The new fund will receive only the proceeds of an “excess profit tax” that was put into place by the Israeli government in 2011.  As proposed the structure of the Israeli fund is being based on Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, which is now one of the world’s biggest sovereign wealth funds based on the country’s own petroleum production.

Israel has been at center stage in the global technology sector, benefiting from its leading edge technologies and innovation. The country’s tech sector has helped the country withstand the fallout from the world financial crisis, probably better than any other western country.

But the future of Israel’s economy will be impacted significantly from the discovery of two large offshore gas fields, which were discovered in 2009.

The largest of the two fields, which has been named the Leviathan field, is estimated to contain 500 million cubic meters of natural gas. This would make it the largest  gas find ever recorded in the Mediterranean.  The second field, the Tamar, has about half that amount of reserves, which makes it also substantial.

The new sovereign wealth fund is expected to have at least US$80 billion under management by 2040. It is expected that the funds will provide the government with a new income stream and a financial cushion.

Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister of Israel was quoted as saying,  “True, the fruits of this fund will arrive only in a few years, but they will arrive. This will be a lot of money for the state of Israel from royalties from natural gas under the sea.”

Just under 400 million shares were traded in Dubai today, an amount that is almost four times the average 12 month daily trading volume of around 109 million shares.

Commenting on the trading activity, Julian Bruce, director of institutional sales trading at EFG-Hermes Holding SAE in Dubai was quoted as saying, there has been “increasing positive sentiment with Dubai entities saying debt will be repaid without government assistance.”

Not only is Dubai’s stock market booming, its economy is also booming. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the head of Dubai’s Supreme Fiscal Policy Committee indicated last week that the emirate’s economy may expand as much as 5 percent this year. This would be a very substantial increase from last year’s growth of around 3 percent, and is quite a change from the country’s almost defaulting in 2009 when its neighbor, Abu Dhabi provided US$20 billion to help in debt restructuring.

A shareholder class action suit had been brought against the company, and the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California dismissed the action.

As reported, the evidence against Sino Clean Energy consisted primarily of “hearsay” from an anonymous source, an alleged video surveillance video, and alleged discrepancies between the company’s SEC filings and filings by one of its subsidiaries with authorities in China.

Sino Clean Energy has also brought a defamation lawsuit against the publishers of the research reports, including the notorious blogger Alfred Little and the “research” firm GeoInvesting.

But a bright light on the continent is Poland, which has the benefit of not being on the Euro.  Industrial production numbers released this week indicate that Poland’s industrial production increased 9 percent in January.

Poland’s production of goods for export, which includes machinery and chemicals were up strongly.  In 2011 Polish exports grew by 10.5 percent to a record amount of €138 million.

But with a slowdown in Germany and no long-term sustainable solution to the Eurozone economic problems, one has to wonder whether Poland’s economy can continue to grow if Germany’s economy continues to stall.

The history of the problem dates to Beijing’s fiscal stimulus program,  specifically, the beginning of the global financial crisis.

This stimulus plan was for the most part implemented by Chinese provincial and city governments, which lacked the financial resources to implement the stimulus plan, and who did not have  the legal ability to borrow directly. Instead they created thousand of “off the books” special financing entities.

These financing entities then leaned on state-owned banks for loans, and the banks readily complied.

Many of the projects funded did not make any economic sense. But, the creation of the special financing entities was part of a stimulus plan with the objective of maintaining economic growth,  keeping workers working, and maintaining “social order.”

The stimulus plan definitely worked, as China’s economic growth over the past couple of years has been incredible. but now of the US$1.7 trillion of special financing entity debt, between last year and this year, about 42 percent is due. If forced to pay now, most of the special financing entities would default.

There is the saying, “times cures all.” With a huge and growing population, more than likely most of the projects will work out over time. As a result, Beijing’s “encouragement” to banks to extend maturities for “viable projects” makes sense.

There is also no question that Beijing is implementing reform. In 2011, Beijing granted a small number of cities and provinces the ability to issue bonds, the first sold by local governments since the early 1990s.

The future is clear. Five or ten years from now special financing entities tied to provincial or local governments will borrow very little from banks. Instead debt will almost entirely consist of bonds.

A  local Chinese bond market can itself lead to problems. As a result, the “go slow” approach by Beijing in granting authority to provincial and local governments is prudent.

The MSCI Emerging Markets Index moved up 11 per cent last month. This was the strongest January for the index in eleven years.  The index is now at its highest level since August of last year.

And, it appears that the interest by global investors in Big Emerging Economies is set to continue.  The most recent monthly survey published by Bank of America Merrill Lynch indicated that there was a “stunning rise in asset allocation to emerging markets in February.”  This is good news for the performance shares of companies in Big Emerging Economies for the rest of this month, as well as coming months.

The interest in Big Emerging Economies is led by the interest in China, which is the most important country represented in the MSCI index.  A consensus of fund managers indicates that a positive outlook for China’s growth is the greatest since November of 2010.  The second BEE country on the radar screen of global investors is Brazil.  Also, there is definitely an increase in interest in Turkey, which is now the third most popular Big Emerging Economy as well as Mexico.  India, despite all the structural issues in its economy has gained interest from investors as well.

Foreign currency reserves dropped to US$16.4 billion at the end of January, a drop of 53 percent from the reserves at the end of January 2011.

The continuing political turmoil in Egypt since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak as president last February has taken its toll on the country’s economy.

As could be expected, foreign tourism is way down. Foreign investment in the country has also slowed to a trickle. Both of these factors have led to a major decline  in the country’s foreign currency reserves.

Last year Egypt’s ruling military council turned down an IMF offer of a loan. At that time the reason that was given was that the council didn’t want to leave the country with a “legacy of debt.”

But Egypt’s  foreign currency reserves have been so depleted that the country asked the IMF for a loan in January. In discussion is an 18 month debt facility in the approximate amount  US$3.2 billion.

If an agreement with the IMF is able to be obtained, it’s likely that Egypt will also be able to find debt from other sources as well. It’s widely agreed that the country’s oil rich neighbors would also step up to the bar.

But concerns that an IMF loan can be obtained are significant, due to the IMF wanting assurances that Egypt would adhere to an IMF mandated  economic program. The stumbling block on the Egyptian side to a deal with the IMF is the requirement for parliamentary approval, which would need the support of various factions including the military and the Islamist parties that dominate the parliament.

Reports from Washington also indicate that the IMF is concerned about transparency and better “social accountability.” These factors could be a major road block to an IMF loan, especially with the recent government campaign against NGOs operating in the country which resulted in criminal proceedings against 43 foreigners, including 19 American citizens.

But if no IMF funds are forthcoming, concerns have been raised that the continuing decline of Egypt’s economy  could hasten even more social unrest, with an outcome that could be even less friendly to the West.

It’s not a surprise that there are more than 500 companies on the list. But, it’s likely that most of the companies listed will never be able to go public in China. Typically companies have to wait for up to two years to go public. Then, then their ability to actually proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) is limited by regulatory review and market conditions.

In 2011 more than 250 companies raised a total of $45.1 billion through IPOs in Shenzhen and Shanghai, down 41 percent from 2012. Preliminary estimates for this year indicate that the amount to be raised through IPOs and the number of companies going public in China this year will be about the same as last year.

There is no question that most Chinese companies prefer going public in China, rather than overseas. With many if not most of the companies who have indicated a desire to go public in China never being able to do so, the ability to go public overseas may increasingly be more attractive.

India is the world’s fifth largest coffee producer, although it exports almost 80% of its production as tea has long been the Country’s beverage of choice. That being said, coffee is gaining popularity, particularly with India’s growing affluent and urban populations. It seems that India’s middle class is embracing cafes, demonstrating their willingness to pay much more for a cup of coffee than at traditional restaurants. If all goes well, India’s first Starbucks will be up and running by year-end. (Apparently, the plan has been delayed on account of difficulties in acquiring real estate).

So, is Starbucks the new economic growth bellwether? Could be. In November, India’s cabinet abandoned a rule against foreign single-brand retailers operating stores without a local partner, paving the way for global companies, including Starbucks and Ikea, to enter the market and reopening a similar push for multi-brand retailers like Wal-Mart, who have long been looking for a foothold with India’s 1+ billion consumers.

Today more appropriately the slogan should be “Go to China Young Men and Women.” As the U.S. and Europe continue to wrestle with high unemployment, fiscal issues and lack of economic growth, China is now a beneficiary of young and educated Americans and Europeans moving to China.

According to the Chinese government’s 2010 census, nearly 600,000 foreigners lived in China that year, and all indications are that the number has increased substantially since then.

As reported in the Wall Street Journal, Ian Hoorneman, who graduated from Harvard Business School with an MBA moved to Beijing in 2009. He stated to the WSJ, “In the next 20 years there will be an opportunity for me to earn a lot more money in China than the sum I could earn in the US.”

May head hunters, and niche market employment agencies have seen increasing numbers of people seeking out China as a promising destination for employment.

Fenj Lijuan of 51job.com, a China based human resources firm has indicated that her pool of foreign talent now approximates 300,000, an increase of 150 percent compared to the number of people who had used her site in 2008. She also indicated that 65,000 people had used her site so far this month to seek out foreign opportunities. Most of the opportunities provided by her website are in the insurance, hotel, environmental protection, electronics, auto, insurance and finance industries.

Feng was also quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying, “… Chinese enterprises are longing for more professionals from the United States, Europe and Japan. Foreign professionals are always recruited by a company to lead a team and train local high-end talent.”

In addition to those seeking employment opportunities in China, the number of college students and recent college graduates seeking internships in China has been growing as well.

It’s clear that the lack of opportunities for recent graduates in the U.S. and Europe are fueling this interest. Young Americans and Europeans are also being lured by the continuing economic growth and opportunities in China.

With the economic and high unemployment in the United States and Europe more than likely to continue for years, the number of Americans and Europeans seeking opportunities in China should only increase.