Word of the Day

Commodity

Even if you don't think you do, you already know plenty about commodities. Want us to prove it? No problem.

What makes oil produced in Saudi Arabia different from oil exported from Nigeria? It's the same thing that makes the corn you ate at last summer¿s barbecue different from the corn used to produce ethanol. Stumped? Well, don't feel bad, it's a trick question. The answer? Absolutely nothing. Corn is corn no matter where it comes from -- just as wheat is wheat and natural gas is -- right! -- natural gas. (Though the quality may differ, the make-up is uniform.)

So, in less elaborate terms, corn and oil (and all other commodities) are homogenous goods that can be processed, resold and more often than not, used as an input to the production of other goods or services. These goods are traded on a commodity exchange, thus setting the price-per-barrel (or other metric unit) used to value them.

Now pay attention, here's a question that indeed does have an answer: What is the difference between a commodity and a stock? While a stock can tank and become worthless, a commodity cannot have its value be wiped to zero. One other difference: Most commodities are traded in futures, meaning traders buy and sell where they think the price of a product will be at a certain point in the future. Stocks trade based on the value of the underlying company at that point in time.

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

BNSF Named 2008 Best Diversity Company for the Second Consecutive Year

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Comtex

FORT WORTH, TX, Jun 26, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) ----BNSF Railway Company has been named a 2008 Best Diversity Company for the second consecutive year by Diversity/Careers in Engineering & Information Technology magazine.

"It is an honor to all BNSF employees to be recognized in this way by Diversity/Careers magazine," said Ed McFalls, BNSF's assistant vice president, Human Resources and Diversity. "Too often, diversity is defined by traditional terms, such as race, gender, age, religion or culture. But at BNSF, we know that it is much more. It's diversity of mind, experience, education, skills and thought. We know that our company is strengthened by engaging the best talent -- and the best talent is diverse talent."

Each year, Diversity/Careers requests magazine and web readers to choose the corporations, government agencies and other U.S. organizations that employ technical workers and are doing superior work in diversity. Diversity/Careers examines, tabulates the votes, and honors 100 companies with the highest reader recognition. Outstanding companies are announced in the magazine's June/July issue.

About BNSF

A subsidiary of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (NYSE: BNI), BNSF Railway Company operates one of the largest North American rail networks, with about 32,000 route miles in 28 states and two Canadian provinces. BNSF is among the world's top transporters of intermodal traffic, moves more grain than any other American railroad, carries the components of many of the products we depend on daily, and hauls enough low-sulfur coal to generate about ten percent of the electricity produced in the United States. BNSF is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com.

   Contact: Jim Rogers (817) 867-0770

SOURCE: BNSF Railway Company

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