Governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Stanley Fischer taught an economics class today to students in Israel's hard-hit South.
Fischer said it remains to be seen how Israel's economy will fare through the fighting against Hamas in Gaza. Fischer said, We came out of the Second Lebanon War successfully the economy continued to grow at a nice pace after the war. It mainly depends on how long it will take, and we find the global economy in a different situation. After the Second Lebanon War, the global economy was in excellent shape today it’s a disaster. What is happening overseas influences us greatly."
When asked about how bad the Israeli economic crisis will get, and when it is expected to be over, Fischer answered, "Everyone can be wise in hindsight, but as of now, the Bank of Israel forecast is for 1.5% growth - but clearly we will have to change it in light of the worsening situation and in line with the situation of the fighting. It's hard to know exactly, but we are already in a difficult situation.
"When will we exit the crisis in Israel? It depends primarily on the global economy. I expect that by the end of the year, the US economy will begin to grow, mainly because of the stimulus plan that the new Obama administration plans to implement, so I expect we will see the first signs of growth by the end of this year. First signs are not impressive. Economists see them, but they are not the type of things that everyone see right away and says, 'Here, we're getting out of the crisis'".
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 11, 2009
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