Israel Stocks: Oil Refineries, Sunflower Sustainable Investments

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Israel’s TA-25 Index gained for the first time in three days, advancing 0.2 percent to 1,255.22 at 12:43 p.m. in Tel Aviv. The gauge has lost 1.4 percent this week.

The following stocks rose or fell today. Symbols are in parentheses.

Oil Refineries Ltd. (ORL IT) retreated 2.2 percent to 2.342 shekels, headed for the lowest close in three months. Israel’s biggest refiner was lowered to “market perform” from “outperform” at Clal Finance Brokerage Ltd. and to “market perform” from “buy” at Psagot Investment House Ltd.

Reporting On Poverty and Sustainability from the Rehovot Conference

The relationship between poverty and environmental degradation is a major impediment to sustainability. Specialist from throughout the world gathered for the Rehovot Conference in Israel to discuss sustainable development initiatives.

The inherent connection between development and environmental concerns was a major theme of the 2010 Rehovot Conference organized by the Weitz Center for Development Studies (WCDS). The conference on “Inclusive Sustainable Development Initiatives,” took place between Dec. 5-7 at the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture of the Hebrew University in Rehovot. The conference brought participants from Africa, Asia, Latin America, Russia and Europe for a biennial conclave sponsored by the WCDS. For many of the participants, this was an alumni gathering since a significant number were among the 4000 students from more than 80 countries who have studied in the Center’s programs since 1963.

The Rehovot Conference offered an opportunity for the in depth discussion of issues involved in poverty alleviation, socioeconomic change, planning and environmental welfare. The consensus among these participants is that it is impossible to speak of development without addressing environmental degradation and global change.

Gaza's Blockade Silences Voices of Women

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We have just visited the Gaza Strip where we met many courageous people trying to live relatively normal lives despite the crippling effects of the illegal Israeli blockade. The blockade was imposed to punish the Hamas-led government, but it is women and children who are paying the highest price.

Former BOI Governor: Fischer's Course of Action Not Sustainable

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G-30 Chairman and former governor of the Bank of Israel Prof. Jacob Frankel, says that while BOI Governor Stanley Fischer is doing "wonderful work," his policy of currency intervention "is not sustainable."

Fischer has recently been intervening in currency trading in an attempt to check the dollar's continued slide against the shekel, a phenomenon that is damaging to Israel's export sector. Due to recent purchases of dollars, the BOI's foreign currency reserves now stand at a record level of over $66 billion.

Frenkel, speaking to Globes, questioned whether it was possible to "permanently support the exchange rate against basic market forces" and stated that the answer was "no," noting that Fischer's policy of currency intervention was too small in relation to the market.

However, Frenkel acknowledged, Fischer's course of action was a tactical step, not a strategic one, that suited the prevailing circumstances. He added that officials would prefer not to intervene in currency, and said that Fischer needed to make clear that the BOI's intervention was not intended to shoulder responsibility for business profitability in the private sector.

"The trading pattern of Israel needs to reflect the fact that the world is changing," he stated.

The former BOI head also cautioned against possible inflation, especially in nations like Israel that have, as he put it, "inflation in their historical DNA."