<div bgcolor=”#cccccc”><table width=”600″ border=”0″ align=”center” cellpadding=”0″ cellspacing=”0″ style=”background-color:#DDBF95; border: 1px solid #454545″> <tr> <td colspan=”2″ align=”center” bgcolor=”#DDBF95″ style=”font-family: Arial, Georgia, serif; font-size:50px; color:#666666; font-weight:bold;”><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF5x-BbM1b9″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/Sand and sea newsletter header.jpg” width=”800″ height=”170″></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width=”150″ rowspan=”4″ valign=”top” style=”padding-left:10px; padding-top:20px; padding-right:10px; line-height: 20px;”> <font face=”Arial”><font size=”4″><font color=”#000080″>Contents<br></font></font><li><font color=”#000080″>Market snapshot</font></li><li><font color=”#000080″>Market update</font></li><li><font color=”#000080″>In the news</font></li><li><font color=”#000080″>
Country profile</font></li><li><font color=”#000080″>And finally</font></li><br><hr><br><font size=”4″><font color=”#8B0000″>This month’s<br></font></font><font size=”4″><font color=”#8B0000″>Star property</font><br></font><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF5y-BbM1b0″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/Monchique CGI.jpg” height=”100″ width=”180″ border=”2″></a><br><br><font size=”2″><li><font color=”#8B0000″>5 star health resort</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>20% instant equity</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>2 year rental guarantee</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>Costs and taxes paid</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>Furniture pack included</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>Own for just £5,000</font></li></font><div style=”text-align: left;”><font color=”#000080″><span style=”font-size: large;”><strong><font color=”#000000″>
<span style=”font-weight: normal; font-size: medium;”><br></span></font></strong></span></font></div><div style=”text-align: center;”><span style=”font-size: small; “><font color=”#000080″><strong></strong></font><font color=”#A52A2A”><strong><font size=”5″>01235 553569</font></strong></font></span><br></div><font size=”2″><div style=”text-align: center;”><font color=”#000080″><strong><br></strong></font></div></font><hr><br><font size=”4″>Quick links</font><br><br><div align=”center”><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF5z-BbM1b1″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/UK House.jpg” width=”100″ height=”80″></a><br><strong><font size=”2″>Latest property</font></strong><font size=”2″></font></div><font size=”2″></font><div align=”center”><font size=”2″><strong>availability</strong></font><strong></strong><br><br>
<a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF60-BbM1b8″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/vouchers cropped.jpg” width=”100″ height=”80″></a><br><strong><font size=”2″>Grab some John Lewis</font></strong><font size=”2″></font></div><font size=”2″></font></font><div align=”center”><font face=”Arial”><font size=”2″><strong>vouchers</strong></font><strong></strong><br><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF61-BbM1b9″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/9770/Training-110×75.gif” height=”80″ width=”100″></a><font size=”2″><br></font><strong><font size=”2″>FREE Property Investor’s Workshop</font><br><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF62-BbM1b0″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/Academy.jpg” height=”80″ width=”100″></a><font size=”2″><br></font><strong><font size=”2″>
FREE Property Investment Masterclass</font><br><br></strong><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF63-BbM1b1″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/News.jpg” height=”80″ width=”100″></a><br><span style=”font-size: small;”><strong>Newsletter archive</strong></span></strong></font><strong></strong></div><strong><br><hr></strong></td> <td width=”450″ style=”text-align: right;padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-top: 20px; border-bottom-width: 3px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(86, 86, 86); font-family: Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif; color: rgb(69, 69, 69); letter-spacing: 1px; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; “><strong>July 2010 </strong></td></tr> <tr>
<td width=”450″ style=”padding-bottom:5px; padding-left:5px; padding-top:20px; border-bottom: 3px dotted #565656; font-family: Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif; color:#000000; letter-spacing:1px; font-size:20px; font-style: italic;”><strong>Market snapshot</strong><br><br><span style=”font-family: Arial; font-size: small; “><strong><font face=”Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif” size=”6″><span style=”font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal;”></span></font>Global Interest Rates Exchange rates £1 buys:</strong></span><br><font size=”2″ face=”Arial”><table border=”2″ width=”481″ height=”223″><tr><td>UK</td><td>0.5%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>US Dollar</td><td>1.53</td></tr><tr><td>US</td><td>0.25%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>Euro</td><td>1.18</td>
</tr><tr><td>Euro zone</td><td>1.0%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>Yen</td><td>133</td></tr><tr><td>Japan</td><td>0.1%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>Australian Dollar</td><td>1.76</td></tr><tr><td>Australia</td><td>4.5%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>Canadian Dollar</td><td>1.61</td></tr><tr><td>Canada</td><td>0.5%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td><br></td></tr></table><br><table border=”2″ width=”420″ height=”40″><tr><td>Current sterling three month LIBOR rate – 0.73%</td></tr></table></font><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF64-BbM1b2″><img border=”0″ src=”https://www.currenciesdirect.com/images/content/affiliates/banners/cd_468×60.gif” width=”468″ height=”60″></a><br><br></td> </tr> <tr>
<td width=”450″ valign=”top” style=”padding-left:12px; padding-right:30px; padding-top:15px; padding-bottom:10px; font-family: Arial, Georgia, serif; font-size: 11px; color:#000000; text-align:justify; line-height: 15px;”><strong><font size=”4″>Market update</font><br></strong><br>The property market has continued to stabilise over the last month as continuing increases in supply cause prices to moderate. The emergency budget of June 22nd and the announcement of a higher rate of Capital Gains Tax for higher earners seems to have had little negative effect on the market. All the main market commentators broadly agree that prices will remain stable throughout the rest of the year adding to the growing stability of the sector.<br><br>
Confidence in property is still high and our recent survey shows that people are turning to property more than any other investment route as a safe place to invest their money. A huge 75% of people interviewed said that they believe bricks and mortar to be the best place in which to invest. To put this into perspective, just 2% highlighted shares as their favoured investment option.<br><br>
The Nationwide House Price Index reveals a small increase of 0.1% in the price of an average UK home for June. In agreement with this the Hometrack house price survey for June also revealed an overall increase of 0.1%. Commenting on the figures, Hometrack’s director of research, Richard Donnell said:” Over the last four months the supply of homes for sale has grown three times faster than demand – new supply has grown 15% compared to a 4.9% increase in demand. Speculation over changes to Capital Gains Tax and the abolition of Home Information Packs (HIPs) have been the drivers of supply growth. Despite the mis-match between supply and demand, sales volumes are still growing albeit off a very low base.”<br><hr><br><strong><font size=”4″>In the news</font></strong><br><br><strong>Inflation slows further in June</strong><br><br>
For the second month running the rate of inflation in the UK has slowed. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell from 3.4% in May to 3.2% in June whilst the Retail Prices Index (RPI) fell from 5.1% to 5%. This is welcome news and hopefully a trend that will continue over the coming months.<br><br>Although the CPI figure is still substantially above the Bank of England’s 2% target the downward trend will reduce pressure for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to raise interest rates.CPI inflation peaked at 3.7% in April and has remained above the 2% target since December 2009, although Governor Mervyn King has always maintained that it would moderate without the immediate need for interest rate rises.<br><br>
Only one member of the MPC has so far voted for a rise in interest rates. Andrew Sentance claims that loose monetary policy has contributed to the weakness of Sterling and therefore stoked inflation through the increased cost of imports. He points out that a gradual increase in interest rates in line with a gradual increase in economic recovery would help keep inflation in check.<br><br>One reason for the recent spike in inflation is believed to have been driven by the VAT rise back to 17.5%. With this in mind it is quite possible that a further rise in VAT to 20% will temporarily bolster prices again in January.<br><br> The Bank of England is confident that as the effects of the government budget cuts kick in and the pound stabilises, inflation should return to its 2% target over coming months.<br><hr><br><strong><font size=”4″>Country profile – Portugal</font><br></strong><ul><li><strong>
Full name</strong> – Portuguese republic</li><li><strong>Location</strong> – Iberian Peninsula, Western Europe</li><li><strong>Capital city</strong> – Lisbon</li><li><strong>Government</strong> – Parliamentary republic</li><strong></strong><li><strong>Currency</strong> – Euro<br><strong></strong></li><li><strong>Economy</strong> – 33rd by GDP (Nominal) (IMF)</li><li><strong>Population</strong> – 10.7m(UN 2009)</li><li><strong>Language</strong> – Portuguese</li></ul><br>Portugal is a country with a rich history of seafaring and discovery. By the 16th century the Portuguese empire embraced huge areas of South America, Africa and Asia. It’s era as a colonial power was brought to an end in 1999 when it handed over its last overseas territory, Macau, to the Chinese. Evidence of the Portuguese empire exists to this day with over 200 million Portuguese speakers outside of Portugal. <br><br>
A country of great diversity, the north is rugged and mountainous whilst the south features mostly rolling plains. The island chains of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal. The south of the country, which includes the Algarve region, enjoys a somewhat warmer and drier climate than the north. <br><br>Portugal joined the European Union in 1986 and since then has changed its heavily public sector biased economic model to embrace private investment and diversify into areas such as Information Technology and business services. Manufacturing and fisheries still account for a significant proportion of the economy, including the production of textiles and clothing, wood products and beverages.<br><br>Why invest in Portugal?<br><br>
Tourism plays a huge role in the Portuguese economy attracting visitors from every corner of the world. The Algarve is one Europe’s most favoured holiday destinations and a raft of new, world class, golf course resorts has succeeded in enticing golfers from the wealthy regions of Northern Europe and North America. This, along with Portugal’s beautiful climate has resulted in a year round tourist industry.<br><br>Portugal is also the third most favoured destination for second home ownership by the British, behind Spain and France. Easy and ever improving transportation links, good infrastructure, predictable climate, low cost of living and friendliness of the local population all account for this.<br><br>
Property in Portugal can be considerably cheaper that other popular European regions and foreign ownership is actively encouraged by the government. Year round rental potential, excellent rental returns and good capital growth potential all lend to making Portugal an excellent country in which to invest in property.<br><br>We are currently offering some incredible opportunities at a 5 star health spa resort in the Algarve region of Portugal with 20% instant equity, 2 year rental guarantee followed by profit share from year 3, and personal use each year for an incredible £5,000 including all closing costs and taxes.<br><br>Take a look at the property pages on our website http://www.w-wideproperty.com/CMS/Properties.php? for further information or call us on 01235 553569.<br><br><br><hr><br><strong><font size=”4″>And finally</font><br></strong><br>
Last month, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Andrew Sentance voted in favour of raising the interest rate by 0.25%. He is the first MPC member to have voted in favour of raising interest rates since August 2008, and he did it again this month. Could this be the beginnings of a growing trend? and if so are we looking at imminent interest rate rises?<br><br>I believe not.<br><br>Interest rates have now been at a historical low of 0.5% since March 2009. This is an astoundingly low level and in fact one that has never before been reached. To bring it into context, the lowest base rate level reached during the last 100 years was 2%; it remained for 7 years between 1932 and 1939.<br><br>
The MPC are involved in a complicated balancing act. On one side they have the threat of increasing inflation whilst on the other they have the risks attached with fledgling economic recovery. Although stability is returning to the housing market and wider economy, this recovery is fragile and carefull economic management is required to keep it on track and allow it to strengthen. <br><br>Inflation, although significantly above the Bank of England’s 2% target is on a downward trend and generally the committee is of the opinion that this will continue. If this is the case, then the pressure to raise the base rate in order to curb inflation diminishes. Interestingly, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) stood at 5% in September 2008, considerably more than the current 3.2% level.<br><br>
This reduction in pressure to increase rates is reinforced by the results of our most recent monthly survey. The number of people who believe that rates will increase during the next 12 months has reached its lowest level since January (63%).<br><br>I believe that raising interest rates at this stage is unnecessary and could cause some destabilisation of the housing market and reduce consumer spending, which in turn could have further reaching effects on the UK economy. Although I appreciate that the base rate will need to increase at some point, I think this is unlikely to happen before the effects of the VAT increase early next year have been assessed and economic recovery has become more established. Therefore, although I am of the opinion that rates could increase within the next 12 months, this is most likely to be towards the back end of this timeframe, and even then by only small increments.<br>
<br>If this scenario is correct then we have many more months to enjoy interest rates at levels that have never before been experience. What a great time to invest in property.<br><br>To your success<ul style=”text-align: left;”><font face=”Script MT Bold”><strong><em><font size=”5″>Kevin Wilkes<span><br><br><div align=”left”><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/Kevin-3.gif” border=”0″ height=”80″ width=”100″></div></span></font></em></strong></font></ul><ul><hr></ul></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=”2″ align=”center”></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=”2″ style=”font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#000000; font-size:10px; text-align:center; background-color: #A3A3A3; padding: 5px;”>The Worldwide Property Group, Suite A&B, The Courtyard, Lombard St, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 5SE<br>Tel: 01235 553569 Email: <a href=”mailto:enquiries@w-wideproperty.com”>
enquiries@w-wideproperty.com</a> Web: <a href=” http://www.w-wideproperty.com”>www.w-wideproperty.com</a><br><br><em><font color=”FFFFFF”>The Worldwide Property Group is a marketing agent for developers and whilst we endeavour to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this site, including figures and forecasts at the time of publication, the Worldwide Property Group does not guarantee or take responsibility for their accuracy. Images are representative of the types of property we offer and may not be of actual opportunities offered by us. Some images may be computer generated.</font></em><font color=”FFFFFF”></font></td> </tr></table></div>
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<div bgcolor=”#cccccc”><table width=”600″ border=”0″ align=”center” cellpadding=”0″ cellspacing=”0″ style=”background-color:#DDBF95; border: 1px solid #454545″> <tr> <td colspan=”2″ align=”center” bgcolor=”#DDBF95″ style=”font-family: Arial, Georgia, serif; font-size:50px; color:#666666; font-weight:bold;”><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF5x-BbM1b9″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/Sand and sea newsletter header.jpg” width=”800″ height=”170″></a></td> </tr> <tr> <td width=”150″ rowspan=”4″ valign=”top” style=”padding-left:10px; padding-top:20px; padding-right:10px; line-height: 20px;”> <font face=”Arial”><font size=”4″><font color=”#000080″>Contents<br></font></font><li><font color=”#000080″>Market snapshot</font></li><li><font color=”#000080″>Market update</font></li><li><font color=”#000080″>In the news</font></li><li><font color=”#000080″>Country profile</font></li><li><font color=”#000080″>And finally</font></li><br><hr><br><font size=”4″><font color=”#8B0000″>This month’s<br></font></font><font size=”4″><font color=”#8B0000″>Star property</font><br></font><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF5y-BbM1b0″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/Monchique CGI.jpg” height=”100″ width=”180″ border=”2″></a><br><br><font size=”2″><li><font color=”#8B0000″>5 star health resort</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>20% instant equity</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>2 year rental guarantee</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>Costs and taxes paid</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>Furniture pack included</font></li><li><font color=”#8B0000″>Own for just £5,000</font></li></font><div style=”text-align: left;”><font color=”#000080″><span style=”font-size: large;”><strong><font color=”#000000″><span style=”font-weight: normal; font-size: medium;”><br></span></font></strong></span></font></div><div style=”text-align: center;”><span style=”font-size: small; “><font color=”#000080″><strong></strong></font><font color=”#A52A2A”><strong><font size=”5″>01235 553569</font></strong></font></span><br></div><font size=”2″><div style=”text-align: center;”><font color=”#000080″><strong><br></strong></font></div></font><hr><br><font size=”4″>Quick links</font><br><br><div align=”center”><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF5z-BbM1b1″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/UK House.jpg” width=”100″ height=”80″></a><br><strong><font size=”2″>Latest property</font></strong><font size=”2″></font></div><font size=”2″></font><div align=”center”><font size=”2″><strong>availability</strong></font><strong></strong><br><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF60-BbM1b8″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/vouchers cropped.jpg” width=”100″ height=”80″></a><br><strong><font size=”2″>Grab some John Lewis</font></strong><font size=”2″></font></div><font size=”2″></font></font><div align=”center”><font face=”Arial”><font size=”2″><strong>vouchers</strong></font><strong></strong><br><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF61-BbM1b9″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/9770/Training-110×75.gif” height=”80″ width=”100″></a><font size=”2″><br></font><strong><font size=”2″>FREE Property Investor’s Workshop</font><br><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF62-BbM1b0″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/Academy.jpg” height=”80″ width=”100″></a><font size=”2″><br></font><strong><font size=”2″>FREE Property Investment Masterclass</font><br><br></strong><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF63-BbM1b1″><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/News.jpg” height=”80″ width=”100″></a><br><span style=”font-size: small;”><strong>Newsletter archive</strong></span></strong></font><strong></strong></div><strong><br><hr></strong></td> <td width=”450″ style=”text-align: right;padding-bottom: 5px; padding-left: 5px; padding-top: 20px; border-bottom-width: 3px; border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-color: rgb(86, 86, 86); font-family: Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif; color: rgb(69, 69, 69); letter-spacing: 1px; font-size: 20px; font-style: italic; “><strong>July 2010 </strong></td></tr> <tr> <td width=”450″ style=”padding-bottom:5px; padding-left:5px; padding-top:20px; border-bottom: 3px dotted #565656; font-family: Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif; color:#000000; letter-spacing:1px; font-size:20px; font-style: italic;”><strong>Market snapshot</strong><br><br><span style=”font-family: Arial; font-size: small; “><strong><font face=”Georgia, ‘Times New Roman’, Times, serif” size=”6″><span style=”font-size: 20px; font-weight: normal;”></span></font>Global Interest Rates Exchange rates £1 buys:</strong></span><br><font size=”2″ face=”Arial”><table border=”2″ width=”481″ height=”223″><tr><td>UK</td><td>0.5%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>US Dollar</td><td>1.53</td></tr><tr><td>US</td><td>0.25%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>Euro</td><td>1.18</td></tr><tr><td>Euro zone</td><td>1.0%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>Yen</td><td>133</td></tr><tr><td>Japan</td><td>0.1%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>Australian Dollar</td><td>1.76</td></tr><tr><td>Australia</td><td>4.5%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td>Canadian Dollar</td><td>1.61</td></tr><tr><td>Canada</td><td>0.5%</td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td><br></td><td><br></td></tr></table><br><table border=”2″ width=”420″ height=”40″><tr><td>Current sterling three month LIBOR rate – 0.73%</td></tr></table></font><br><a href=”http://cp20.com/Tracking/t.c?BTQ7-AF64-BbM1b2″><img border=”0″ src=”https://www.currenciesdirect.com/images/content/affiliates/banners/cd_468×60.gif” width=”468″ height=”60″></a><br><br></td> </tr> <tr> <td width=”450″ valign=”top” style=”padding-left:12px; padding-right:30px; padding-top:15px; padding-bottom:10px; font-family: Arial, Georgia, serif; font-size: 11px; color:#000000; text-align:justify; line-height: 15px;”><strong><font size=”4″>Market update</font><br></strong><br>The property market has continued to stabilise over the last month as continuing increases in supply cause prices to moderate. The emergency budget of June 22nd and the announcement of a higher rate of Capital Gains Tax for higher earners seems to have had little negative effect on the market. All the main market commentators broadly agree that prices will remain stable throughout the rest of the year adding to the growing stability of the sector.<br><br>Confidence in property is still high and our recent survey shows that people are turning to property more than any other investment route as a safe place to invest their money. A huge 75% of people interviewed said that they believe bricks and mortar to be the best place in which to invest. To put this into perspective, just 2% highlighted shares as their favoured investment option.<br><br>The Nationwide House Price Index reveals a small increase of 0.1% in the price of an average UK home for June. In agreement with this the Hometrack house price survey for June also revealed an overall increase of 0.1%. Commenting on the figures, Hometrack’s director of research, Richard Donnell said:” Over the last four months the supply of homes for sale has grown three times faster than demand – new supply has grown 15% compared to a 4.9% increase in demand. Speculation over changes to Capital Gains Tax and the abolition of Home Information Packs (HIPs) have been the drivers of supply growth. Despite the mis-match between supply and demand, sales volumes are still growing albeit off a very low base.”<br><hr><br><strong><font size=”4″>In the news</font></strong><br><br><strong>Inflation slows further in June</strong><br><br>For the second month running the rate of inflation in the UK has slowed. The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) fell from 3.4% in May to 3.2% in June whilst the Retail Prices Index (RPI) fell from 5.1% to 5%. This is welcome news and hopefully a trend that will continue over the coming months.<br><br>Although the CPI figure is still substantially above the Bank of England’s 2% target the downward trend will reduce pressure for the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to raise interest rates.CPI inflation peaked at 3.7% in April and has remained above the 2% target since December 2009, although Governor Mervyn King has always maintained that it would moderate without the immediate need for interest rate rises.<br><br>Only one member of the MPC has so far voted for a rise in interest rates. Andrew Sentance claims that loose monetary policy has contributed to the weakness of Sterling and therefore stoked inflation through the increased cost of imports. He points out that a gradual increase in interest rates in line with a gradual increase in economic recovery would help keep inflation in check.<br><br>One reason for the recent spike in inflation is believed to have been driven by the VAT rise back to 17.5%. With this in mind it is quite possible that a further rise in VAT to 20% will temporarily bolster prices again in January.<br><br> The Bank of England is confident that as the effects of the government budget cuts kick in and the pound stabilises, inflation should return to its 2% target over coming months.<br><hr><br><strong><font size=”4″>Country profile – Portugal</font><br></strong><ul><li><strong>Full name</strong> – Portuguese republic</li><li><strong>Location</strong> – Iberian Peninsula, Western Europe</li><li><strong>Capital city</strong> – Lisbon</li><li><strong>Government</strong> – Parliamentary republic</li><strong></strong><li><strong>Currency</strong> – Euro<br><strong></strong></li><li><strong>Economy</strong> – 33rd by GDP (Nominal) (IMF)</li><li><strong>Population</strong> – 10.7m(UN 2009)</li><li><strong>Language</strong> – Portuguese</li></ul><br>Portugal is a country with a rich history of seafaring and discovery. By the 16th century the Portuguese empire embraced huge areas of South America, Africa and Asia. It’s era as a colonial power was brought to an end in 1999 when it handed over its last overseas territory, Macau, to the Chinese. Evidence of the Portuguese empire exists to this day with over 200 million Portuguese speakers outside of Portugal. <br><br>A country of great diversity, the north is rugged and mountainous whilst the south features mostly rolling plains. The island chains of the Azores and Madeira are also part of Portugal. The south of the country, which includes the Algarve region, enjoys a somewhat warmer and drier climate than the north. <br><br>Portugal joined the European Union in 1986 and since then has changed its heavily public sector biased economic model to embrace private investment and diversify into areas such as Information Technology and business services. Manufacturing and fisheries still account for a significant proportion of the economy, including the production of textiles and clothing, wood products and beverages.<br><br>Why invest in Portugal?<br><br>Tourism plays a huge role in the Portuguese economy attracting visitors from every corner of the world. The Algarve is one Europe’s most favoured holiday destinations and a raft of new, world class, golf course resorts has succeeded in enticing golfers from the wealthy regions of Northern Europe and North America. This, along with Portugal’s beautiful climate has resulted in a year round tourist industry.<br><br>Portugal is also the third most favoured destination for second home ownership by the British, behind Spain and France. Easy and ever improving transportation links, good infrastructure, predictable climate, low cost of living and friendliness of the local population all account for this.<br><br>Property in Portugal can be considerably cheaper that other popular European regions and foreign ownership is actively encouraged by the government. Year round rental potential, excellent rental returns and good capital growth potential all lend to making Portugal an excellent country in which to invest in property.<br><br>We are currently offering some incredible opportunities at a 5 star health spa resort in the Algarve region of Portugal with 20% instant equity, 2 year rental guarantee followed by profit share from year 3, and personal use each year for an incredible £5,000 including all closing costs and taxes.<br><br>Take a look at the property pages on our website http://www.w-wideproperty.com/CMS/Properties.php? for further information or call us on 01235 553569.<br><br><br><hr><br><strong><font size=”4″>And finally</font><br></strong><br>Last month, a member of the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), Andrew Sentance voted in favour of raising the interest rate by 0.25%. He is the first MPC member to have voted in favour of raising interest rates since August 2008, and he did it again this month. Could this be the beginnings of a growing trend? and if so are we looking at imminent interest rate rises?<br><br>I believe not.<br><br>Interest rates have now been at a historical low of 0.5% since March 2009. This is an astoundingly low level and in fact one that has never before been reached. To bring it into context, the lowest base rate level reached during the last 100 years was 2%; it remained for 7 years between 1932 and 1939.<br><br>The MPC are involved in a complicated balancing act. On one side they have the threat of increasing inflation whilst on the other they have the risks attached with fledgling economic recovery. Although stability is returning to the housing market and wider economy, this recovery is fragile and carefull economic management is required to keep it on track and allow it to strengthen. <br><br>Inflation, although significantly above the Bank of England’s 2% target is on a downward trend and generally the committee is of the opinion that this will continue. If this is the case, then the pressure to raise the base rate in order to curb inflation diminishes. Interestingly, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) stood at 5% in September 2008, considerably more than the current 3.2% level.<br><br>This reduction in pressure to increase rates is reinforced by the results of our most recent monthly survey. The number of people who believe that rates will increase during the next 12 months has reached its lowest level since January (63%).<br><br>I believe that raising interest rates at this stage is unnecessary and could cause some destabilisation of the housing market and reduce consumer spending, which in turn could have further reaching effects on the UK economy. Although I appreciate that the base rate will need to increase at some point, I think this is unlikely to happen before the effects of the VAT increase early next year have been assessed and economic recovery has become more established. Therefore, although I am of the opinion that rates could increase within the next 12 months, this is most likely to be towards the back end of this timeframe, and even then by only small increments.<br><br>If this scenario is correct then we have many more months to enjoy interest rates at levels that have never before been experience. What a great time to invest in property.<br><br>To your success<ul style=”text-align: left;”><font face=”Script MT Bold”><strong><em><font size=”5″>Kevin Wilkes<span><br><br><div align=”left”><img src=”http://secure.campaigner.com/accountsmedia/20005/Kevin-3.gif” border=”0″ height=”80″ width=”100″></div></span></font></em></strong></font></ul><ul><hr></ul></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=”2″ align=”center”></td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan=”2″ style=”font-family: Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; color:#000000; font-size:10px; text-align:center; background-color: #A3A3A3; padding: 5px;”>The Worldwide Property Group, Suite A&B, The Courtyard, Lombard St, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, OX14 5SE<br>Tel: 01235 553569 Email: <a href=”mailto:enquiries@w-wideproperty.com”>enquiries@w-wideproperty.com</a> Web: <a href=” http://www.w-wideproperty.com”>www.w-wideproperty.com</a><br><br><em><font color=”FFFFFF”>The Worldwide Property Group is a marketing agent for developers and whilst we endeavour to ensure the accuracy of information contained in this site, including figures and forecasts at the time of publication, the Worldwide Property Group does not guarantee or take responsibility for their accuracy. Images are representative of the types of property we offer and may not be of actual opportunities offered by us. Some images may be computer generated.</font></em><font color=”FFFFFF”></font></td> </tr></table></div><br/>