March 18, 2010 at 3:54 pm
While most of the huge banks which got taxpayer bailouts last year have paid back their TARP loans, hundreds of community banks haven’t. Robert Bench, a former deputy Comptroller of the Currency and now a senior fellow at BU Law’s Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law, says it’s no surprise. Too many real estate development and commercial real estate loans and inability to raise capital, he says.
“The ‘Volcker Rule’ seeks to redirect the largest banks back to serving the broader financial needs of America. Perhaps we also need new rules for more diversification of loan portfolios at community financial institutions.”
Contact Robert Bench, 617-353-5428, bobbench@bu.edu
March 18, 2010 at 11:47 am
A proposal, backed by the Federal Trade Commission because it would save consumers money, would have banned patent settlements between brand-name and generic drug makers. But it was dropped from the health-care reform bill because it couldn't pass muster with Congressional rules. School of Management Professor Michael Salinger, a former FTC director, the ban still should be enacted.
"So far, the courts have thwarted the FTC’s valiant efforts to end pay-for-delay. Whether or not it is included in the health-care overhaul, Congress should do so."
Contact Michael Salinger, 617-353-4408, salinger@bu.edu
March 18, 2010 at 8:06 am
A new report says pharmaceutical sales growth has slowed in mature markets like the U.S. and Western Europe while it's set to grow in China and Brazil. And it says unless current leading drug makers quickly expand into those markets, they'll cede them to local producers. Law Professor Kevin Outterson, an authority on drup patents and marketing, says Big Pharma better catch up.
"Drug companies can no longer view these markets as marginal, nor ignore the people priced out of the market in these countries due to poverty."
Contact Kevin Outterson, 617-353-3103, mko@bu.edu
March 17, 2010 at 11:31 am
Financial institutions and their allies are gearing up their lobbying effort to weaken Senator Dodd's proposed financial regulatory reform bill. 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 proposed creation of a separate consumer-protection group within the Fed could be made even stronger.
"The better course is to designate by statute one of the seven Federal Reserve governors as the ‘Consumer Affairs Governor’ and charge that person with clear responsibility for ensuring that the many consumer statutes the Fed has responsibility for are aggressively enforced."
Contact Cornelius Hurley, 617-353-5427, ckhurley@bu.edu
March 15, 2010 at 4:49 pm
The Foreign Policy Association has issued a new report urging the U.S. to take a more assertive role in pushing for a peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. "Israel and Palestine: Two States for Two Peoples -- If not now, when?" was co-authored by BU international relations Professor Augustus Richard Norton, who notes that President Obama said in his Cairo speech last year that a two-state solution is in all parties' best interests.
"Delivering on that vision will lend credibility to his words and cast the United States in the role of peacemaker rather than policeman."
Contact Augustus Richard Norton, 617-353-7808, arn@bu.edu
March 15, 2010 at 11:19 am
In his once-a-year news conference, China's premier sought to deflate pressure over Chinese economic policies and promised cooperation in revving up the global recovery. International relations Professor Kevin Gallagher, author of "The Dragon in the Room: China and the Future of Latin American Industrialization," says says its good that China is pointing to other countries for their protectionist tendencies.
"The U.S. and others can't have their cake and eat it too -- by taking China to the WTO when China is violating rules then crying ‘protectionist’ when the U.S. is taken to task."
Contact Kevin Gallagher, 617-353-9348, kpg@bu.edu
March 12, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Federal regulators insist they'll keep a close eye on the proposed merger of Comcast, the country's biggest cable-TV operator, and NBC Universal, with its vast content-production empire. Law Professor Keith Hylton, an authority on antitrust law, says the feds need to make sure the merger won't crush competition or harm consumers.
"But the government should try to make sure that the conditions imposed on the merger do not reduce the potential benefits to consumers."
Contact Keith Hulton, 617-353-8959, knhylton@bu.edu
March 12, 2010 at 3:18 pm
The federal bankruptcy examiner's report on the collapse of Lehman Brothers shows the 158-year-old firm died from multiple causes, including bad mortgage holdings and accounting gimmicks used to hide its mounting debt. Law Professor Tamar Frankel, author of "Trust and Honesty: America's Business Culture at a Crossroad," says if Lehman scammed stockholders and investors, they should pay.
"Corruption starts at the top and spreads downwards. The results of corrupt leadership should be years in prison and payment of the entire salaries and bonuses since the fraud started."
Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
March 12, 2010 at 12:03 pm
The Justice and Agriculture Departments are launching a series of year-long public meetings to explore if antitrust practices in the agriculture industry are driving up food prices -- with the big target being Monsanto, the world's largest seed firm. Law Professor Keith Hylton, an authority on antitrust law, says the productivity of Monsanto's genetically engineered seeds must be considered.
"Conventional seeds may have all but disappeared. Because they are so much less productive than the genetically engineered variety, few large-scale farm operations have an interest in them now. This is a question for the regulators to consider."
Contact Keith Hylton, 617-353-8959, knhylton@bu.edu
March 11, 2010 at 5:08 pm
Despite recalls and bad PR , Toyota says it will use no-interest loans and lease discounts to help regain over the rest of 2010 the U.S. market share lost over the past two months. School of Management Dean Louis Lataif, a former Ford executive, says when one automaker launches a big incentive program others usually follow.
"In this instance, however, with Toyota uniquely suffering a precipitous drop in February sales as a consequence of the spate of unfavorable headlines, competitors will likely wait to judge the impact."
Contact Louis Lataif, 617-353-2668, lelataif@bu.edu
