RENT INCREASE: Portugal is scrapping rent controls in one of the government's most radical reforms since the ailing country needed a (EURO)78 billion ($101 billion) bailout last year.
PART OF THE DEAL: The change was one of the steps demanded for the bailout provided by foreign lenders. They identified rent controls as one of the handicaps keeping Portugal mired in stagnation.
EVICTIONS AHEAD? Rent controls have long enabled those on low incomes to live cheaply in one of western Europe's poorest countries, where the average salary is around (EURO)800 ($1,030) a month _ about a third of the U.S. average.