Month: February 2026

Anyone out there who believes that storms aren’t becoming more severe is in the minority. The latest examples are the blizzard that hit the mountains in the West and the one that is currently hitting the Northeast. (Those heading to the Hurt No Mor Ski Trip next week in Park City, Utah, are pleased with the snow dump.) The current storm, and news of Homeland Security suspending TSA PreCheck and Global Entry security programs, and then apparently not suspending the programs, has put a good…

“I hate it when people subtly brag about where they went to college. I have this friend who went to Harvard, and he just won’t shut the hell up about it. He’s always been like this, even when we were in college together.” Nature abhors a vacuum, and if students don’t want to go to college in their own countries, where are they going to go? The environment for people around the world coming to the U.S. has changed, whether for college or to live, impacting to some degree the demand for…

“I asked my pen why it never moves. It wrote, ‘Sorry, I’m stationary.’” (It’s cutting-edge humor like that which keeps readers coming back!) Pens? Mail-related check fraud never seems to go away, and the FBI reminds us that blue gel pens certainly help in reducing check fraud. “Rob, are you hearing that the increase in the popularity of artificial intelligence has led to an increase in mortgage fraud?” Yes, I have. It can be insidious… it may not show up until months or years have passed….

Here in New Orleans, the other night on the street, or was it on a capital markets conference call yesterday, I heard someone singing, “There’s a party goin’ on right here, a celebration to last throughout the years…” by Kool & the Gang. The years sail by, and it’s hard to believe that the COVID pandemic was six years ago with its increase in deaths . For our biz, we switched to “work from home,” among other changes. Along those lines, I received this note: “Rob, are you hearing about a…

Here in New Orleans, the average rainfall is about 5 feet a year, much of it in the summer. Out west, most snow and rain occur in the winter. I mention this because, although being hit by a storm now including a deadly avalanche, until recently the Western U.S. was in a dire snow drought. What comes next is even scarier. Does the climate, and its impact on weather, impact lenders and servicers? Of course it does. But then again, in my 40+ years in capital markets, I’ve seen many things…