Calcalist

Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich has ordered a reduction in fuel excise tax to prevent a price hike. Experts criticize the move as election-year populism that will cost the state hundreds of millions of shekels.

Rafael CEO Yoav Turgeman is criticizing the Ministry of Finance over state payment delays to defense firms. The Ministry of Defense currently owes 15.5 billion shekels to major defense contractors.

The timing of the Passover holiday and a delay in replacing a production line hurt the revenues of the Karur company, which closed the second quarter with a decrease in revenue. However, an increase in financing income allowed the company to boost its net profit by 69%.

Tomer Mazon announced that it will miss the August 31 deadline for publishing its second-quarter and first-half financial reports. The delay follows an ongoing audit regarding inventory discrepancies and the sudden resignation of the incoming CFO.

Two of the world's largest music companies, Warner Music and Sony Music, are suing Anthropic. They allege that the AI company used copyrighted works to train its Claude models.

Following a historic settlement, Meta is shifting the narrative by calling on YouTube and TikTok to strengthen adolescent protections. The company is positioning itself as a leader in user safety despite widespread skepticism.

This morning, numerous bus lines in Judea and Samaria were disrupted as Tnufa drivers found their vehicles without fuel. The incident occurred simultaneously with a court injunction against a planned strike by the drivers.

NASA's Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope, described by the agency as a "discovery machine," is set to launch from Florida. The $4.3 billion project aims to explore dark energy and dark matter.

For the first time, over 100 gigawatts of storage capacity were added to the global market in a single year. Amid resource scarcity and a shrinking pool of suppliers, project reliability is now paramount.

Europe is set to enter the winter with its lowest gas reserves in 13 years. With storage levels at only 63% in late August, experts warn of increased price volatility during the heating season.

Starting September 1st, the maximum price for a liter of 95-octane gasoline at self-service stations will reach 8.25 shekels. This marks a 14-year high for fuel prices in Israel.

The Tax Authority, the Ministry of Transport, and the Ministry of Environmental Protection have released the new purchase tax formula for vehicles. Despite rumors, the implementation of a mileage tax remains unlikely in the near term due to regulatory and logistical hurdles.

The Israeli Ministry of Transport is considering stripping the bus company Tnufa of its routes and revoking its operating license due to persistent service failures and a shortage of buses.

The special education budget in Israel has increased by 2.5 billion shekels, reaching 26.5 billion in 2026. The number of students in the system has grown by 8.8%, significantly outpacing the growth rate of the general education system.

British firm Rockhopper Exploration, a partner in the Sea Lion project, is preparing for a Tel Aviv Stock Exchange listing. The company raised $200 million, with 40% of its shares already held by Israeli investors.

The Arieli Group, the controlling shareholder of Elron, has breached loan covenants related to its acquisition of the company from Phoenix Investment House. Consequently, Phoenix has begun seeking buyers for the pledged shares.

The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange's shift to a Monday-Friday trading week has yielded results faster than expected. Friday trading volumes surged by 173% compared to Sundays, with foreign investors accounting for 40.2% of the turnover.

Shapir Engineering has declined its option to purchase a 4.99% stake in the Ashdod Oil Refinery from Paz. The decision follows regulatory hurdles and the company's failure to meet conditions regarding the sale of its natural gas distribution licenses.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has acknowledged a sharp decline in trade due to US sanctions and a naval blockade. Meanwhile, the US continues its economic isolation campaign against Tehran.

According to the latest polls, both the National Unity party led by Benny Gantz and the Religious Zionism party led by Bezalel Smotrich are not passing the electoral threshold, but they will receive election funding advances in the millions of shekels.

Kevin Warsh's speech at Jackson Hole marked a shift in Fed policy: moving away from excessive market signaling and returning to full accountability for inflation without external excuses.

US President Donald Trump plans to temporarily increase beef import quotas to lower ground beef prices. The initiative has sparked backlash from American cattle ranchers and members of his own party.

Walmart has agreed to pay $50 million to settle US government allegations that its pharmacies illegally filled thousands of prescriptions for opioids and other controlled substances.

Former White House teleprompter operator Gabriel Perez has been ordered to pay over $172,000 for using inside information to bet on the speeches of US President Donald Trump.

Corn and wheat prices have reached three-year highs due to distinct factors. Wheat is surging amid the escalation of the war between Russia and Ukraine, while corn is rising due to lowered US yield forecasts.

Oil exports from the Persian Gulf have recovered to about two-thirds of pre-war levels, limiting the impact of the conflict with Iran on global prices. Total regional exports have reached 15–16 million barrels per day.

Young people aged 18 to 21, who are legally prohibited from gambling in most US states, poured about $5.4 billion this year into the prediction platform Kalshi. This regulatory gap exists because such platforms are defined as financial markets and regulated at the federal level.

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh delivered his first speech at the Jackson Hole conference. He emphasized that price stability remains the primary focus and that the 2% inflation target is firm and fixed.

Fed Chair Kevin Warsh is set to speak at the Jackson Hole conference. Investors are looking for clues on future monetary policy, though markets remain calm with the VIX volatility index trading below its annual average.

Japan spent 15.4 trillion yen ($96.4 billion) on foreign exchange interventions between July 30 and August 26. This record monthly expenditure reflects the government's determination to curb the yen's depreciation.

The conflict between First International Bank management and its subsidiary technology company, Mataf, is escalating over a dispute regarding work-from-home policies. The Histadrut union has warned of a potential general strike.

Payment company Stripe and investment fund Advent International have decided to withdraw from the planned acquisition of PayPal. Following the news, PayPal shares fell by 15% in pre-market trading in New York.

Former Bank Leumi CEO Rakefet Russak-Aminoach has been appointed to the board of directors of the American cyber company Rubrik. She joins a group of global technology and investment industry leaders.

A federal court in San Francisco has ruled that the inclusion of AI company Anthropic on the Pentagon's blacklist was illegal. Judge Rita Lin determined that the administration violated the First Amendment.

Foreign exchange markets are showing slight movement ahead of Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's speech in Jackson Hole. The dollar is trading above 2.96 shekels, up 0.1%.

Asian markets show a mixed trend as investors await the debut speech by new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh in Jackson Hole. Yesterday on Wall Street, Nvidia shares jumped 8.7%.

Insurance company Menora Mivtachim is acquiring 40% of the shares of the hedge fund Agility for 200 million shekels. The deal values the fund at 500 million shekels, surprising the capital market.

Three Federal Reserve officials expressed ongoing concern today about the state of inflation in the US, as the annual Kansas City Fed economic symposium opened in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. They emphasized the need for action to return inflation to the 2% target.

Three major UK airports have been hit by a cyberattack, resulting in the theft of data belonging to approximately 8.7 million customers. The operator refused to pay the ransom demanded by the hackers.

The Trump administration is considering new tariffs on chips and a wide range of tech products, including laptops, servers, and gaming gear, amid the race to outpace China in AI infrastructure.