On the surface, Israel’s economy is heading the same way as America, the UK and others.

Initial figures show unemployment doubling to 20,000 people between October 2008 to February 2009. The two largest banks, Hapoalim and Leumi, have reported large losses. In fact, Leumi’s share price has now lost over half its value. High tech companies are looking at a 4-day working week.

And yet, as I keep stressing, Israel does not need to panic. For the moment, I am not alone in that view, as reflected by the stock market, still on the up in fits and starts.

Just as encouraging is the latest report from the IMF on Israel. It predicts a small but positive growth of 0.5% for 2009. This is down from its previous analysis but still higher than the 0.2% as suggested by the Bank of Israel.

The IMF went on to praise the monetary and fiscal policies of Israel. It did find that there was room for selected budget stimulus and an even lower interest rate. However, the general picture is encouraging, hopefully leading to a major pick up in 2010.