ISRAEL'S ECONOMY HAS RECOVERED

Moody's: Israel Recession Completely Over - Zeev Klein (Globes)
Israel's economy has completely recovered from recession, states Moody's in its annual report on the Israeli economy, published Tuesday. Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings have also published positive reports on Israel. Moody's predicts that Israel's economy will continue to perform well in 2005, but warns that the global economic slowdown will reduce Israel's growth rate. Moody's stresses growth engines: exports rose by 15%, there is a current accounts surplus, low inflation, and a low short-term interest rate.