Both Zara and Pull & Bear are closing down in Faro’s main shopping street.

Inditex, the group that controls the two clothing retail brands, has come under immediate fire from the local Social Democratic party’s Ofélia Ramos who has expressed her, "amazement and concern" about the announced closures and the "serious damage" that this action will bring to "all operators and for the traditional commerce of the county.”

The pain continues for shareholders in Portugal’s privatised post office, CTT, as the company’s share price today dropped a further 9% in reaction to stiffer targets set by the regulator.

The new performance rules for postal services, announced yesterday by Anacom, have been poorly received in the market and triggered an equally  poor day’s trading at the Portuguese stock exchange.

The Secretary of State for Energy has given the go-ahead for six solar power farms in the Algarve and Alentejo, an aggregated investment of €206 million. 

These solar panel farms will produce electricity from sunlight and are to be paid for by Hyperion Energy Investments for the plants in Ferreira do Alentejo, Bensafrim and Moura, by Goldiport Solar in Lagoa and by Goldnalco in Alcoutim.

Works to electrify the sections of the Algarve railway line between Vila Real de Santo António and Faro, and between Tunes and Lagos, will be launched in 2018, to be completed in 2020.

Pedro Marques, Minister of Planning and Infrastructures, announced the welcome news today in Faro: he made the same announcement in Portimão a year ago.

A Maritime Police patrol boat, chasing a fishing boat suspected of illegal fishing in the Ria Formosa, collided at speed with a second boat with two people on board, a father and his 40-year-old son.

The accident happened at 06:30 this morning in the Ria Formosa lagoon near Faro.

Anacom, the regulator tracking the performance of Portugal’s post offices, today announced 24 new service indicators for the privatised business, and aims to guarantee a "higher level of quality of the universal postal service" by 2020, through "more demanding goals.”

According to the regulator, "in addition to a quality standard for each service in terms of speed of delivery, a reliability goal has been established that should be fulfilled in 99.9% of cases."

A left-hand drive Aston Martin DB5 with original Portuguese registration has made almost €1 million at auction.

The hammer price comfortably exceeded the Bonhams estimate and went for €936,000.

A brand reorganisation by holding company Adeo will see its Leroy Merlin and Aki stores merging in Portugal and other countries.

The management of the French group of interconnected companies intends to join the two DIY, construction, decoration and garden businesses into one to supply the Portuguese market.