The University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business is excited to announce some favorite books in the 14th Annual Top-10 Summer Reading List for Business Leaders for 2017, as recommended by faculty members. (1) The Undoing Project: A Friendship that Changed Our Minds By Michael Lewis (2016)

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – At a time when robots and other forms of automation appear poised to edge out wide swaths of the global workforce, several pilot projects and at least one documentary film are exploring the idea of universal basic income – free money for everyone, enough to cover basic expenses.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – When federal budgets are released from the White House Office of Management and Budget, there are typically a few holes here and there, some missing details, and perhaps some wishful thinking since the budget assumes that everything the president proposes will become enacted.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — The risk landscape for banks has changed since last year. For starters, Congress and the Trump Administration have started discussions on a regulatory overhaul. And, meanwhile, interest rates are on the rise, and the Federal Reserve is shifting its focus toward maintaining economic gains made in the past few years. 

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Health insurance – not the U.S. tax code – is "crippling our business around the world," Warren Buffett said during Berkshire Hathaway’s annual shareholder meeting on May 6, 2017, in Omaha.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Leave it to a period of calm to inject nervousness into the market, as it did this week when the Chicago Board Options Exchange's Volatility Index, or VIX as it is known, dropped to a level not seen in about 23 years. The drift lower in the so-called fear index has market watchers worriedly speculating about a calm before a storm.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – President Donald Trump’s tax reform proposal, as unveiled last week, would reduce income taxes for many Americans, says William Longbrake, an execut

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — How will President Donald Trump's proposed tax plan affect your household? Today in Smith Brain Trust, Albert "Pete" Kyle, Charles E.

Gender diversity can improve a firm's performance, research shows, but consensus is fleeting as to why a lack diversity persists on corporate boards.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – Could activism inspired by International Women's Day, such as State Street Global Advisors' placing a statue of a young girl before the iconic charging bull of Wall Street, actually hamper the push to gain more women on U.S. corporate boards?