Batanga.com, which describes itself as America's largest Hispanic streaming media Web site, has agreed to acquire LatCom Communications from Davidson Media Group in an effort to reinforce its ties to what it calls the "New Generation Latino." Terms of the deal have yet to be released.

Working in the television business, Alberto Araujo and Dulce Mascareno saw firsthand the need for quality advertising to the Hispanic market.

A leading congressional critic of Bush administration policy toward Cuba said he will hold hearings next year on a government watchdog report critical of how federal funds are spent on a program to promote democracy in Cuba.

Hispanics made their voices heard this year: protesting in the streets against plans to criminalize illegal immigrants; marching nationwide against other proposed anti-illegal immigration measures; even boycotting working and spending money for a day to show their economic power.

A week after Republicans were routed at the polls amid slipping support from Hispanics, President Bush Tuesday welcomed Cuban-born Florida Sen. Mel Martinez as the leader of the national party, touching off complaints from a conservative base that opposes the senator's embrace of immigration reform.

Successful entrepreneurs possess a rare medley of qualities -- hunger, business savvy, drive and intelligence -- that inspire awe and sometimes envy in everybody else. Many people who have started publicly traded American companies share another common trait: They weren't born in the U.S.

Americans' median annual income in 2005 rose to $29,025 for whites, roughly double that of Hispanics and African-Americans, according to a new report from the Census Bureau released Tuesday.

The tax gap in the U.S., which the IRS defines as the missing amount from taxpayers who don't file their tax returns and pay the correct tax on time, currently stands at over $250 billion. The IRS first focused on high-income individuals and larger corporations, but now it's stepping up its audits of small businesses.

Advertisers' efforts to reach Hispanic consumers are becoming more targeted, and language is a major factor. Advertisers spent more than $3.3 billion to market products to U.S. Hispanics in 2005, a 6.8 percent increase from 2004.

Get the entire 2006 Hispanic Business 500 Directory in Excel format.

BUSINESS OF ENTERTAINMENT: After directing the career-making drama Amores Perros, followed by the critically acclaimed 21 Grams in 2003, director Alejandro González Iñárritu is creating a legacy of superlative storytelling while filling theater seats.

Hispanic consumers could help the U.S. auto industry get back on track.