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Finance

The Corporation Is Centuries Older than We Thought‌‌

The genesis of the joint-stock company is usually traced to the founding of the English East India Company and the Dutch East India Company around 1600. New research co-authored by Prof. William Goetzmann says this origin story may be off by centuries.‌

A drawing of a mill along a river in the 17th-century
  • How Trump Is Making the Fed’s Job Harder‌‌

    Prof. William English, a former Fed official, says that the Federal Reserve’s mission of balancing inflation and employment has been complicated by a series of wild cards delivered by the administration, including tariffs and an attempt to fire a member of the Board of Governors.‌‌

    President Donald Trump and Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell touring a Federal Reserve renovation project in July.
  • DOGE’s Lease Cancellations Are Already Hitting the Commercial Real Estate Market‌

    A study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Cameron LaPoint shows that the cancellations drove up the cost of commercial mortgage-backed securities as investors priced in more risk, and could reverberate through the broader economy.

    An office tower with an "office space for lease" sign
  • Beauty, Power, Art, and Finance‌

    Art, money, and power twist together in complex ways, in a dynamic that may be older than humans. In his research, Yale SOM’s William Goetzmann traces the social meaning of art and money and the ways they set pecking orders, create art superstars, and blow up into senseless bubbles.‌

    The auction of Leonardo da Vinci’s Salvator Mundi at Christie’s in 1997.
  • Can AI Replace Human Debt Collectors?‌

    New research co-authored by Yale SOM Professor James Choi finds that people are less likely to follow through on a commitment to repay a debt if it’s made to an AI agent. The finding hints at one area where humans may always retain an advantage over bots.

    An robot talking to the debtor on the phone
  • Who Will Finance the AI Revolution? ‌‌

    Deployment of AI is accelerating exponentially, and the nascent industry requires unprecedented investment to grow. We spoke to two Yale College alums and leaders at Goldman Sachs about where the capital to support an AI transition is coming from.‌

    A data center
  • Podcast
    Season 1
    Episode 2
    Duration 23:07

    How Finance Shapes Your World with Song Ma

    Finance isn’t just about making bets on stocks and bonds. It’s a technology that, at its best, opens up the world for commerce and discovery, and allows us to share risk and plan for the future. Prof. Song Ma, an expert in the economics of entrepreneurship, shares lessons from his course Finance and Society, which traces the innumerable ways finance powers modern life.

    Lessons from Yale SOM written on a chalkboard
  • Video: Can the Tools of Finance Help Combat Climate Change?

    Yale SOM’s Stefano Giglio, an expert on climate finance, explains what green investing can and can’t do to help speed the transition to a post-carbon economy.

    An illustration of an investor standing in a flooded street
  • Has Inflation Been Tamed?‌‌

    We asked Prof. William English to explain the Fed’s approach to interest rates and the potential consequences of tariffs and budget cuts. ‌‌

    Eggs for sale  in Monterey Park, California, in February. 
  • The Key Information Hiding Behind ‘Consensus’ Target Stock Prices‌

    Ordinary investors generally can only see an average of analysts’ target prices for a given stock. In a new study, Yale SOM’s Thomas Steffen and Frank Zhang find that when the degree of variation within that “consensus” figure is large, it’s a bad sign for future returns. ‌

    A target surrounded by darts
  • Small Changes, Big Results: Research-Backed Tips for Living a Good Life in 2025‌‌

    We asked Yale SOM faculty for their best tips on living happily, healthily, and productively in the new year.‌

    Ripples on water in the sun