The sovereign risk of the day was high: both the Bardi and the Peruzzi houses were felled when England's King Edward III defaulted.

ECONOMIST: Millennium issue: Banking

By adding more production in North America (AmeriSteel has production capacity of 1.8 million metric tons of crude steel annually), notes Peruzzi, Gerdau now has more stable, dollar-based revenues and earnings.

FORBES: Keeping It In The Family

Mr. Peruzzi, the Detroit driver and a member of the Teamsters, says he wants the unions to work with the company because he fears what will happen if there is a standoff.

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