‘Third-World’ Strike Swells
New York Discount: Israel Overnight
Original post by Tal Barak Harif via Businessweek
Feb. 12 (Bloomberg) — Israeli stocks traded in New York trailed their Tel Aviv counterparts by the most since November after a general strike closed the local bourse and plans to help Greece avoid default threatened to unravel.
The benchmark TA-25 Index dropped 0.2 percent to 1,114.54 at 11:27 a.m. in Tel Aviv as markets traded for the first time since Feb. 7 after the strike ended. Stock trading started at 10:45 a.m., a one-hour delay, and will close at 5 p.m., a half hour later than usual. The Bloomberg Israel-US 25 Index of the largest Israeli companies traded in New York fell 3 percent last week after the TA-25 retreated 0.4 percent during three days of trading. The 2.6 percentage point lag was the biggest since the five days ending Nov. 18. Perrigo Co. dropped 0.4 percent last week after the Tel Aviv shares climbed 3.7 percent during the same period, extending the discount to $4.97, the biggest among dually-traded companies.
“The strike isn’t a good thing for Israel, it kind of gives the image of a third-world country,” Gadi Beer, the manager of the Amidex35 Israel Mutual Fund, said by telephone from Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. “When the Israeli market reopens the local stocks will probably close the gaps after missing two days of trading.”
Global stocks fell last week, with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index snapping a five-week rally, as Greece’s governing coalition party pushed back against German demands for deeper budget cuts to prevent financial collapse. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos secured approval from his Cabinet to submit laws for new budget measures designed to secure a second rescue package for the country, a government official said Feb. 10.
