The drop in the price of commercial bank shares was more moderate than expected when the Tel Aviv stock exchange reopened for trading this morning after an 18-day suspension. Panic selling, feared by some, failed to materialize, much to the satisfaction of the Treasury and the Bank of Israel.
Finance Minister Yigal Cohen-Orgad commended the public for demonstrating “reasonable behavior and maturity.” Although bank share prices were down 17 percent in Shekel value and 40 percent in Dollar value compared to the levels before the exchange closed, economic analysts agreed today that the public has taken a “wait and see” attitude. Other shares traded on the exchange dropped by 10-15 percent.
The bank share prices were announced at 9 a.m. today after computers processed the buy and sell orders investors gave their brokers in recent days. All trading orders had to be in by Saturday night to avoid an escalation of selling in the course of today’s trading.
PLANS FOR THE ECONOMY ANNOUNCED
Meanwhile, Cohen-Orgad who replaced Finance Minister Yoram Aridor a week ago, announced his immediate plans for the economy to a gathering in Tel Aviv today. He said he has already launched an effort to cut Israel’s balance of payments deficit by half within the next two years. He said the government will promote exports and take measures to reduce imports.
This, he said, will necessitate a lower standard of living among the financially better off segments of society. But the weaker groups will not be harmed, he promised. “I can say that we have overcome the problems of the first stage and we can now go on in our plan, step-by-step, and balanced growth,” he said.
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