After spending $ 2.2 trillion allocated to previous aid programs, the administration does not stop and continues to support the markets • Cost of the proposal: an additional $ 1 trillion • Gold prices skyrocket to new highs

• Will he be able to restart the economy? President Trump

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  IPI

The Trump administration is currently working to inject an additional $ 1 trillion into the U.S. economy to help the public overcome the corona crisis. "We have a whole plan," said Treasury Secretary Steve Menuhin, emphasizing that "there is full coordination between the Trump administration and Republicans in the Senate."

According to the proposal, which requires the approval of the House of Representatives, which is controlled by the Democratic Party, a check for $ 1,200 (about NIS 4,000) will be distributed to every American citizen, uniformly and regardless of his financial situation.

In addition, an additional payment will be granted to the unemployed and protections will be established for businesses and schools so that they do not go bankrupt. The program will also allocate $ 16 billion to fund corona tests and incentivize businesses not to lay off their employees, through tax breaks. The current proposal is an addition to a previous $ 2.2 trillion federal aid package, which ran out of money last weekend. 

Previous Grant: $ 2 Trillion to Fight Corona // Photo: Reuters

The announcement of the new incentive package jumped the US stock market, where trading week began yesterday with gains of up to more than 1%. At the same time, the price of gold breaks a new record of about nine years when traded at $ 1,944 an ounce during the day, compared to $ 1,921 at the previous high in 2011. This is a 27% jump in the price of gold since the beginning of the year, in line with the weakening of the dollar as a result of the uncertainty caused by the corona virus. UBS Investment Bank estimates that the price of gold will surpass $ 2,000 per unit by the end of the year - in the shadow of the corona, of course.

Bitcoin deposit in banks 

Meanwhile, digital currencies are also recording an impressive rise, with bitcoin crossing the $ 10,000 threshold per unit and recording a jump of close to 13% in the past week. The Ethereum currency, which has the second largest trading volume in the digital currency market, soared 35% and traded at around $ 320 per unit. However, the market is very far from its peak - with Bitcoin touching $ 20,000 and Ethereum $ 1,400 at the end of 2017. 

The boom in digital currencies stems, among other things, from two external decisions that give the market a boost: the US Federal Reserve (OCC) announcement that it allows commercial banks to keep bitcoin for their customers, and a federal court decision in Washington DC that bitcoin is a currency and not asset. 

According to Manny Rosenfeld, chairman of the Israeli Bitcoin Association, the ruling in the United States is significant but far from the end of the verse. "There is still no horizontal statement here that Bitcoin is money for all intents and purposes, with implications for taxation and the like - but it does seem that the understanding that Bitcoin is essentially money is sharpening, and we hope that this understanding permeates further rulings and regulators' treatment of the field," Rosenfeld told Israel Today .

A shot of encouragement for fuel

On the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, the trading day closed almost unchanged, with slight increases in the leading indices. During the trade, higher increases were recorded, but they were reset in light of security developments in the northern region. In light of the Home Front Command's announcement of a return to routine, the indices have recovered. Shares of Delek Drilling fell nearly 7% after announcing a plan to buy up to $ 50 million worth of self-bonds to increase the room for maneuver of the partnership's debt repayment capacity.

Delek received a shot of encouragement from the Fitch rating company's forecast regarding the Whale Reservoir. Fitch described the Whale Project as "stable," noting the strategic importance of the project not only to Israel, but also to Jordan and Egypt. "The project enjoys a diversity of customers with long-term contracts in Jordan, Egypt and 12 customers in the Israeli economy," Bitch explains. "Exports account for more than half of Whale's sales volume and make it possible to rely on payment ethics. Demand for gas from Israel is expected to grow significantly in the medium to near future, with the expected shutdown of coal-based power plants and the transition to electric and gas-powered vehicles." Fitch adds that the quality of the reservoir and the form of its development are expected to enable the production of all the volume of gas defined as reserves from the existing drillings.