Trying to build public support for candidate Obama’s pledge to overhaul U.S. immigration law, the Obama administration so far has maintained most Bush administration enforcement policies to keep the borders secure before the debate begins in Congress over changing the laws. The only formal change was to limit controversial raids at workplaces. School of Law Professor […]
Under pressure since admitting paying out milions in bonuses after receiving billions in federal bailout money, insurance giant AIG says it will reconfigure its board to include six new independent directors. School of Management Professor James Post, an authority on corporate governance and business ethics, says the AIG effort is not a surprise because “the […]
Reports are surfacing that big banks are using life-insurance policies to help pay bonuses, pensions, and deferred compensation owed to their executives — with the banks as the beneficiaries. While not illegal, critics complain that the banks get tax breaks for funding such quasi-pensions, then profit when the executives die. School of Management Professor Fred Foulkes, director […]
Word’s out that Microsoft plans to unveil next week a new version of its Internet search engine. Meantime, Yahoo says it plans to improve the way it’s engine performs searches. School of Management Professor N. Venkat Venkatraman, who heads the Information Systems Department, can offer perspective on how the moves will affect the battle to […]
Reports say the Obama administration is considering creating a new regulatory agency to protect consumers of a wide variety of financial products ranging from mortgages to hedge funds. School of Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, a proponent of regulatory streamlining who directs the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, can comment on the implications. Meantime, […]
Former deputy Comptroller of the Currency Robert Bench, now senior fellow at the School of Law’s Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, says it’s no surprise a Wall Street Journal survey shows more than 900 mid-and small-sized banks could generate losses of $100 billion on commercial real estate loans by the end of 2010. […]
Reports say investigators into Bernard Madoff’s alleged “Ponzi scheme” are looking at some of his wealthy clients who may have known that the returns on their investments were unrealistically high. School of Law Professor Tamar Frankel, a securities law expert and Israeli native, says this would violate both securities law and Jewish law. “Jewish law […]
This week Wal-Mart is taking the fight to Best Buy and Amazon (as Circuit City fades away) by upgrading the electronics departments in its 3,500 stores across the country. School of Management marketing Professor Frederic Brunel says it’s a consequence of the ubiquitous nature of easy-to-install/operate consumer electronics. “This is self-service selling, and thus the […]
Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to put a priority on Iran’s nuclear ambitions when he meets today with President Obama, an indication that Palestinian statehood, backed by the U.S. but not endorsed by Netanyahu, can wait. College of Communication Professor Robert Zelnick, a former long-time ABC News correspondent in the Middle East, can offer […]
Silicon Valley companies, particularly Google, are bracing for an expected new phase of tough new antitrust scrutiny under the Obama administration. School of Law Professor Keith Hylton, an antitrust law expert, says the Justice Department is shifting from cartel enforcement back toward prosecuting big firms for monopolization. “The key obstacle for the Obama administration will […]
