Portugal's government expects the sale of Novo Banco to go through "as soon as possible"
At issue are concerns for the country's finances, said the Minister of the Presidency, Marques Guedes (pictured), at a press conference that followed today’s meeting of the Council of Ministers.
French vintners are smiling this year as pundits say the conditions for the grapes are “near perfect, even idyllic”.
The recent hot, dry weather has been playing its part in keeping down grape rot and powdery mildew as well as bringing the grapes to maturity. Never likely to miss a moan, French farmers had been complaining about the very dry summer over much of the country’s vineyards, but that weather seems to be working towards their benefit.
The Financial Times reported today that Portugal in the near future will have "the lowest proportion of children" of any European population.
The description of a ‘perfect demographic storm’ was backed up by data confirming the country’s continuing low birth rate and the wave of emigration caused by the recession, both serving to transform Portugal into a society of single child families with an increasingly proportion of retirees to taxpayers.
Food safety officers from ASAE have impounded more than seven tons of food in a follow up operation after the recent "Street Food" event in Portimão.
The "Street Food" event took place between July 23 and August 2 in Portimão with up to 70 attendees ending up in the local hospital due to dodgy pork rolls purchased from the Mr Pig stand. A local shop was ordered to cease trading due to a worrying lack of hygiene.
In the period this year to August, 48 people have been ripped off by renting a house or apartment online, only to find that it does not exist.
Most cases have been in the Algarve with the internet scammers making off with between €200 and €2,000 per victim, according to the police who have been logging a disturbing number of complaints.
Ireland’s tax authorities have forced Airbnb to disclose Irish customer details to see if tax is being paid by property owners on their rental earnings.
An Airbnb spokesman told the Daily Mail: "We have informed hosts about the legal requirement for Airbnb Ireland to report host earnings to the Office of the Revenue Commissioners. This is a legal requirement for Airbnb Ireland - similar to our obligation to report host earnings in the US."
Bucking a national trend, bullfighting is set to resume in Spain’s northern city of San Sebastián.
A ban in place for the last three years has been lifted by the city’s recently elected coalition of the Basque Nationalist party and the Socialists. Ending the prohibition was one of the first actions the authorities took.
The Chinese group Anbang Insurance now is in exclusive negotiations to buy Novo Banco, announced the Bank of Portugal today.
Should Anbang Insurance fail to reach a satisfactory agreement, second in line is the US fund Apollo which is still keen. The other Chinese company, Fosun, is out of the running.
