Portugal’s residents again are gorging themselves on credit card spending, taking out mortgages and buying new vehicles in a record breaking splurge the likes of which have not been seen for ten years.
Mortgages are at the top of the list with numbers back to the heady days before the crisis but the Bank of Portugal appears untroubled, saying the credit boom simply is a result of people having more money and more people having jobs.
The 'Silves - Capital of Oranges' festival, on February 15, 16 and 17, has attracted over 70 exhibitors, related to oranges, wine, agriculture, regional products, confectionery, handicrafts and gastronomy, as well as exhibitors from various local associations and regional bodies.
Silves is the nation’s citrus capital and a series of conferences, in which national and international experts will discuss topics central to citrus producers, is backed up by an events programme including Cuca Rosetta, António Zambujo and Fole Percussion on the three evenings of the show.
The Islamic Centre in Tavira’s municipal museum will host, from March 9, an exhibition, ‘Palmyra, Queen of the Desert,’ displaying the photography of Luís Reina.
This show is a photo tour of Palmyra, an ancient city located in central Syria, classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980 and considered one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.
The beautifully shaped Casa do Forno in Silves, just down from the square below the Council building, is to be renovated after decades of dereliction.
The Council is being supported by EU funds to renovate the building and turn it into the Casa dos Vinhos.
After much opposition and claims of breaching of banking secrecy, a law requiring the Bank of Portugal to disclose to Parliament data on large debtors of those banks that received public aid has been published in Diário da República.
The Bank of Portugal now has 100 days to deliver an extraordinary report on large debtors of banks that in the last 12 years have received public aid.
Novo Banco is to demand €1.1 billion in taxpayers’ money in March, as is its right under the sales agreement arranged by the Bank of Portugal.
The current year’s national deficit target is 0.2% which is now set to more than double to 0.5% diue to Novo Banco’s cash call.
Silves Council is to build a caravan park in Messines as part of an expansion of the motorhome parking area network across Silves, Tavira and São Brás de Alportel.
The total cost of projects in these Council areas is €590,000, attracting a 70% grant from the European Regional Development Fund.
Águas do Algarve has landed a €2.4 million grant from the EC to increase its fresh water production output at the Alcantarilha plant.
The total spend is €4.8 million to allow the regional water supply company to cater for summer peaks in demand.
