Bank of America's first-quarter report for 2008 showed it was not immune to the economic problems that have plagued U.S. financial companies recently.

Mexico's President Felipe Calderon comes to Dallas on Tuesday with bridge-building credentials. He has a Harvard master's degree, English fluency -- and relatives who work illegally in the U.S. All three attributes should serve him well when he meets separately with Mexican immigrant leaders and Texas business executives.

Los Angeles is at the leading edge of a U.S. demographic trend, with half of its workforce immigrants, many of them unskilled and speaking little English. As baby boomers retire, the same pattern will emerge across the country, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. Demographers estimate that by 2025 most of the growth in the workforce will be from immigrants.

For more than two decades, the annual Hispanic Business 500 directory has served as a barometer of the U.S. Hispanic economy. A purchase of the 2007 directory provides the top 500 Hispanic-owned companies list in Excel format including: CEO names; company addresses and telephone numbers; e-mail addresses for 375 companies and Web addresses for 430 companies; and company revenue and employees numbers for 2005 and 2006.

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.

Today, due to advancements in women's rights and education, more Hispanic women than ever are rising to the top of the corporate, government, and academic hierarchy. Every April since 2003, Hispanic Business magazine has reported on the notable achievements being made by Hispanic women. Read the full text of this article for the reveal of this year's Woman of the Year and Elite 20.

Venturing far beyond the realm of market research, formal competitive intelligence has become a valuable tool as the business arena grows fiercer across the globe, while at the same time in the United States, corporate governance comes under harsher scrutiny. Competitive intelligence firms typically employ not only former law enforcement officials, but also prosecutors and investigative journalists, as well as an alphabet soup of MBAs and PhDs, to dig up all types of information companies aren't eager to advertise.

Dr. Sandra Hernandez is a relentless supporter of the poor and uninsured, even in the face of great opposition continues her fight for them -- and continues to win. She was the first Hispanic and first woman to serve as public health director for the city and county of San Francisco; now she's chief executive officer of the San Francisco Foundation -- where again is was the first woman and Hispanic in the post. The foundation, which distributes $60 million yearly, is dedicated to improving access and quality health care for the underserved.

As Kaiser Permanente's Vice-President of Public Affairs in Southern California, Diana Bonta is a strong advocate for health reform and improving access to health care. Prior to joining Kaiser in 2004, she spent nearly 35 years in the health care field, often leading the battle for better medical care for Hispanics and other underserved populations. Her remarkable career has earned her a selection as one of Hispanic Business magazine's Outstanding Women to Watch for 2008.