France’s prime minister has announced that Sunday trading will be permitted in major French towns and that museums will now open every day of the week.
The initiatives are part of France’s desperate reform attempts to bolster its flagging economy. The measures include ending the country’s 35-hour work week and dropping the top 75% tax rate by January.
Senior advisers in the Espírito Santo organisation made every effort to persuade their clients who had bank accounts in the Swiss subsidiary not to take advantage of the Portuguese government’s tax amnesty and to leave the money where it was, rather than transfer it to Portugal.
According to Correio da Manha, a letter sent by Compagnie Financière Espírito Santo to Portuguese millionaire depositors in its Swiss bank suggested that they could have trouble with the law if they repatriated funds to Portugal.
Zeinal Bava, the PT boss who quit for Brazil when the Rioforte loan scandal hit the headlines, has been kicked out of the Brazilian company Oi.
The official announcement will be made later this week but the departure of Zeinal Abedin Mahomed Bava from the COE job at the Brazilian telecoms giant marks the end of appointments that gave the distinct impression of rewarding failure.
Lloyds Bank is limiting its services for expats and has told them that now they can keep only their existing accounts.
Expats who have An “eSavings” account will not be able to switch to a different savings account with Lloyds due to a clause that requires holders to have a British address.
A driver who died two years ago is among 50 motorists that have been targeted by the tax office for serial non-payment of tolls on Portugal's formerly free motorways.
Jornal do Noticias revealed that 800 offenses have been logged against these die-hard toll evaders and that the tax office has lined them up for the maximum force collection process whereby their assets are to be seized and auctioned off to settle their debts.
An ATM for the virtual currency Bitcoin was installed amid much publicity in Lisbon last week and the Algarve is due to have its own machine shortly.
The Bank of Portugal is not happy and has issued stern warnings as to the "risks of using virtual coins.”
In the on-going battle of wills between Barcelona and Madrid over independence, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy has now called for talks about the planned referendum.
The call came after Catalan leader Artur Mas said the referendum would go ahead as scheduled despite a ruling by Spain’s Constitutional Court that such a referendum would be illegal
The Odiana Association is launching the Great Guadiana Pedestrian Route which adds to and links up the existing network of 19 shorter walks.
The total walk is now 65 kilometers which adds to the Algarve’s 'nature tourism' appeal for hikers, a key off season tourist sector.
