Portugal’s favorite fish does not swim in Portuguese waters. Since the 16th century, Portuguese fishermen have sailed to Newfoundland in search of gadus morhua, more commonly known as codfish. The French call the bland-tasting fresh cod “cabillaud” and the more appetizing salted cod “morue.” In Portugal this distinction is superfluous because only the salted variety is appreciated. So, one word suffices: “bacalhau.”

Since cod has very little fat, once it is cured in salt, it keeps for a long time without becoming rancid. For this reason, dried codfish was often consumed by those who lived far from the coast in days of religious abstinence from meat like Christmas Eve.

The new Italian prime minister, Paolo Gentiloni, is to ask parliament to approve a loan of €20 billion to underwrite the stability of the country’s weak banks.

First in line could be Monte dei Paschi di Siena, the third largest Italian lender and the world’s oldest bank.  It has been trying to raise €5 billion in new private funding to prop itself up and avert government intervention.

Workers in France on basic pay were given a pre-Christmas disappointment on Monday when it was announced that the minimum wage would be raised by less than 1%.

The 0.93% increase is the equivalent of nine cents per hour, bringing the hourly wage to €9.76.  For full-time workers on 35 hours per week, the monthly income would be €1,466 before tax declining to take-home of €1,141 after tax.

Portugal’s Prime Minister today said that Portugal has the potential to grow its ports business due to the country's privileged location at the western gateway to Europe.

António Costa spoke at the ‘Strategy for the Increase of Port Competitiveness’ conference which took place in the booming port of Sines on Monday, December 19th.

How two ambulances managed to get involved in a serious accident in Castro Marim on the IC27 remains to be explained but the five vehicle crash left at least five people injured and blocked the road for hours.

One of the victims was said to be seriously injured as four light vehicles including two ambulances, and a heavy goods vehicle collided at around noon today on the IC27 in the Azinhal area.

The Minister of Planning and Infrastructure, Pedro Marques, certainly has a way with words but few in the Algarve have any further patience with his vague assurances that the EN125 roadworks will recommence “within a few weeks, a month maybe...”

Adding insult to drivers’ intelligence, Pedro Marques said on Antenna 1 today that the renegotiations of the Baixo Alentejo and Algarve Litoral Public Private Partnerships, talks that are being blamed for the latest delays in the Algarve, "are already more advanced than they were before."

Lisbon, Cascais, Sintra and Oporto councils are among 20 municipalities following the lead set by Olhão as each is to raise local property rates bills by 300% for unoccupied or derelict buildings in their areas.

The 300% IMI rise is the maximum allowable under new laws and these councils are working with local Finanças offices to send out rates notices showing the higher figures.

The head of the International Monetary Fund has been found guilty of negligence but no penalty was meted out.

Christine Lagarde, 60, was judged guilty of negligence when, as France’s finance minister, she approved an enormous payout of taxpayer’s money to a controversial French businessman.