ANA sidelines Beja airport

bejaThe president of the Business Association of the Alentejo Litoral, Filipe Pombeiro commented that Beja is a medium to long term project and that on balance, the first three years have been positive within the existing constraints.

"Despite all the constraints, Beja airport has made its way and has been asserting itself," said Pombeiro, adding that "the movement of aircraft more than doubled from 2012 to 2013.”

New Faro - Paris route opened by Dutch operator

transaviatransavia.com joins easyJet and Ryanair in offering direct flights from Faro to Paris. Starting tomorrow  Saturday 12th April there will be two more flights to choose from as transavia launches a Mondays and Friday option.

"The opening of a Faro - Paris route is one more indication that consumers show an increasing appetite for our proposals," said the deputy director general of the transavia.com.

Government intent on auctioning the Miró collection

miroState-owned company Parvalorem has been looking closely at various options for the Miró collection of paintings - but only as a plan B to swing into action if the June auction by Christie’s in London is unsuccessful.

If the 85 pieces are not sold, Parvalorem may then offer the remaining lots to interested parties. It already has been offered €50 million by a Portuguese businessman, well over the auction estimate of €32 million but still well below the BPN asset valuation of over €80 million.

Nuns in front-line prostitution work

stockingsSpanish nuns are working with police in London to rescue women trafficked into prostitution.

The new approach was adopted by police after they realised that nuns can win the confidence of the frightened women and can also help persuade them to bring charges against the gangs which smuggled them into the UK.

UK salary hikes outpace rent rises

britishmoneySalary rises in the UK will overtake rent increases this year for the first time since 2009.

As a result, the squeeze on disposable income for householders should lessen after five long years.

Too much consumer spending, Britain told

imfBritain has been told that its economy remains too reliant on consumer spending to make meaningful growth, according to the IMF.

Its director has urged the UK to push harder on exports and business investments to ensure the economy is “three engines powered”.

Calls to close London City Airport

cityoflondonCity Airport should be closed because it has little direct contribution to the UK economy, according to the independent think tank New Economics Foundation.

The report said the airport has only 2.4% of London’s total flight capacity. The airport caters predominately to business travellers.

Portuguese gloomy over finances, or maybe just realistic

taxPortugal is the 2nd gloomiest country in Europe, or maybe the second most realistic, second only to bombed-out Greece when it comes to personal finances.

The Portuguese remain downbeat with regard to their financial positions, despite signs of general economic improvement that have emerged since the end of the 2013.