Progress through Pandemic

The Pandemic has been raging in Israel for six months and it is sickening and killing more people than ever. Yesterday more than 2000 were infected. Hospitals are full. A quarter of the shops in Kfar Saba's Weizmann Street are to let. People connected to the food industry, theater, tourism and foreign travel have lost their subsistence. They are worried and desperate.

I have noticed that the people punished by the virus has been forced to look for new sources of survival and they have found them, many for good. Restaurants are providing take off services, students of engineering have become builders, hobbies have been developed into flourishing small business. More startups than ever. In any crisis there are sectors that will profit, like booming Hollywood during the Great Depression. The stone-heart capitalists of Wall Street are right, wars, crisis and depressions are necessary features of the system, eliminating inefficient business and creating new ones. I think that the system in Israel is healthy and working well. 

Turkey puts war with Greece on hold

Turkey  defuses some of the tension in the Eastern Mediterranean., suspending research by its seismic vessel Oruç Reis as a goodwill gesture for ongoing negotiations with Greece. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his aides to “be constructive and put this on hold for some time.” 

Li Bai Loved to Drink

Chinese porcelain Yuan dynasty Chizhou vase with TANG poet Li Bai ; The image represents the famous Tang dynasty poet - Li Bai - ; The inscription says when Li was drunk, he would write many poems.

I do not really enjoy Chinese classics. It must be my fault. I do admire Spanish literature of the Siglo de Oro.

The visit to the Forbidden City and the museum was a disappointment. 

Israeli banks selling at half price

The TASE valuation of Discount and Leumi banks covers about 60% of its own equity. TASE thinks that they have many dubious loans outstanding that will not be repaid in the coming crisis. Beinleumi and Mizrahi are selling at market capitalization / equity of about one.  I have bought some today. The P/B ratio should not be used as a single evaluation of a stock because, while a low P/B may mean an undervalued company, it can also be a result of serious underlying problems within that company. 

In short, they are under priced.

La Familia disperses leftwing protest against police brutality while police looks on passively

Every evening the country's leftists protest in the Balfour street. Netaniyahu happens to have his official residence there. At the beginning it was against corruption and with the days it became a classic George Floyd "We cannot breath" pseudo-American riot. Last night the fans of the Beitar Jerusalem - called La Familia - arrived and dispersed the Antifa leftists. The Israeli police, accused of killer brutality, looked on with brutal impassibility. End of July, it is very hot at night, people cannot sit at home and the bars are closed, action and a good street fight are visceral necessity. 

Second Wave Epidemics in Israel

The hospitals are more than fully occupied. Worrying. 

Devaluation!

The US dollar is fast losing value. Gold is rising. The stock exchange is rising too, but it is a fake nominal bonanza caused by a worthless dollar. The shekel is maintaining it worth vis-a-vis foreign currencies, but today, the Governor of Bank of Israel, warned that it can fall drastically. He may be planning a devaluation. If America inflates the dollar, we must too.

In the current uncertainty I have been in cash and wondering what to do. Tomorrow I shall buy something.