ECONOMY

Ministry of Finance Accountant General Yali Rothenberg sees 2025 as a stabilizing year for Israel's debt:GDP ratio.

Histadrut chairperson Arnon Bar-David has joined calls from Israel's business world for the government to respect the High Court of Justice ruling suspending the dismissal of Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

The state's tax revenue from the deal is expected to be equivalent to about 2% in VAT.

The money will mainly go to Religious Zionist party minister Orit Strook's Ministry of Settlements and National Missions.

Prof. Douglas Irwin, an expert on international trade, talks to "Globes" about the impact of President Trump's tariffs policy, and what Israel can do about it.

While inflation in Israel in the 12 months to the end of February 2025 is lower than forecast, housing prices continue to rise.

The minister in charge of the Government Companies Authority, David Amsalem, has approved the payment by the defense company.

Record tax revenues and lower government spending due to the ceasefire and restrictions until the 2025 budget is passed have improved the fiscal deficit.

Many who left Israel in 2023 were recent arrivals from Ukraine and Russia - but even without them there was a large exit of the young and educated.

Israel’s foreign exchange reserves at the end of February 2025 rose to $220.253 billion, an increase of $4.185 billion from their level at the end of January, the Bank of Israel reports.

At NIS 2.37 billion, royalties from natural gas and minerals in 2024 were 8.2% higher than in 2023.

Israel's free trade agreement with the US makes it an attractive investment destination for companies seeking to preserve access to the US market.

The average wage of an Israeli employee rose by 5.1% in 2024, compared with 2023, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

Despite his concerns, the Israeli tech billionaire, who founded Palo Alto Networks, today worth $125 billion, remains optimistic and talks about his investments in Air Haifa, digital bank Esh, and fintech startup Finq.

Devin DeCiantis and Ivan Lansberg of international family business consulting firm LGA, address this issue in their recently published book "The Enduring Enterprise."

Ethosia CEO Eyal Solomon says the proportion of "ghost" jobs - vacancies that have been advertised but not filled and continue to appear on the company's website - has jumped dramatically in recent years.

The move is intended to ensure that the budget savings target of NIS 5 billion shekels in 2025 is achieved, as part of efforts to reduce the state budget deficit.

Bank of Israel Governor Prof. Amir Yaron tells "Globes" he remains concerned about inflation, higher demand than supply, and real estate balloon loans.

The Bank of Israel Monetary Committee reiterated: the interest rate path will be determined in accordance with the convergence of inflation to its target.

Despite inflation tech salaries are declining, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

Tech companies in Israel have cut back on hiring juniors, as AI is already quicker, cheaper and more accurate in writing code, than computer science graduates.

Since October 7th, discrimination and alienation are driving more and more Israeli Arabs to emigrate. "Globes" talks to some who have decided to leave.

Since September 2024 there has been a dramatic decline in the number of NIS 200 bills held by the public relative to the number of NIS 100 bills, according to Bank of Israel data.

The unemployment rate in Israel fell to 2.6% in January 2025, after seasonal adjustment, from 2.7% in December 2024, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

This figure reflects negative GDP per capita growth of 0.3%, because of population growth last year, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

The latest procedure, delayed for over a year, will not include an anonymous track but will have a fast track for unreported cryptocurrency assets.

In the twelve months to the end of January 2024, inflation has risen to 3.8%, the Central Bureau of Statistics reports.

Accountant General: This is an important public offering that indicates the financial stability of the State of Israel and the high confidence of global investors in the Israeli economy.

National Economic Council chairman Prof. Avi Simhon: If we are convinced this is a continuing trend, the first tax I would reduce is cutting VAT back to 17%.

Meta (Facebook) is simultaneously laying off 5% of its employees at all the company's centers worldwide including in Israel.

The improvement in the fiscal deficit follows all-time record state revenues of NIS 63.1 billion in January, and a fall in government spending.