Lieberman moves to cancel government furlough support

ISRAEL - In Brief 13 Jun 2021 by Jonathan Katz
Politics: The new “change” government was sworn in yesterday. We think this government is a positive development for fiscal policy and stimulating growth. The new Minister of Finance is moving rapidly to cancel all emergency furlough supports for those under age 45. This will support labor participation and reduce wage pressure. In addition, he has named Rami Belinkof as the MoF Director General, who worked many years in the Department of the Budget and is known as generally a fiscal hawk. Economic indicators continue to point to a strong recovery Merchandise exports increased by 37% saar in March-May on strong exports of electronic components and transport equipment. Imports of consumer goods increased by 41% and raw materials by 17% reflecting a robust economy recovery. Credit card purchases increased by 7% in the first week of June (compared to average level in May). May’s fiscal data point to strong growth in tax revenues, a good indicator of strong economy growth. Consumer confidence remained elevated in the 2nd half of May. FX: The BoI purchased 3.0bn in the FX market in May as the shekel weakened by 0.8% against the basket, in part due to the escalation in violence in the region. Shekel appreciation was renewed in June. Net FDI reached 3.8bn USD in Q121, up from 2.6bn in Q420. Outgoing tourism is growing rapidly while incoming tourism is restricted. This could reduce the CA surplus slightly (2-3bn USD). The bond market: The fiscal deficit declined to 10.5% GDP in the last 12 months through May, down from 11.2% last month. Emergency Covid aid is declining steadily as employment expands. The BoI purchased 3bn ILS in government bonds in May, tapering from 3.4bn las...

Now read on...

Register to sample a report

Register
Sign-in
Forgot your password?
Copyright 2024 GlobalSource Partners. All rights reserved. This is prepared for GlobalSource Partners’ clients and may not be redistributed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, retransmitted or disclosed, in whole or in part, or in any form or manner, without the express written consent of GlobalSource Partners. This is distributed simultaneously to our website and other portals used by GlobalSource Partners. The information herein was obtained from various sources and is believed to be reliable but GlobalSource Partners does not warrant its completeness or accuracy. Neither GlobalSource Partners nor any Country Analyst, officer or employee accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct, indirect or consequential damages or losses rising from any use of this or its contents.