Foreign tourists in Spain have spent more than ever before during the first six months of this year.

The record high amounted to €37.1 billion, according to the Tourist Expenditure Survey report.

The management of the Sines and Algarve Port Authority (APS) has excelled itself by launching yet another survey to add to the long list of delaying tactics employed to deny Portimão the lifeblood needed to start to regenerate the struggling Algarve municipality.

The management of APS is ‘expected to launch in the coming weeks’ a tender for some market research and an economic feasibility study on ‘the possibility of carrying out works’ at the port of Portimão to see if enabling larger cruise ships to dock will be cost effective.

The Spanish woman who was fined €800 for putting a picture of a police car on Facebook has seen that fine scrapped.

The photo showed a police car parked illegally in a disabled parking bay in Alicante.

The Portuguese stock exchange bounced back today as it recovers from Black Monday with the PSI 20 gaining 4.16%, having lost losing nearly 8% earlier in the week.

Investors worldwide have been responding to the stabilisation plans and stimulation of the economy by the Chinese government with the Chinese central bank dropping interest rates for the fifth time since last November.

Nearly half of Novo Banco’s overseas account holders have accepted the weak solution offered by the bank’s management.

Of the approximately 8,000 customers owed €700 million and registered as living outside of Portugal, 3,500 with deposits in the Poupança Plus and Top Renda offerings have gone for the offer proposed by Novo Banco boss Sock da Cunha.

Portuguese high street bank Banco Português de Investimento (BPI) is to close 25 further branches at the end of September as part a cost reduction drive

The Portuguese bank is run by Fernando Ulrich who said at the presentation of the half year results that costs were an issue. 

A painful virus inflection introduced by mosquitoes has been detected in Spain.

This is the first domestic case of the disease for someone who had not travelled to an area where it is prevalent.

People in Spain have increasingly turned to smoking cannabis, particularly in private clubs where it is allowed if not encouraged.

The popularity of such clubs has helped drive up cannabis use to the point where Spain now is believed to have the highest consumption of any country after Iceland and the US. It overtook the Netherlands to gain third position.