FT Business Education

... came out today. HEC Paris leads the overall European business school ratings, which take into account MBA, executive MBA, MiM and executive education. LBS is second, INSEAD - third, mainly because these two are ranked accross just 3 categories, while HEC has all 4.

What is the meaning of these rankings? Hard to say. But does anything have any meaning in this insane universe? All that's left to do is wait and see what happens next.

NY Times on Goldman Sachs

Nothing to do with MBA or INSEAD, but relates to the firm many of us want to work for - Goldman Sachs. By the way, it was not featured as a prominent employer in the most recent INSEAD career report (2006) hiring less then 3 people out of that class. Neither did Goldman Sachs take in many interns over the summer according to INSEAD 2007 summer internship presentation.

Ben Stein, a very famous American author and entertainer, in this article questions the immaculate reputation of Goldman Sachs and its adherence to its clients' interests. Here's what he has to say in the final passage: "... Is Goldman Sachs like “Love Story”? Does working there mean never having to say you’re sorry?"!

On a lesser note, there are Duma elections in Russia under way today. Putin's party United Russia is set to win by a landslide. I've noticed how increasingly critical Western press (especially British) has become of Putin in the past 6 months. Of course, there was the Litvinenko case, then Shell and BP issues, but you have to give the man credit what he's done with general wellfare of the population.

Anyway, here are just the headlines:
The FT: Putin’s United Russia heads for victory, Opposition claims violations and pressure, Putin supporters accused of dirty tricks
The Economist: Putin's phoney elections
NY Times: Putin’s Last Realm to Conquer: Russian Culture