Smith Brain Trust

Health safety for residents following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, has been a top concern. Has it really been safe enough to return – both for the short- and long-term?

A new viral TikTok trend is music to the ears of women fighting against the gender gap in the music industry.

Treasury payments towards the interest on the debt represent the federal government’s largest spending increase so far this year. As the Wall Street Journal reports, it’s contributing to a deficit for the first four months of this fiscal year that has widened to $460 billion, up 78% from $259…

In the fourth quarter of last year, the number of Americans paying $1,000 a month or more for a vehicle hit a record high of 15.7%. Today roughly two out of 13 people have committed themselves to these payments.

When asked if she would issue the same call to action to corporations she gave them in 2020, Professor Rachelle Sampson said “I would.”

The Federal Reserve Board has engaged six of the biggest U.S. banks in a pilot Climate Scenario Analysis (CSA) to assess and “advance the ability of supervisors and banks to analyze and manage emerging climate-related financial risks.”

“If I were advising, I would think that it would be unwise for South Africa to conduct this exercise, especially in the vicinity of the anniversary.” That’s University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business William E. Mayer Chair Professor of Finance, Lemma Senbet reacting to South Africa’s…

The stars were out Sunday night during Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium—and not just the injured Patrick Mahomes leading the Kansas City Chiefs to a comeback win over the Philadelphia Eagles, or the pregnant Rihanna pumping up the crowd during the halftime show.

The unimaginable happened in March 2020. Many employers shuttered their offices and told their employees to work from home. Today, although office workers are still not coming in every day, offices across 10 major U.S. cities are over 50% filled for the first time since the pandemic started. 

Wall Street Journal reporter Justin Lahart has coined the term “richcession” to explain what might happen should a recession occur this year. According to him, the well-heeled would take a bigger hit than usual, even if we manage to narrowly escape an economic downturn.