*  *  *  I am pleased to participate in this symposium on the information economy. My colleagues in Kansas City deserve thanks for again having arranged a stimulating program. I will begin by discussing some issues that relate directly to the paper by D’Avolio, Gildor, and Shleifer.
I will then offer some broader comments on the actual or potential effects of information technology in markets for financial services. This paper fits into the large literature on the economics of imperfect information.