Israel's economy slaan die Kol

Israel is country is constantly mired in complex problems: the Palestinian issue, extreme political flux in neighbours like Syria and Egypt, nuclear threat from Iran. It has a population about the same as London's - 7.5m people - and occupies a tiny stretch of land not quite as big as the state of Vermont in the USA. But it has one heck of an economy. Economic growth has chugged along at an average of around 4% for many years despite an almost constant state of regional crisis. Inflation is low at around 2% and has fallen steadily over the past decade. The population is rising at around 2% pa. At the head of the central bank is Stan Fischer. Nowadays called an 'Israeli-American' he was actually born in Lusaka, Zambia (which was Northern Rhodesia at the time) - the same country as my Mom. He has an unmistakably southern African accent, even today. Over 130 Israeli companies are listed on Wall St and the country boasts it's own version of Silicon Valley which bristles with hi-tech start-ups. Where the US version has a high percentage of consumer product innovation, Israel is more into business solutions. It simply doesn't have the population to experiment on, like the USA. The next step in the economy is the proposed break-up of its extensive conglomerates to increase competition. Israel is testimony to the idea that a high state of tension is good for the creative juices. The QSL is from Kol Israel, heard on AM 657 in 2000 while I was on a business trip to Istanbul.

Skipping through profitable Schiphol

Another quick roadshow in Europe. This time I really pushed it, doing five cities in three days: Frankfurt, Copenhagen, Stockholm, The Hague and Paris. Last week it was really cold in these places with Frankfurt recording minus 15 but it warmed up in time and everything progressed without a hitch. To get to The Hague you pass through Schiphol, Amsterdam's airport. This is a busy place with nearly 50 million passengers pouring through per annum. For some strange reason, KLM, the national airline, doesn't seem to get very good slot positions at the airport so on internal European flights you always have to walk for yonks before you get clear. The airport is very profitable, booking a net of Euro 194m  last year, up about 15% on 2010. The Dutch government has continued to hang tough with the Germans on Greece and for the umpteenth time there was another cliffhanger through the week as the Eurozone north piled the pressure on Greece to pass swingeing austerity measures to comply with the terms of the second Euro 130bn bail-out - that is not small change! Labour costs in Greece and other peripherals are coming down sharply now which will render them more competitive but they face very tough times before they can reap any benefits. The QSL is from Radio Bloemendaal, the Dutch religious broadcaster, heard on AM from Kent in 2002.

Not enough to go in the Volvo

This year's Volvo Ocean race is just a little bit boring. Team Telefonica has won all three legs and looks a shoe-in for overall winners by the time they reach the final destination of Galway in July. Leg three finished last week in Sanya on the Chinese island of Hainan, having started in Mahe on the Maldive Islands. Leg 2 from Cape Town was distinguished by its finish at a mysterious undisclosed port whence the boats were shipped to Abu Dhabi. This was repeated to get them  to the start at Mahe. All this because of worries about the wretched pirates in the north-west Indian Ocean. I think the Volvo race is a thrilling concept and we saw the start in Cape Town of the previous race in 2008. It was stunning to watch these boats powering through Table Bay, waters I know well from sailing in various yachts. But this year it seems that the designs are too finely tuned and there have been a number of failures. This is not on when you only have a field of six. They should reduce the specs to allow for less equipment error and more sailor skill. This might also attract more entrants. I feel the Americas Cup is making a similar mistake: the advanced design parameters are putting the race out of the reach of many potential competitors leaving it in the hands of all but the very rich. The QSL is from the Maldive Islands Broadcasting Service, heard on short-wave on the strange frequency of 4740 kHz from Cape Town way back in 1968. It's one of those weird cards where they indicate that your report was correct or incorrect. Imagine the disappointment if you got one that was marked 'inaccurate!'

Leave Andaman man alone

The Andaman Islands are in the news. It seems that Indian police and military personnel have organised human safaris to observe remote tribal people living there. The islands first came to the attention of the surfing community in 1998 when a group of professional surfers worked several reefs on the islands. Jack Johnson, the Hawaiian more widely known for his cool pop songs, featured Andaman surfing clips in the movie Thicker Than Water which he filmed and for which he recorded the soundtrack. The islands were also featured in the Sherlock Holmes novel The Sign of The Four. We have recently seen the 1987 TV adaptation with Jeremy Brett as the great detective. It starred a savage-looking Andaman islander who shot poisoned darts, one of which ended up in Holmes' scarf. When I was studying economics at university we often used to debate whether 'civilised people' should interfere with and try to change 'indigenous people.' Who says that local tribes living remotely and out of contact with the mainstream world aren't happy? Once exposed to modern society the chances are their ancient cultures will be destroyed. The QSL is from All India Radio, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, broadcasting from Port Blair on 60mb, heard on a DXpedition to Sheigra, north-west Scotland in 1996. One of the classics signed by A.K. Bhatnagar. It was always a thrill when one of these postcards turned up in the mail.