National Banks Lean on Feds During Crisis

By Jack Simony

Large U.S. banks such as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup repeatedly asked the Federal reserve for help during their financial crisis, according to recently released documents, Reuters reported.

Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lunch and Citigroup, all now part of Bank of America, were the biggest recipients when it came to the Fed's emergency lending programs.

"It appears the investment banks clearly needed the money," Lawrence Glazer, managing director at Mayflower Advisors in Boston, told Reuters. 
-By Jack Simony

Central Bank in Europe Will Keep Up Lending During Crisis

By Jack Simony

The European Central Bank will extend it's extraordinary support to banks for an additional three months to relieve some of the pressures in financial markets there, the New York Times reported Thursday.

Some investors were disappointed by the move, because they hopped for a stronger display of resolve to rally faith behind the euro.

- By Jack Simony

Do You Really Need All Those Supplements?

By Jack Simony

A new report says diet supplements, like adding extra vitamin D, to your health routine, may not be as good for you as you think, the New York Times reported.

“For most people, taking extra calcium and vitamin D supplements is not indicated,”  Dr. Clifford J. Rosen, a member of the panel and a bone expert at the Maine Medical Center Research Institute, told the newspaper.

- By Jack Simony

Europe Worries Debt Crisis Is Ready to Spread

By Jack Simony

European officials are warning any new rescue plans aimed at stopping Europe's debt crisis may need to include Portugal and Ireland, the New York Times reported.

For either of the countries to be included, they would have to make a formal request for assistance. Ireland has insisted it has enough money till at least spring, and Portugal, too, says they don't need the help, but European officials think otherwise.


“If Ireland were to ask for aid, then you’d have to look at what’s going on in Portugal as well,”one official told the Times.

- By Jack Simony

Multidistrict Litigation Possible in DePuy Hip Replacement Recall Lawsuits

By Jack Simony

A judicial panel on multidistrict litigation will meet next week at Duke University Law School  to hear arguments on whether MDL should be followed  for the DePuy hip replacement recall lawsuits, according to a report on Webnewswire.com.

In August, DePuy Orthopaedics recalled 93,000 if their ASR XL Acetabular Systems and ASR Hip Resurfacing Systems, because a study from the National Joint Registry showed 1 in 8 ASR recipients had problems with in 5 years if getting them.

In some cases a second hip surgery was required.

Those suing the company allege the devices wre defective and not tested correctly.

- By Jack Simony

U.S. Solicitor General Wants Supreme Court to Reject Reglan Lawsuit Appeal

By Jack Simony

The U.S. Solicitor General wants to the U.S. Supreme Court to reject an appeal by drug companies in a generic Reglan lawsuit filed over a claim about failing to adequately warn about a rare movement order associated with the drug, AboutLawsuits reported. 

“The court of appeals correctly held that respondent’s failure-to-warn claims are not categorically preempted, because a generic manufacturer, can (and indeed, must) inform FDA of new information about risks that may require a change in the labeling of its drug,” the Solicitor General stated, according to the website.

- By Jack Simony

Law Departments Shift Money, Work In-House, Survey Says

By Jack Simony

More corporate businesses are taking their legal matters into their own hands and moving the legal teams in-house instead of hiring other companies, CorpCounsel.com reported.

In a recent study, released by Altman Weil's Chief Legal Officer Survey,  63 percent of the officers questioned said they had increased their internal budgets from 2009 to 2010, and 29 percent said they would decrease their use of outside firms in the coming year.

- By Jack Simony