MF Global Funds Traced? How were they lost?

So MF Global has finally traced the $1.6 Billion dollars they lost. I won't go into detail about the article. I just have one question and if you are a company, how do you lose track of $1,600,000,000? That's right, I did not want to write billion, I want to elaborate on the 0's. Furthermore, how does a company such as JPMorgan not pick up on the fact that they have some of that missing money? What is going on with these investment firms?

Finals

Today was the last day of classes for the spring semester, and finals start next week. It has been an extremely busy week, but not totally bad either. After all, today was the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft (Go TEXANS!!!!). The weather has been phenomenal as well, which isn't always the case this time of year in Montana. I won't be taking summer classes this year for the first time in 2 years, so I should actually have the opportunity to take advantage of things I've been missing out on such as fishing, camping, mountain biking and of course softball!

What is going to be your activities this Summer?

More Culture

We have been discussing culture excessively this semester. So much I'm surprised that Consumer Behavior does not fall in the criteria of International Business Marketing prerequisites. Of the many discussions we have had there is one aspect that I feel was missing and that is music. Music plays not only a significant role in culture, but background, identity and lifestyle. I am a military brat so I grew up everywhere and have had the unique opportunity to experience diverse culture and music. Currently I'm living in Bozeman Montana where pop, rock, hip-hop, god awful metal and primarily country rule the area. However my music is missing and no one is familiar with it. R&B, and not new school R&B but old school like Keith Sweat and Gerald Levert. Where has all of this music gone? Have you ever even heard of it? If not, let me show you the world I come from :) Enjoy!

Stereotypes and Culture

Lately in class we have discussed the impact that cultural influence and stereotypes have on society, but our society is what I would like to talk about. I consider myself very blessed living in all parts of the world experiencing new culture and always taking a piece with me that has been imprinted. However, I often forget that here in Montana many people have been born and raised here and have never experienced life outside of the continental U.S or even Montana for that matter. I once had a friend tell me that he was asked if he can sunburn. We both laughed and joked about it when he told me, but it is shocking to me that people can be this naive. Then again, I have to remember that many have not experienced culture outside of their own living area, and here in Montana as diverse as you get may be meeting a couple Hutterites, but for the most part that is it. I am half Mexican and one thing I get a chuckle from is hearing that mexican food is spicy, because it is untrue. Mexican food is typically bland that is made hot after the fact.

Baseball=Summer

Baseball season is coming upon us and one of the most enjoyable factors that come along with it is warmer weather. There are other factors to forecast the weather is changing and that is all snow apparel at retail stores are moving to the clearance section. I'm not one to complain about our winter this year, but simply I am anticipating the summer filled events I will be doing this year such as fishing, floating, camping and bike riding. I hope all of you enjoy my enthusiasm.

Motivation

Last week, there were a couple wiki presentations about motivation. One in particular asked what is our motivation? That got me thinking about where I am at now in my life as well as where I want to be in the future. I'm sure most students or all in our class can agree with the fact that graduating is a key motivational factor for our future, but it got me thinking about what motivation do I need to achieve graduating? What should be a simple question does not always have simple answers. It is easy to say that doing homework and showing up for class is enough, but is it? No, I believe it is imperative to understand the tools that is being taught, as this is only the foundation to what lead into our careers.

Facebook Going Public?

First of all, happy Groundhogs Day everyone,
In case you haven't heard, Facebook is filing for an IPO, or going public. Well atleast they are in the process of submitting the paperwork. It has been suspected for months that Facebook would make this move, but it finally seems to be in action now. They will have the stock symbol FB and it is believed they will issue 5 billion dollars in stock.