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Ken Griffin buys Miami compound for $106.9 million, a new record

Billionaire hedge-fund manager Ken Griffin recently paid $106.875 million for a waterfront estate in Miami, Fla., shattering the previous price record in the area.

Blend cuts 340 workers amid executive shakeup

Blend Labs is laying off hundreds of employees and reshuffling its leadership in one of the technology vendor’s biggest shake ups since going public two years ago.  The firm’s “January Plan” as described Tuesday in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing is expected to reduce Blend’s annual operating expenses by over $100 million at the … [Read more…]

First-time home buyer benefits in 2023: Programs and perks

First-time home buyers may qualify for serious benefits, from homeowner education courses to cash assistance with their down payments.

QC, Down Payment Asst., AMC, LOS Products; Readers Weigh in on Wells Shutting Correspondent

Ever been to Noma in Denmark? Me neither, although I did some solo bicycling there, which is so much more reliable than flying domestically this morning with the FAA’s system shut down. Apparently I have only two years to go, as the “best restaurant in the world” surprisingly announced it is closing in the winter of 2024. Cynics would say that is a publicity stunt, proponents will tell you that it is time for a change and the numbers probably don’t make sense. (Speaking of numbers, this month’s STRATMOR blog is titled, “Productivity: More Important than Ever” and discusses how important it is to manage to the numbers, and not be surprised.) The U.S. Supreme Court rejecting investor suits over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac didn’t surprise anyone. Wells Fargo certainly surprised everyone, including its own correspondent sales team and management, in announcing it is shutting down. (More on this below.) Wells isn’t the first to shutter things, nor will it be the last based on the numbers. According to Curinos, December 2022 funded mortgage volume decreased 67% YoY and 3% MoM. In the Retail channel, funded volume was down 71% YoY and 3% MoM. Average 30-year conforming retail rates dipped slightly from November but are 319bps higher than the same month last year. (Curinos sources a statistically significant data set directly from lenders to produce these benchmark figures and here is a closer look at the data.) Today’s podcast is sponsored by SimpleNexus, an nCino company and award-winning developer of mobile-first technology for the modern mortgage lender. Today’s has an interview with SimpleNexus’ Lori Brewer on the advances of APIs and native integrations.

Blend cuts workforce, shakes up leadership

Blend is reducing its U.S. workforce by 28% as it moves to a “platform” business model. Tim Mayopoulos is also stepping down as president.

Socially Responsible Investing: Is It Also More Profitable?

Since the Dawn of Mustachianism in 2011, the same question has come up over and over again: And in these nine years since then, the movement towards socially responsible investing has only grown. Public pension funds have started to “divest” from oil company stocks, and various social issues like human rights, child labor, climate change […]

Northwestern Mutual Earns Perfect Score in Leading National Index for Disability Inclusion

Northwestern Mutual Earns Perfect Score in Leading National Index for Disability Inclusion MILWAUKEE, July 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Northwestern Mutual announced today that the company earned its fourth consecutive perfect score on the Disability Equality Index (DEI) – one of the most trusted and comprehensive national benchmarks for measuring disability inclusion in the workplace. “Northwestern … [Read more…]