Smith Brain Trust

With three or four Fed rate hikes anticipated in 2018, mortgage rates will edge higher. But the borrowing environment will remain favorable, Smith School professor Clifford Rossi says. He takes a look at the housing market as we head into a new year.

Bitcoin continued to defy gravity this week, even as many prepared to watch it plunge. And no one seems quite sure why. The Smith School's Albert "Pete" Kyle says he believes the cryptocurrency's plunge is inevitable. It may just be a bit delayed.

Ask anyone who loves those iconic building toys: Lego sets aren't cheap. And those plastic brick sets very rarely go on sale. The Smith School's P.K. Kannan says Lego is part of an elite club of brands that hold their ground on price and quality. 

The Smith School's Rebecca Bellinger outlines a business strategy for reversing the recent decline of international student enrollment at U.S. colleges and universities.

Beauty pageants draw criticism. But Smith School executive communication coach Tricia Homer, who competed in the Miss Universe 2005 pageant, says the competitions can elevate one's brand.

Are we headed for a cashless society? Financial technology or "fintech" makes it a real possibility, but sparse regulation leaves this new world feeling like the Wild West.

How do you close the gender wage gap? Maryland is taking one step, adopting a law that will ban companies from inquiring about a job candidate's salary history.

The best givers take time to understand their customers, who just might want a Miles Davis poster, shares in the local utility company, a piano or a pocket calculator. 

Speculation is swirling about the world's largest oil company. But the Smith School's Charles Olson says there is increasing evidence that an initial public offering isn't actually going to happen.

Among the pages and pages of proposed changes in the still-evolving Republican tax plan, the Smith School's Sam Handwerger detects some signs that the party is becoming more open to a flat tax.