General Motors and Citigroup both are being taken off the Dow Jones Industrials Average listings, to be replaced by Travelers Insurance and Cisco Systems. School of Management finance Professor Scott Stewart, a former long-time Fidelity funds manager, can discuss what the shifts in the Dow Jones composition means to investors. Contact Scott Stewart, 617-353-2353, sstewart@bu.edu
With the 20th anniversary of Tiananmen Square , College of Communication broadcast Professor Anne Donohue reflects on how the uprising has impacted (or not) young Chinese journalism students she taught recently in Beijing. Contact Anne Donohue, 617-353-3418, adonohue@bu.edu
Trading in complex derivatives, financial instruments like credit default swaps, in large part sparked the current economic crisis. Now the debate has shifted to how to regulate derivatives and where to trade them. School of Law Professor Charles Whitehead, a securities law expert and long-time Citigroup counsel, can offer some guidance as to where the […]
It’s official: Industy icon General Motors has filed for bankruptcy (as Chrysler prepares to emerge from it). Former Ford Motors executive Louis Lataif, now dean of the BU School of Management, can put the upheavals into context. Contact Louis Lataif, 617-353-2668, lelataif@bu.edu
President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton are pressing Israel to freeze the building of settlements on Israel’s West Bank. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu insists any freeze would only be part of an end-game peace solution with the Palestinian government. College of Communication journalism Professor Robert Zelnick, a former ABC News Middle East correspondent and […]
In its effort to better compete with Google, Microsoft is rebranding its search engine. Microsoft’s “Live Search” (which used to be “MSN Search”) is now officially called “Bing” — or as Microsoft says, “the sound of found.” School of Management marketing Professor C.B. Battacharya can discuss the challenges of rebranding and retaining brand loyalty. Contact […]
Sonia Sotomayor, President Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, was a politically wise choice, says School of Law Professor Jack Beermann, an authority on high-court politics. In a BU Today interview, Beermann says Sotomayor could “shake up the dynamics” of the court if confirmed by the Senate. Contact Jack Beermann, 617-353-2577, beermann@bu.edu
Under the shadow of an insider-trading probe, pioneering hedge fund Pequot Capital Management is shutting down forever. School of Law Professor Tamar Frankel, an authority on securities law and legal ethics, says this is another lesson in why hedge funds should not be exempt from regulation. Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
After a 9-year marriage, media conglomerate Time Warner confirms it will spin off its poorly performing AOL division which will become an independent, publicly traded company. School of Management Professor N. Venkat Venkatraman, chairman of the Information Systems Department, can offer some look-back and look-ahead commentary. Contact N. Venkat Venkatraman, 617-353-7117, venkat@bu.edu
To determine the lunar radiation environment on the Moon, as a prelude to going to Mars, NASA will launch, on June 17th, the Lunar Reconaissance Orbiter with a Cosmic Ray Telescope developed by Harlan Spence, professor of astronomy. The instrument will include plastic “skin,” to study how the Moon’s radiation levels affect humans over time. […]
