“A lot of times, we’ll help people uncover that they can do it sooner than they thought,” LiPari said. “We can help people uncover using leverage to acquire properties a bit sooner. A lot of that’s in the vacation home space. We work with a lot of clients who will say, ‘I love vacationing wherever, down at a beach community, but we’re not quite ready to carry the property ourselves.’
“We say, ‘Well, you told me you’ve been renting there every two weeks out of the summer. I know that’s not cheap, so we could even look at a model for them to see if they do almost like a hybrid, where they rent the property out most of the year, but they leave one week for their family. Now they’ve bought the asset.”
By choosing to structure the deal that way, the homeowner picks up the investment property years before they probably thought they would, which means they likely get it at a discount compared to what it would cost to buy it in a few years.
“Most vacation areas, specifically in New Jersey, those are not going to stop appreciating,” LiPari said. “So you have the asset now, and it might be 10 years from now before you feel comfortable having that truly as a sole second home, but you’re going to be happy 10 years from now that you did it this way, because it’s going to be that much more expensive in 10 years.”
Leveraging mortgage debt
Brokers can work with homeowners to look ahead, allowing them to leverage the built-in equity in their current properties to acquire more properties. It takes planning and foresight to get borrowers to understand that a little short-term debt can turn into major long-term wealth.
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Colleges are facing mounting pressure from multiple directions: federal policy, financial strain, and shifting student behavior. This week’s developments show how those forces are starting to collide, with implications for where students enroll, how colleges operate, and what it ultimately costs to earn a degree.
Here’s a quick look at the most important stories shaping higher education and student finances this week for March 20, 2026.
🎓 Headlines at a Glance
Federal officials threaten accreditor recognition tied to DEI standards.
New federal data highlights the scale of student loan debt and forgiveness.
The New School expands layoffs as budget pressures deepen.
Students say politics is influencing where they apply to college.
Faculty policy disputes continue to raise questions about campus governance.
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1. Accreditor Threatened Over DEI Standards
The U.S. Department of Education warned a major accrediting body that it could lose federal recognition if it does not revise standards related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Accreditors play a central role in determining whether colleges remain eligible for federal financial aid programs, including Pell Grants and student loans.
➡️ Impact: If an accreditor loses recognition, the colleges it oversees could risk access to federal aid, directly affecting students’ ability to pay for school.
2. Federal Student Aid Data Shows Scale of Debt and Forgiveness
New data from Federal Student Aid shows the federal student loan portfolio now exceeds $1.7 trillion across more than 42 million borrowers, alongside updated figures on repayment and forgiveness activity.
The big areas of concern are around delinquency and default, which are moving past pre-pandemic levels.
➡️ Impact: Understanding the size and trends of student debt helps frame future policy decisions and signals the long-term financial risks facing borrowers.
3. The New School Expands Layoffs Amid Budget Deficit
The New School announced it will be reducing up to 20% of its workforce as it works to address ongoing financial challenges.
The cuts follow earlier cost-reduction efforts and highlight continued financial strain at tuition-dependent institutions facing enrollment pressures.
➡️ Impact: Layoffs are often an early sign of deeper financial stress, which can lead to program cuts, reduced services, or future tuition increases.
4. Politics Increasingly Influences College Choice
A new survey found that more than half of prospective students say the political climate affects where they apply to college.
While students still prioritize academic programs and cost, political environment is becoming a growing factor in enrollment decisions.
➡️ Impact: Shifts in application patterns can reshape enrollment and revenue across institutions, creating financial winners and losers in higher education.
American Express released a cryptic Instagram reel about a new upcoming business card, “Coming Soon”. No details are given.
People found somewhere a graphic from American Express about a possible upcoming Graphite Business Cash Unlimited Card with $250 annual fee, 2% everywhere unlimited, and 5% on flights and hotels booked with AmEx Travel.
This would be a rival for the Chase INK Business Premier card which also earns 2% everywhere. That card has a couple of advantages over this rumored upcoming AmEx card: 2.5% on transactions above $5,000 and a lower $195 annual fee.
These cards can make sense for business owners who spend a lot and don’t do points. Not many business cards get 2% everywhere. For regular personal use there are more options. There’s also the Blue Business Plus and Blue Business Cash available with 2x/2% everywhere, I suppose this rumored new card would mainly be better for someone who needs unlimited.
Last year and earlier this year I wrote articles predicting a crash of 50% (or more) in Robinhood Markets(HOOD 0.94%) stock. After peaking last October, the stock is now down by around 51%.
Robinhood operates a popular investing platform where its clients can buy and sell stocks, options, cryptocurrencies, and more. The basis for my prediction was simple: Robinhood experienced a significant increase in value during 2025 mainly because of a surge in its cryptocurrency revenue, meaning its clients were engaging in speculative, high-risk trading, which history suggested simply wasn’t sustainable.
Now that Robinhood has lost more than half of its peak value, what will happen next? Here’s what I think.
Image source: The Motley Fool.
Crypto trading is an unreliable source of revenue growth
The majority of Robinhood’s revenue comes in the form of transaction fees, which it earns every time a client buys or sells a financial asset, whether it’s a stock, an options contract, or a cryptocurrency. Donald Trump’s presidential election win in November 2024 drove a tsunami of investment into the crypto markets, because he campaigned on a series of policies that stood to benefit the industry.
This contributed to a surge in Robinhood’s crypto transaction revenue, which rocketed 732% (year over year) higher during the fourth quarter of 2024, hitting a record high of $358 million. It represented more than half of the company’s total transaction revenue for the period. Something similar happened during the speculative crypto frenzy in 2021, which sent Robinhood’s crypto transaction revenue soaring by 4,560% during the second quarter of that year. But just one year later, as crypto markets tanked, it was down by 75%.
History appears to be repeating itself. In the fourth quarter of 2025, Robinhood’s crypto transaction revenue fell 38% compared to its peak in the fourth quarter of 2024, coming in at just $221 million. The company’s overall transaction revenue still climbed modestly due to a sharp gains in other areas of its business, like options trading and prediction market betting, but these activities are also highly speculative.
Image source: Robinhood Markets.
The total value of all cryptocurrencies in circulation stands at $2.5 trillion as I write this, which is down sharply from the 2025 peak of $4.4 trillion. The Trump administration’s pro-crypto policies haven’t created much tangible value for the industry, and since most coins and tokens still lack a true use case, they have struggled to hang onto their post-election gains.
None of the major coins have escaped the carnage, not even Bitcoin or Ethereum, which are both down more than 40% from their all-time highs. These steep losses are likely to keep many investors on the sidelines, which could result in a further reduction in Robinhood’s crypto transaction revenue.
Today’s Change
(-0.94%) $-0.70
Current Price
$74.20
Key Data Points
Market Cap
$67B
Day’s Range
$71.70 – $75.15
52wk Range
$29.66 – $153.86
Volume
751K
Avg Vol
28M
Gross Margin
94.96%
Robinhood’s valuation leaves room for further downside
Robinhood stock peaked at more than $150 last October. At the time, its price-to-sales (P/S) ratio had soared to more than 30, which was almost triple its average of about 11.5 since the stock went public in 2021. Therefore, its valuation was completely unsustainable.
Despite the 51% decline in the stock during the past few months, its P/S ratio is still at an elevated level of 15.3.
HOOD PS Ratio data by YCharts
That means Robinhood would have to decline by a further 25% just to trade in line with its long-term average P/S ratio of 11.5. I’m not suggesting that will happen for certain, but I will say a high valuation reduces the odds of a rally in the near future, especially with one of the company’s core revenue drivers — crypto trading — in decline.
On a more positive note, Robinhood’s entry into the prediction market sector (in partnership with Kalshi) has expanded the company’s reach, because it lets clients bet on the outcome of sports matches, elections, and more. Robinhood ended the fourth quarter of 2025 with $435 million in annualized revenue from its prediction business, which more than tripled from the third quarter just three months earlier.
The prediction business could help Robinhood attract more clients, which would be good news considering its monthly active user base declined last year. But there is one caveat: According to research by The Motley Fool, the overwhelming majority of sports bettors lose money over time, which isn’t ideal if Robinhood is trying to attract repeat customers.
In summary, I think further downside is the path of least resistance for Robinhood stock.
Did you know? Over 200 million protein structures are now mapped and freely available, a number that would have been unimaginable just a few years ago.
Before, solving the structure of a single protein could take months to years using labor-intensive methods like crystallography or cryo-EM. Some even dedicate their whole careers to figuring out how one protein folds.
But today, AI systems like AlphaFold can predict those same structures in minutes to hours with near-experimental accuracy.
From 1 to 200 million. Years to hours. Hours to minutes. Imagine that jump.
Here are more crazy AI breakthroughs and what it means to you as a physician. Let’s talk more about it!
Disclaimer: While these are general suggestions, it’s important to conduct thorough research and due diligence when selecting AI tools. We do not endorse or promote any specific AI tools mentioned here. This article is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to provide legal, financial, or clinical advice. Always comply with HIPAA and institutional policies. For any decisions that impact patient care or finances, consult a qualified professional.
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The 5 Crazy AI Breakthroughs
One of the most amazing things about AlphaFold is that what changed is not just speed but scale.
Biology has shifted from a slow, one-protein-at-a-time discipline into something that can be explored almost as quickly as data can be processed, opening the door to faster drug discovery, better disease understanding, and a fundamentally new way of approaching medicine.
This breakthrough is just the beginning. AlphaFold3, the latest version, can model interactions between proteins, DNA, RNA, and small molecules, further pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve in biological sciences.
At the same time, research from Meta AI led to tools like ESM-2, which enabled the creation of entirely new proteins such as esmGFP. These advancements contributed to the 2024 Nobel Prize in Chemistry awarded to David Baker for computational protein design and Demis Hassabis and John Jumper for protein structure prediction.
For physicians, this directly impacts how diseases are understood, how drugs are developed, and how treatments are personalized. For the average person, it means faster development of therapies, more precise diagnostics, and a future where treatments can be tailored at a biological level. Biology is no longer only something we observe. It is becoming something we can systematically read and increasingly design.
And protein folding was only the beginning!
A broader wave of AI-driven breakthroughs is now reshaping both medicine and everyday life, often in ways that are not immediately visible.
1. AI-Designed Drugs
For much of history, drug discovery has been defined by trial and error, with thousands of compounds tested before a viable treatment emerges.
Today, companies like Insilico Medicine are using AI to design drugs such as INS018_055, which entered Phase II clinical trials. Similarly, Exscientia has developed AI-designed molecules that reached human testing significantly faster than traditional timelines.
AI models simulate how molecules bind to proteins and predict their effectiveness before lab testing begins. This reduces cost and time while increasing the likelihood of success.
For physicians, this means faster access to effective therapies and more targeted treatments. For the average person, it translates to shorter waiting times for new medicines and potentially lower costs as drug development becomes more efficient.
Real-world example: BenevolentAI used AI to identify BEN-34712, a promising ALS candidate, advancing to IND-enabling studies in months—a process that traditionally took years.
2. New Materials
AI is accelerating the discovery of new materials through projects like Google DeepMind’s GNoME system, which identified 2.2 million new stable crystal structures. These discoveries expand the pool of materials available for real-world use. Companies like IBM and Microsoft are also investing in AI-driven materials science to improve batteries, semiconductors, and industrial components.
In medicine, this leads to better implants, more efficient imaging machines, and improved medical devices. For everyday life, it means longer-lasting batteries, faster electronics, and more durable consumer products. Over time, these changes quietly reduce costs and improve quality of life.
Example: Researchers have used AI to design materials for more efficient solar cells, potentially reducing renewable energy costs.
3. Fusion Energy
Energy is a foundational layer of modern society, including healthcare. AI helps stabilize fusion reactions in projects like DeepMind’s plasma control for tokamaks and efforts supported by ITER research. Private companies such as Helion Energy leverage advanced computation and AI to accelerate reactor development, aiming for net electricity via Polaris.
If fusion becomes viable, it could provide a near-limitless source of clean energy. For healthcare systems, this means more reliable infrastructure and lower operational costs. For the average person, it could lead to cheaper electricity, a more stable power supply, and a reduced cost of living across multiple sectors.
4. AI as Scientific Partner
AI takes an active role in the scientific process. Systems from Google DeepMind generate hypotheses, design experiments, and analyze results iteratively.
For example, AI agents propose materials or molecular structures, test in simulations, and refine without full human intervention.
For physicians, this means medical knowledge evolves faster. For the average person, innovations arrive more quickly.
Example: DeepMind AI identified new cancer molecular targets, aiding drug development and personalized medicine.
5. Programmable Biology
With tools like CRISPR and AI-driven protein modeling, biology is becoming programmable. Companies such as Moderna leverage computational design in mRNA therapies, highlighted during COVID-19, using AI for sequence optimization.
AI-designed proteins like esmGFP show new biological structures can be created. This opens doors to engineered cells targeting cancer or repairing tissue.
For physicians, this shifts from managing disease to designing interventions. For the average person, it means personalized treatments and faster vaccines. Example: CRISPR-Cas9 therapies like Casgevy treat sickle cell anemia, FDA-approved after editing hematopoietic stem cells (not embryos).
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Final Thoughts
AI is rapidly reshaping medicine and the world at large.
It would be an understatement to say it’s everywhere, from medicine to even our refrigerators (the talking one). So the idea is this, for physicians, the risk isn’t that AI will replace you (absolutely far from that), it’s missing out on the tools that are transforming healthcare and our lives in general.
The scale of change is enormous, the opportunities are vast, and it’s all changing so fast.
This is your chance to adapt, make use of it, and reclaim time and freedom. Understanding AI doesn’t require years of study. A basic grasp of these technologies can put you ahead of the curve, empowering you to work smarter, not harder.
Don’t wait to get on board; understanding AI now will position you to thrive in this new era of healthcare. Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Download The Physician’s Starter Guide to AI – a free, easy-to-digest resource that walks you through smart ways to integrate tools like ChatGPT into your professional and personal life. Whether you’re AI-curious or already experimenting, this guide will save you time, stress, and maybe even a little sanity.
Want more tips to sharpen your AI skills? Subscribe to our newsletter for exclusive insights and practical advice. You’ll also get access to our free AI resource page, packed with AI tools and tutorials to help you have more in life outside of medicine. Let’s make life easier, one prompt at a time. Make it happen!
Disclaimer: The information provided here is based on available public data and may not be entirely accurate or up-to-date. It’s recommended to contact the respective companies/individuals for detailed information on features, pricing, and availability.All screenshots are used under the principles of fair use for editorial, educational, or commentary purposes. All trademarks and copyrights belong to their respective owners.
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Mortgage rates took another leg up today, rising ever closer to 6.50%.
The culprit once again has been the conflict in the Middle East, which has sent oil prices surging higher.
That leads to inflation, whether it’s higher gas prices or higher input costs on goods and transporting said goods.
Bonds don’t like inflation, so mortgage-backed securities (MBS) prices fall and their yield (aka interest rate) rises.
That’s what we’ve been seeing since the beginning of March and it might get worse before it gets better.
The 30-Year Fixed Is Back on the Cusp of 6.50%
The latest daily reading from Mortgage News Daily puts the popular 30-year fixed at 6.43%, up from 6.36% yesterday.
That’s the highest point of 2026, with the previous high being 6.41% on Friday March 13th.
It also tells you (or at least me!), that a 6.50% 30-year fixed is simply a matter of time.
Not a matter of if, but when. We are banging on the door and the trend certainly feels higher before lower.
As I said a week or so ago, mortgage rates stop trending lower and began trending higher, something that hasn’t happened for a very long time.
Had there not been this conflict in Iran, mortgage rates would likely be well below 6% today.
Instead, we’re facing the worst rates since nearly August, which is terrible news for prospective home buyers and those looking for a rate and term refinance.
Given there’s no sign of a resolution anytime soon, I would bet on mortgage rates moving higher before they move lower.
How high is another question, but ideally they don’t go much higher as this is perhaps a “transitory” issue.
Both oil prices and mortgage rates jumped up unexpectedly on the Iranian news, but could settle down for the same reasons since it’s one specific issue as opposed to a widespread economic narrative shift.
Could Mortgage Rates Reach the 7% Range Again?
Is a return to 7% mortgage rates possible?
What once felt unthinkable is now back on the table thanks to geopolitics.
I don’t think we go quite that high, though I do think mortgage rates keep moving higher in the short- and medium-term.
In other words, I definitely think we blow past 6.50% any day or week now, at least by MND’s measure.
And chances are we go even higher than that as the months go on.
That could mean a 30-year fixed at 6.625%, 6.75%, or even 6.875%, but I don’t foresee a 7% 30-year fixed again.
Sure, anything is possible, but I think a lot of what has transpired is already mostly baked into 10-year bond yields.
They were sub-4% in late February and closer to 4.30% today. That’s a big jump in a short amount of time that reflects what’s currently happening.
Bond yields could re-test 4.50% levels as this drags on and if mortgage spreads are around 200 basis points (2.00%) or slightly higher, you can foresee a 6.75% rate.
But getting to 7% seems like a stretch.
If we did get back to a 7% mortgage rate and it made the headlines, I think it would be too much for the housing market to bear.
Best-case scenario right now is rates settle down soon and don’t move much higher.
It won’t be great for the spring home buying season, but staying below year-ago levels can still be viewed as a win.
Before creating this site, I worked as an account executive for a wholesale mortgage lender in Los Angeles. My hands-on experience in the early 2000s inspired me to begin writing about mortgages 19 years ago to help prospective (and existing) home buyers better navigate the home loan process. Follow me on X for hot takes.
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Tempo — a specialized payments network developed with backing from the major payment services provider Stripe — has now gone operational on its primary blockchain. Concurrently, the project has rolled out an innovative, openly available standard aimed at streamlining payments conducted by automated machines and intelligent systems.
Originally incubated through a partnership involving Stripe and the investment firm Paradigm, Tempo was conceived as a dedicated Layer 1 blockchain tailored explicitly for large-scale financial transactions.
The platform prioritizes stable digital currencies to deliver fast, affordable, and highly customizable payment capabilities suitable for global use cases ranging from cross-border remittances and micro-payments to embedded financial services and tokenized financial instruments.
The activation of the mainnet marks the transition from testing phases to full public availability.
Developers can now connect via open access points to construct applications on this infrastructure.
Key technical advantages include quick transaction confirmations approaching half a second, predictable and minimal transaction costs settled directly in stable assets rather than fluctuating tokens, and specialized pathways ensuring consistent performance even under heavy load.
These elements position Tempo as an ideal foundation for high-frequency and precision financial operations.
Accompanying the network launch is the introduction of the Machine Payments Protocol, a collaborative open specification created alongside Stripe.
This standard provides a consistent approach for autonomous entities, such as AI agents, to initiate, authorize, and finalize monetary exchanges programmatically.
A standout feature is its session capability, which permits an initial approval of spending limits followed by seamless streaming of numerous tiny payments that are batched for efficient processing.
Operating independently of specific underlying rails, the protocol accommodates both blockchain-based stablecoins and conventional fiat methods, enhancing compatibility with established payment gateways like cards, digital wallets, and lightning-fast networks.
This timing aligns perfectly with the rapid evolution toward economies powered by independent AI agents that engage in commerce and consume services without constant oversight.
By resolving hurdles in automated financial flows, the new framework opens doors to fresh models of service delivery and monetization in digital environments, where software programs can handle everything from data acquisitions to computing resources on demand.
The development underscores broader efforts to integrate advanced blockchain solutions into mainstream finance, offering enterprises reliable tools for international operations and innovation.
With substantial prior funding and input from major collaborators in tech and traditional banking, Tempo and its protocol represent forward-thinking infrastructure designed for an increasingly automated financial future.
Experts anticipate that this rollout could accelerate adoption of programmable money across both legacy and emerging sectors, fostering more fluid and efficient global economic interactions.
As machine intelligence assumes larger roles in business processes, solutions like these will likely become essential components of the digital economy’s backbone, bridging human-led systems with the coming wave of agent-driven commerce.