Colombians to take over Starbucks?

Starbucks has gotten some competition from the Juan Valdez Cafe chain overseen by the National Federation of Colombian Coffee Growers. Yet it appears as if success has clouded the judgment of cafetero execs:

Coffee-growing nations should buy Starbucks and create their own distribution chain as the U.S. company grapples with slowing sales, Colombia's coffee federation chief said in an interview published on Sunday…

"I am going to propose to my colleagues that we chip in to buy Starbucks. This will reinforce our fight to defend coffee origins," (Gabriel Silva) said. "What I am proposing is not so difficult. With $200 million to $300 million, the coffee world could control Starbucks."

Personally I could care less if a takeover happens so as long as Silva and his cohorts stay far away from the cheapo coffee carts.

Image- BBC News
Sources- The Latin Americanist, Reuters, IHT

Daily Headlines: May 30, 2008

* U.S.: A 1945 painting by the late Rufino Tamayo set an auction record for Latin American art after selling for $7.2 million.

* Mexico: A five-year-old boy was among the fifty-one illegal Mexican migrants found hidden in a tractor trailer trying to cross the border.

* Panama: Chile’s police chief was killed in a helicopter accident in Panama City along with eleven others.

* Argentina: Starbucks launched its first Argentine store today with a locale in Buenos Aires.

Sources- MSNBC, Forbes.com, CNN, New York Times, The Latin Americanist,

Image- Washington Post (“In this undated photo provided by the Maier Museum of Art at Randolph College, Rufino Tamayo's 1945 oil on canvas painting, "Troubadour", is shown in Lynchburg, Va. (AP Photo/Randolph College)”).

Daily Headlines: August 23, 2007

* Representatives for coffee chain Starbucks denied reports that they would expand into Colombia.

* Guatemalan immigration officials said that over 51,000 illegal immigrants were deported from the U.S. to the Central American country between 2004 and 2007.

* A recent poll showed that Panamanians where nearly split as to where former leader Manuel Noriega should go after he’s released in September.

* Pro- and anti-abortion groups held simultaneous protests in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic yesterday.

* Follow-up: Problems continue with the distribution of aid relief to survivors of last week’s deadly earthquakes in Peru, while Hurricane Dean was downgraded to a tropical storm after hitting Mexico for the second time.

Sources (English)- Washington Times, Taipei Times, The Latin Americanist, Dominican Today, CNNMoney.com

Source (Spanish)- El Diario/La Prensa

Image- MSNBC

Daily Headlines: July 26, 2007

* Coffee chain Starbucks will open its first stores in Argentina and expand operations in Chile.

* Raul Castro, not his ill brother Fidel, will preside over the Cuban government’s Revolution Day speech today.

* Venezuela plans to spend $631 billion in fixing over 60 public hospitals this year.

* The legislature in the Dominican Republic is considering the possibility of decriminalizing some types of abortions.

Sources- SignOnSanDiego.com, International Herald Tribune, Bloomberg, Dominican Today

Image- Answers.com