fuel excise tax to prevent a price hike. Experts criticize the move as election-year populism that will cost the state hundreds of millions of shekels.

Rafael CEO Yoav Turgeman is criticizing the Ministry of Finance over state payment delays to defense firms. The Ministry of Defense currently owes 15.5 billion shekels to major defense contractors.

The timing of the Passover holiday and a delay in replacing a production line hurt the revenues of the Karur company, which closed the second quarter with a decrease in revenue. However, an increase in financing income allowed the company to boost its net profit by 69%.

Tomer Mazon announced that it will miss the August 31 deadline for publishing its second-quarter and first-half financial reports. The delay follows an ongoing audit regarding inventory discrepancies and the sudden resignation of the incoming CFO.

This morning, numerous bus lines in Judea and Samaria were disrupted as Tnufa drivers found their vehicles without fuel. The incident occurred simultaneously with a court injunction against a planned strike by the drivers.

For the first time, over 100 gigawatts of storage capacity were added to the global market in a single year. Amid resource scarcity and a shrinking pool of suppliers, project reliability is now paramount.

Europe is set to enter the winter with its lowest gas reserves in 13 years. With storage levels at only 63% in late August, experts warn of increased price volatility during the heating season.

Starting September 1st, the maximum price for a liter of 95-octane gasoline at self-service stations will reach 8.25 shekels. This marks a 14-year high for fuel prices in Israel.

The Tax Authority, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection have released the new purchase tax formula for vehicles. Despite rumors, the implementation of a mileage tax remains unlikely in the near term due to regulatory and logistical hurdles.