Nokia's War on iPhone - Patent Lawsuit Looks Weak

Nokia on Thursday 22 October lobbed a lawsuit versus Apple pleading patent infringement. "They should spend their money on R&D rather than lawyers" accused one disgruntled observationist.

Morgan Stanley Back in the Black, Bye Bye John Mack

Morgan Stanley reported its first quarterly profit in the last three quarters, chiming in at $757m (having made a loss of $159m the previous quarter). Chief exec, John Mack, announced he is stepping down at the end of December. Shares were up 6.5%.

Royal Mail's Pension Deficit highlights Britain's Corporate Pension Crisis

Royal Mail is planning cuts due to reduced turnover of mail. The quarrel with unions is over the size of the cuts and how it will affect those who stay. Royal Mail also faces a pensions deficit of around £8bn. This deficit has caused problems in finding a private partner to take over Royal Mail. Royal Mail is not the only UK company with a pension deficit. ITV has one of £580m.

McKinsey and Bear Stearns Executives Alleged to have Aided Fraud

Investor Raj Rajaratnam together with former McKinsey and Bear Stearns executives, have been charged in a $20m insider trading case. It is claimed to be the first insider-trading case where court-authorised wire-taps were used.

The Market for Lemons

This thesis by George Arkelof (PhD MIT) was applied to used cars in the United States. It has also been applied to wages and immigration. Arkelof spent a year in the Indian Statistical Institute in New Delhi.