12 MONTH CERTIFICATE 5.75% Apocalypse Later INTEREST RATE While the Israeli propery market may be facing tough times, a crisis seems unlikely. 5.870 A.F.Y./* STUART HERSHKOWITZ SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS any people are wonder- ing if Israel is on the verge of a real-estate crisis and potential home buyers and sellers are ask- ing what they should do. When discussing real estate in Israel, it is customary to as- sume that we're basically talk- ing about the area between Hadera and Gedera. The rela- tively large population in this small area, not including the Negev, makes Israel one of the most densely populated coun- tries in the world. One major difference between Israel and most other Western countries is that developers do not "warehouse." In oth- er words, developers don't have any kind of inventory of apartments which they hold for sale. In New York, following the real-estate crash, many developers were left with large, unsold pro- jects that were 60 MONTH CERTIFICATE 6.00% 6.13% INTEREST RATE A.F.Y./* These are fixed rate certificates of deposit that are insured by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). A minimum opening deposit and balance of $500.00 is required to obtain the stated Annual Percentage Yield. *** FederC aryInsured BANK EQUAL HOUSING OPPORTUNITY LENDER CALL (810)338-7700 or (810)352-7700 Main Office 2600 Telegraph Rd. Bloomfield Hills, MI 48302 7 , z1"- 'Annual percentage yield when compounded quarterly. Rate is accurate as of 1/10/97. Penalty for early withdrawal from certificate accounts may be assessed. cn WE COME TO YOU ... 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This al- lows contractors to back out on Stuart Hershkowitz heads the international division at the Bank of Jerusalem. 33 0 LEADING ISRAELI STOCKS TRADED ON U.S. EXCHANGES 0 cn m 0 I =1 Symbol Name Exchange Dec. 27 Jan. 3 Change SCIXF Scitex NASDAQ 9.75 '11.25 5 1.50 I ECILF ECI Telecom NASDAQ '19.61 '21.00 5 1.39 • TEVIY Teva Pharm NASDAQ '47.61 '55.25 '7.64 IEC PEC Israel NYSE '17.50 '17.75 '0.25 ELBTF Elbit Computers NASDAQ 2.00 2.00 '0.00 ELT Elscint LTD NYSE 6.25 6.75 '0.25 '11.00 '11.008 '0.00 0 (I) 0 0 ELRNF Elron Electronics NASDAQ I TAD Tadiran NYSE '28.00 '28.12 '0.12 z CMVT Comverse NASDAQ '36.61 '13.75 5 z ISL First Israel Fund NYSE '11.61 '12.25 '0.64 (I) • I11 INSULATED GLASS REPLACEMENT PICTURE WINDOWS, DOOR WALLS, ANY SIZE REPLACED • Storm Doors • Screens • Windows Repaired • Laminated or Tempered Glass • Plexiglas •Vinyl or Wood Replacement Windows I m co building if prices go down. The drop in the number of building starts indicates that builders are already starting to put projects on hold. Through November there was a 38 percent drop in building starts of Ministry of Housing and Israel Land Authority proper- ties. In actual numbers, there were 16,921 housing starts through- November. According to Deputy Housing Minister Porush, the ministry sold only 38,000 units in 1996, compared with 46,000 in 1995. In all, it is estimated that there will be 44,000 building starts in 1997, com- pared with 46,000 this year and 63,000 in 1995. This seems to repre- sent developers' wait-and-see approach. And the re- strictions the Bank of Israel recently im- posed on banks' financing of real estate are also an important factor in the building slowdown. The superintendent of banks, Ze'ev Abeles, has limited the real estate sector of the bank's over- all loan poi (folio to 20-25 percent. Banks that overstep these re- strictions are required to in- crease their loan-loss provision by 4-8 percent. C) m C Z r" STARTERS • ALTERNATORS • FAN BELTS • FLOOR MATS • SEAT COVERS • JUMPER CABLES • BRAKE SPECIAL • WIPERS TI 0.39 Source: Allen °lender, Prudential Securities, Weit Bloomfield.