But among local leaders, only Israel's foreign minister, Shimon Peres, a 77-year-old practitioner of positive thinking, bothered to speculate aloud about where three or four weeks of quiet might lead: to a spate of confidence-building measures, to renewed peace negotiations, even, in time, to "a new Middle East".
But a spate of no-confidence motions, a walkout by a large number of opposition MPs last month in an attempt to force an earlier general election and some controversial reforms leave his government vulnerable to opposition attacks.
So while stock investors may take the recent spate of deals as a sign of confidence in the economy, they shouldn't get too excited.
On Wednesday, after months in which a spate of motions to declare no confidence in the government had failed, Parliament suddenly gave teeth to its protests and, in a preliminary bill, voted to disperse and head to new elections.
Going into the tournament having lost only once in 12 matches, England will be full of confidence despite a tough draw and a spate of injuries.
The spate of bankruptcies threatens to undermine travelers' confidence in budget carriers.
The carrier is also struggling to regain customer confidence after a spate of safety lapses prompted passengers to opt for a rival All Nippon Airways.
This autumn's spate of airline start-ups in Africa centring on Fastjet in the east and Gambia Bird in the west is a sign of confidence in the continent's rising economic fortunes.
That's to say nothing of the two major terror attacks on French soil within a year, along with a spate of smaller ones, which have destroyed public confidence in the French government.
TO many investors, Michael G. Oxley is the Ohio Republican who put partisan politics aside and helped write legislation meant to restore investor confidence after the worst spate of corporate misconduct since the 1929 crash.
Votes of confidence, all.
