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, July 03, 2008

BNSF to Report Second-Quarter Earnings July 24

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Comtex

FORT WORTH, TX, Jul 03, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) ----Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation (BNSF) (NYSE: BNI) will Webcast its second-quarter 2008 earnings presentation at 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time July 24, 2008, and issue its earnings press release shortly after 4 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Webcast will be led by BNSF Chairman, President and CEO Matt Rose and include presentations from Tom Hund, executive vice president and chief financial officer; John Lanigan, executive vice president and chief marketing officer; and Carl Ice, executive vice president and chief operations officer. It will be followed by a question-and-answer session.

The Webcast and presentation materials will be available at www.bnsf.com under the "Investors" link. To participate via teleconference, dial (800) 230-1092 in the U.S. and Canada or International (612) 332-0107 several minutes prior to the call.

Shortly after the Webcast concludes, an Internet replay will be accessible in the "Investors" section of the BNSF Web site. Additionally, an MP3 downloadable audio file will be included at the same location. An audio replay will be available until August 7 by dialing (800) 475-6701 in the U.S. and Canada or International (320) 365-3844, with an access code of 952885.

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation's subsidiary 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 Railway Company 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 Railway Company is an industry leader in Web-enabling a variety of customer transactions at www.bnsf.com.

 Contact: Patrick
   Hiatte (817) 867-6418

SOURCE: Burlington Northern Santa Fe

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