Those always-relentless tough guy federal prosecutors are now in tough pursuit of Apple. Oh, not the apple my mother told me to eat once a day to keep the doctor away, but the Apple Company that’s worth nearly $3 trillion and is one of the most famously profitable companies in the world. The US Department of Justice is accusing Apple of violating antitrust laws, undermining the development of telephone technology, criminally taking money away from consumers, and “smothering free trade,” all of which is all over the news. While equally newsworthy, but not so much in the news right now, are companies admitting wrongdoing and paying fines or settling lawsuits. Northwestern University, for example, has agreed to a settlement to pay $43 million for increasing tuitions on students receiving financial aid. The Morgan Stanley Investment Company has agreed to a settlement of $249 million for mismanaging some stock trades. And an advertising business promoting the infamous pain killing drug Oxycontin and three other painkillers has agreed to settle a $350 million lawsuit for mismanaging ad campaigns. Add it all up and I think you’ll agree there’s something wrong with it all and that somebody sure ought to fix it.

Walter Jacobson gives his Perspective: