Continue reading Closing Bell: When the Market Can't Decide... (NFLX, PALM, T, LVLT, NICE, MOS)

Closing Bell: When the Market Can't Decide... (NFLX, PALM, T, LVLT, NICE, MOS) originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 06 Jan 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While investors on the west side of the Atlantic lament the corruption in the U.S. banking system, it could be that the French system takes home the gold medal. Reports out of the Paris prosecutor's office indicate that rogue trader Jerome Kerviel told investigators, "I can't believe that my superiors were not aware of the amounts that I was committing, it is impossible to generate such profits with small positions."

If this is true, and SocGen knew what was happening all along, then former CEOs like Citigroup's (NYSE: C) Chuck Prince and E*Trade's (NASDAQ: ETFC) Mitch Kaplan will look like choir boys in comparison.

One company that has actually gained from all of this, especially on the heels of the SocGen announcement, is the Israeli security company NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE). They recently purchased a company called Actimize which has a anti-fraud product for banks, to help prevent situations like this recent debacle.

What to make of all of this? There will always be banks, and they will always get a little too piggy and screw things up. It's NICE to know that there are some company's out that can try and reign in these guys and save the investor some money.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has a position and is long NICE and ETFC. He has no positions in any other stock mentioned as of 1/29/08.

Did SocGen know about all the risk taking? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 29 Jan 2008 15:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Today's news that Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto was killed in a terrorist attack has reminded everybody, including the Democratic Party, just how dangerous a world we live in. We are once again reminded that there is a very large movement of individuals bent on the destruction of the West, along with the democratic ideals that the West represents. For those who feel that it's President Bush's fault we are not well-liked, today's incident shows that the deep-rooted hatred has nothing to do with the current U.S. president, but everything to do with the ideals on which the U.S. was founded. It is these ideals that are not well-liked by these extremist elements.

With this grim reminder of the dangers still common in the world, I think this means a renewed focus on security stocks. When speaking about security, no conversation is complete without looking at the Israeli market. The undisputed leader in security technology, Israel's security establishment gained fame because of the reign of terror that the country has faced for decades. Nice Systems (NASDAQ: NICE) is one such company. The stock is bucking today's downward market pressure and is gaining more than 1.5%.

Nice is a security company specializing in two markets: Security and Call Centers. Its security solution empowers security personnel to detect, prevent and respond to threats in real-time. The system also helps in investigating and reconstructing criminal and security cases using video surveillance and control services, incident monitoring and reconstruction solutions. NICE is the market leader in providing fast and efficient solutions for the capture, storage, retrieval and analysis of customer interactions for contact centers and the enterprise. Nice will be playing an active role in the upcoming summer Olympics in Beijing.

As long as there are bad guys out there, there will be a need for a company like Nice.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer has a position in NICE and is long the stock. Writer has no position in any other stock mentioned as of 12/27/07.

Bhutto assassination brings new interest to security companies originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 27 Dec 2007 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

1. Banks, and other large, complex organizations, are migrating to a VoIP infrastructure. Nice has a nice VoIP solution to address many of these international firms' needs.
2. Nice has been quickly selling solutions for agent performance and customer relations. Nice has been successful in using beach-head marketing: getting one deal and extending and deepening customer relationships through add-on sales. Agent performance/CRM solutions have lead to new deals in risk management and corporate regulation and governance. CIBC expects these trends to continue.

Nice Systems is nice right here originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 16:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

NICE Systems (NASDAQ: NICE), announced the signing of their second contract in a week for the NICE Platform system. Commenting on the new deal, NICE president and CEO Eran Gorev said, "We appreciate the confidence West has demonstrated by selecting NICE to replace its existing solution. The selection of NICE Perform as West's enterprise standard is further evidence that NICE is the premier choice for improving performance at the agent, contact center and enterprise level."

NICE is a security company that specializes in two markets: security and call centers. Its security solution empowers security personnel to detect, prevent, and respond to threats in real-time. It also allows them to investigate, and reconstruct criminal and security cases using video surveillance and control services, incident monitoring, and reconstruction solutions.

The company has been a star on the Israeli hi-tech scene, and with everyone looking at security as a must-have, their business has been booming. The company is due to report earnings on Wednesday. Analysts expect the company to post earnings per share of $0.37 on $130.9 million revenue. I would look for the company to beat estimates by between $0.01 and $0.02, as they have a history of beating estimates.

Disclosure: Writer holds a position in NICE. He has no other position in any stock mentioned as of 11/4/07.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com.

NICE Systems seals second deal in a week originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 04 Nov 2007 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Israeli stock market has been reaching record highs as economic growth has been strong. Despite today's GDP report showing a sharp drop due to the summer war, the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange rebounded finishing the day on a positive note.

Some Israeli companies listed on the NASDAQ are having quite the day:

Orckit Communications Ltd. (NASDAQ:ORCT) is a manufacturer of telecommunications networking equipment. ORCT shares are up more than 9% today. Rumors in Israeli newspapers mention the company gaining a new important client in Asia. Market cap: $147.7 million. 52-week range: $6.75-$31.22. Afternoon price: $11.36.

NICE Systems Ltd. (NASDAQ:NICE) shares are up more than 5.5%. NICE makes data recording products for financial institutions and other companies to monitor interactions with their customers. Market cap: $1.1 billion. 52-week range: $21.55-$32.80. Afternoon price: $32.45.

Continue reading Israeli market is strong: ORCT, NICE, RVSN

Israeli market is strong: ORCT, NICE, RVSN originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 14 Nov 2006 14:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.