January 25, 2010 at 2:55 pm
President Obama has hinted that some of his State of the Union address on Wednesday will propose some economic relief for middle-class families. But what else? Political Science Professor Graham Wilson, author of “Only in America? American Politics in Comparative Perspective,” says Obama must define what his overall strategy will be moving forward. “An expert […]
January 25, 2010 at 9:33 am
In the wake of the great financial crisis/bailout of 2009, it’s in the U.S. taxpayers’ interest to again separate the “financial markets industry” from the “financial services industry.” In a Reuters commentary, former deputy Comptroller of the Currency Robert Bench, now a senior fellow at the BU School of Law’s Morin Center for Banking and […]
January 22, 2010 at 10:08 am
With passage of healthcare reform endangered with Democrats losing their 60th vote in the Senate, even the insurance industry is worried about where they’ll get future customers. School of Management Professor Stephen Davidson, author of “Still Broken: Understanding the U.S. Health Care System,” says in a New York Times letter-to-the-editor that citizen anger over the healthcare […]
January 22, 2010 at 9:31 am
Paul Volker appears to be regaining influence in Washington as President Obama enbraces the former Federal Reserve chairman’s plan to keep banks from engaging in risky investment speculation. Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law and a former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, says it’s about […]
January 15, 2010 at 12:06 pm
Despite fury over Wall Street’s pay culture, major banks and securities firms are headed toward a record compensation total of around $145 billion for 2009 when all the numbers are out. Economics Professor Laurence Kotlikoff, a senior economist in the Reagan administration whose new book, “Jimmy Stewart is Dead,” about the banking industry, will be […]
January 14, 2010 at 5:37 pm
The Securities and Exchange Commission is upgrading itself, creating specialized units within its enforcement arm and offering financial-insider informants immunity from prosecution. Law Professor Elizabeth Nowicki, a veteran of both the SEC and Wall Street, says the immunity for witnesses can help insure investors that the market is still relative safe. “Offering immunity to a […]
January 14, 2010 at 5:01 pm
CEOs of four big Wall Street Banks were summoned to Washington to explain to the new Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission what role their institutions played in the Crash of ’08. At one point, Goldman Sachs’ CEO Lloyd Blankfein got blasted for likening some of the crisis to a hurricane or similar acts of God. Law Professor Tamar […]
January 14, 2010 at 12:18 pm
To recoup taxpayer losses fom the Wall Street bailout, President Obama is proposing taxing about 50 big banks and major financial institutions for at least the next decade. Former deputy Comptroller of the Currency Robert Bench, now a senior fellow at the BU Law School’s Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, says payback is […]
January 13, 2010 at 2:10 pm
Despite opposition from other banking agencies, the FDIC wants to penalize banks for compensation packages that are based on bankers taking too much risk. Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, says it’s too bad the FDIC is unwilling to work with other U.S. and international regulators to find a […]
January 13, 2010 at 1:44 pm
They’re still trying to gauge the fallout of Google threatening to pull its business out of China because of massive cyber attacks against the Internet-search giant. International Relations Professor Joseph Fewsmith, an authority on Chinese domestic and international politics, says this big news. “It has obvious implications for all businesses operating in China. No doubt […]
