Portugal Banks Don't Foresee Tapping Bailout Money

(PortugalTwitter)-LISBON, May 6 (Reuters) - With no clear winner emerging in opinion polls a month before Portugal's general election, the implementation of a EU/IMF bailout deal hinges on the debt-ridden nation's ability to field a broad coalition government, analysts say.

We expect to raise our ratio through our shareholders, markets and portfolio sales," Banco Comercial Portugues SA (BCP.LB) President Carlos Santos Ferreira said in a televised event, adding that fire sales won't happen.

Nonetheless, analysts agree that the sector’s capital shortfall is far less than €12bn ($17.5bn), with the big six banks between them requiring somewhere between €3bn and €4bn.

One explanation for the difference is that the €12bn also factors in the costs of Portugal’s banks adapting to new Basel III international capital standards, to be phased in from 2013.

In the short term, the implementation of the bailout deal doesn't seem to be in jeopardy regardless of the results of the election," said Elisio Estanque, a researcher at the Centre for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra.

Rasmus Rüffer, head of the ECB delegation, said the package was aimed at bringing about a balanced deleveraging of the banking system so that it could return to “a market-based funding position”.

Mr Thomsen said on Thursday that the €35bn mechanism to facilitate government-guaranteed bond issuance by the banks was no different from that used in other bail-outs. Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, said the bank had “absolutely no new concept and no new ‘window’

Eurasia Group analyst Antonio Barroso wrote in a research note that a coalition government including the Socialists "is the most probable outcome ...given the compelling political logic of sharing the responsibility for the reforms".

This would be good for the initial implementation of the package but negative in the long term because coalition governments in Portugal tend to be short-lived," he added.

Portugal Official Tourism

(PortugalTwitter)-Portuguese Republic, commonly known as Portugal, is a sovereign country principally located on the Iberian Peninsula in Southern Europe. Portugal is the westernmost country of continental Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira (including the Savage Islands) are also part of Portugal.

The land within the borders of today's Portuguese Republic has been continuously settled since prehistoric times. Some of the earliest civilizations include Lusitanians and Celtic societies. Incorporation into the Roman Republic dominions took place in the 2nd century BC. The region was ruled and colonized by Germanic peoples, such as the Suebi and the Visigoths, from the 5th to the 8th century. From this era, some vestiges of the Alans were also found. The Muslim Moors arrived in the early 8th century and conquered the Christian Germanic kingdoms, eventually occupying most of the Iberian Peninsula. In the early 12th century, during the Christian Reconquista, Portugal appeared as a kingdom independent of its neighbour, the Kingdom of León and Galicia. In a little over a century, in 1249, Portugal would establish almost its entire modern-day borders by conquering territory from the Moors.

During the 15th and 16th centuries, with a global empire that included possessions in Africa, Asia and South America, Portugal was one of the world's major economic, political, and cultural powers. In the 17th century, the Portuguese Restoration War between Portugal and Spain ended the sixty year period of the Iberian Union (1580–1640). In the 19th century, armed conflict with French and Spanish invading forces and the loss of its largest territorial possession abroad, Brazil, disrupted political stability and potential economic growth. After the Portuguese Colonial War and the Carnation Revolution coup d'état in 1974, the ruling regime was deposed in Lisbon and the country handed over its last overseas provinces in Africa. Portugal's last overseas territory, Macau, was handed over to China in 1999.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Portugal:

Portugal–Spain relations

(PortugalTwitter)-Portugal–Spain relations describes relations between the governments of the Portuguese Republic and the Kingdom of Spain. The two states make up the vast majority of the Iberian Peninsula and as such, the relationship between the two is sometimes known as Iberian relations.

In recent years, both countries enjoyed a much friendlier relationship. In 1986, they entered the European Union together, as well as both being Schengen countries.

Present

Current relations between Portugal and Spain are healthy. They cooperate in the fight against drug trafficking and forest fires (common in the Iberian Peninsula in summers), for example. These close relations are facilitated by similar governments: the government of conservative Spanish Prime Minister José María Aznar coincided with the government of also conservative José Manuel Durão Barroso in Portugal; today, both countries prime-ministers, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero of Spain and José Sócrates of Portugal are socialists. José Sócrates even claims that he has one of the best personal relations with José Zapatero among international political relation. These two countries had a bid to jointly host the 2018 World Cup, but it was lost to Russia.

Later disputes

There is an unsettled territorial dispute regarding the municipality of Olivenza/Olivença and the smaller town and municipality of Táliga, both administered as a part of the province of Badajoz, in the Spanish autonomous community of Extremadura. Portugal does not recognize Spanish sovereignty over this territory, which was acquired by Spain during the War of the Oranges in 1801. This matter is not pressed by the Portuguese government, which, however, never draws the frontier line in this area in official maps.

There is also some diffuse dispute regarding Portugal's Exclusive Economic Zone in the territorial waters of the Savage Islands (a small archipelago north of the Canary Islands), under Portuguese sovereignty. Spain objects on the basis that the Savage Islands do not have a separate continental shelf, according to the article 121 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The status of the Savage Islands as islands or rocks is thus at the core of the current dispute. Today the Savage Islands constitute a natural reserve whose only year-round inhabitants are two wardens of Madeira's Natural Park. Over the years the Portuguese authorities have seized some Spanish fishing boats around the area for illegal fishing.

Azores

(Portugal Twitter)-Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. The Portuguese archipelago is located about 1,500 km (930 mi) west from Lisbon and about 3,900 km (2,400 mi) east from the east coast of North America. The archipelago, and economic exclusion zone, forms the Autonomous Region of the Azores, one of the two autonomous regions of Portugal. Its main industries are: agriculture, dairy farming (for cheese and butter products primarily), minor livestock ranching, fishing and tourism, which is becoming the major service activity in the region. In addition, the government of the Azores is responsible for employing a large percentage of population directly or indirectly in many aspects of the service and tertiary sectors.

There are nine major Azorean islands and an islet cluster, in three main groups. These are Flores and Corvo, to the west; Graciosa, Terceira, São Jorge, Pico and Faial in the centre; and São Miguel, Santa Maria and the Formigas Reef to the east. These extend for more than 600 km (370 mi) and lie in a northwest-southeast direction. The vast extent of the islands defines an immense exclusive economic zone of 1,100,000 km2 (420,000 sq mi). The westernmost point of this area is 3,380 km (2,100 mi) from the North American continent. All of the islands have volcanic origins, although some, such as Santa Maria, have had no historical activity since the islands were settled. Mount Pico, on the island of Pico, is the highest point in Portugal, at 2,351 m (7,713 ft) in altitude.

Culture

Azoreans have developed their own distinct regional identity and cultural traits, from a combination of continental Portuguese customs brought by various waves of immigration and local political and environmental factors.

Religious festivals, patron saints and traditional holidays mark the Azorean calender. The most important religious events are tied with the festivals associated with the Cult of the Holy Spirit, commonly referred to as the festivals of the Holy Spirit (or Espírito Santo), rooted in millenarian dogma, and held on all islands from May to September. These festivals are very important to the Azorean people, who are primarily Roman Catholic, which combine profane religious rituals and processions celebrating the benevolence and egalitarianism of neighbours. These events are centred around treatros or impérios, small buildings that host the meals, adoration and charity of the participants, and used to store the artefacts associated with the events. On Terceira, for example, these impérios have grown into ornate buildings painted and cared for by the local brotherhoods in their respective parishes. The events are normally closed to the public (confined to the members of the parish brotherhoods), although some limited events have been organized by the tourist-friendly populous, including the a public event held by the city government in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, which attracts visitors and locals.

Tourism in Madeira

(Portugal Twitter)-Tourism is an important sector in the region's economy since it contributes 20% to the region's GDP, providing support throughout the year for commercial, transport and other activities and constituting a significant market for local products. The share in Gross Value Added of hotels and restaurants (9%) also highlights this phenomenon. The island of Porto Santo, with its 9 km (5.6 mi) long beach and its climate, is entirely devoted to tourism. Over the past decade it has recorded a substantial increase in its hotel accommodation capacity.

Development in Madeira is considered to have future potential since the necessary infrastructure has been established and adequate investment incentives have been introduced for expanding its hotel and catering structure in a controlled manner. Nature conservation is seen as important because it is a major draw for tourists to Madeira.

Visitors are mainly from the European Union, with German, British, Scandinavian and Portuguese tourists providing the main contingents. The average annual occupancy rate was 60.3% in 2008, reaching its maximum in March and April, when it exceeds 70%.

European Union citizens of the Schengen Treaty area can enter the islands freely, while those from other regions need identification.

There were in 2009, 7.105 legal immigrants living in Madeira Islands. They come mostly from Brazil (1.300), the UK (912), Venezuela (732) and Ukraine (682), according to SEF.

The Islands have two airports, Funchal Airport on the Island of Madeira and the other in the island of Porto Santo. Flights to the islands are mostly made from Lisbon and Porto, but there are also direct flights from other major European cities and other countries, like Brazil, Venezuela, and South Africa.

Transport between the two main islands is by plane or ferries, the latter also carrying vehicles. Visiting the interior of the islands is now easy thanks to construction of the Vias Rápidas, major roads built during Portugal's economic boom. Modern roads reach all points of interest on the islands. The old, curving mountain roads are still an excellent way to tour the island. Funchal has an extensive public transportation system. Bus companies, including Horários do Funchal which has been operating for over a hundred years, have regularly scheduled routes to all points of interest on the island.

Serra da Estrela

(Portugal Twitter)-Serra da Estrela (English: Mountain Range of the Star) is the highest mountain range in Continental Portugal and one of the highest in the Sistema Central. It includes mainland Portugal's highest point at 1,993 m (6,539 ft) above mean sea level at its highest point (the summit of the Pico mountain in the Portuguese Azores islands is higher, however). This point is not a distinctive mountain summit, but rather the highest point in a plateau, being known as Torre ("Tower" in English). Torre has the unusual feature of being a summit that is accessible by paved road. The peak has a topographic prominence of 1204 m and its parent peak is Pico Almanzor, in Spain.

There is a ski resort at the summit, named Vodafone Ski Resort.

The mountain range, situated between the municipalities of Seia, Manteigas, Gouveia, Guarda and Covilhã, is about 100 km (62.14 mi) long and is 30 km (18.64 mi) at its widest point. It is formed from a huge granite ridge that once formed the southern frontier of the country. Due to its bizarrely shaped crags and gorges, mountain streams and lakes, beautiful forests and magnificent views, the area ranks among Portugal’s outstanding scenic attractions.

Serra da Estrela cheese

Queijo Serra da Estrela (Serra da Estrela cheese) is a soft cheese from the region of Serra da Estrela. The recipe has more than 2000 years. It is made from cardoon thistle, raw sheep's milk and salt. The cheese is soft and gooey. The cheese becomes harder and chewier as the time goes by.

Rivers

There are three rivers that have their headwaters in the Serra da Estrela: the Mondego, which is the biggest river entirely within Portuguese territory; and the Zêzere, which is a tributary to the Tagus; a tributary of the Mondego, the Alva also has its headwaters in the range. It is 1691 metres high.

Nature Park

The mountain range is now part of the Serra da Estrela Natural Park and offers plentiful skiing opportunities in the ski resort of Loriga, Seia Municipality.

Serra da Estrela dog

The Cão da Serra da Estrela (Estrela Mountain Dog) is a breed of livestock guardian dog that takes its name from this region.