December 2, 2009 at 5:10 pm
After fumbling the probe into Bernie Madoff’s multibillion-dollar fraud, the Securities and Exchange Commission reportedly is ramping up insider-trading investigations. Law Professor Elizabeth Nowicki, a former SEC and Wall Street attorney, says traders at hedge funds, investment banks, and brokerages should beware.
“The SEC has finally aggressively asserted itself — in what appears to be both a public relations move and a genuine effort to clean up insider trading and selective disclosure — to make the markets more fair for Joe Common Investor.”
Contact Elizabeth Nowicki, 617-353-2807, enowicki@bu.edu
December 2, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Google has agreed, as a concession to publishers of paid content news, to let them limit the number of free articles accessed through the Internet search engine. Journalism Department Chairman Lou Ureneck calls it a positive development for the media indusry, and ultimately for consumers.
"The free traffic in articles that news organizations have put significant money into developing is unsustainable in the long term. This moves the Internet and media closer to a consumer-paid model."
Contact Lou Ureneck, 617-353-4095, lureneck@bu.edu
December 1, 2009 at 4:28 pm
A European Union initiative, to be considered next week, would carve off east Jerusalem as the capital if an independent Palestinian state. Israel rejects the concept. Journalism Professor Bob Zelnick, a former ABC News Middle East correspondent and author of "Israeli Unilateralism: Beyond Gaza," says the Israel, the Palestinians, and the U.S. all have missed recent chances to make peace in the region.
"We have here a situation where brains and judgment appear to have recused themselves from the peace process."
Contact Bob Zelnick, 617-353-5007, bzelnick@bu.edu
November 30, 2009 at 5:59 pm
President Obama will tell the nation Tuesday about his new policy in Afghanistan. Journalism Professor Nick Mills, author of "Karzai: The failing American Intervention and the Struggle for Afghanistan," says he is disappointed at reports that Obama will increase U.S. troop strength there.
"I don’t expect that an additional 30,000 troops will make much of a difference; it will bring our forces to about the highest level of Red Army forces that were in Afghanistan in the late 1980s, and the Soviets understood that even that number was insufficient. The insurgency will grow to meet any new levels of force."
Contact Nick Mills, 617-353-3492, nmills@bu.edu
November 30, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Golf superstar Tiger Woods took responsibility for the nighttime SUV accident in which he suffered minor injuries. But because he declined to speak with police, speculation erupted about what "really" happened. Prof. Peter Morrissey, a PR reputation-management expert, says Woods' reputation could be severely damaged if something comes out that he was hiding.
"The news media feeds off this type of delayed response. Tiger and his folks should get the truth out to defuse the situation. He is an institution but he is still not larger than the game that got him there."
Contact Peter Morrissey, 617-353-1020, pmorriss@bu.edu
November 25, 2009 at 2:30 pm
Led by John Kerry and Orrin Hatch, 59 U.S. senators are urging European antitrust regulators to make a decision on the proposed Oracle merger with Sun Microsystems. Law Professor Keith Hylton, an antitrust law expert, says the intervention reflects a disproportionate political influence by Sun relative to its importance to the economy.
"This sort of intervention by members of Congress is overdue. There should have been a frank dialogue about competition policy differences several months (or maybe years) ago."
Contact Keith Hylton, 617-353-8959, knhylton@bu.edu
November 25, 2009 at 6:00 am
Tip #4: Trim the alcohol.
A glass of wine can be enjoyable with dinner, but let's face it: Alcohol adds more calories to your Turkey Day feast. On top of that, spirits can weaken your willpower, especially when consumed on an empty stomach.
Save the first toast for when the turkey is served and sip four ounces instead of the usual five or six ounces. Use a smaller wine glass to help you stay on track.
November 24, 2009 at 6:00 am
Tip #3: Trim the amount of food you eat.
We stuff ourselves silly on Thanksgiving because we're afraid we'll have to wait another 12 months before we can indulge in the whole turkey thing again.
Try to remember that this is America. If you want a turkey with stuffing and apple pie a la mode in July, it's yours for the asking. In fact, if we all got in the habit of repeating this meal a few times throughout the year, it probably wouldn't have that "Last Supper" appeal to it.
Challenge yourself to eat at least 25 percent less this year, and the calories and fat won't be so astronomical. Consider serving your Turkey Day on smaller plates. This is the easiest way to consume 25 percent less without much of an effort.
Check back tomorrow for Tip #4.
November 23, 2009 at 5:38 pm
The Senate healthcare-reform bill includes a proposed 5-percent surtax on elective cosmetic surgery to help finance the package. School of Law adjunct Professor Ameek Ponda says some will worry about how to draw the line between taxable cosmetic surgery and nontaxable reconstructive surgery. Line drawing in all tax law, he says, is necessary and important.
"As a matter of tax policy, the proposed excise tax will seem odd to many because it penalizes one form of private behavior over other forms of private behavior. Botany is untaxed, but botox is; Facebook is untaxed, but facelifts are."
Contact Ameek Ponda, 617-338-2443, aponda@sandw.com
Twitter co-founder Biz Stone says the social-networking site is looking to make more acqusitions, may eventually be taken public, and is definitely 
