Latin Trade

Browse past and current articles from this publication.

How to Get Rich.(Brief Case)(Brief Article)
Donald J Trump In gruff tones, the New York real-estate king explains how he built his enormous empire. Trump lays out his strategies for intelligent investing, efficient management and dealing wi . . .

Against All Enemies.(Brief Case)(Brief Article)
Richard A. Clarke An advisor to President George W. Bush until May 2003, Clarke charges that the White House ignored warnings of a major attack on U.S. soil. Clarke also derides the extreme right' . . .

Who moved my peon?(The Peon Book, review)(Book Review)
The Peon Book By Dave Haynes Berrett-Koehler Publisheers US$12.95 Dave Haynes' contribution to the ever heavier shelf of management books starts from a bottoms-up perspective: Rather than rely on . . .

Line forms here.(Ask The Concierge)
Brazilian airport police seem to be on strike all the time, which slows down entry. When can we expect normal airport conditions? In Brazil, federal police handle immigration issues at the airport . . .

Company town: keeping a copper-mining village's history alive at 2,120 meters.(Econtourism)
Standing halfway up the steep walkway at Camp Sewell, the tiny mining town known as the birthplace of the Chilean copper industry, it's easy to see why, early on, people never came down. Above you i . . .

Up in the air: a start-up Colombian airline aims high, even though its wings are clipped for now.(Aviation)
Investors are belting on a new international airline, even though it can't yet fly within its home country, Colombia. Founded recently by a banker and a pilot, the new airline--called Fenix--wants t . . .

El Salvador attracts leading call center operations.(Special Advertising Feature)(Advertisement)
Global companies are now choosing El Salvador as the new home for their call center operations, taking full advantage of the country's skilled workforce, political and economic stability, and compet . . .

Avantel Contact Center, the most reliable connection between companies and their customers.(Focus On)(Brief Article)(Advertiseme
Avantel, the foremost competitor in Mexico's telecommunications sector and a leader in IP technology, is a pioneer in the fast-growing call center industry. Its Contact Center, inaugurated in August . . .

Call centers: creating profits in Latin America.(Special Advertising Feature)(Advertisement)
Call centers are quickly becoming a springboard for economic growth in the Latin American/Caribbean region. Benefiting from the strong demand for Spanish-speaking call center agents and the trend fo . . .

A reinvigorated PDVSA: interview with Ali Rodriguez Araque, president of PDVSA.(Special Advertising Feature)(Interview)
The stoppage and sabotage that Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) faced in December 2002 and January 2003 was unprecedented in the world oil industry in terms of its political motivations and its seriou . . .

Hogan & Hartson: Latin American legal experience you can rely on.(Latin America Practice)(Advertisement)
Having the right legal team is key to doing business across borders. Raising capital, privatization, mergers and acquisitions, regulatory compliance--all require the right experience. That's why cli . . .

An energetic recovery: rich in oil and natural gas reserves, Latin America is poised to reap the benefits of the world's increas
World energy demand is expected to soar 54% by 2025, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. In a recent energy use study, the Energy Information Administration (EIA), the statistical arm of the . . .

Desert air.(Connection)(Corporacion Nacional del Cobre de Chile)(Dona Ines de Collahuasi)(Candelaria)(Brief Article)
Across Chile, a wireless technology known as Wi-Fi has made its way into many industries. Now it's coming to one of the oldest of the old economies: copper mining, the drifting force behind Chile's . . .

Pipeline.(gear Box)(Brief Article)
SONY HANDYCAM DCR-HC40 Camcorder www.sonystyle.com Record and edit in low-light situations; lightweight unit that fits in a coat pocket Just released MOTOROLA HS820 HEADSET Cellular telephone head . . .

Apple i-Pod mini.(gear Box)(Brief Article)
Portable music player Price: US$249 www.apple.com/ipodmini * The Good The i-Pod mini's size is convenient--cell phones can't get this compact. The click-wheel selector key eliminates the need fo . . .

Breaker breaker: demand for walkie-talkie-style cell phones grows in Latin America, and the big boys are taking notice.(Telecom)
NII Holdings, the once-ailing telecommunications company known formerly as Nextel International, decided that Latin America would be its savior. When it went bankrupt in 2002, Nextel International s . . .

Bean counting: a Brazilian law could rid the world of the all-natural soybean.(Agriculture)
Brazil is one of the world's largest soybean exporters, and pretty much the only producer of natural soybeans. But that could change soon. Brazil's government in October asked Congress to approve . . .

Index.(Top 100)(Illustration)
INDEX COMPANY COUNTRY RANK A Alfa Mexico 21 Almacenes Coppel Mexico 90 Almacenes Exito Colombia 87 AmBev . . .

Crossing over: Telefonica's Chilean unit shakes, rattles and rolls as the wireless battle for Latin America begins.(Top 100)(Tel
Telecommunications provider Telefonica CTC Chile, 43.6% owned by Spain's Telefonica, began 2004 fearing that the government would impose debilitating tariffs on its traditional fixed-line business-- . . .

On the spot: Endesa Chile sees a bright future in energy demand both at home and abroad.(Top 100)
Power company Endesa Chile has cleaned up its books; energy demand is rising; and one of its major markets, Argentina, has hit rock-bottom so hard it seems that things can only improve. The largest . . .

Plastic fantastic: Petrobras wants to control its products from well to tank to table, and it has the cash to do so.(Top 100)(Pe
Having spent most of the 1990s jettisoning petrochemical assets, Brazil's state-owned Petroleo Brasileiro (Petrobras) is now poised to again become a major petrochemical player. In the 1990s, howe . . .

Last in line: Telecom Argentina has customers and money rolling in but investors will have to wait.(Top 100)(Telecom Argentina S
What's the value of a telephone company in Argentina today? With US$842 million of cash on its balance sheet, in the case of Telecom Argentina, you'd think it was a lot. But that's only half the pic . . .

A new footing: Vitro refocuses on its strength--making glass--and bets on growth abroad.(Top 100)(Vitro S.A.)
Mexican glass giant Vitro is getting back to basics. The Monterrey company, founded in 1909 to supply bottles for Mexico's beer industry, is shedding subsidiaries to focus on glass products, from cu . . .

Building a behemoth: Carlos Slim's legacy will be felt across the hemisphere--just dial a phone anywhere.(Top 100)(Telefonos de
If Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim Helu wanted to consolidate the position of his company. Telefonos de Mexico (Telmex), in Latin America before stepping clown, he picked the perfect time to do so. . . .

A sure thing: Brazil's Embraer conquers big markets with smaller airplanes.(Top 100)(interview with Mauricio Botelho president o
Once a state-owned company, Embraer had to taxi quite a bit before taking off to become one of the major airplane manufacturers in the world. Sitting in the captain's seat is Mauricio Botelho, Embra . . .

The brewmasters: Interbrew owns Europe. Now it's closing in on the United States through Brazil.(Top 100)
Belgian beer company Interbrew's March decision to buy Brazil's Companhia de Bebidas das Americas, known as AmBev--thus overtaking U.S. beer giant Anheuser-Busch to become the world's largest brewer . . .

The top 100 companies: high commodity prices and recovering economies mean the good times are about to roll.(Latin trade)(Cover
Every year, LATIN TRADE crunches the numbers on the biggest public companies doing business in Latin America. This year, to our exclusive annual forecast of corporate revenues and income, we have ad . . .

Don't worry ... A Brazilian pediatrician turns into a toy king--despite himself.(Retailing)(Rihappy)
Thinking about a career change to try your luck in business, even though you have no corporate background? If so, you may want to consider the experience of Ricardo Sayon. The Brazilian pediatrician . . .

Concrete progress: Colombia's builders step out of a deep hole on cheap credit and surging demand.(Construction)
Colombia is a country under construction. Building sites have become common throughout the capital and the rattling sound of drilling is omnipresent. Building now accounts for about 5% of Latin Amer . . .

How about a 900% raise? Mexican nurses head north to cure the ballooning U.S. health care labor shortage.(Health Care)
Registered nurse Carmen Lopez wants a raise--so she's leaving Mexico and moving to California to take a job at Desert Valley Medical, a hospital near Los Angeles, where her income will increase tenf . . .

Fill'er up: President Hugo Chavez holds down gasoline prices, creating a black market and costing his government billions.(Oil &
Until recently, Lervis Rolando drove a car bomb--but he's no terrorist. Rolando had modified his aging Ford Maverick to carry 215 liters of gasoline and drove it back and forth across the border, se . . .

Bleak future: multinationals have a moral duty to their workers abroad--no matter what their lawyers say.(Silicon Jack)
In 1853, the English industrial-revolution novelist Charles Dickens wrote Bleak House, the story of a lawsuit over a family fortune that lasted so long there was hardly anybody left alive once the s . . .

Give me liberty ...(Radar)(Interview)
Venezuela may be critical of the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) but not so critical of trade itself. The country does not want to isolate itself from the hemisphere's trading partne . . .

Capital idea.(Radar)(Interview)
Bill Drayton has been on both sides of the fence, spending time in the private world as a consultant and at the U.S. government's Environmental Protection Agency. Starting in 1980, his non-profit or . . .

The builder.(Radar)
Ever the optimist, Banco ABN AMRO Real CEO Fabio Barbosa's sunny outlook spreads throughout the Brazilian bank. A plaque on his wall reads "Give the world the best you have and you'll get kicked in . . .

Wanted: best and brightest--and cheapest.(Radar)(Countries)(Brief Article)
India is the best country in the world to source employment, in terms of human resources and cost, says management Consultant A.T. Kearney. Chile and Brazil are the most successful Latin American pe . . .

You've been approved.(Radar)(Remittances)(Brief Article)
Remittances do more than put food on the table in Latin America. They now build credit histories. For years, Latin American immigrants in the United States have sent tens of billions of dollars to . . .

Open road.(Radar)(Mexican trucks ban)(Brief Article)
The Bush administration asked the U.S. Supreme Court to lift a ban on Mexican trucks entering the country, although U.S. labor and environmental groups argued for the ban. A Bush administration lawy . . .

The world according to Vicente ...(Radar)
"Without energy there is no development." [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] . . .

The long run.(Radar)(Economies)(Brief Article)
South America's biggest economies become one this mouth, but even historic high prices for commodities won't make a dent in the race to compete with trade blocs to the north and in Europe. Although . . .

Top shelf.(Radar)(Consumption)(Brief Article)
No more penny-pinching for Argentine consumers. In the surest sign yet that the country's recovery is gaining steam, consumers--who've so far sat on the sidelines even as the economy grew last year . . .

See ya in Mexico.(Radar)(Conferences)(Brief Article)
The World Trade Organization's roundtable in Cancun, Mexico last year, marred by protest, was seen as a failure. Despite the bad press, Mexico hopes the event marked the beginning of heavier busines . . .

Brazil.(Corporate Regulation)(Brief Article)
Brazil amended its civil code to require limited-liability companies to call shareholder's meetings, to report financial results and to elect boards of directors. New laws will also require limited- . . .

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission.(Shipping)(Brief Article)
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission approved an extension on the range of radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags for container ships. The tags allow port regulators the technological capa . . .

The United States took Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados off its list of countries eligible for the U.S. General System of Prefer
The United States took Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados off its list of countries eligible for the U.S. General System of Preferences, which grants favorable trading terms for poorer trading partner . . .

Waste Management, a U.S. waste-disposal company, lost a US$40 million arbitration claim against Mexico.(Public Services)(Waste M
Waste Management, a U.S. waste-disposal company, lost a US$40 million arbitration claim against Mexico. Payment disputes between a Mexican subsidiary of Waste Management and Acapulco prompted the U. . . .

Volkswagen, a German automobile manufacturer, lost an appeal in a Minas Gerais court in Brazil.(Automobiles)(Volkswagen AG)(Brie
Volkswagen, a German automobile manufacturer, lost an appeal in a Minas Gerais court in Brazil. The company said it was not responsible for one of its models getting robbed despite an alleged faulty . . .

Mexico relaxed requirements regarding long-distance interconnection charges, the fees paid by companies for connecting calls fro
Mexico relaxed requirements regarding long-distance interconnection charges, the fees paid by companies for connecting calls from foreign countries to Mexico. The government's telecommunications reg . . .

Sidor.(Venezuela)(workers strike)(Brief Article)
SIDOR, a Venezuelan steel producer, said its workers ended a three-week strike after President Hugo Chavez stepped in and ordered bonuses and company stock for striking workers. Sidor is named by th . . .

Repsol YPF.(Venezuela)(production)(Brief Article)
REPSOL YPF, a Spanish oil company, said it began production of natural gas in Venezuela with partners Total, Inepetrol and Otepi. The US$130 million joint venture will sell the 1.7 million cubic met . . .