Euopean Union regulators launched two antitrust investigations against IBM, the world’s biggest provider of computer services, for allegedly abusing its dominant position on the mainframe computer market. IBM says it’s cooperating with the EU probe and that it suspects the complaint is being driven by its largest competitors, led by Microsoft. Law Professor Keith Hylton, an authority on antitrust law, notes that the allegations revolve around IBM trying to tie its operating system to its mainframes, and to tie its own service to its mainframes. IBM, he said, could defend itself saying it is protecting itself by limiting consumers from using inferior services or to bettter reap the returns from innovation.
“Both explanations have been viewed with suspicion as defenses in American law, and probably have even less chance of success under European law. Still, they are reasons that IBM’s ‘tying’ strategies may be pro-competitive and beneficial to consumers in the long term.”
A federal judge in Phoenix is hearing arguments from the state, the feds, and civil rights groups over whether Arizona's controversial new immigration law -- requiring officers to check a person's immigration status if there's a "reasonable suspicion" that the person is here illegally -- should take effect next week. Law Professor Susan Akram, an authority on immigration law, says similar attempts by states to seize from the federal government responsibility for immigration matters have either been tied up in litigation for years or were overturned.
"It does not appear that public opinion has been influenced by the actual facts involved in passing such measures: that they are unlikely to be enforceable because they conflict with an area in which federal law pre-empts most state action; that they are going to be subject to serious and lengthy litigation; and that they are going to cost the states and localities significant resources without achieving the benefits they seek."
The trustee overseeing the liquidation of the estate of convicted swindler Bernie Madoff (r.) has sued 25 feeder funds and 19 individuals for wrongly enriching themselves from the multi-billion-dollar Ponzi scheme for which Madoff is serving a 150-year sentence in federal prison. Law Professor Tamar Frankel, a securities law authority and author of "Trust and Honesty: America's Business Culture at a Crossroad," says all of those feeders of money benefitted, like all money managers, from their services -- but they allegedly had actual knowledge of what Madoff was doing.
"They should have checked. If they did not, they should repay the fees and compensate for damages caused by their negligence. This is not a claim on hindsight for unexpected damage -- this is a claim for keeping their eyes tightly shut.”
A battle is brewing over who President Obama should nominate as the new consumer "watchdog" under the new financial regulatory reform law after he signs it. Consumer advocates and activist groups are pressing him to tap outspoken Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren, who now chairs the congressional panel overseeing the federal bailout of the nation's banks. Others feel she may not be able to get confirmed by the Senate. BU Law Professor Cornelius Hurley, director of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law and a former counsel to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, notes that the new Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection will be a massive managerial undertaking with a $500 million budget and hundreds of employees.
"Its head should be someone who, in addition to sound policy instincts, has a proven record of managerial accomplishment. A polarizing choice will dim the chances of the bureau carrying out its mission effectively.”
Once again, Toyota has been subpoeaned by a federal grand jury in New York seeking information on steering-related defects in its vehicles, and possibly broadening a probe into the Japanese automater's handling of a recall back in 2005. Law Professor Keith Hylton, an expert in liability law, says the case may come down to how much Toyota knew about these problems and when they discovered them.
"If Toyota knew ‘enough’ and ‘soon enough,’ then a court might find the firm liable for punitive damages in a tort action, on the theory that the firm’s conduct was reckless or intentional. However, if the firm became aware of a possible problem (sticky floor pads, faulty steering rods) without having any information on its frequency or severity, it may have taken the firm some time to discover the extent of the problem."
Waiting only for the late Sen. Robert Byrd's replacement to be sworn in so they have enough votes, Senate Democrats were voting break the GOP-led stalemate and extend unemployment benefits for millions of Americans who have been out of work 6 months or more. Political science Professor Graham Wilson, author of "Only in America?American Politics in Comparative Perspective," reminds that everything from now to November will have a political motive behind it.
“For once the Democrats have got the Republicans just where they want them on an issue where they’ve been filibustering. Saying ‘no’ to unemployment benefits in the middle of a recession won’t go down well with most Americans."
SED was recently ranked in the top twenty large universities for the amount of graduates it provided to the 2010 Teach for America (TFA) corps. Out of the 4,500 new corps members in 2010, 35 of them came from Boston University. Director of Educational Initiatives at SED Amy Slate said, “We have found our partnership with TFA to be mutually beneficial and are proud to be a significant contributor to their corps.” TFA corps members are top college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years in underserved schools and become lifelong leaders in the pursuit of educational equity
A 2-year investigation by the Washington Post shows that the top-secret world the federal government built in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks now is so big, unwieldly, and secretive that no one really knows how much it costs, how many people it employs, how many programs there are, or how much overlap there is among agencies. International relations Professor Joseph Wippl, a 30-year CIA veteran, says the easiest action for the political class is to enact laws and fund programs, even when every new law and every new program diminishes the return on investment.
“Real political and media leadership would pause to think through reasonable measures to counter problems -- but that is hard. Terrorist attacks against the United States are probable sometime in the future. How we react to these attacks will determine if we defeat them or defeat ourselves."
Euopean Union regulators launched two antitrust investigations against IBM, the world’s biggest provider of computer services, for allegedly abusing its dominant position on the mainframe computer market. IBM says it’s cooperating with the EU probe and that it suspects the complaint is being driven by its largest competitors, led by Microsoft. Law Professor Keith Hylton, an authority on antitrust law, notes that the allegations revolve around IBM trying to tie its operating system to its mainframes, and to tie its own service to its mainframes. IBM, he said, could defend itself saying it is protecting itself by limiting consumers from using inferior services or to bettter reap the returns from innovation.
A federal judge in Phoenix is 
The trustee overseeing the liquidation of the estate of convicted swindler Bernie Madoff (r.) has 
A battle is brewing over who President Obama should 
Once again, Toyota has been 
Waiting only for the late Sen. Robert Byrd's replacement to be sworn in so they have enough votes, Senate Democrats were 
A 2-year 
