Feb 8th 2010 I am getting to the stage where I dont want to write updates on the state of the property world. Things are in such a mess that it becomes rather depressing giving out bad news. So here is some good news. It's spring in the Algarve. A few days ago we went for a drive over to the west coast. The weather was perfect. It was like an English summer's day. The sea was blue, the wild flowers were beginning to bloom. We stopped for a splendid lunch at Andre's, our favourite German restaurant, on the way back, and I ate noodles, wild mushrooms, and meat marinaded in a rather fine sauce. The mimosa is out, and I have a bunch of it scenting my drawing room right now. The jonquils are late, so in the dining room I have a vase of oxalis, jonquils, and almond blossom, and that smells delicious. The scent from the jonquils is over-powering, and the scent of the almond blossom has that wonderful honey tang to it. Driving back past the lagoon I noticed a whole hillside covered in yellow. It really is a spectacular time of the year. Yellow, white and pink everywhere. Life is wonderful. Until you open the newspaper. This week the American government is supposed to be voting on whether to start sanctions against Iran. You'd think they have enough mess in their own backyard without poking their noses into affairs which dont concern them. Oh-oh, wait a minute. Dont I remember that Obama has the lowest confidence rating of any president after their first year? How does one get one's ratings up if things are bad at home? Start another war, of course. It's always worked before. Dont you just love to remember how Margaret Thatcher managed to avert a slump in her popularity by taking it out on the Argentinians? I've forgotten just how many countries the US has bombed since the second world war, but I think it is about 27. A little while back it averaged an attack on a different country every two years. I guess it's about time for the next one. I just hope Obama hands back his peace prize. Fat chance! Then there is the mess in Greece, where the country is bankrupt. I cant make up my mind whether that is good or bad news. I am sure there will be moves behind the scenes to prevent a rent in the euro cavalcade, but does anyone have either the money or the will to support a country that has fiddled its books since day one, and will probably go on fiddling the books? On balance I would have thought Greece would be asked to leave the eurozone if things get any worse. I cant see the rest of the union wanting to support one country when there is a backup of countries heading in the same direction. They cant all be saved. This could be interesting. It probably spells a spot of down-grading for the euro for the time being, which will help sterling, and make euroland property prices seem cheaper. It's also worth waiting to see if Greece does exit the union, as it will then have to devalue, and that will mean some bargains to be had. It will also make investments in Cyprus look pretty silly. For god's sake do not buy anything in Cyprus until the dust clears. No doubt some kind of fix will be attempted. That doesn't mean the fix will work. This scenario may take some time to work through. Spain is looking seriously sick as well, with official unemployment close to 20%, and the unofficial rate closer to 25%. That's disastrous. Dont under any circumstances buy in Spain. The bottom has not been reached here, not by a long way. Living in Portugal I ought to be worried about the state of things here, but, strangely, although Portugal is in a very bad spot, with its export trade shot to hell and it's tourist figures going through the floor, I think it can pull through. Those of us who are already here will just have to hunker down and ride things out. Though it pains me to say it, having a rather nice villa for sale, I wouldn't advise anyone to buy here either. It also looks as tho the China juggernaut is faltering. This will only be temporary, but it will put a large damper on world trade for the rest of the year, maybe longer. In short, the financial world will not be getting up and going anyplace upwards for the foreseeable future. Now I'm going down to the beach. best wishes john Back to the Top

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