With several hundred politicians, diplomats and academics milling around one of the region's capitals, it is more like a big family gathering than an international summit.
And for the typical American family, it is a big deal.
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This new appellation, just over the border from Sonoma, is still largely unknown, but with a big Jackson Family presence it may not be for long.
Joyce is an immigrant from a low-income family with big dreams of pursuing a PhD after graduating in 2010 with a degree in genetics.
That economy is a mixture of big cattle ranches in the south, family farms in the north, and around Porto Alegre, the capital, locally-owned shoe, wine, chemicals and metal-bashing industries.
Electrolux, a maker of household appliances and, like Saab, part of the Swedish Wallenberg family's industrial empire, is a big investor in Hungary.
This is a big step forward, and happened in part because of the advocacy of family members whose daughters have died because of teen violence.
Curtis is not totally crazy: a big storm does arrive, and he takes the family into an underground shelter, a space that he has spent a lot of money expanding and making comfortable.
The big-wheel trend is a small one that helps designers give even everyday family cars more aggressive, racier looks.
Free college tuition for the whole family is an ingenious way to gin up a voting interest toward big government in this right-leaning group.
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However, the recent experience of Unilever, the world's largest consumer-goods firm, suggests that managing a big family of brands that differ from one market to another is horribly complicated.
Another big individual beneficiary is a 37-year-old gelato entrepreneur in Dallas whose family became friends with Picower.
The risk of developing bunions - bony growths on the big toe - is linked to your family, not your shoes, a US study has shown.
The family is looking for a smaller home as the current house has become too big for them.
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Catch That Train is his latest CD of what he calls "family music": He's a big advocate of everyone jumping in on whatever instrument they can play.
And the family farm is largely a quaint historical artifact: today agriculture increasingly is big business pursued by shrewd corporate operators, who are even more adept at politics than economics.
Analysts at DBS Bank Ltd. in Singapore suggested the U.S. housing data was not all that spectacular, since it reflects a big jump not in single family homes but in apartment construction, which is typically volatile.
It is being headed by the family of the late Michael Marra, who had wanted to establish a Dundee Big Noise orchestra.
While the next generation of Sabancis 12 in all is expected to play a big role in the group, Mr Sabanci's board boasts more non-family members than ever.
On a serious note, the event underlines the fact that big business in Latin America is still largely dominated by family groups.
Walker's exit is now almost certain to set off a fierce scramble for his big-money backers, led by the Ricketts family that has emerged as one of the GOP's most powerful financial contributors.
This is a big and unfamiliar dream to her friends and colleagues, a majority of whom will likely help run the family store, become housewives or find jobs as laborers or salesmen.
Driving the calculus are China, Russia and other emerging markets, where a small but fast-growing millionaire class is flocking to big, high priced and lavishly loaded models that can handle poor roads as well as a family.
Even if the Yankees were to win the championship in 2011 that statement misses the big picture, which is this: There are several team owners with a lot more money than the Steinbrenner family who simply are not willing to invest in their teams like the Steinbrenners.
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But if we're talking about a family who's got an autistic kid and is depending on that Medicaid, that's a big problem.
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