Satellite and cable-TV companies are increasingly courting the nation's fast-growing Hispanic audience with multichannel packages, bringing more options to a market long dominated by networks like Univision.

"The first decade of the 21st century is a defining moment for the Hispanic population and for the nation," said Marta Tienda, a Princeton University sociologist who was chairwoman of the new study. "We are in the midst of a Hispanic moment."

Women are increasingly taking over family companies, adopting new technologies, and embracing leadership in male-dominated fields, all the while growing their businesses at three times the rate for U.S. businesses overall.

Unless Congress steps in to perform budgetary CPR, the Small Business Administration's microlending program is dead. The initiative designed to put modest loans into the hands of entrepreneurs who might not have stellar credit is slated for elimination in the fiscal 2007 budget.

Traditional private equity isn't the only way to invest in the future growth of Hispanic entrepreneurs.

The National Council of La Raza, in a report, has accused the federal government and the American Red Cross of being unprepared to address the needs of Hispanics and other communities "of color" in the event of a disaster.

A Judge in California has sentenced a former California congressman to eight years in prison for accepting bribes, the longest prison term ever handed down to a serving or recently serving US representative in modern history. Cunningham had represented his southern California district for 15 years.

Several Supreme Court justices expressed skepticism that a controversial Texas redistricting plan engineered by former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay should be thrown out because it was undertaken for solely partisan reasons.

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.

While the U.S. median age continues to rise, from 35.3 years in 2000, the median age of Hispanics remains the lowest of all groups. Demographers predict faster growth among young Hispanics than among other young ethnic groups for the next decade.

Since 2004, the March issue of Hispanic Business has focused on the topic of wealth creation for entrepreneurs. The examination continues in this issue with coverage of the magazine's CEO Capital Markets Roundtable