Several times, questions would be raised about whether it qualified as a minority-owned company.

The minority-owned company involved in the ruling today said it was considering an appeal.

The cataloging of minority-owned companies has caught on as a business opportunity in its own right.

In general, American corporations purchase less than 2 percent of their supplies from minority-owned companies.

He said his department was able to increase contracts to female- and minority-owned companies.

Still, many minority-owned companies continue to face what they say are daunting problems.

Often minority-owned companies are too small to compete in this kind of business environment.

Even with the tax credit, though, minority-owned companies run only about 2.9 percent of all television stations.

Things are not that simple for a minority-owned company in the construction world, he said.

He said his company has already decided to use the city's new computer file to look for women- and minority-owned companies to hire.