News, information and research from Boston University
May 8, 2009 at 11:57 am
As reported in the Wall Street Journal, the U.S. will appoint a three-star general to Kabul, marking the first time since the seven-year war began that the U.S. will have two senior commanders in Afghanistan. Former head of the American Embassy in Kabul, Charles Dunbar, now a professor of international relations, is available for comment on the revamp.
Contact Charles Dunbar, 617-353-5633, cfdunbar@bu.edu
May 8, 2009 at 10:44 am
Despite billions of taxpayer dollars poured into it to help revive the US economy, GM plans to add many of its new automaking jobs overseas under its restructuring. The Washington Post reports that the GM plan looks to double the number of cars it sells in the US that will be built Mexico, China, and South Korea. School of Management Dean Louis Lataif, a former Ford executive, can offer some global perspective.
Contact Louis Lataif, 617-353-2668, lelataif@bu.edu
May 8, 2009 at 10:41 am
According to a recent Boston Globe article, the state's highest court ruled that the law requiring GPS monitoring of people on probation for certain sex offenses applies only to offenders who have been placed on probation after being convicted of the crimes, not to offenders who are awaiting trial.
"It’s not clear from the ruling that judges will be precluded from requiring certain individuals charged with sex offenses from wearing the devices, but they (the judges) are not required to have offenders wear them prior to conviction," said Tom Nolan, professor of criminal justice and a twenty-seven year veteran (and former lieutenant) of the Boston Police Department.
Contact Tom Nolan, 617-358-3582, tnolan@bu.edu
May 8, 2009 at 10:12 am
As global health officals ponder "what if" scenarios over the mixing of the new H1N1 flu with bird flu that is endemic in Asia and/or regular flu in the southern hemisphere, researchers are grappling with new vaccine concerns and whether in the fall, a new flu strain combination will be more virulent.
Alexander Ozonoff, a BU School of Public Health assistant professor of biostatistics, who has worked with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on influenza tracking can address these issues.
Contact Alexander Ozonoff, (617) 638-5866 aozonoff@bu.edu
May 8, 2009 at 10:07 am
Google acknowledges the FTC is asking about antitrust implications of the ties between the boards of Google and Apple. Though they share two directors and compete on cell-phone operating systems, browser software, and online video distribution, Google says there's no antitrust there. School of Management Professor Michael Salinger, a former FTC official, and Law Professor Keith Hylton, an antitrust expert, can offer some perspective on the tricky situation.
Says Salinger: "I think it is unlikely that such an inquiry would have been made by a Republican chairman."
Contact Michael Salinger, 617-353-4408, salinger@bu.edu
Contact Keith Hylton, 617-353-8959, knhylton@bu.edu
May 8, 2009 at 9:50 am
With Boston Globe Newspaper Guild members still considering the final contract offer from owners at the New York Times, the Globe's publisher is predicting more reductions but a future for New England's largest paper. Meantime, sources say the Times is looking for a buyer. College of Communication Dean Tom Fiedler, a former executive editor of the Miami Herald, can offer some perspective on the Globe's dicey situation.
Contact Thomas Fiedler, 617-353-3488, tfiedler@bu.edu
May 8, 2009 at 9:17 am
With the release of results from the government's "stress tests" on the nation's largest financial institutes, 10 major banks must raise nearly $75 billion in capital. Former Fed bank examiner Mark T. Williams, who teaches at the School of Management, says, "The race is on now: Whoever gets to market first and has the most compelling story to investors will be able to raise capital."
Williams and Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, a former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, can comment on what's next.
Contact Mark T. Williams, 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu
May 8, 2009 at 6:00 am
The Institute for Human Sciences is hosting a two-day conference on the “Future of Food” on Friday, May 8 and Saturday, May 9. The conference will examine the topic of “How can we foster a global food system that safeguards cultural and biodiversity while providing safe and nourishing food for all citizens?”
Most events are free and open to the public and held at the BU Law School Auditorium at 765 Commonwealth Avenue. For more information and details, visit here or contact Elizabeth Amrien at eamrien@bu.edu/617-358-2778 or Kate Seif at clseif@bu.edu/610-420-7854.
May 7, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law and former counsel to the Fed Board of Governors, looks beyond the banking "stress tests" to lessons learned.
"Assuming the stress tests produced 'material' findings for the bank regulators (BofA's $34 billion capital deficiency seems to be 'material') doesn't this say something about the regulators' own processes? The next question should be: What was the flaw in the regulators' customary procedures that allowed these deficiencies to go undetected?"
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu
May 7, 2009 at 10:48 am
Law Professor Tamar Frankel, author of "Trust and Honesty: America's Business Culture at a Crossroad," says taxation is a reasonable tool to use to control corporations which are being given federal bailout money because they've become "too big to fail."
"Many wonder and worry about the mammoth banks and corporations that became 'too big to fail' and are sucking the taxpayers’ money -- yet do not have enough. How should the size of these corporations and future ones be controlled?
"In the name of efficiency we have eliminated enforcing antitrust laws and allowed corporate managers to increase their power by acquiring smaller corporations. We have specialized functional limits (e.g., investment banking separation from commercial banking). One possibility is to tax not the income but the assets of corporations above a certain size. But that has not been done before and is fraught with problems.
"The new administration has taken the better step of taxing corporations wherever they profit and escape U.S. taxation. Corporations will declare their income, pay taxes and hopefully shrink somewhat. Their share prices might fall, but they might also rise. Size does not mean efficiency or competitiveness. It does mean management and executive higher compensation.
"In light of the enormous handouts to these corporations and the national deficit which they have bestowed on us, taxing these entities may bring both the shareholders relief in an indirect way, and the country some relief in a very direct way."
Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
