It's been apparent to observers for some time that Univision Communications Inc., due to the debt load assumed in its $12.3 billion sale to Broadcast Partners, a consortium of private investors, would face some challenging times. Even after a flurry of recent activity, the picture is no clearer.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services revised its outlook to negative from stable on Ford Motor Company and related entities, while affirming its 'B' rating on the company. The agency explained in its report that the negative outlook means that S&P's ratings "could be placed on CreditWatch at any time and subsequently lowered, given the possibility of further adverse developments in the severely challenged North American auto sector." The independent ratings service indicated that the action was largely due to Ford's announcement today that the automaker would take longer

For those of you who think Memorial Day is just a free day off of work, think again. Celebrated on the last Monday in May, this national holiday, which marks the beginning of the summer season, has a history that dates all the way back to the Civil War.

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.

HispanTelligence estimates that existing trends support the projections of at least 2.2 million Hispanic-owned businesses generating close to 388.7 Billion Dollars in revenues in 2008 according to a new report released by Hispantelligence. With a compound annual growth rate of 9.1 percent over the last 5 years, Hispanic-owned businesses are increasingly impacting the overall U.S. Economy.

By awarding a whopping 82,000 college scholarships worth more than $221 million, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund may be breaking all records for nonprofit success. Founded in 1975 to boost college education among U.S. Hispanics, the fund has changed the lives of tens of thousands of Hispanic students. As the nation's preeminent organization supporting Hispanic higher education, and one of Hispanic Business magazine's Top 25 nonprofits, the fund reportedly is a model of efficiency and results.

Despite the current downturn in housing, the long-term prospects of green housing look promising. Backing up that belief is a recent American Institute of Architects poll that indicated that a remarkable 91 percent of registered voters nationwide would pay more for a house if it has a reduced destructive impact on nature. Just exactly what constitutes a "green" house is up for interpretation, but anything that saves energy, and reduces waste and pollution qualifies.

Not long ago, hybrid cars were little more than novelties. But those days are long gone. Today's hybrids can be sleek, stylish, and fast. With the price of gasoline soaring toward $4 per gallon in the United States, they are increasingly attractive economically. In fact, these gas-savers may claim 80 percent of the market by 2020.