BU Now » BU School of Management

AIG repayment plan

Jo Breiner — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 18:03:39 +0000

American International Group announced they have finalized a repayment plan with the Treasury Department. Mark Williams, a former Federal Reserve Bank examiner who now teaches finance in the School of Management and author of “Uncontrolled Risk” about the fall of Lehman Brothers, offers the following view.

“The Treasury would be jumping the gun by cashing out of AIG and leaving money on the table. The government should sit tight, be patient and not sell its shares in AIG. This is not about government timing the market, but about insuring a fair return for taxpayers.

“The Treasury is making the same mistake it did with Citigroup – getting out too early. Could the November election cycle be clouding what should be a purely financial decision?”

Contact Mark Williams, 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu

AIG bill still hitting taxpayers

Dick Taffe — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:42:08 +0000

The Congressional Oversight Panel says in a scathing report that the government failed to exhaust all options before bailing out the insurance giant American International Group – although the rescue did help the financial system avert collapse. Nonetheless, the watchdog panel says taxpayers may never be paid back all of the $182 billion funneled to support AIG. Former Federal Reserve Bank examiner Mark Williams, who teaches finance in the School of Management and is author of “Uncontrolled Risk” about the fall of Lehman Brothers, says the report speaks to the elevated role that policymakers have in conducting stronger risk management.

“Taxpayers deserve better decision making that incorporates basic risk-management tools, including risk measurement, worst-case forecasting, monitoring, and frequent reporting. With significantly more taxpayer money at risk, now it is time for policymakers to exercise better risk management.”

Contact Mark Williams, 617-358-2789, williams@bu.edu

Dell to roll out iPad rival

Dick Taffe — Tue, 25 May 2010 18:25:30 +0000

With Apple having sold its one millionth iPad last month, Dell says it will roll out its 5-inch-screen rival tablet — The Streak — next month in England in in the U.S. later in the summer. It will run on Google‘s open-source Android operating system. School of Management Professor N. Venkat Venkatraman, chairman of the Information Systems Department, asks what Dell can do to differentiate and win, beyond a lower price point which depends on scale.

“More interesting question is, how will these Android-powered tablets perform against Apple iPad? That is the real battleground.”

Contact N. Venkat Venkatraman, 617-353-7117, venkat@bu.edu