Smith Brain Trust

Maryland Smith’s David A. Kirsch, who is researching pro-Tesla Twitter bots, or “fanbots,” says irony pervades Elon Musk’s stated reasoning to abandon his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter.

Consumers are feeling the effects of the highest inflation rates in decades, particularly on essentials like groceries and gas, while many big companies are reporting record profits. That dichotomy is angering a lot of Americans and public officials.

Elon Musk’s move to abandon his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter has the company intent on forcing the deal through.

Amid the highest inflation in 40 years, the “outlook for U.S. stocks in the second half of 2022 is very uncertain with at least a 50% probability of a recession in 2022 or 2023,” says Clinical Professor of Finance David Kass at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Consumers are grappling with sharply higher prices nearly everywhere, thanks to soaring inflation rates. The sticker shock at the grocery store can be particularly tough to swallow, says Maryland Smith’s P.K. Kannan, the Dean’s Chair in Marketing Science and associate dean for strategic initiatives.

Convenience is invaluable for both sides in business-customer interaction. Thus, companies increasingly are integrating live chat and messaging – an advancement from voice and email – into the customer service channel mix. Third-party apps facilitate and fuel this trend. “The top three apps (…

How will new technologies and changes in the economic and political landscape in different countries affect humankind in the next 20 to 50 years? Maryland Smith’s G. “Anand” Anandalingam explores different facets of that question with an expert guest in each episode of his new podcast, Future of…

The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recently proposed updated rules for public companies to report the climate-related impact of their businesses to the federal government and their shareholders. While the commission collects public comments on the proposal up to June 17, the University of…

The longstanding ‘safe and effective’ regulatory approach to assure Americans their drug products meet a high standard of quality remains effective. However, the pharmaceutical industry needs an additional apparatus – a quality rating system – to address recent supply shortages that are…

Target missed the mark when calculating this season’s inventory and now the retailer is scrambling to liquidate extra items. The company is slashing prices to move items like patio furniture and household appliances to free up space on shelves and in warehouses. But how’d they get it so wrong?