Israeli Stock Index Tumbles Most Since 2000

Israel’s benchmark stock index plunged the most in almost 11 years after Standard & Poor’s lowered the U.S. credit rating and amid concern the widening sovereign debt crisis in Europe will stall global growth.

Israel Discount Bank Ltd. (DSCT), the country’s third-largest lender, skidded 10 percent. Nice Systems Ltd. (NICE) slumped the most since November 2008. All 25 shares in the TA-25 Index tumbled, pushing the gauge down 7 percent, the biggest decline since October 2000, to 1,074.27 at the 4:30 p.m. close in Tel Aviv. The index is near the so-called bear-market territory after retreating 19.9 percent from a record high of 1,341.89 on April 21.

“It could be a turbulent market in the next few weeks,” said Ron Eichel, chief economist and strategist at Meitav Investment House Ltd. in Tel Aviv. “If there’s a storm globally, it’s going to affect Israel, which has very large exports to the U.S. and the eurozone.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-08-07/israeli-stocks-tumble-most-since-november-2008-on-u-s-rating-cut-europe.html

Israel's welfare is near totally dependent upon the US.
So if the US goes down Israel is sure to follow.

What nonsense. Israel's welfare is dependent upon its own income generating industries, specifically hight-tech, the military, and to a lesser extent nowadays agriculture and diamonds. Israel receives $3bn a year from the USA to be spent on American products within the USA so I would say the American economy is as much dependent on Israel's as vice versa.

All the world markets have been or will be affected by the US's credit down-grading. Israel simply opens up its stock market on Sundays, a day earlier than the rest of the world, so what you're seeing in Israel today you're going to see in Europe and the Far East tomorrow. And in the US of course as well.

In that respect, if America "goes down" (it won't though it will probably suffer somewhat) that has a knock-on effect on Israel and the rest of the world because it is such a huge economy. But to say tht Israel is near totally dependent on the US is a ridiculous exaggeration.

If the US abandoned Israel, it wouldn't last two years.

Unless it dramatically changed its ways of dealing with it's neighbors.
Which is highly unlikely, due to the animosity it has engendered.

of course israel might just hook up with China as per one option. Of course that would be one huge headache for the US and Europe if that were to happen, both politically and militarily. And of course the Palestinians and their friends wouldn't have a whole lot of influence there either.

just one option...the US was not always backing Israel in the past and there is no guarantee it will in the fuure

If Israel thought it could do without the US, it would have already.

This fantasy some people have that Israel is autonomous is simply incredible.
Israel is a product of the US. It is a welfare client of the extreme position.

welfare client of the "extreme position"....heh heh

i'm assuming your not to knowledgeable about economics/foreign aid

tell you what, just for fun, try to prove your position....i.e. loans from the states, money returned, conditions on the military hardware bought etc/ what the US gets in return, etc... and no skipping of information

and since you've use a verb "extreme" that means your comparing to others, so try adding in what the US gives/loans to other countries as well (this wont be good for your claim....).

http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=T25.TA

down 71.60 (6.20%) already :nuke:

From Europe, to the US, to Israel and where next?