Gulbenkian Foundation gets out of the oil business

oilrig2In a seismic shift in policy, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is selling its Partex oil and gas interests and is to invest in sustainable energy,  "in line with the international movement followed by other foundations.”

The Foundation owns 100% of Partex and is "currently in the process of negotiations with an interested group," to sell the oil company. 

Bank of Portugal tightens mortgage lending

bop3The Bank of Portugal has decided that Portugal’s lenders have been advancing too much money to the nation’s borrowers and is imposing restrictions to limit mortgages and personal credit.
 
Loan-to-value limits for property lending will be capped at 90% of banks’ valuations, unless the bank owns the property in question, in which case 100% is OK.

Ria Formosa islanders need €3,600 each to block latest demolition orders

DemolitionCulatraApril2017Ria Formosa islanders in receipt of a new round of demolition orders, authorised by an out-of-touch and duplicitous Ministry of the Environment, are going back to court to tackle the insistence by the State that their houses should not be there.
 
The residents of Farol and Hangares on the island of Culatra, had been assured that their properties would not be touched as they had been recognised by the court in Loulé either as principal homes or as belonging to shellfishermen and fishermen.

Judges and football magnates arrested in Operation Lex

RuiRangelOperation Lex has been spread across Portugal’s media in the past 48 hours, involving the arrest of prominent figures in the football and legal world.
 
The Supreme Court of Justice has welcomed the operation, with the first round of questioning for five detainees starting on Wednesday and continuing today, Thursday February 1st, at the Lisbon court.

MINISTER, PLEASE DON’T KILL ALGARVIANS!

EN125RoadsideOn November 25th, 2016 the business newspaper Vida Económica published a column with the title above. Last week four people died on the EN125, many more were seriously injured, writes Jack Soifer.
 
For decades, there have been no roundabouts in Northern Europe like those on the EN125. In these countries they use an intelligent software.

Frasquilho re-elected TAP chairman despite offshore bung allegations

TAPChairmanFrasquilhoMiguel Frasquilho, facing deep concerns as his suitability to chair TAP after receiving funds from an Espírito Santo Group offshore slush fund, said today that he is "deeply calm" with his re-election to the boardroom.
 
Miguel Frasquilho, his parents and his brother received total payments close to €98,000 from Espírito Santo Enterprises between July 25, 2006 and October 5, 2011. 

Portugal's unemployment reduction among the best in Europe

construction2Portugal’s unemployment rate at the end of 2017, compared to the end of the previous year,  fell from 10.2% to 7.8%, the third largest reduction in the EU, according to data revealed by Eurostat.
 
The unemployment across the eurozone  fell to 8.7%, compared to 9.7% at the end of December 2016 and in all the EU's countries, the rate fell from 8.2% to 7.3% over the same period.

Portuguese Environment Agency boss says "pulp mills are to blame" for Tagus pollution

FishDeadThe Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) has confirmed that the pulp mills above the Abrantes dam on the river Tagus have been responsible for the pollution that a week ago, carpeted the river in a layer of foam.
 
The APA held a press conference today during which its president explained that recent analyses of the polluted water showed high organic content (cellulose) that was not related to urban waste water, nor to the agricultural or livestock industries.