RISHON LEZION, Israel, June 20 (Reuters) – Slow U.S. growth, the European debt crisis and Middle East unrest could harm Israel’s economy, Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said on Monday.

“The global economy once again presents us with many problems,” Fischer told the annual Israel Democracy Institute economic policy conference.

“The United States is not recovering at a good enough pace. The European debt crisis, if it does not improve, might become a problem for the entire Euro zone and that situation will of course have an adverse effect on Israel’s economy.”

For now, Israel’s economy is growing rapidly and the central bank foresees growth of 5.2 percent this year after 4.7 percent in 2010. It also projects 4.2 percent growth in 2012.

“Our forecast for 2012 is a bit above 4 percent, and in my opinion it’s a little conservative,” Fischer said.

Real estate prices were rising, he said, rejecting Finance Ministry claims that they had stabilised.

The central bank has raised its key rate 10 times in 22 months to 3.25 percent but he said inflation remained a worry.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – As a world renowned economist who has helped arrange bailouts to emerging markets, Stanley Fischer certainly has the credentials to lead the IMF but internal politics and his age make him a long shot.

A former World Bank chief economist and ex-vice chairman of Citigroup, the Bank of Israel governor who announced his bid on Saturday, has an uphill battle since France’s Christine Lagarde has already embarked on a world tour to woo countries’ support.

“He is clearly well-suited for the job,” said HSBC economist Jonathan Katz. “He is in constant contact with heads of central banks. So, even though he is in Israel now, he is influential in all global schemes and strategy.”

However, at 67, Fischer is above the age limit of 65 for the job. He is also U.S. citizen, which could prove an obstacle as the United States traditionally claims the top job at the World Bank, while a European has always run the IMF.

“The chances are not great, there are obstacles along the road … first there is the age obstacle. (Secondly) the choice is very much political. Were it purely professional one would be hard pressed to find a better person than Fischer,” Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said.

But he is no stranger to the campaign, having fought an unsuccessful battle more than a decade ago for the job that ultimately went to Germany’s Horst Kohler.

And his experience working with emerging markets — he was described by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin as the “unsung hero” of the world financial crises of the 1990s — may win him backers this time round.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – As a world renowned economist who has helped arrange bailouts to emerging markets, Stanley Fischer certainly has the credentials to lead the IMF but internal politics and his age make him a long shot.

A former World Bank chief economist and ex-vice chairman of Citigroup, the Bank of Israel governor who announced his bid on Saturday, has an uphill battle since France’s Christine Lagarde has already embarked on a world tour to woo countries’ support.

“He is clearly well-suited for the job,” said HSBC economist Jonathan Katz. “He is in constant contact with heads of central banks. So, even though he is in Israel now, he is influential in all global schemes and strategy.”

However, at 67, Fischer is above the age limit of 65 for the job. He is also U.S. citizen, which could prove an obstacle as the United States traditionally claims the top job at the World Bank, while a European has always run the IMF.

“The chances are not great, there are obstacles along the road … first there is the age obstacle. (Secondly) the choice is very much political. Were it purely professional one would be hard pressed to find a better person than Fischer,” Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz said.

But he is no stranger to the campaign, having fought an unsuccessful battle more than a decade ago for the job that ultimately went to Germany’s Horst Kohler.

And his experience working with emerging markets — he was described by former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin as the “unsung hero” of the world financial crises of the 1990s — may win him backers this time round.

JERUSALEM, June 11 (Reuters) – Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer said on Saturday he would run for the top job at the International Monetary Fund, presenting a potential serious challenge to front-runner Christine Lagarde.

Lagarde, the French Finance Minister, told her Saudi Arabian counterpart earlier in the day that tackling sovereign debt troubles would be a priority of the IMF if she led the Washington-based rescue lender.

Fischer, also competing with Mexican central bank chief Agustin Carstens, had said the IMF post was one of the best jobs in the international system but was noncommittal on a bid until Saturday.

“There arose an extraordinary and unplanned opportunity – perhaps one that will never happen again — to compete for the head of the IMF, which after much deliberation I decided I wish to follow through on,” Fischer said in a statement.

Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz, Israel’s representative at the IMF, said he would support and aid Fischer’s candidacy.

The job has been vacated by Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned after his arrest on May 14 on charges of attempting to rape a New York hotel maid.

Fischer, 67, would be a serious contender to Lagarde. But the IMF would have to change its rules that no one should be appointed to the post over the age of 65 and that no one should hold the post beyond the age of 70.

JERUSALEM, May 31 (Reuters) – Israel’s top two banks issued sharply contrasting quarterly results on Tuesday, with Leumi (LUMI.TA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the country’s largest, falling short of profit forecasts while rival Hapoalim (POLI.TA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) beat estimates.

Although Leumi’s first-quarter net profit, which fell 3 percent, was largely hurt by weakness in its non-bank holdings, analysts were more impressed by its peers who benefitted from a rapidly growing economy expected to grow close to 5 percent for a second straight year in 2011.

“Leumi’s report was similar to our forecasts, but it was disappointing compared with other banks,” said Yuval Ben Zeev, head of research at brokerage Clal Finance, who rates Leumi “market perform”.

Its shares closed up 0.9 percent, lagging gains of 2.2 percent by Hapoalim and a 5 percent jump in Israel Discount Bank (DSCT.TA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), the country’s third largest bank, whose results also topped estimates. [ID:nLDE74U1L1]

Hapoalim, Israel’s second-largest bank in terms of assets and market value but the largest lender, reported a 96 percent rise in quarterly profit as it recorded credit losses of just 14 million shekels, compared with 299 million a year ago. [ID:nLDE74T1EJ]

“This small amount results from significant recoveries of debts written off in the past, as a result of an improvement in borrowers’ repayment capability during the quarter,” Hapoalim said.

Hapoalim also said it plans to resume paying dividends after receiving regulatory approval this week. It had been prohibited by the Bank of Israel’s Supervisor of Banks from paying dividends since it ended 2008 with a loss in the wake of the global financial crisis.

JERUSALEM, May 29 (Reuters) – Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer will test the waters before deciding whether to become a candidate to head the International Monetary Fund, a source familiar with the situation said on Sunday.

“He will be talking to decision-makers throughout the world the next two weeks and then make a decision,” the source told Reuters. “If there will be more and more voices and more and more support from different countries, he would consider it.”

The deadline for submitting official bids for the post is June 10.

Zambian-born Fischer, 67, is a former deputy managing director of the IMF. He has been widely credited with helping Israel’s economy weather the global financial crisis by starting to lower Israeli interest rates sharply in 2008. He has since raised rates 10 times to contain inflation and prevent an overheating economy set to grow another 4.5 percent in 2011.

Fischer has declined to say whether he has been approached about the job vacated by Frenchman Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned after his arrest on May 14 on charges of attempting to rape a New York hotel maid. Strauss-Kahn denies the charges [ID:nDSK].

“It’s one of the best jobs in the international system but I have a terrific job at the moment,” Fischer said in an interview with Reuters Insider TV last Wednesday, referring to his post as head of Israel’s central bank.

The source said that Fischer was “keeping his options open” and it was too early to tell whether he would submit his candidacy.

JERUSALEM, May 16 (Reuters) – Israel’s largest mobile phone operator Cellcom (CEL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) posted lower quarterly profit due to tougher regulation on fees, and analysts said the changes will continue to depress its earnings this year.

Cellcom (CEL.TA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and its rivals were hit by two government orders the past few months — a steep reduction in fees mobile phone operators charge each other to connect calls, and the elimination of exit fines by customers.

“The full impact of regulatory changes was likely not felt in the first quarter,” said Deutsche Bank analyst Richard Gussow. “We expect more impact in subsequent quarters.”

The cut to mobile interconnection fees led to a 15 percent drop in Cellcom’s service revenue, although that was offset by a jump in sales of handsets and accessories.

Analysts said the results were hard to analyse since Cellcom did not say how much it suffered from the end to exit fines.

“In light of the omission, and the results that reflect intensifying competition, at this stage we do not advise significantly increasing exposure to the stock — but don’t sell,” said Liat Glazer, an analyst at the Excellence Nessuah brokerage. “It’s still generating a respectable double-digit dividend yield.”

Shares of Cellcom, a unit of IDH Holding Corp (IDBH.TA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), were down 1.2 percent at 107.9 shekels in early afternoon trading in Tel Aviv.

JERUSALEM (Reuters) – Central banks around the world are struggling to regain their inflation-fighting credibility in the face of high commodity prices, but the Bank of Israel may have succeeded — for now at least — with an aggressive interest rate hike.

Israel’s central bank on Monday raised its benchmark lending rate by a larger-than-expected half a percentage point to 3.0 percent. Virtually all analysts had predicted a third straight quarter-point move from the bank’s governor Stanley Fischer.

“The bravest central banker in the world”, read a headline in the Haaretz newspaper.

Haaretz columnist Eytal Avriel wrote on Tuesday that Fischer was not the only central banker facing a terrible dilemma between supporting economic growth and keeping a lid on inflation and asset bubbles — but that he might be more effective than most.

“Many will think Fischer is crazy. But Fischer is simply doing his job properly, uncompromisingly, ignoring political pressure,” Avriel said.

“Other central bank governors are the crazy ones. They are keeping interest rates too low and sacrificing the medium and long term for the short term.”

In its rate hike statement, the central bank cited a high inflation environment of more than 4 percent and expanding economic activity; the economy grew an annualised 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010.

TEL AVIV, March 22 (Reuters) – Egypt’s interim government has made a new request to receive funding from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the bank’s president said on Tuesday.

Last May, the EBRD said it would begin considering a request from Egypt to be included in the lender’s countries of operation, currently numbering 29. Speaking to reporters on a trip to Israel, EBRD President Thomas Mirow said the new Egyptian government had renewed that request this month after ousting former president Hosni Mubarak following weeks of mass protests.

“The message was: We need you more than ever because we are in a transition process. We want to be an open Egyptian economy and we want to foster the private sector, and that’s where you (the EBRD) can be helpful,” Mirow told reporters during a trip to Israel, a shareholder in the EBRD.

He said the new request was conveyed in a letter from Planning and International Cooperation Minister Faiza Abu El-Naga.

Mirow has said the EBRD was willing to invest up to 1 billion euros a year in Egypt if the bank’s 63 shareholders, which include Egypt, approve Cairo’s application.

He said operating in Egypt would depend on whether the country was committed to democracy, a multi-party political system and a free market economy.

“No one can be completely sure this is the direction the country is heading,” Mirow said. “But it is not too different from the situation in central and eastern Europe 20 years ago.”

JERUSALEM, March 15 (Reuters) – Cellcom (CEL.TA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Israel’s largest mobile phone operator, beat estimates with an 18 percent rise in quarterly profit, driven by higher revenue and lower financing costs.

But Cellcom and its peers face a tough year in 2011, largely due to an order by regulators beginning in January that chopped fees mobile phone operators charge each other to connect calls as well as the elimination of exit fines.

“The termination fee cut is so huge that they won’t be able to offset it with other (positive) factors,” said Darren Shaw, an analyst at UBS, who expects lower 2011 revenue and profit.

Cellcom (CEL.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) last year had warned the lower fees would decrease annual net income by 320 million shekels.

“We have begun well in advance the required preparations to deal with the impact of the reduction in interconnect tariffs, both in respect of our operational efficiency and by identifying additional sources of revenue,” it said in a statement.

“So far, the direct impact of this decision on our results is in line with our initially published expectations.”

CONSOLIDATION