November 17, 2009 at 12:11 pm
The four Democratic candidates for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by the death of Ted Kennedy meet at Boston University today at noon for a forum on the environment and a new green economy. For a live Web feed of candidates Michael Capuano, Martha Coakley, Alan Khazei and Stephen Pagliuca, go to http://www.bu.edu/com/live/senate/.
November 17, 2009 at 8:00 am
The Boston University Art Gallery (BUAG) presents Historic New England’s traveling exhibition, Drawing Toward Home: Designs for Domestic Architecture from Historic New England, featuring one hundred drawings of houses selected from the rich collections of Historic New England. The exhition opening will take place tonight from 6-8 PM at the Stone Gallery (855 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston).
November 16, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Trading on 3Com stock options soared just hours before a Hewlett-Packard takeover bid and now the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking to see if it was a case of insider trading. Law Professor Elizabeth Nowicki, a former SEC attorney, says the best way to catch SEC suspicion is to place trades for calls immediately before a major announcement.
"In these difficult economic times, it is imperative for the SEC to convey the message to investors that unfair trading – insider trading – will be quickly punished. The worst thing for this economy would be for investors to lose their faith that the stock markets and stock trading is essentially fair."
Contact Elizabeth Nowicki, 617-353-2807, enowicki@bu.edu
November 16, 2009 at 5:11 pm
To raise cash and pay down debt, Motorola reportedly is considering splitting into three companies and sell off its division which makes TV set-top boxes and networking gear. School of Management Professor N. Venkat Venkatraman, chairman of the Information Systems Department, says all three divisions need investments to regain traction, and a split-up will help them get started.
"More critical is whether the divisions can become leaders in their respective spaces. If they do not, we may see Motorola becoming largely irrelevant as Nortel and Lucent have become in the recent past."
Contact N. Venkat Venkatraman, 617-353-7117, venkat@bu.edu
November 16, 2009 at 3:55 pm
While drug makers promise to back healthcare reform by cutting drug costs after legislation passes, the industry has been raising drug prices at a 9-percent clip. Law Professor Kevin Outterson, an authority on pharmaceutical law and marketing, says this means big pharma will make more money from health reform.
"This is apparently the price for PhRMA’s support of broader health reform."
Contact Kevin Outterson, 617-353-3103, mko@bu.edu
November 13, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Two computer programmers who worked for Bernie Madoff were arrested by the FBI for aiding in Madoff's multi-billion dollar Ponzi fraud. Law Professor Tamar Frankel, an authority in securities law, says the burden of proof is heavy, but the two should be brought to court anyway.
"Aiding and abetting in a fraud requires the knowing and intentional assistance to the fraud. The question will be the extent to which these programmers who helped Madoff in defrauding many investors were fully aware of his scheme and helped him promote it nonetheless."
Contact Tamar Frankel, 617-353-3773, tfrankel@bu.edu
November 13, 2009 at 12:24 pm
Despite President Obama's call for Hamid Kazai to crack down on corrupution in Afghanistan, the U.S. apparently has little leverage over the Afghan president. Journalism Professor Nick Mills, author of "Karzai: The failing American Intervention and the Struggle for Afghanistan," says without a credible "or else" threat, any demands on Karzai are just "dust in the wind."
"The huge blunders of the Bush Administration throughout its adventure in Afghanistan have created a no-win scenario for President Obama, and Karzai believes he has the West over a barrel. But I also think Karzai has probably lost control of events."
Contact Nick Mills, 617-353-3492, nmills@bu.edu
November 13, 2009 at 9:21 am
November 12, 2009 at 6:13 pm
Intel, the world's largest maker of computer processors, will pay $1.25 billion to its biggest competitor, Advanced Micro Devices, to settle all antitrust and patent suits. School of Management Professor Michael Salinger, a former director of the Federal Trade Commission (which also is investigating Intel), applauds the settlement.
"It’s a substantial settlement, which represents an acknowledgment by Intel that they were at serious risk of a finding against them."
Contact Michael Salinger, 617-353-4408, salinger@bu.edu
November 12, 2009 at 6:02 pm
With both newspapers and local broadcasters in deep financial trouble, the FCC reportedly may be looking to loosen media-ownership rules in 2010. Mass communication Professor T. Barton Carter, an expert on the FCC and communication law, says the difficulty is identifying what changes are needed and finding enough evidence to satisfy any court challenges.
"Making the whole process much more difficult is the rapidly changing media environment. By the time the rules are passed and survive appeal they may no longer be appropriate."
Contact T. Barton Carter, 617-353-3482, comlaw@bu.edu
