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NEW RESEARCH: The 2005 Hispanic Business 500 Directory - A national benchmark of the surging development of U.S. Hispanic-owned companies. Visit HispanicBusiness.com to search the directory.

Business Retail Giant Starts Investment Fund In the wake of rising criticism about its treatment of suppliers, Wal-Mart Stores has set up a $25 million fund to invest in women and minority owned businesses with the potential to supply products to major retailers. Hedges: The New Corporate ATMs As commercial banks back away from making corporate loans, a new breed of lender is stepping in: Hedge funds are providing hundreds of millions of dollars to companies whose shaky credit disqualifies them for prime bank loans. Leading Indicators Plunge After Hurricanes U.S. leading economic indicators dropped sharply in the aftermath of two powerful hurricanes hitting the U.S. Gulf Coast, as consumers were less confident about the economy and nearly 500,000 people lost their jobs. Politics Bush Nominates Bernanke as Greenspan Successor President George W. Bush has nominated his economic adviser Ben Bernanke as Federal Reserve chairman, to succeed Alan Greenspan, news reports said. Greenspan is slated to leave the Fed after 18 years on January 31. U.S. Announces Job Training Initiative Roughly $124 million in grants is being awarded to 70 community colleges around the country in an effort to help workers and jobseekers obtain the necessary skills to keep up with a dynamic labor market. Disaster Loans Backlog Probed Government investigators have launched twin probes of the Small Business Administration's disaster loan program, as the processing of loans for victims of Hurricane Katrina lags far behind the agency's goals and past performance. Hispanic Market Mercury News Drops Spanish Language Paper California's San Jose Mercury News, which has won accolades for the diversity of its newsroom and coverage, plans to drop its Spanish-language newspaper because the free publication is not profitable. Hispanic Homeownership on the Rise The U.S. Hispanic homeownership rate increased from 46.1% in September, 2003, to 49.7% in March, 2005, according to a new study by the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute's Hispanic Ownership, A Growing American Reality initiative.

HispanTelligence Research

South Leads US in Fastest Hispanic Growth The geographic dispersion of the U.S. Hispanic population continues. States with small Hispanic populations have shown the greatest growth in the last decade — with seven of the 10 fastest-growing states in the South. Youth Driving Hispanic Population Boom Between 1990 and 2003, the Hispanic population grew 78 percent – more than four times faster than the national growth rate. Today, Hispanics make up the largest ethnic minority in the United States, numbering 39.9 million. Inside the House: Hispanics Subgroups Differ by Age More than 20 percent of Cubans are 65 or older, while a scant 4 percent of Mexicans are in that age bracket. On the other hand, 37 percent of Mexicans and 31 percent of Puerto Ricans are younger than 18.

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From the current issue of Hispanic Business magazine...

Influentials Coverage: A School-Job Disconnect University students often complain about the disconnect between what's taught in the classroom and the realities of their first job. But the Hispanic community suffers from a different kind of school-job disconnect. Achievement, Prestige, Power Since 1983, when Hispanic Business first published the Influentials directory, the numbers of titles have grown as Hispanics have successfully realized expanded opportunities in the U.S. economy and society.

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