URBANA, Ill. – Schwab Advisor Services in partnership with the Charles Schwab Foundation has made a generous donation to the Women, Power, and Money Program for Financial Planning at the University of Illinois. The grant provides funding to create and sustain the infrastructure needs of the program until 2025. The funds will contribute to enhancing the course, creating a public-facing lecture series, building course materials, and bringing in guest speakers.

URBANA, Ill. – Financial inclusion is key to improving economic and social welfare, reducing inequality, and promoting economic growth. Globally, 1.7 billion people have limited access to financial services, especially in the developing world. As governments and NGOs work to strengthen financial resilience, digital technology has become a crucial component.

URBANA, Ill. – Global financial markets collapsed in March 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the world. But weeks earlier, soybean futures had already started providing an early warning sign of troubles ahead. Soybean futures were “the canary in the coal mine,” according to a team of agricultural economists from the University of Illinois, who studied soybean, corn, and wheat market trading in early 2020.

URBANA, Ill. – Financial technologies – fintech – are rapidly expanding and providing easier access to financial services worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic has further accelerated the need for contactless transactions.

A new study from the University of Illinois evaluates fintech systems in 16 emerging markets. The researchers conclude digital technologies overall provide greater access to financial services, but some barriers to usage remain for vulnerable populations.

URBANA, Ill. ­– For a decade, agricultural professionals in Illinois and beyond have had a trusted online source for daily analysis and information. farmdocDAILY, part of the University of Illinois farmdoc project, is celebrating its 10-year anniversary on March 17.

And to mark this occasion, the farmdoc team will be releasing its list of the all-time top 20 articles.

URBANA, Ill. – Financial planning students get to hone their skills and gain valuable experience in real-life simulations through industry competitions.

URBANA, Ill. – A group of applied economists launched a new research center this week at the University of Illinois. The Center for the Economics of Sustainability (CEOS) is made up of agricultural, development, environmental, financial, and consumer economists who collaborate with stakeholders and researchers from many other disciplines. Together, they study how best to manage natural resources and how to design policies and markets to achieve sustainability at the lowest possible cost.

URBANA, Ill. ­– The Academy for Home Equity in Financial Planning has a new home at the University of Illinois in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). The academy is a hub for research, teaching and information about the role of home equity in retirement planning.