This book isa collection of research papers that contribute to the understanding of ongoing developments in financial institutions and markets both in the United States and globally.When a Bank is not a Bank: The Case of Industrial Loan Companies; C.Johnson ?& G.G.Kaufman Banking and Commerce: What Difference Does Wal-Mart Make?; C.E.Blair Managing Financial Failure in an Evolving Economic and Financial Environment; E.H.G.H?pkes The Political Economy of Burden Sharing and Prompt Corrective Action; G.H.Garcia Uncertainty, Transparency and Future Monetary Policy; M.D.Hayford ?& A.G.Malliaris The Trimmed Mean PCE Inflation Rate: A Better Measure of Core Inflation; H.Rosenblum ?& N.Y.Cote Payday Lending and Payments Services: An Historical and Modern Analysis; R.DeYoung ?& R.J.Phillips Insider Trading and Large Chapter 11 Bankruptcies: 19952006; T.Nasser ?& B.E.GupGEORGE KAUFMAN is Professor of Business Administration, Loyola University, Chicago, USA. ? ROB BLISS is Professor, Calloway School of Business and Accountancy, Wake Forest University, USA.