Wow, Mexico / Latin America has been held up as the shining example of how Wal-Mart can succeed abroad; and now it appears that their success was largely predicated on rampant bribery.

When in Rome as they say. You can't succeed in international markets if you aren't going to play the game. Anyone shocked that bribery takes place in emerging markets (or developed markets for that matter - campaign funding anyone?) isn't paying attention.

The huge problem here is the cover up. This reflects very poorly on WMT HQ and their character - not least because they promoted the man everyone is pointing the finger at, Mr. Castro-Wright.

I expect we'll see top execs ousted, but given that they are the people responsible for this mess, I'd prefer to have them gone. Turnover isn't good, especially at high levels when a company is trying to regain lost footing, but WMT has a deep management bench from which to draw.

Unfortunately, this episode demonstrates a deep-seated culture of questionable ethics, so there is no guarantee purging the big names will help put the company on the right path ethically.

I will be evaluating my stance on WMT's shares over the next few days.