Israel Active

At the end of June, unemployment had dropped to 5.5% - another all-time low.

75,000 apartments are under constructions – a 10 year high. Prices should fall soon.

Israel’s top 100 exporters increased their exports by 3.7% in Q2 2011 compared with Q1 2011. All four manufacturing sectors grew, with low-technology exports doing surprisingly well.

Global Finance awarded Bank of Israel chief Prof Stanley Fischer the top grade in its annual report. Bank of England’s Mervyn King got a ‘B’ and the US Fed’s Ben Bernanke got a ‘C’.

The expected rate of inflation for the next 12 months is down to 2.5%

Information between Israeli and US banks can flow much more freely now that a new Statement of Co-operation has been signed.

That’s what Saul Klein, one of Europe’s top venture capitalists, believes. He has moved his family to Tel Aviv to take advantage of the opportunities.

The giant US financial company stated that the Israeli economy "remains one of the most robust and well managed among both the developed and the emerging market economies."

Israel Chemicals’ factory in India manufactures specialised fertilisers. It has been so successful that the company is to build two more.

Eden Water wants to expand its UK distribution of water coolers to include coffee brewing machines. Hence its acquisition of the Shakespeare Coffee company.