Mon, Nov 10 2025, 11:46 AM
“6-7!” has swept the nation for youngsters of indeterminant age, and for no real reason. Other numbers have meaning, as do dates. For example, today i...
Fri, Nov 7 2025, 11:50 AM
How was the Louve in Paris robbed? The password for the cameras was… ready? Louve. (I’m sure that the Smithsonian, MOMA, and Vatican IT staffs are bus...
Thu, Nov 6 2025, 11:51 AM
Frequent conference goers or traveling salespeople are obviously concerned about the Trump Administration cutting 10 percent of flights for a variety ...
Wed, Nov 5 2025, 12:00 PM
“Did you hear about the Chinese guy who spoke out against the government? Exactly.” Hate the U.S. Government or love it, sometimes government and lend...
Tue, Nov 4 2025, 11:44 AM
“Being a parent is like being a psychic who is always right but is always ignored.” Here in Austin, TX, whether it was the Texas Women Mortgage Banker...
Mon, Nov 3 2025, 11:45 AM
“Daylight savings time: Is the government cutting off the bottom of a blanket and sewing it to the top and saying, ‘See? Its longer now.’” Here in Aus...
Fri, Oct 31 2025, 11:48 AM
Change is constant. Soon I head to Austin, in the Great State of Texas, for the TMBA’s star-studded Housing Summit where “change” will certainly be st...
Thu, Oct 30 2025, 11:45 AM
Are you ready to change the time on your car’s clock, or leave it and let it be right again on March 8, 2026? Some technology is cool. Imagine control...
Wed, Oct 29 2025, 11:46 AM
"The U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would tax Botox. When Botox users heard this, they were horrified. Well, I think they were horrified. It's...
Tue, Oct 28 2025, 11:54 AM
My cat Myrtle never liked Halloween, apparently believing it was for amateurs. Our nation has plenty of interesting historical sites related to ghosts...
Mon, Oct 27 2025, 11:48 AM
I was recently on a hike with a gal pal, and we were talking about her future. I asked, “You don’t have any kids. Who is going to take care of you whe...
Fri, Oct 24 2025, 11:40 AM
As shown in this video clip, don’t ever underestimate your opponent, or competitor. There were plenty of opponents and competitors at this week’s MBA ...
Thu, Oct 23 2025, 11:46 AM
Economies and strategies impact various groups differently. Remember Mervyn’s, Montgomery Ward, or a dozen other large department stores that are no l...
Wed, Oct 22 2025, 11:54 AM
“Why did the Tibetan Monks go to Las Vegas? They are very good at games of chants.” One topic among hallway chats with lenders here at the MBA Annual ...
Tue, Oct 21 2025, 11:51 AM
“What do Costco and Las Vegas have in common? You go to buy a gallon of milk, and it costs you $285.” There isn’t a lot of autumn foliage here in Las ...
Mon, Oct 20 2025, 11:50 AM
“Why did the Dalai Lama go to Las Vegas? Because he loves Tibet.” Here at the “MBA Annual,” the puns may not be flying, but there is news bouncing off...
Fri, Oct 17 2025, 11:38 AM
Under the category of careers that are, or will be, impacted, by artificial intelligence, attorneys are inevitably on it. Here’s a tale of a lawyer ca...
Thu, Oct 16 2025, 11:46 AM
“I was gambling in Las Vegas; I took a little risk. Send lawyers, guns, and money, Dad, get me out of this!” Hopefully, no one heading to LV tomorrow ...
Wed, Oct 15 2025, 11:51 AM
While the debate rages on about whether the three colors of candy corn taste different, at the other end of the tech spectrum, lenders are weeding out...
Tue, Oct 14 2025, 11:43 AM
“Where do amputees get prosthetics on a budget? The secondhand store.” Budget, stalemate, and shutdown news continues in Washington DC. The sun still ...
Fri, Oct 10 2025, 11:49 AM
The stalemate & shutdown continue, all but eliminating the government release of economic news. Recall that the U.S. Treasury posted a $345 billion bu...
Thu, Oct 9 2025, 11:46 AM
“Two lawyers walk into a pub. They order a couple of drinks and take subs out of their brief cases. They begin to eat. Seeing this, the angry pub owne...
Wed, Oct 8 2025, 11:50 AM
We’re sailing through autumn. Places like Seattle and Minneapolis are losing 3-5 minutes of sunlight a day. Donald Trump told Congress to end changing...
Tue, Oct 7 2025, 11:45 AM
President Trump has recommended that publicly held companies only report earnings every six months instead of every three. Don’t stockholders deserve ...
Mon, Oct 6 2025, 11:45 AM
Often the economy and general business trends are separate from management and business acumen. Like Block Buster, which at the high point had over 9,...
Fri, Oct 3 2025, 11:46 AM
Here in Telluride, CO, after learning of my capital markets background, yesterday someone bluntly asked me, “Can one person slow or stop the United St...
Thu, Oct 2 2025, 11:47 AM
We’re two days into the 4th quarter of the 2025, two days into another government shutdown, and… companies are relishing their September numbers. I ha...
Wed, Oct 1 2025, 11:09 AM
Come on… you don’t believe politics and mortgages are separate? Look at politicized government housing agencies: whoever is running HUD, whether it is...
Tue, Sep 30 2025, 11:46 AM
“Why do millennials think the government saved their lives? Because they are indebted to it forever.” Here in Colorado, the United States federal gove...
Mon, Sep 29 2025, 11:51 AM
Here in Colorado, banking, credit unions, and independent mortgage banks are a solid part of the economic fabric. LOs here and everywhere are scrambli...
Fri, Sep 26 2025, 11:48 AM
Call them wretched or call them splendid, in Japan, robots and service bots run some restaurants and are indeed taking the place of humans, who have n...
Thu, Sep 25 2025, 11:45 AM
“I just won $10 in the lottery! The 7-11 clerk wanted to sell me a $10 lottery ticket in Atlanta. I said no.” Hopefully most people realize that a lot...
Wed, Sep 24 2025, 11:52 AM
“Yesterday I was devastated to learn that the 2025 Psychic Prediction Convention was cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances.” Yesterday, while the ...
Tue, Sep 23 2025, 11:47 AM
At recent conferences I’ve attended, including here in Atlanta at the Loan Vision Innovation Conference, talk of federal government partisanship, post...
Fri, Sep 19 2025, 11:44 AM
In China, red symbolizes prosperity, protection, and welcoming energy, and so is a popular front door color for occupants, especially when facing sout...
Thu, Sep 18 2025, 11:48 AM
JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, Wells Fargo and Bank of America, PNC Bank, N.A. and others announced a decrease in its prime lending rate to 7.25 percent, ...
Wed, Sep 17 2025, 11:41 AM
Today I find myself in Vancouver, WA, splendid in the autumn, to meet with various mortgage folks and especially the Banner Bank mortgage crew, coveri...
Tue, Sep 16 2025, 11:49 AM
My cat Myrtle was always up for a battle with a lizard in the yard. On a larger scale, the ancient Chinese philosopher Sun Tzu said, “Every battle is ...
Mon, Sep 15 2025, 11:53 AM
“Someone posted that they had just made synonym buns. I replied, ‘You mean just like the ones that grammar used to make?’ I am now blocked.” That was ...
Fri, Sep 12 2025, 11:38 AM
“Rob, we’ve said ‘no’ to more expansion possibilities than ever before. Are you hearing other lenders doing deep dives on LOs and branches and also no...
Thu, Sep 11 2025, 11:41 AM
“All I know is what I read in the papers,” Will Rogers quipped. In news in the papers from our Census Bureau, AI use at large companies is in decline....
Wed, Sep 10 2025, 11:46 AM
“Rob, I hate it when mom and dad fight. Will this Pulte/Bessent, FHFA/Treasury tussle impact mortgage rates?” Probably not; it hasn’t so far. Director...
Tue, Sep 9 2025, 11:42 AM
Tomorrow I head from Boise to Jackson for the Mississippi Mortgage Banker’s Fall Conference. Certainly a topic in my email in-box and at events is how...
Mon, Sep 8 2025, 11:43 AM
“When the economy is good, people drink. When the economy is bad, people drink. The moral? Invest in alcohol.” Here in Boise at the PNMLC, the comment...
Fri, Sep 5 2025, 11:29 AM
The Fed looks at Twitter to gauge the financial sentiment out there? Yes: TFSI! The Federal Reserve certainly finds itself in a maelstrom these days… ...
Thu, Sep 4 2025, 11:46 AM
“Apparently you can’t use ‘beef stew’ as a password. It’s not stroganoff.” How’s your privacy? Or another question: Why wouldn’t you tell your recent ...
Wed, Sep 3 2025, 11:40 AM
“Twas the third of September, the day I’ll always remember… Wherever he laid his hat was his home, and when he died, all he left us was a loan…” Okay,...
Tue, Sep 2 2025, 11:37 AM
What’s old is new again? In Vermont, one man is refurbishing payphones for people to use for free. Very cool. Debt isn’t old or new, but how we treat ...
Fri, Aug 29 2025, 10:17 AM
“The hardness of the butter is proportional to the softness of the bread.” Proportionality is important, whether in a restaurant or in a lender watchi...
Thu, Aug 28 2025, 8:57 AM
“Remember how when you were little you could just rip off your diaper and run around naked and everyone thought it was so cute and funny? Anyway, I ne...
