On the opening day of BLiP Expo at the Portimão Arena, local mayor Isilda Gomes, visited the show and was delighted to visit the Bombeiros stand to witness the handover of the first mobile defibrillator of Operation Shock. See the BLiP video -  https://youtu.be/-dUUvVAWc64

Operation Shock is a collaboration between afpop, the exhibition organiser and largest association for expatriates in Portugal, and the Federation of the Fire Services of the Algarve.

The aim of Operation Shock is to provide this lifesaving defibrillator equipment for the region’s first response teams in each Bombeiros area, of which there are 17.

At the moment only the yellow INEM emergency vehicles are automatically equipped with defibrillators, meaning that if one of the red Bombeiros ambulances is despatched to an incident and the patient suffers cardiac arrest at the scene or during transport to the hospital, manual CPR is the only option for the attending nurse.

If you work for a company that helps with the cost of lunches, daycare tuition, schooling and nursing home costs, you should consider using these allowances in the form of electronic cards or specific discount vouchers to achieve greater tax savings. Both you and your employer will find them fiscally advantageous.

The same fundamental principle works across the board with most forms of these discount cards and vouchers. Rather than you paying for expenses from after-tax earnings, your employer supports these expenses via discount cards and vouchers as part and parcel of your remuneration package. These payments are considered deductible running costs in the company’s books, not wages.

Is pricing of products and services a science or a Black Art? I believe it is a science. One which is easy to learn and not as complex as many would have you believe.

In my last article, What is Your Pricing Strategy?, I mentioned how the font you use can make a difference. Well it isn’t the only way to make your prices more attractive.

Here are three more pricing strategies that are easy to understand, learn and apply to your business.

The European Investment Bank (EIB) is granting a €29 million loan to support the investment programme of Sonorgás aimed at expanding its natural gas distribution networks to new areas in northern Portugal.

This investment will "increase and improve the security of energy supply in the country and contribute to economic growth and job creation in an EU cohesion region."

Business support service company, Neomarca, has launched an online survey that explores the attractiveness of the Algarve to businesses, and how businesses can better be supported in the future.

This survey collects information that will be presented to local, regional and national authorities, alongside other key research that Neomarca is producing.

There are many reasons for having your own web site, you may have a small business, be involved with a club, charity or organisation, or may just want a site with information about yourself for friends and family to look at. These days the internet is the first place people turn for almost everything, and as a small business, club or organisation you're almost invisible without an internet presence. You need a professional looking website that shows the public who you are and what you do, and you need to be able to update the information on your site yourself, as and when necessary. Algarve Website Design offer the perfect solution.

There are a lot of reasons to be in business. For some it is about autonomy and freedom. Others talk about having a passion for their business area.

But for the majority money plays a part.
So finding ways to optimise the money element of the business seems to make sense for the majority. That being so I’m always amazed that so few have investigated pricing strategies and the psychology behind how people perceive value and what they are prepared to pay.

In Portugal, two foreign companies dominate the market for ice cream and prevent small enterprises making any progress outside their local municipalities or outside city limits.

Although criticized by several government departments, the big companies obtained court injunctions so that that, individually, each artisan ice cream maker can operate in his own area, but will have problems trying outside.