D&B: Recovery continued in December

"The data for December 2009 indicates that the Israeli economy continues its trend of recovery and leaving the global crisis behind it," said Dun & Bradstreet Israel general manager Reuven Kuvent today.

Kuvent added, "Even in the restaurants and pubs sector, which leads in the list of high-risk sectors, there has been a slight improvement compared with the previous month. Let us hope that the improvement is the first sign of a recovery in this sector, which has been high-risk for a long time."

D&B's data shows that restaurants and pubs retain the dubious honor of being Israel's most dangerous economic sector. The percentage of businesses at high risk in this sector stands at 29.52%, with food stores (grocers, greengrocers and fishmongers) in second place with 26.78% of businesses in serious danger.

The third-most high-risk sector is vehicle leasing with 18.33% of firms in the sector at risk.

D&B defines high-risk as any business likely to encounter serious business difficulties ranging from a significant arrears in payments to insolvency.

The overall number of businesses at high-risk in the economy was 13.1% in December 2009 compared with 13.5% in November 2009 and 15% in January 2009.

Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on January 4, 2010