Tuesday’s Headlines: Outdoor Bound for MBAs

It sounds a bit like those hard-core survival hikes the organization Outward Bound offers, rugged wildness excursions designed to turn boys into men and girls into self-sufficient women. In this case, programs like the National Outdoor Leadership School in Lander, Wyo. are working with top business schools to turn students into leaders, according to a Businessweek article:

The outdoor courses, which take students on seven to 10-day expeditions in such locales as Chile’s Patagonia region, Alaska and the Rocky Mountains, are all designed to teach students to be more confident leaders who can work better in teams and function more effectively under challenging circumstances, whether traversing a glacier or dealing with challenging weather conditions.

Students take turns guiding their groups of five or six students through tricky terrain. Participating schools include Wharton, Kellogg, Harvard Business School, University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School, the Johnson School at Cornell University and the Indian Institute of Management. Said one student: “I got immediate and direct feedback on my leadership style and performance that day, which was extremely valuable.”

Other News:

HSBC’s Q1 profit rose 26 percent on growth in its Asian and Latin American banking businesses. [Reuters]

Moody’s raised concerns about Wells Fargo’s play for prime brokerage. [WSJ]

Germany's Munich Re re-insurer swung to a Q1 profit on low disasters upbeat sector trends. [Dow Jones]

Most of MF Global's moneymakers have been able to find work since the firm's collapse. [WSJ]

BofA’s first data chief said the financial industry’s data system was lacking during the crisis. [Bloomberg]

BofA has started sending letters to 200,000 offering to forgive an average of $150,000 on their mortgage principals. [NY Times]

Taxpayers could make $15 billion on the AIG bailout. [Reuters]

Andrew Moss, CEO of British insurer Aviva quit in the face of shareholder demands. [Telegraph]