The price of gold has been more temperamental than a thermometer over the course of the last year.

At the beginning of 2013, it was selling at around $1,700 an ounce, then tipped down to a low of about $1,200 in June.

Portugal had made significant progress in recent years in modernising its economy and improving the quality of life for its citizens, according to a new report's preamble, but the financial crisis has seen an end all of that happiness nonsense.

In its latest report, ‘How's Life?’ the OECD shows that Portugal is among the 10 countries with the lowest quality of life, behind fun-loving Korea, Slovakia and Poland.

Occupancy of Portugal’s remaining hotels may have been at pleasing levels this summer but did the sector make any money?

The Hospitality Association of Portugal said today that hotel revenue actually dropped 9.17% this August compared to 2012 - a pretty dire year with which to compare figures.

Albufeira’s tourism board has been in Ireland at the over 50s show to promote itself as an out of season holiday location. The tourism promotional arm of Albufeira council was enjoying the delights of Dublin at the end of October with the objective of investing in markets and segments to help combat seasonality in Albufeira which, of all the Algarve’s regions, has the greatest reliance on the summer trade.

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Algarve in Faro is to become a reality in 18 months. Work started two weeks ago with a target completion date of summer 2015.

"The administrative process, from the preparation of the design, tendering and government approvals to move forward with the work took two and a half years," said João Guerreiro, rector of the University of Algarve (UAlg), indicating that the process had been time consuming but the medical school will be taking students in 2015/16.

The budget carrier has reached the conclusion that it has to do more to win business.  As a result, it announced that it will begin seat allocation starting in February 2014.

Its chief, Michael O’Leary, also confessed that the Ryanair website was "notoriously awful".

One in five skilled jobs in the UK is now filled by an immigrant because of a lack of skilled British graduates.

Companies are obliged to hire foreign-born workers in a range of “strategically important” areas because children in Britain continue to shun maths and science studies, according to a review commissioned by the government.

The trend for people in the UK to become sole traders took has risen in the past few years and now stands at 1.7 million.

Research conducted by the insurer LV= found there are 1.7 million "one-man-bands" operating in the UK. Some 27% of these generate an annual turnover in excess of £51,000 and 5% earn in excess of £150,000.