News in Brief

It pays to be a grocer in Israel, it seems. Analysis of the fruit and vegetables index for October shows the margins to which wholesalers and marketing chains treat themselves have risen to remarkable heights. For example, farmers received NIS 3 per kilo for tomatoes, on average, while you paid NIS 7.20 per kilo on average. That's a broking margin of 138%. Figures from the Central Bureau of Statistics and Agriculture Ministry show that the wholesale margin widened from 15% in September, on average, to 65% in October. (Amiram Cohen)

HP's development center in Israel plans to expand next year by 90 to 100 people, says Elad Neeman, outsourcing strategy manager at the global giant's software division. The HP software division in Israel consists of Mercury Interactive Corp, which HP acquired in 2006, as well as other companies HP also bought. HP recently announced the consolidation of its development sites in Ra'anana and Yehud into a single complex in Yehud with about 2,000 workers. Altogether HP has about 5,000 employees in Israel. (Orr Hirschauge)

Almost one in three companies in the world has fallen victim to fraud during the last year, according to a survey conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Russia has the world's most fraudulent economy and attempts to stamp out white-collar crime have done little to stop its spread during the global financial downturn, PwC said. Seventy-one percent of Russian respondents to PwC's global economic crime survey said they had been subject to economic crime in the past year. PwC listed South Africa as the world's second-most fraudulent country, with a 62% rate, followed by Kenya with 57%. (Hila Raz and Reuters)

In a ground-breaking decision, foreign workers may join the Histadrut, the labor federation's chiefs decided yesterday. The decision, led by the umbrella union's chairman Ofer Eini, means the Histadrut has to amend its charter, which allows only Israeli citizens and residents to join. The significance of the decision is that the union can set up labor committees at workplaces that employ foreign workers, notably in the construction and restaurant industries, as well as in agriculture. Also, foreign workers may join existing trade unions belonging to the Histadrut. (Haim Bior)

The international tender to build a solar power station at Ashalim in the Negev is being postponed again, this time by three months. The new date for its publication is March 1, 2010. Originally it had been supposed to close in September. The delay follows the request of potential contenders, who asked for more time to prepare their offers - and is also due to a brouhaha among Israeli officials. The Utilities Authority (Electricity) objects to the tender, which was penned by the Finance Ministry, and has even asked the attorney general to intervene. Its beef is that the Finance Ministry has usurped its powers. (Avi Bar-Eli)