I guess the celebration of Israel’s 61st birthday last week was superfluous. After all according to BOI head Stanley Fischer, Israel came into existence when he took his position a few years ago. How else do you explain his bizarre statement in the Knesset today, when speaking about the Bank Hapoalim situation.
According to Globes: “Fischer told the committee, “It’s a mistake to discuss this matter. We’re still in the middle of the measures. I can assure you that we would not have embarked on this path without considering everything, every repercussion, in the middle of the greatest financial crisis this country has every known.”
The ‘greatest financial crisis the country has every known’. Huh?
What drivel. What is he talking about? Israel was about to go bankrupt 7 years ago…remember? Remember the days of hyperinflation????
Give me a break. The fact that Fischer was talking up the economy, as it was entering a slowdown is bad enough. To now say this is a great crisis, is both admitting that you have failed, and that you know nothing of Israeli history. Either way it doesn’t look good.
Much like Prez. Obama, who is trying to recreate the country in his own image without any respect to history, Fischer as well has used the same strategy. unforuneately, those that don’t learn from history are the ones that are doomed to repeat it.
Today is Israel independence day, the 61st for the Jewish state of Israel. Looking back it’s just incredible to see how much has been accomplished in just 61 years. A thriving economy, democracy, and a leader in technology all over the world. let’s hope that the next 61 years are even better, and without war.
Israel’s economy is dominated by fantastic wealth in the hands of a few families. During times of prosperity, these families have used the Israeli banking sector as a form of personal piggy bank to finance expansionary business activities. This has worked out well for the oligarchs and for the banking sector. These tycoon families have had ample capital to grow out their wealth and the banks have had very big, captive customers.
But what happens if these Israeli investors suffer from the same global malaise from which all markets and investors are suffering? Will Israeli oligarchs require a government buyout?
Well, Supervisor of Israel Capital Markets, Insurance and Savings Yadin Anteb, doesn’t think there is a crisis. When questioned this morning about the government stepping in to help bailout billionaires like Shari Arison who recently put her world-class yacht, My Shanti, up on the auction block for an estimated $100m:
If a company takes a loan and does not repay it, its other assets should be seized; it definitely shouldn’t get government aid…There’s no reason to inject money to save an Israeli tycoon. I don’t think that there’s any reason to do this. The pressure of the tycoons’ companies it transferred to the lenders.
When asked about Bank Hapoalim controlling shareholder Shari Arison putting up her yacht for sale for $100 million, [Bank HaPoalim chairman] Dankner replied, “To the best of my knowledge, Arison has no liquidity problem.”
Well, the lenders here are core Israeli institutions. We’ll see what the government says when a large Israeli bank comes crying and the ship has already left port.
I guess when you bang people over and over on the head, you shouldn’t expect them to be optimistic, and the latest figures show that is exactly what has happened in Israel. Israeli consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level since 2004, and chances are good that the trend will continue.
According to the Jpost.com: “The monthly
Consumer Confidence Index compiled by Bank Hapoalim and TNS, the global marketing information group, dropped in February by 10 points to a level of 111.3 after rising by 7.9 points in January. “Following a surprising increase in January, the index, impacted by the worsening economic climate, last month fell back down below the December level,” Bank Hapoalim economists said in a report Monday. “The decline in the index is consistent with recent data showing that the economy is falling into a recession. “The index showed that the greatest fear of consumers is the situation of the job market; the rate of surveyed who think that there are few available positions reached a high.”
With more and more companies announcing layoffs, and no political leadership, look for consumer confidence to continue to crumble.
But what happens if these Israeli investors suffer from the same global malaise from which all markets and investors are suffering? Will Israeli oligarchs require a government buyout?