Month: April 2026

“What is it called when an alligator has brain damage? A reptile disfunction.” On a more serious note, “ Cognitive Surrender ” is a new and useful term for how AI melts brains , although it can be a useful tool. Meanwhile, Microsoft tells us, “Copilot is for entertainment purposes only . It can make mistakes, and it may not work as intended. Don’t rely on Copilot for important advice. Use Copilot at your own risk.” Does it mean anything that software job postings are up 30 percent this year ?…

This year, “Bring a Kid to Work Day” is April 23. The name seems to have shifted: I remember “Bring Your Child to Work Day.” The population of the United States also shifts, something that lenders and originators are very aware of in the primary markets, and should be aware of in the secondary markets. Companies and job creators move, for various reasons. Population migration since 2019, accelerated by the pandemic, has shifted growth toward Sun Belt states like Texas and Florida while…

What are “bone ash apartments”? Trust me: you wouldn’t want one next to you here in the States; it’s an example of when the government interferes with housing. China has two space problems, and one has become a solution to the other. The first issue is a property glut. Widespread government construction and a saving strategy centered on buying up more apartments than one might need means a lot of buildings are empty. And property prices in the country can be incredibly low, as they have…

Unlike the sunny outlook that a Golden Retriever’s or goldfish’s brain has, the human brain has a built-in negative bias that causes us to focus on bad things. This negativity bias can have an impact on our behavior and decisions. There are certainly a lot of bad things to focus on these days, but it is important for lenders and third-party providers to look past rates having gone up by .5 percent and remember the good things. For example, the U.S. home ownership percentage is about 66…

“Rob, what do you hear about Fannie & Freddie being released from conservatorship?” Not much. Although it may change with one random tweet, the idea & process of jettisoning them is not even “on the back burner”… It may be back in the refrigerator. Maybe 2031? Both are certainly building up their net worth, but they don’t have enough capital to be released based on the amount of capital required under an Administrative Rule . The U.S. Government doesn’t want to lose control, or the income,…