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Pizza Patrón's Peculiar Pecuniary Peso-Paying Predicament Written by Doc Farmer Tuesday, January 09, 2007 ChronWatch.com As most of my regular readers know, I'm not averse to world travel. Been there, done that, seen the movie and bought the thawb and ghutra. I've worked in many a country. When I'm in those countries, I have made it a point to be respectful of the laws and customs for whatever particular locale in which I'm residing. When I'm in Tokyo, I bow respectfully to my co-workers but still avoid the sushi (or, as I like to call it, bait). When I'm in...

Monday, patrons of the Dallas-based Pizza Patrón chain, which caters heavily to Latinos, will be able to purchase American pizzas with Mexican pesos. Restaurant experts and economists said they knew of no other food chain with locations so far from the Mexican border offering such a service. "We're trying to reach out to our core customer," Antonio Swad, president of Pizza Patrón Inc., said Friday. "We know they come back [from Mexico] and have pesos left over. We want to be a convenient place for them to spend their pesos." While U.S. restaurant chains have stepped up their marketing to...

Advancing a campaign of economic strengthening on the island, Cuban leader Fidel Castro announced Thursday that the so-called ''convertible peso'' -- which had been equal to the U.S. dollar since it was created a decade ago -- would increase in value by 8 percent effective next month. Castro also said a fixed exchange rate for both sales and purchases of the convertible peso would be implemented on April 9. The revaluation follows last week's 7 percent increase in the value of the Cuban peso, from 27 to 25 to the U.S. dollar. The U.S. dollar no longer circulates as legal...

Mexicans who toiled on U.S. farms between 1942 and 1964 under the Bracero program are ready to "besiege" U.S. President George W. Bush's ranch in Texas to press their demands for money owed them in their retirement, an activist who fought with Nicaragua's Sandinista rebels said Tuesday. José Puente León told EFE that the former braceros are determined to march on Bush's ranch just as they did last year on the ranch owned by President Vicente Fox in Guanajuato. "We're ready to besiege Bush's ranch in Crawford to press for the payment of the 9 billion pesos (US796.4 million) that...

The decision by Fidel Castro to dedollarize Cuba's economy is yet another sign of economic distress for an island that has had a rough year, Cuba analysts say. Havana's move earlier this week to eliminate U.S. dollars from circulation is a tacit admission of the effectiveness of U.S. trade and travel sanctions and is the Cuban president's response to the United States, they say. And the change comes at a time when Cuba's economy is also starting to suffer from skyrocketing oil prices and a drop in crucial foreign investment. Cubans may still hold dollars, but to spend their money...

Valley retailers were watching the peso’s value closely Tuesday after it traded against the dollar at the lowest point in history the day before. "Boy, oh boy, oh boy," said Mike Furgatch, general manager of Los 4 Reyes department store in downtown Brownsville. "Anytime the peso drops we worry. A slight adjustment from time to time is expected, but anytime it drops more than a tenth of a point we worry. "Business is not strong enough that we need this sort of aggravation," he added. Nevertheless, Furgatch said the store had a good weekend, selling gifts and clothes for Mother’s...

IN URUGUAY, A WEIRD MONEY GAME INVITES U.S. BROKERS by Mark Scheinbaum American Reporter Correspondent August 7, 2002 LAKE WORTH, Fla., Aug. 7. 2002 -- I'm not an investment banker in Uruguay nor do I play one on television. But what if - just what if, I'm on to something here? I literally shook my head upon awakening at my usual 4 a.m. the other morning to check international markets, to clear the cobwebs and my ear drums when I heard that U.S. Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill was enroute to the capital of Uruguay with a $1.5 billion bailout check...