SMITH BRAINTRUST — Vexed politicians and Election 2016 voters might scoff.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Designing a good presidential poll can be tricky. Just ask Gallup, which missed the mark in 2012. David Kass, an economist at the University of Maryland's Robert H.

When stock markets fluctuate, investors get antsy. Sell before things get worse? Buy up the bargains? What’s the right strategy? In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, host Jeff Salkin sits down with David Kass, who explains why you should resist the impulse to guess where the market is headed.

Martin Shkreli became the Internet villain of the fall (some publications used much harsher language) when his company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, acquired the rights to Daraprim, which treats a condition called toxoplasmosis — and promptly raised the per-pill price from $13.50 to $750. Toxoplasmosis can be deadly for people with weakened immune systems, and Daraprim is the only treatment around.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Is it time for the biggest consumer products group in the world to be broken up? Procter & Gamble may account for more than half of the market for laundry care in the United States (Tide, Gain, Downy), more than two-thirds of the market for razors and blades (Gillette), and 15.5 percent of the beauty and personal care market (Pantene, and on and on). That's added up to a market capitalization of more than $200 billion.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Valeant Pharmaceuticals’ stock dive, after short-selling resea

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Europe’s biggest investment bank is bracing for a near-$7 billion third-quarter loss, and the fallout is taking shape.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- This week’s market selloff has made a lot of people itchy to trade stocks. They want to sell before things get worse or, alternatively, maybe pick up some bargains. David Kass, professor of the practice at the University of Maryland’s Robert H.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- Berkshire Hathaway’s $32.6 billion buyout of Precision Castparts Corp.

Smith Undergrads’ ‘Woodstock for Capitalists’ Experience includes ‘Buffett v. Mayweather’ This year’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., annual shareholder meeting coincided with the conglomerate’s 50-year anniversary under Chairman Warren Buffett  – and the Floyd Mayweather- Manny Pacquiao boxing showdown.