Summary: On this episode of the cost of doing business:Buying dollars, buying time: The dollar strengthens against the shekel after Bank of Israel buys more dollars. Did Governor Karnit Flug’s strategy prove itself, or is the BOI just buying time before the shekel resumes falling? Yossi Freiman, CEO of Prico Risk Management and Investments, explainsMore attractive than ever: Private equity deals in Israel fell hard in 2013 and declined 39%. Is this a sign of decreasing interest in Israel? Quite the contrary, says Rick Man, Senior Partner at GKH, sponsors of the IVC Private Equity survey.NICE Systems CEO Ze’evi Bregman resigns, following good but not spectacular results in 2013. Was NICE under Bregman too conservative on the M&A front, and will new CEO Barak Eilam take greater risks? Nir Zalik, Capital Market reporter for Calcalist, gives his forecast.Magic shoe: Want to prevent grandpa from falling? Enter Israeli start-up B-Shoe Technologies, that developed a shoe with motion sensors designed to help elderly people regain their balance. CEO Abraham Shtamper tells us how it worksTired of nasty neighbors on planes and trains? Israeli start-up SeatID uses social networking to make sure you are always surrounded by friends of friends (of friends). CEO Eran Savir tells us why and how this matters
