(Ynet News) Sever Plocker - At the height of Israel's 2002 recession, the Israeli government asked the U.S. to approve loan guarantees that would enable Jerusalem to raise capital internationally. The guarantees were approved in April 2003 to the tune of $9 billion over three years. Since October 2004, Israel has made no use of the guarantees, whose validity was extended from time to time. A total of $3.8 billion in unused loan guarantees are just lying there. As of September 2009, Israel's foreign debt totals $28 billion. Meanwhile, the State of Israel's foreign currency reserves total $60 billion, mostly invested in U.S. government bonds. In other words, at this time, Israelis are financing America's debts.
2010-01-12 09:52:34Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive