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The D'Amore-McKim School of Business' international business and strategy group is launching the International Business Today podcast.

After a months-long bidding war, JetBlue Airways has agreed to buy Spirit Airlines for $3.8 billion. While Spirit shareholders have approved the buyout, the deal could still face a challenge from federal antitrust regulators.

Protests sparked by the death of a 22-year old Kurdish woman and roaring across Iran for more than a week indicate the depth of grievances Iranians have against the Islamist regime, Northeastern University's experts say, but it is difficult to predict whether they will lead to any change in the country and in the state of women's rights.

Northeastern airlines industry expert Ravi Sarathy says JetBlue's acquisition of Spirit Airlines will probably result in higher fares for consumers, as the low-cost carrier Spirit disappears in the planned $3.8 billion purchase.

Northeastern, industry experts say travel woes will continue this summer but expect delays, cancellations and flight cost issues to subside in the fall.

President Joe Biden has ordered the release of 1 million barrels of oil per day from the country's petroleum stockpile for the next six months to combat the nation's oil crisis as the Russian war in Ukraine marches toward its third month. But some, including two Northeastern professors, question whether Biden was right to do so.

JetBlue Airways and Frontier Airlines are seeking to partner with Spirit Airlines, the low-cost carrier. “From a competitive standpoint, either of these mergers will probably result in higher fares,” says Ravi Sarathy, a Northeastern professor of international business and strategy who studies the industry.

The invasion of Ukraine has raised concerns that Russia may launch a cyberwar against the west. In recent years, cyberattacks have become more frequent, wreaking havoc on organizations around the world. Even the largest multinationals cannot escape the risk that such attacks pose to their longer-term viability.

Moscow's famed cyber prowess may not be as sophisticated as people believe, say Northeastern experts. And, Russia may not have the appetite to launch a digital war on top of a traditional one with tanks and bombs. “They don't want a war on two fronts if they don't have to,” says global strategy professor Luis Dau.

The compounding effects of inclement winter weather and the wildly contagious omicron variant of COVID-19 left airlines in a bind at one of the busiest times of year for travel. AP Photo/LM Otero