by Michael Scuse, USDA ,Farm and Foreign Agricultural Services, February 4, 2011

The first U.S. Agribusiness Trade and Investment Mission to Peru and Ecuador ended on a high note February 2. Over two days, 20 U.S. companies had the opportunity to meet face-to-face with dozens of Peruvian and Ecuadorian producers, processors, buyers, traders, and investors, who had come to form partnerships and develop trade relationships. I am pleased to report that some business deals have been finalized with more in process. The in-person contact provided by the mission has been absolutely essential to establishing a foundation for future trade.

Read more at http://blogs.usda.gov/author/bfrank/

Feb, 5 2011 .By Ken Kelin|White House

President Barack Obama is continuing his efforts to reach out to some of his sharpest critics in the U.S. business community. The president is hoping to ease some business leaders’ opposition to his economic plan and his re-election bid.

America’s top business leaders, many of whom are Republicans, have been skeptical about President Obama’s economic policies from the start.

One of the most consistent critics has been the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is based two blocks from the White House.  The Chamber represents more than three million businesses, and calls itself the world’s largest business federation.

Read More at Voice of America

February 4 , 2011 , Written by MICHAEL L. DIAMOND

NEWARK — New Jersey needs to invest in higher education and hold the line on taxes to help the state return to the days when its economy was on the cutting edge, business leaders told Gov. Chris Christie at a conference on Thursday.

Christie won adulation from the executives for using his first year in office to cut taxes on high-income residents and corporations and for grabbing national attention with his bully pulpit.

But executives said they are concerned about finding and keeping the talent they need to stay competitive with the rest of the world. “The tone is starting to change, but at the same time there’s a lot of work we have to do to move ahead,” Dennis Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey, said.

Read more at  The Asbury park Press

Toledo with a clear advantage in Lima in the latest opinion poll that company IMA conducted in Lima and Callao.

By IMA Estudios De Marketing Peru , Jan 30, 2011 .-The presidential candidate Alejandro Toledo is listed first with 34.2% of voter preferences. Keiko Fujimori candidate comes second with 22.8%, ie more than 10 percentage points away from first place.
Meanwhile , the former mayor of Lima, Luis Castañeda occupies third place with 21% of voting intentions. In summary, Alejandro Toledo grew 10 points from November to date as the National Solidarity candidate fell 6 points in the same period.
The opinion poll , contracted and published by Lima’s daily La Republica interviewed 1.868 people in urban and rural Peru with an error margin of plus/minus 2.3 percentage points.