May 11, 2010 at 6:20 pm
Conservative Party leader David Cameron is the new British Prime Minister — at 43, the youngest in nearly 200 years. Cameron took over after Labour Party leader Gordon Brown resigned, his party having been unable to form a coalition government with the smaller Liberal Democrat party after none of the three won a Parliamentary majority in last week’s voting. Political science Professor Graham Wilson, author of “Only in America? American Politics in Comparative Perspective,” says the obvious pairing politically would have been with Labour and Liberal Democrats, but that was being viewed as a coalition of the losers because the Conservatives actually won more seats.
“So it will be the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. It’s hard to see this partnership lasting long. This is an implausible coalition.”
Contact Graham Wilson, 617-353-2540, gkwilson@bu.edu
May 11, 2010 at 5:43 pm
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is proposing that the top 40 U.S. banks -- with assets totaling $8.3 trillion -- submit "living wills" to show how they could be split off from parent companies and wound down. In parallel with Congressional reform efforts, the FDIC also is proposing that those selling securitiezed assets retain 5% of the risk on those assets. 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 the FDIC's proposal preempt several sister regulatory agencies.
"If the FDIC was attempting to make the case for federal regulatory consolidation, its ill-timed proposals hit the mark.”
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu
May 10, 2010 at 11:49 am
Heads of the major stock exchanges were summoned to Washington by federal regulators to try to help figure out what caused last week's computerized sell-off the shot the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1,000 points in a matter of minutes. Law Professor Elizabeth Nowicki, a former Securities and Exchange Commission attorney and Wall Street lawyer, said the incident was similar to the 'Black Monday' crash in 1987, which the markets survived.
“The vehement suggestion that the SEC should adopt forthwith market circuit breakers for all markets is premature, given that liquidity is needed to some degree to help markets self-correct, even if short-term volatility is unnerving.”
Contact Elizabeth Nowicki, 518-867-5355, enowicki@bu.edu
May 10, 2010 at 10:37 am
U.S. Solicitor General Elena Kagan, a former Harvard Law School dean, was nominated by President Obama to be the 112th justice of the Supreme Court. BU Law Professor Jack Beermann, an authority on the high court who knows the nominee well, says he see it as a strong plus that Kagan is not a sitting judge and that the idea that she lacks experience is completely off base.
"Her service in the Clinton and Obama administrations, her judicial clerkships with Thurgood Marshall and Abner Mikva, her years practicing law, and her academic background -- including her great success as the dean of the Harvard Law School -- make her just as well-prepared for the Supreme Court as someone who has had some years as a Court of Appeals judge."
Contact Jack Beermann, 617-353-2577, beermann@bu.edu
May 10, 2010 at 6:00 am
The Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center will host a celebration of the life of noted writer Robert B. Parker, followed by a reception, today 5:30 PM in the Metcalf Ballroom (775 Commonwealth Ave., Second Floor). His archives, which are housed at the Gotlieb Center, will be exhibited and tributes to Parker’s life will be made by Sue Grafton, Dennis Lehane, Calvin Trillin and members of the Parker family. Parker, regarded as one of America’s greatest crime-fiction authors, is remembered as being an award-winning novelist, a sought after professor at Northeastern University and a famously devoted husband and father.
May 7, 2010 at 11:30 am
And the winner is ... no one. The most tightly contested British Parliamentary election in a generation has ended in the first stalemate since 1974, with no party winning an outright majority of seats that would enable it to choose a prime minister and form a ruling government. Frantic efforts are being made to shape some sort of coalition among the Conservative, Labour, and Liberal Democrat parties -- which finished in that order. Political science Professor Graham Wilson, author of "Only in America? American Politics in Comparative Perspective" and who was in England to observe the election, says the results aren't good for the country.
“Labour lost heavily, the Conservatives failed to win with every possible advantage, and the Liberal Democrats are dismayed their campaign success didn't translate into votes or seats. Britain loses as there is no stable majority to back a government making tough economic choices.”
Contact Graham Wilson, 617-353-2540, gkwilson@bu.edu
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Posted in Professor Voices
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Tagged British elections, British Parliament, Conservative Party, David Cameron, Gordon Brown, Graham, Graham Wilson, Labour Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Nick Clegg, Parliament
May 6, 2010 at 5:05 pm
1970 was a year that saw the Beatles break up, the first Earth Day celebrated in the U.S., and All My Children hit the ABC airwaves. Born in 1970 were Actor Matt Damon and figure skating sweetheart Tonya Harding, while rock 
legends Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix joined the 27 Club. However, 1970 was also a year of social unrest on college campuses, resulting in several universities, including BU, canceling their commencement exercises.
Now, 40 years later, BU will bring closure to the class of 1970, as reported in a recent Boston Globe article, with over 300 members of the class coming back to campus to take part in the 2010 Boston University commencement.
The weekend ceremonies will begin with a slide show on Saturday, May 15th by nationally acclaimed photojournalist, author, and music historian Peter Simon. Through the Lens: Peter Simon (COM’70) and Your Generation will include images captured during his time as photo editor of the BU News.
A service of remembrance at Marsh Chapel will also be held on the 15th, to honor late classmates of the class of 1970, as well as to reflect on events of the era.
On May 16, prior to the University's commencement ceremony, the class will take part in its own formal convocation at CFA's Concert Hall. The graduates will then march with the class of 2010 on Nickerson Field for commencement.
A complete list of programs for the class of 1970 can be found here.
May 6, 2010 at 3:48 pm
We just confirmed that Ed Harris will be at the Gotlieb event scheduled for Monday night (5/10) at 5:30 PM in Metcalf Hall, honoring noted author Robert Parker. The event is free and open to the public...
May 5, 2010 at 3:20 pm
As nationwide workers' strikes continued and deadly riots erupted in Athens over austerity measures invoked to deal with Greece's ongoing debt crisis, fears grew that the situation may adversely impact the global banking system. Mark Williams, author of "Uncontrolled Risk" about the fall of Lehman Brothers who teaches finance in the School of Management, says the risk will remain high until meaningful financial reform is enacted globally.
“If the stunning collapse of world markets after the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy in September 2008 was the wakeup call [about uncontrolled risk in the banking system], the unraveling of Greece and potentially other sovereigns (Spain, Portugal, Italy) is the latest alarm bell."
Contact Mark Williams, 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu
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Tagged Athens, European Union, eurozone, Greece, Greece debt, Italy, Lehman Brothers, Mark Williams, Portugal, School of Management, Spain
