Just in time for the return of professional hockey in North America, a sports journalist in New Jersey has revived his effort to publish an international Latvian hockey magazine.

Publisher Andris Jansons now has turned to the Internet as a way to deliver his product to readers.

Jansons, who said he at one time worked for Latvian State Television, two years ago began writing stories about Latvian hockey for the daily newspaper Diena. Then, he said, he got the idea to publish a magazine about the topic and Hokeja Vēstnesis was born.

After a false start in early 2004, Jansons published the first two issues in August and September of last year. While he was satisfied with how sales of the magazine went in Latvia, Jansons told Latvians Online, he is struggling to find sponsors. In an effort to keep costs down, Hokeja Vēstnesis now will be available to readers via electronic delivery, meaning subscribers will be sent a password and will be able to download the magazine from its Web site, www.hokejavestnesis.com.

By the end of this year, Jansons said, he hopes circulation will reach 5,000, but publication will depend on reaching a minimum number of subscribers.

“Time will tell,” he said.

The Latvian-language magazine, mainly focused on hockey in Latvia and the careers of Latvian players in North American leagues, is scheduled to be published monthly.

Latvia’s ranking of 44th in terms of global competitiveness remains unchanged from last year, according to a new report by the World Economic Forum.

The Global Competitiveness Report annually ranks a total of 117 countries based on a number of factors to determine how likely their economies are to grow in the coming years. The rankings included input from about 11,000 business leaders worldwide.

No. 1 Finland remained where it was in last year’s ranking, as did No. 2 United States and No. 3 Sweden. Another Nordic country, Denmark, nudged up to No. 4, switching places with Taiwan, which slipped to No. 5.

Estonia remained at No. 20, sandwiched between Qatar and Austria. Lithuania slipped seven spots to No. 43, one ahead of Latvia.

The latest report on global competitiveness was released Sept. 28.

Formed in 1971 and based in Switzerland, the World Economic Forum describes itself as “an independent international organization committed to improving the state of the world by engaging leaders in partnerships to shape global, regional and industry agendas.”

Lithuania’s fourth largest bank has acquired majority interest in Latvia’s oldest bank, Latvijas Krājbanka, for nearly EUR 23 million, according to news reports.

AB bankas SNORAS, which began in 1992 as the Šiauliai Krasto Bankas (Šiauliai Regional Bank), announced Sept. 21 that it now controls just over 83 percent of shares in the publicly traded Latvijas Krājbanka.

Latvijas Krājbanka, which is based in Rīga, began in 1924 as the Postal Service Savings Bank. During the Soviet occupation is was know as the State Savings Bank. The bank was restructured in 1987 and became known as Latvijas Krājbanka. In 1997, the bank merged with Union Baltic Bank in Rīga.

Last year, Latvijas Krājbanka reported profit of LVL 1.3 million. It ranks as Latvia’s 12th largest bank.

The Lithuanian bank’s purchase of Latvijas Krājbanka, the weekly newspaper The Baltic Times reported, “confirms both the trend of bank industry consolidation in Latvia and the continued expansion of Russian capital in the Baltics.” Just under 50 percent of SNORAS is owned by Konversbank of Russia.

The purchase also is the latest evidence of strong foreign interest in the Latvian banking sector. In August, Irish millionaire Dermot Desmond bought just under a third interest in Rietumu Banka, Latvia’s fourth largest bank. In November, Māras banka, a family-owned bank founded by a repatriated exile from Venezuela, was acquired by Finland’s Sampo Bank.