Stretched households in Britain have been given a bit of a reprieve as consumer goods and clothing prices have dropped considerably.

The fall in June was at the steepest rate in the last eight years and the 14th consecutive month of declines.

A second German has come under investigation in the spying row between the US and Germany.

German authorities searched the house of an employee of a defence ministry who is suspected of spying.

Seven million people in Britain alone have lost money because they do not understand their consumer rights, according to new research.

Research by price comparison site uSwitch.com found that nearly two fifths (38%) of shoppers do not know what their rights are, while only 4% say that they fully understand them.

The government’s Miguel Poiares Maduro announced this step forward at the signing ceremony for the ‘Espaços do Cidadãos,’ mini versions of the 'Loja do Cidadão' system as can be found above the main market in Faro.

The Agency for Administrative Modernisation will oversee the installation of the units across the Algarve in cooperation with local councils, according to Maduro, the Deputy Minister for Regional Development.

Faro council has spotted that the roadworks lying half-finished at the east end of town are still covered in weeds, untouched since the announcement by Secretary of State for Infrastructure, Transport and Communications, Sérgio Monteiro that the project would be restarted and all would be well.

Faro council has become tired of waiting and now requires concrete information from the Ministry on the resumption of work on the Variant North - connecting the Via do Infante to Faro and São Brás - and indeed, on the section of the EN 125 pothole system that runs through the Faro council area.

‘Irregularities’ in the use of funds sent to Portugal under the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) have been spotted and the European Commission is insisting on the return of the money.

Portugal is not alone, but this is no excuse for fiddling and a total of €57 million from 15 member states has been identified for repayment as it has been obtained or spent outside the conditions of grant aid, or for fines for late reporting.

The OECD said today that Portugal should "continue to broaden the scope of application of the standard rate of VAT," arguing that reduced rates for certain sectors, including restaurants, "is an inadequate method" of promoting employment.

In a blow to Portugal’s restaurant and café sector which has seen more than 50,000 of its members’ businesses fold during the recession, a report out today with the nifty title 'Portugal: consolidation of structural reforms to support growth and competitiveness', which was commissioned by the Portuguese Government,  the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reported that Portugal reduced VAT rates generated substantial revenue losses.

The Bank of Portugal has released its May figures for bad debt amongst Portugal’s residents, the numbers do not make happy reading.

In fact the volume of bad debt is the highest ever recorded, bringing distress, family break ups, medical problems and despair to a growing section of society.