Business in Brief

Are the garages of greater Jerusalem upholding labor laws? You have been wondering, surely, and we shall all soon know. The Industry and Trade Ministry's division for enforcing labor laws has been raiding the capital's car-repair shops, including in East Jerusalem and nearby towns such as Ma'aleh Adumim and Beit Shemesh, demanding paperwork and grilling workers. Interim results show that the garages are apparently breaking just about every rule there is. Their sins include failure to provide proper (or in fact any) pay slips, failure to notify a worker in advance of his termination and failure to pay minimum wage. (TheMarker)

The year 2009 was a year for investing by index, says Bank Hapoalim, which means a year in which you didn't pick individual stocks. You chose an index (say the S&P-500, the Nikkei-225 or the TA-25), chose an instrument such as a mutual fund or ETF that buys every stock on that index, and Yossi's your uncle. Not so 2010: This is a year to pick stocks very carefully, counsels the bank's equity analysis department. Recovery in some sectors is likely to be slower than average and stocks in those industries will behave accordingly, the bank explains. (Tal Levy)

Procognia had hoped to raise at least NIS 11.4 million in its maiden offering of stock and warrants, or NIS 17 million if all the warrants were exercised. But after an underwhelming response, it had to settle for NIS 6.4 million - of which it had to hand over 9% to its underwriters in fees. The company, which makes systems for drug manufacturers to analyze the correct proportion of sugars and proteins in medicines, could realize NIS 9.5 million if all the warrants are exercised. When a company floats stock for the first time, it runs the risk that nobody will want it and in this case, Procognia didn't want to pay the extra fee to ensure that its underwriters would pick up the shares. (Tal Levy)

It has to stop: Career soldiers who aren't fighters can't be allowed to retire at age 42 any more, argues Udi Nissan, budgets director at the Finance Ministry. The army must draw a clear distinction between fighters and other career soldiers, allowing retirement at that tender age only to the former, Nissan told TheMarker. Finance officials feel the army brass is dragging its booted feet on reform, though the principle had been agreed upon. No progress was achieved at a meeting between army and treasury officials late last week. The two chief sticking points were how to define "fighter" (lohem) and the new age of retirement for the rest. "It's a test for [chief of staff] Gabi Ashkenazi," Nissan says. "He should be spearheading the effort [to distinguish fighters,] not the treasury." (Nehemia Shtrasler)