Skip to main content

International Monetary Fund Warns Of Deficit

International Monetary Fund Warns Of Deficit - The International Monetary Fund on Monday called upon the Israel to reduce the fiscal deficit faster than planned and implement steps to cool the housing market.

“Israel passed through the global recession swiftly – the fruit of decisive policies – and strengthened macrofinancial policy frameworks,” the IMF said in its preliminary report on Israel’s economy in 2010. “The challenge now is to sustain growth and low inflation while boosting medium-term prospects – in the context of continued global uncertainty, capital outflows from advanced countries, shekel appreciation and a housing market that is overheating.”

On Monday, the members of the IMF mission, headed by Peter Doyle, submitted their report to Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz and Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer. The IMF is expected to submit its full 2010 report on Israel’s economy in January.

“The members of the mission are expert and experienced economists, and we derive much benefit from their reports,” Fischer said. “IMF economists generally express support for economic policy implemented in Israel. Nevertheless, in some areas they also voice criticism and make proposals which we take very seriously.”

The IMF praised the Israeli economy and the firm policy response for succeeding in bringing back strong growth and lowering unemployment to about 6 percent, close to its historic low. But the organization also pointed to several challenges.

“This performance has, however, come at a cost,” the report said. “Buoyed by global capital movements, the shekel appreciated by some 15% in real terms relative to precrisis levels, and is still rising. Competitiveness has been adversely affected, and this may already be reflected in loss of export market share in 2010, falling FDI inflows, and in recent months, outright falls in exports and flat employment.”

At the same time, the strong shekel has helped to contain inflation, which recently returned into its 1%-3% target range after a lengthy period just above it, the report said.

“Alongside, and in an echo of advanced countries in the early 2000s, nominal house prices took off in 2008 after years of stagnation, rising over 40% in just two years,” the report said.

International Monetary Fund Warns Of Deficit
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist

Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist - An Irish tourist who was mauled to death by two dogs while visiting an organic farm in Penang yesterday morning had more than 50 bite wounds and lacerations all over his body. Penang Hospital Forensic Department head Datuk Dr Bhupinder Singh, who performed the post-mortem on Maurice Sullivan (pix), 50, today, said he found the wounds on the victim's head, neck, hands and legs. "The victim had died as a result of severe haemorrhage due to multiple injuries from the dogs' bites," he said, adding that there were no signs that Sullivan suffered any ailment at the time of death. Farm dogs maul Irish Tourist Bhupinder also said both Sullivan's ears and the left side of his face were gnawed off in the incident. One of the ears was recovered from the scene. Bhupinder told reporters this after carrying out the post-mortem which began at 10am. Sullivan was attacked by two mongrels at the farm while taking photographs of the gr...
6 comments
Read more

Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone

Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone - Police say a man on a Southwest Airlines flight from Las Vegas punched a teenager who refused to turn off his iPhone as the plane approached the Boise airport. Officers arrested 68-year-old Russell E. Miller, of Boise, on suspicion of misdemeanor battery Tuesday. He has been released from jail on bond. Witnesses told police the 15-year-old was playing games and listening to music on his cell phone when flight attendants instructed passengers to turn off their electronic devices because the plane was landing. Witnesses told police that when the teen didn't respond, Miller got angry and punched the boy in the arm. Miller says he "tapped" the teen on the shoulder after he refused to turn off the phone. He told the Idaho Statesman that he may have "overreacted," but that he did not punch the teen. Man Hits Teen on Plane Over iPhone
5 comments
Read more

Contactless Debit Cards

Contactless Debit Cards - Contactless debit cards will make their formal debut in Canada next year with the launch of Interac Flash from Acxsys Corp.’s Interac Association, Canada’s national debit network. Interac’s first two Flash issuers are Scotiabank and RBC Royal Bank, which will roll out their first contactless cards next summer. The first acquirer is TD Merchant Services, a unit of Toronto-Dominion Bank. More issuers and acquirers are on the way, an Interac spokesperson tells Digital Transactions News, though no announcements have been made yet. Interac and the banks tested Flash this summer at some high-volume, small-ticket merchants in downtown Toronto. The spokesperson expects national merchants will be making formal announcements about acceptance. “There’s a lot of excitement in the merchant community,” she says. “Merchants are looking for that faster throughput.” In a statement, the Retail Council of Canada endorsed the new card. “Interac Flash is a welcome and needed ...
Post a Comment
Read more