U.S. Congressional negotiators are ironing out differences in two mammoth financial reform bills -- one passed in the House in December, the other by the Senate in May. Backers say the result will prevent the kinds of excesses that led to the financial crisis. Yet, while some of the measures likely to become law may help, there would still be plenty of risk left in the system, according to several Wharton faculty members. "[The proposed reform] is not, ultimately, a game-changer in terms of preventing a crisis," says Wharton real estate professor Susan M. Wachter.

Sovereign wealth funds, the large investment funds supported by governments, are mostly a positive economic force that can provide a shot in the arm to the companies -- and countries -- they invest in. They are also a stabilizing force for the nation where the investment originates. Those are some of the main takeaways from a new Wharton study, "The Brave New World of Sovereign Wealth Funds." In this interview with Knowledge@Wharton, Wharton management professor Mauro F. Guillén, who helped to oversee the research, and two Wharton MBA candidates present some of their key findings.

It's no secret that many people are financially illiterate, or unable to understand basic principles of money management. To address this situation, Wharton, Dartmouth and the Rand Corporation have established the new Financial Literacy Center, which will develop "educational materials and programs that help foster saving and retirement strategies over the life cycle." Annamaria Lusardi, an economics professor at Dartmouth who will help lead the new Center, and Michelle Greene, deputy assistant secretary for financial education and financial access at the U.S. Treasury Department, spoke with Knowledge@Wharton about the Center's goals and why individuals need to be more proactive about their financial health.

In the run-up to European Union's $960 billion stabilization plan on May 10th, Wharton management professors Mauro Guillén and Saikat Chaudhuri, and Jean Salmona, founder and chairman of the editorial board of ParisTech Review, participated in an interview with Knowledge@Wharton on likely outcomes from the financial crisis facing Greece, some of its sister countries and the European Monetary Union more generally. How did events spin so out of control? How will the politics of the crisis affect the Eurozone's economic performance? Guillén, Chaudhuri and Salmona addressed these and other questions on May 7, just before the huge financial support package was announced.

Wouldn't it be great if you could invest in a new film that you thought might be a real blockbuster? Now maybe you can. On Tuesday, April 20, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission approved a movies futures exchange -- sponsored by Cantor Fitzgerald investment bank -- that will match buyers and sellers of future movie receipts. But given the way some futures exchanges work, how good an investment is this for individuals? In this personal finance column, Wharton professor Kent Smetters offers some answers.