Israeli economy

Illustrative: Safety jackets hang at a factory in southern Israel on March 13, 2018. (AP/Ariel Schalit)

Strong shekel ‘murdering us,’ exporters complain as BoI banks on buying billions

Firms operating in shekels but paid in dollars say they’ll have to cut back or move away; a central bank plan to buy $30b to stabilize rate will help, but not enough, they say

Bank of Israel to buy $30 billion in forex in 2021 to curb shekel rise

By Shoshanna Solomon

Strong shekel ‘murdering us,’ exporters complain as BoI banks on buying billions

By Shoshanna Solomon

Work hours lost in Israel due to virus exceed EU average, Finance Ministry says

By Shoshanna Solomon

Self-employed Israelis protest the lack of financial support from the government during the coronavirus pandemic, on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv, July 7, 2020. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

January 17, 2021, 6:04 pm

Work hours lost in Israel due to virus exceed EU average, Finance Ministry says

Ministry sees jobless rate in 2020 at 15.4%, compared to 3.8% in 2019

By Shoshanna Solomon

January 17, 2021, 4:53 pm

Strong shekel ‘murdering us,’ exporters complain as BoI banks on buying billions

Firms operating in shekels but paid in dollars say they’ll have to cut back or move away; a central bank plan to buy $30b to stabilize rate will help, but not enough, they say

By Shoshanna Solomon

Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron attends a press conference on March 31, 2019. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

January 14, 2021, 5:08 pm

Bank of Israel to buy $30 billion in forex in 2021 to curb shekel rise

In policy shift, central bank announces the scope of forex purchases, to provide market with certainty about its commitment to keep shekel appreciation in check

By Shoshanna Solomon

Train tracks and the Ayalon highway in central Tel Aviv, with the Azrieli Towers as a backdrop, December 18, 2017. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

January 14, 2021, 12:04 pm

Fitch reiterates Israel’s A+ rating, citing diversified economy, strong finances

A ‘highly polarized political context’ is a risk, and a lack of consolidation measures could lead to a negative rating action or a downgrade, ratings firm says

By Shoshanna Solomon

Finance Minister Israel Katz holds a press conference at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem on July 1, 2020. (Olivier Fitoussi/ Flash90)

January 11, 2021, 8:22 pm

Israel sees $50.4 billion budget deficit in 2020 — largest in history

Amid severe economic conditions caused by pandemic, Finance Ministry also forecasts GDP contraction of 3.3%

By TOI staff

January 10, 2021, 4:26 pm

Michael Humphries

Anticipating Israel’s post-pandemic period

Israel should already be planning for the days after the coronavirus crisis which, hopefully, are not far ahead; the recovery will be slow and painful, but policymakers can help

A teenager search for cans through a garbage container in the center of Jerusalem on September 02,2020. (Nati Shohat/Flash90)

January 6, 2021, 11:26 am

Israel’s lack of economic vision could cloud the Zionist dream, expert fears

Former central bank senior official Zvi Eckstein warns that without a budget and long-term investment, the middle class will flee the country

By Shoshanna Solomon

Israeli small business owners protest the government's handling of the coronavirus pandemic in Tel Aviv, on January 5, 2021 (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

January 6, 2021, 8:24 am

‘Guinea pigs for the government’: Business owners decry fresh lockdown

Commerce chiefs argue self-employed are paying the price for failure to contain the virus; full closure to take effect midnight Thursday, shutting all schools, non-essential stores

By TOI staff

Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron, speaking at the Eli Hurvitz Conference on Economy and Society organized by the Israel Democracy Institute, December 17, 2019 (Michal Fattal)

January 4, 2021, 5:20 pm

Bank of Israel holds rate at 0.1% as fast vaccination pace injects optimism

Bank of Israel forecasts GDP contraction of 3.7% in 2020; if fast pace of inoculation continues, economy seen to grow 6.3% in 2021 and 5.8% in 2022, but uncertainty remains high

By Shoshanna Solomon

Closed shops on King George Street in Tel Aviv, during a nationwide lockdown, Israel's 3rd. December 29, 2020. (Miriam Alster/Flash90)

January 3, 2021, 5:05 pm

Nonprofit Ogen lends record $50 million to ease small business cash squeeze

Ogen Group hopes to become Israel’s first social bank, as pandemic highlights how traditional lenders prefer bigger, less risky businesses over small enterprises

By Shoshanna Solomon

Clockwise from top left: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu receives the coronavirus vaccine (Amir Cohen/Pool/AFP); National Security Adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat elbow bumps with an Emirati official, (Nir Elias/Pool/AFP); protesters pose for Netanyahu's 'Last Supper,' (Courtesy Omer Burin); Donald Trump holds up his face mask, (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File); A woman at prayer, September 2020 (Ricki Rosen/Times of Israel); a new Israeli iconic demonstrator (AP Photo/Oded Balilty).

December 30, 2020, 1:42 am

Bye-bye 2020: ToI writers share important stories from a year of crisis and hope

As the year comes to a close, many would like to put it out of mind. But first, a few ToI stories that have made the last 12 months unforgettable — for better or for worse

By TOI staff

An illustrative image of a merger and acquisition deal (designer491; iStock by Getty Images)

December 29, 2020, 12:12 pm

M&A deals plunge in Israel as pandemic sidelines foreign investors

Value of deals drops by 50% to $10 billion, with third quarter showing greatest decline in number, PwC Israel data shows

By Shoshanna Solomon

Illustrative: Closed businesses for COVID-19 pandemic outbreak (Maridav; iStock by Getty Images)

December 24, 2020, 12:14 pm

Lockdown will shutter 7,500 additional businesses, report says

75,000 businesses already closed this year, consultant firm says in estimate; Finance Ministry forecasts that third lockdown will cost economy NIS 3 billion a week

By Shoshanna Solomon

Dollars and shekels (photo credit: Olivier Fitoussi/Flash90)

December 22, 2020, 4:40 pm

Shekel surges to 12-year high on USD, even as elections, lockdown loom

Exchange rate falls to NIS 3.2265 to the dollar, the strongest the Israeli currency has been against the US greenback since July 10, 2008, with the dollar weakening globally

By Shoshanna Solomon

A stock market ticker screen in the lobby of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, in the center of Tel Aviv, March 15, 2020. (Flash90)

December 22, 2020, 3:08 pm

Amid coronavirus, Tel Aviv Stock Exchange attracts most IPOs since 2007

Of the 27 firms that listed shares on the exchange this year, 19 were technology firms; ‘The high-tech engine has arrived at the exchange,’ TASE CEO says

By Shoshanna Solomon