Missiles

The defense against missiles is not 100%, and this morning, several iconic buildings were bombed: the Soroka hospital of Beer Sheva, the Ramat Gan bourse complex, and so on. There is no mention of casualties; everybody was in the refuge. I am tired because of the tension. I have to work. I promised the Schultz project for next week! How to start? Claude says to work only for two minutes, and then the continuation will come along. Ya'Allah! I am starting now.

Sleeping Much and Badly

The phone alarm and the municipal siren have been waking me up for four nights in a row. I move to the hardened room and sit on my wife's bed. Five minutes later, I return to my bed and fall asleep immediately. The result is that I'm tired all day. I can barely do any work. I feel nothing, just vegetating during this summer. The strange phenomenon that the bourse is prospering reduces my motivation to work. Israel had been preparing for the war with Iran for years, and it appears we are winning. But it is a large, homogeneous, coherent country, not a made-up militia.   

The War improved Israel's risk rating

Most unexpectedly, despite missile barrages launched by Iran towards Israel, the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) indices closed today with gains of 0.5%. Yaniv Pagot says Israel's attack on Iran is a step for the better: "Anyone who has lived in the State of Israel knows about the Iranian atomic threat, which has been a cancerous growth for the economy. The rating agencies have also talked about the Iranian threat all the time. Israel decided that this cancer needed to be cut out. As absurd as it may sound, if Israel's geopolitical risk premium was a certain rating, today it is lower."

We are seeing an extraordinary show of strength today, and it is far from intuitive

TASE feels the war is going well

 

There are few changes in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange this morning. This is the second night that my sleep was interrupted by strong phone beeps and alarms, and the screaming siren of the municipal Home Defense. Elbit shares are 5% up, and "there is no limit," they proclaim on their website. My second daughter trained in the Haifa plant while serving in the artillery. Israeli hi-tech is constantly searching for young talent.

South Pars Gas Field Attacked

Apparently, Israel attacked the South Pars gas field within the framework of the ongoing war. Energy markets will feel the shock, and energy companies with alternative sources will profit. Their stock price will rise 10-25%.

The stock most likely to benefit:

Cheniere Energy (LNG): Cheniere Energy is the largest liquefied natural gas (LNG) producer in the U.S. and the second-largest in the world Best Natural Gas Stocks for 2025 | The Motley Fool

EQT Corporation: EQT's size gives it scale advantages, making it one of the world's lowest-cost natural gas producers Best Natural Gas Stocks for 2025 | The Motley Fool

Kinder Morgan (KMI): Kinder Morgan is well-positioned for 2025's LNG boom as a middleman connecting the U.S. natural gas producers with the end markets, including export terminals Top Stocks, ETFs to Benefit From Potential Surge in Natural Gas Demand | Investing.com

Hallucinatory realism

I bought the book Red Sorghum years ago, but never had the patience to finish it. Being at war and advised by the government to stay home, I restarted reading it. I still don't like it, although the author is a Nobel Prize winner. It is a collection of folk stories of the heroic fight of Shandong peasants against Japanese invaders and local bandits. In Argentina, only horses ate sorghum silage, but my wife feeds me boiled sorghum, believing that, being inedible, it must be healthy. The story focuses on a sorghum distillery, where the wine received its special shine and flavor thanks to added piss. I had never heard of red sorghum wine.

The Shabbat has arrived. I stop. My downstairs neighbors (echte Iranians) are praying-singing at full volume. 

Art Deco

A nude by Tamara de Lempicka (a "countess" from Warsaw. The "de" comes from her time in Mexico as a Jewish refugee.) 

Price: about 6 million pounds.