SMITH BRAIN TRUST — The debate over whether Great Britain should exit the E.U. — to "Brexit" or not to "Brexit"? — is rippling outward from Europe into the world's major financial markets. The G20 nations, who met in Shanghai last weekend, warned of a "shock" to the world economy if Britain goes its own way.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Several Republican presidential candidates have endorsed — or said they'd consider — putting America back on the gold standard. Sen. Ted Cruz has been the most outspoken, arguing that pegging the dollar to gold would make monetary decisions less arbitrary than the ones currently made by the Fed.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Last week, Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen said that raising interest rates before the end of the year was "a live possibility," given what she described as the relatively strong performance by the economy.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — When the stock market plunged more than 1,000 points in the first minutes of August 25, later rebounding for "only" a 588-point loss that day, did well-intended financial regulations contribute to the volatility? 

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- The Center for Financial Policy at the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business hosted a forum on Global Market Volatility on Sept. 8, 2015, aimed at making sense of the recent tumult in international markets — notably in China, but also spilling over into other regions, including the United States.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST — Albert “Pete” Kyle is the Charles E. Smith Chair Professor of Finance at the Robert H.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- High-frequency traders provide a useful service but rig the system when they extract tolls from investors, a professor from the University of Maryland's Robert H. Smith School of Business said this week during a financial regulation conference in Australia.

SMITH BRAIN TRUST -- The Chinese stock market meltdown bears more than a passing resemblance to the U.S.

Thursday, May 22, 2014, 7:30 p.m. | Sunday, May 25, 2014, 7:30 a.m. Michael Lewis’s new book, “Flash Boys,” delves into the world of high-frequency trading. Blamed for the May 2010 stock market “flash crash,” this type of trading – which relies on using fast computers to make quick trades – has changed the playing field for traders. In this edition of Smith Business Close-Up with the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, Professor Albert “Pete” Kyle discusses high-frequency trading and Lewis’ new book.

Stock market crashes have rattled market participants, frustrated policymakers and puzzled economists. But contrary to conventional thinking, these crashes are neither random nor unpredictable. “Useful early warning systems are feasible,” says Albert "Pete" Kyle, the Smith School's Charles E. Smith Chair Professor of Finance.