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Non-QM’s growth is attracting lenders who won’t last, executive says


Marc Halpern (pictured top), CEO of Foundation Mortgage in South Florida, said the wave of new wholesale lenders entering non-QM is not surprising. However, for some of those new companies, market education is coming faster than they expected.

“You’re seeing a lot of people come to market in wholesale,” Halpern told Mortgage Professional America. “I don’t know who these people are. And it’s not so easy. When you go to sell these loans to the takeout company, and you’re making your own delegated decisions — we have the years of experience. But what you’re going to see is that there’s going to be people coming in and going out as quickly as possible, because they don’t really know the rules of the road.”

What separates top lenders

Halpern said the evidence is already showing up in buyback data. He said he heard of one company dealing with 60 buybacks, a number that reflects underwriting decisions made without the experience the product requires.

He said the numbers will not work for lenders running those buyback rates.

“There’s not too many companies that can eat 60 loans, even if you’re breaking even on them,” he said. “The numbers aren’t going to work. And even if they’ve got an investor behind them, if you’re losing a couple million a month or a couple hundred thousand, it’s going to add up quick.”

Elan Financial Services Visa Infinite Reserve Rewards+ Card Also Has Access To U.S. Bank Transfer Partners


U.S. Bank recently added transfer partners for U.S. Bank Altitude Reserve cardholders. Interestingly Elan Financial Visa Infinite Reserve Rewards+ cardholders also have access to these transfer partners now as well. Elan is a separate division of U.S. Bank that issues credit cards so this isn’t a huge surprise. It’s unclear if any other Elan cards have access to these transfer partners or only the Elan Financial Visa Infinite Reserve Rewards+.

The Elan Financial Visa Infinite Reserve Rewards+ is somewhat interesting as it’s available from multiple banks/credit unions with a sign up bonus of 50,000 points (unlike the Altitude Reserve that is no longer accepting applicants). It also has a $390 annual fee that isn’t waived. You can read more about it in our review here. 

Hat tip to lorzazzor on /r/creditcards

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Machine Learning Improves Return Forecasting


A finance professor from Canada and a data science student from France took the top prize at the 2025 Hillsdale Investment Management – CFA Society Toronto Research Award.

The work of Najah Attig, professor of finance and chair of the Department of Finance at Dalhousie University, and Chahine Attig, a data science engineering student at École Nationale de laStatistiqueet del’Analysedel’Information(ENSAI), France, provides one of the first comprehensive academic evaluations of machine learning techniques for forecasting equity risk premiums in Canadian capital markets. Compared with US, European, and Chinese markets, Canada has seen limited application of these techniques despite its distinct structural, liquidity, and informational characteristics.

“This winning paper shows promise in applying machine learning methods to extract higher-dimensional signals from the Canadian stock market,” said Chris Guthrie,CEO of Hillsdale Investment Management.

Canadian markets are dominated by small-cap and value stocks with greater information asymmetry, market frictions, and liquidity constraints, creating unique challenges and opportunities for predicting returns. These characteristics highlight the need for advanced modeling approaches beyond traditional linear methods.

The researchers address two key questions:

  • Can machine learning models improve Canadian stock return forecasts compared with classical linear benchmarks?
  • Do patterns in anonymous trading—where traders’ identities are concealed to prevent information leakage or market speculation—and variations in brokers’ anonymous trading activity help predict stock returns?

The U.S. built its brand by attracting the world’s best. It must not lose that advantage



Experienced CEOs know that brand equity can be a company’s most valuable asset, one that often doesn’t appear on the balance sheet. Companies build trust, credibility, and goodwill over decades through consistent performance.

But as any chief executive knows, the strongest brands are rarely destroyed by their competitors. More often, brands are weakened by a company’s own choices that erode the very qualities that made them successful in the first place.

This principle applies to nations as well. As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its independence, Americans need to ask not only whether their country remains one of the world’s most influential powers, but whether they have the internal qualities that sustain that influence.

Recent global polling suggests that America’s reputation has weakened. Pew Research Center’s 2026 survey of 36 countries found that a median of just 37% of respondents expressed a favorable view of the United States, compared with 57% who held an unfavorable view. China was viewed more favorably than the U.S. in most of the countries surveyed.

Separately, Gallup polling found that global approval of U.S. leadership fell from 39% in 2024 to 31% in 2025. Approval of Chinese leadership rose from 32% to 36% over the same period. Among NATO allies, approval os U.S. leadership fell 14 percentage points to 21%.

It’s clear that U.S. reputation has taken a hit. But it’s more important to ask whether America’s current policy choices are gradually eroding the sources of what made it influential in the first place.

America’s global standing has never rested solely on its economic size or military capability. Its enduring advantage also comes from its world-class universities, deep financial markets, and leading research institutions. Together, these strengths enabled the United States to attract exceptional people from around the world and give them the freedom to transform industries. Take Google cofounder Sergey Brin, who came to the United States from the Soviet Union as a child. Just this year, Chinese-born mathematicians Hong Wang and Yu Deng, who earned their Ph.D.s at MIT and Princeton, respectively, were awarded Fields Medals for breakthroughs in mathematics; both now teach at U.S. universities. 

In short, the U.S. didn’t become powerful just by being bigger. Instead, it was more magnetic—a trait that has produced extraordinary returns.

According to NAFSA, international students contributed $43.8 billion to the U.S. economy and supported almost 380,000 jobs during the 2023-2024 academic year. The National Foundation for American Policy reported than almost one quarter of all U.S. startups worth $1 billion had at least one founder who first came to the U.S. as an international student; almost 60% were founded by an immigrant.

Recent policy developments risk weakening that American advantage. Expanded visa screening and vetting, restrictions affecting international students from certain countries, greater scrutiny of universities’ foreign funding and research partnerships, and cuts and uncertainty surrounding federal research funding could make the United States less attractive to the world’s most talented students and researchers.

New international student enrolment at U.S. colleges and universities fell 17% in fall 2025, according to the Institute of International Education.

These policies may be founded on legitimate national security, economic, or fiscal concerns. But they come with trade-offs.

Businesses understand the importance of talent. Great companies compete relentless for the world’s best people, understanding that innovation is founded on human capital. Governments that want to lead in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, quantum computing, advanced manufacturing, and clean energy will need to do the same.

If the world’s most talented young people choose Beijing, London, or Singapore over Boston, San Francisco or Austin, it will mean fewer U.S. startups, a weaker research ecosystem, and a narrow margin of technological leadership.

And once an ecosystem loses its magnetism, it can be hard to get it back. Competitive decline rarely happens from a dramatic collapse, but rather through incremental decisions that gradually make a system less attractive to exceptional people.

The U.S.-China relationship makes this challenge more difficult, yet also more important. The strategic competition between the two largest economies will shape policy for years to come. The answer, however, should be targeted and selective, rather than a blanked suspension.

It’s true that some technologies are too sensitive to share. Some research relationships warrant scrutiny; some foreign investments should be restricted.

But scientific inquiry does not stop at national borders, and many of the world’s most consequential problems, from pandemics and climate change to energy security and food production, cannot be solved by one country working alone.

U.S. universities and companies succeed when researchers can exchange ideas with counterparts around the world. This collaboration also allows U.S. institutions to shape research agendas, set international standards, and remain at the center of global scientific networks.

The policy challenge isn’t about choosing between security and openness, but rather designing policies sophisticated enough to achieve both.

Carefully targeted export controls, rigorous protection of sensitive technologies and transparent research-security standards can coexist with robust academic exchange, joint research on global challenges and continued recruitment of exceptional international talent.  Sustaining carefully designed channels for academic exchange and scientific cooperation, while protecting genuinely sensitive technologies, would strengthen America’s long-term competitiveness.

It would also bolster a defining characteristic of America’s national brand: The confidence that openness, excellence and innovation remain mutually reinforcing.

Confidence matters. A country that believes in its own competitive strength does not need to shut out talented people to protect its position. It sets clear boundaries around what must be protected while remaining open to the people and ideas that can make it stronger.

Successful companies understand this. When competitive pressure intensifies, they do not make themselves less attractive to top talent. They invest more heavily in becoming the employer of choice. They strengthen their culture, research capabilities and opportunities for innovation.

Nations—and the U.S.—should think the same way.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

Canva’s Valuation Is Down. Can It Reverse the Slide?



The design company also cut its revenue growth forecast by 20 percent.

Bitmine ($BMNR), Led By Tom Lee, Now Holds 4.8% Of Ethereum (ETH) Supply After Latest Acquisition


Bitmine Immersion Technologies (NYSE: BMNR), chaired by Tom Lee, has expanded its Ethereum holdings to approximately 4.8% of the network’s circulating supply after another weekly purchase. The company reported acquiring an additional 9,926 ETH during the week ending around mid-August 2026.

This brought its total Ethereum position to roughly 5.815 million tokens.

Valued at about $1,893 to $1,904 per token at the time of the update, the stash was worth nearly $11 billion.

Relative to Ethereum’s circulating supply of around 120.7 million tokens, the position equates to 4.8%.

Bitmine has pursued a consistent accumulation approach since launching its Ethereum treasury strategy on June 30, 2025.

Over roughly 14 months of weekly purchases, it has advanced to 96% of its self-described “Alchemy of 5%” target—an ambition to control 5% of the total ETH supply.

The latest buy continued that uninterrupted cadence. Lee highlighted technical and fundamental signals supporting the strategy.

He noted that the ETH/BTC ratio had climbed above a multi-year downward trend, reaching levels near 0.02994 and continuing higher.

In his view, this shift suggests markets are beginning to factor in rising demand for Ethereum driven by tokenization initiatives and AI-agent applications running on the blockchain.

Lee also pointed to expected easing financial conditions as a broader positive for the crypto sector. Beyond simple accumulation,

Bitmine emphasizes productive use of its holdings.

As of the mid-August update, the company had staked about 5.067 million ETH—about 87% of its total position—valued near $9.6 billion.

Much of this is deployed through its Made in America Validator Network (MAVAN), an institutional staking platform.

Projected annualized staking revenues stood around $250 million based on recent yields near 2.61%, with higher potential figures if the full holdings are staked at scale.

The firm’s overall crypto, cash, marketable securities, and strategic investments totaled about $11.4 billion.

This included 210 bitcoin, a $180 million stake in Beast Industries, a $73 million position in Eightco Holdings, and roughly $78 million in cash and securities.

Bitmine positions itself as the largest corporate Ethereum treasury and the second-largest crypto treasury overall, trailing only Strategy’s bitcoin holdings.

In parallel with ETH purchases, the company continued share repurchases.

It bought back 1.7 million of its own common shares in the latest week, raising cumulative buybacks since early July 2026 to more than 20.8 million shares under a previously authorized $4 billion program.

Lee described the shares as undervalued and characterized the repurchase effort as significant within the digital asset treasury sector.

Market response was constructive, with BMNR shares rising in the session following the announcement. Ethereum itself posted modest gains over the prior 24 hours.

The company’s approach combines long-term holding with yield generation via staking and selective equity activity, while maintaining institutional support from investors including ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood and others.

Bitmine’s progress underscores a strategy that treats Ethereum not merely as a balance-sheet asset but as infrastructure supporting emerging use cases in tokenization and AI. With the 5% target now within closer reach, the firm’s weekly cadence and staking operations remain central to its positioning in the Ethereum ecosystem.



Can Jim Cramer Save Mortgage Rates?


It seems mortgage rates can’t catch a break lately.

So maybe we need a Plan B.  Or rather, a Plan C!

Have you ever heard of Inverse Cramer?

Whenever Jim Cramer says something, the opposite tends to happen. It’s a powerful market signal.

And he just said bonds keep dropping relentlessly, meaning their yields or interest rates keep rising. That could be good news for mortgage rates!

Cramer Says Bond Market Selloff Is Relentless

In case you’re unaware, bond yields correlate well with 30-year fixed mortgage rates, specifically the 10-year bond yield.

Bonds have both a price and a corresponding yield.

When the price of a bond drops, its yield (or interest rate) goes up.

Conversely, when bond prices are rising, their yields fall.

In his X post, Cramer said bonds are getting absolutely destroyed right now, which is pushing their corresponding yields higher.

He seems to see no end in sight for the “sell-off” that he refers to as “unnerving,” which oddly could be bullish for interest rates.

Bullish because most people think Cramer is always wrong, meaning the bond selloff might soon be over.

If in fact bonds do all of a sudden rally, their yields (interest rates) would fall.

That would spell relief for mortgage rate rates as well since the two are highly correlated.

So, in this instance, like in most other instances, we are rooting for an Inverse Cramer.

We are rooting for bonds to become attractive again, which will lead to lower yields. And by extension, lower mortgage rates as well.

That would be good for the housing market, which is struggling with rates near 7% again, and rates above their year-ago levels.

Inverse Cramer Tends to Outperform Other Investments

While it’s kind of a silly thing, Inverse Cramer seems to be one of the top performing investments out there.

There’s even a tracker called Inverse Cramer that does the opposite of whatever he says.

And it always seems to outperform the market and all other metrics.

In fact, it even beat the S&P and Nancy Pelosi’s famed stock portfolio.

So perhaps this is what mortgage rates need to finally reverse the upward trend we’ve seen for months.

And it’s not just a silly meme. You can make the argument logically because bond yields are near their highest level in years.

At a certain point, they become attractive to investors and their yields come down as their price rises.

That’s not to say they can’t go higher, but they could be at the top of their range and due for a reversal.

Which is kind of the whole point with Jim. By the time he, or any other TV personality declares something, it’s usually old news.

So when he’s crying that bond prices keep dropping, and there’s no end in sight, the end actually is in sight. Go figure, right.

Mortgage Rates Won’t Change Because Cramer Said So

Of course, it’s going to take more than Jim Cramer talking about it.

We’re going to need to see actual economic data or news that supports a move into bonds, which will lower their yields.

Most importantly, something positive on the Iran conflict and the Strait of Hormuz.

That’s behind much of the rise in bond yields and mortgage rates this year.

If we don’t get that, it’s probably all just wishful thinking.

Nevertheless, it’s always a good chuckle whenever Cramer chimes in about something at this point.

And I’m sure a lot of prospective home buyers, loan officers, mortgage brokers, and real estate agents will be happy to see that he thinks bonds are cooked!

(photo: Owen Byrne)

Colin Robertson
Latest posts by Colin Robertson (see all)

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The Midyear Portfolio Review Every Rental Property Investor Should Perform


I lost $40,000 on a flip once because I stopped opening my own spreadsheet. I built that file myself. Then I closed it, and the deal decided what it was going to be without me. The numbers were telling the story the whole time.

A midyear review is not just for your boss coming in to act like “casual Fridays” was their idea. It is opening that same file back up while there is still time to change the ending. Every summer, I go property by property. It takes one Saturday, and it is the highest-paid Saturday of my year.

Looking for a second opinion? The great team at Mynd is offering complimentary midyear portfolio reviews for rental property investors. Their team will review your portfolio’s performance, upcoming lease renewals, local rental market conditions, and operating strategy to help identify opportunities to improve returns before year-end.

1. Compare Performance Against Your Original Investment Plan

Most people compare this year to last year. The right benchmark is the underwriting you did the day you bought the thing. Pull that document up. Yes, you should know where it is and not be scrambling to make sure your child didn’t throw it in the trash (or is that just me?).

Get current on NOI, cash flow, cash-on-cash return, operating expenses, maintenance, vacancy, delinquency, and capital expenditures. Then ask these questions:

  • What is beating the model? 
  • What is missing it, and why? 

The “why” is the whole exercise. Everything before it is bookkeeping.

Here is what mine looks like. My Conroe houses are new construction, bought between $200,000 and $220,000, and renting for $1,900 to $2,000 a month. 

I underwrote maintenance to be boring, and it has been. The model missed on the other side. Property taxes and insurance moved, and neither one cares how your cash flow is falling. My rent line held. My expense lines are where the underwriting aged.

That is the pattern for most people. The revenue assumption holds, and the expense assumption quietly does not.

2. Review Every Lease Expiring Over the Next 120 Days

A lease is one price you set once and then live with for 12 months. There is no fixing it in October when you realize you were too low. 

Pull every lease expiring in the next four months. Look at current rent, what comparable homes actually rent for today, payment history, expiration date, and renewal probability.

My last renewal is a good example of restraint. Property taxes went up, so I raised rent 5%. That is about $98 a month. It covered the tax increase and nothing else. The market probably supported more.

This small rent raise was nominal compared to what it would have cost to turn over the unit. Turning that unit costs me $2,500 to $3,000 before I count a single empty day. Add three weeks of vacancy, and I am out more than $4,000. Pushing another 5% would have earned me roughly $1,170 over the year.

I am not risking $4,000 to make $1,170. Residents who pay on the first are also not a renewable resource.

Run that math before you get brave. And if someone is clearly moving out, start marketing the unit now. Vacancy is the only expense that gets worse while you ignore it.

3. Look for Opportunities to Improve NOI

Rent increases are slow, capped, and require somebody else to agree with you. Cutting an expense takes a phone call and is worth talking to a customer service rep for 30 minutes.

Go line by line: 

  • Insurance 
  • Maintenance and repairs 
  • Vendor pricing 
  • Home warranty coverage 
  • Landscaping, pest control, and every autopay that renews without asking

Insurance is where I find money every single time. I am quoting a project right now, and the range came back between $1,900 and $3,400. It’s the same property with the same coverage. The only thing different was the underwriter. That is $1,500 of NOI hiding inside three phone calls.

Then there is the stuff that creeps and makes you question your sanity. Mine was electric, and I didn’t realize how much a 0.01 or0 .02 increase per KWH added up. A little bigger every month, and nobody sends you a letter when that happens.

4. Evaluate Whether Your Management Strategy Is Supporting Growth

I spent eight years selling houses to investors, so I got a long look at how other people run their rentals. The ones who struggled were bad at the 200 small decisions after buying, not the initial sale.

New construction is the easiest version of this job. Almost nothing breaks, which means nothing forces me to check whether my process is any good. That is the trap. Easy doesn’t last even with new construction, and every door you add multiplies the decisions, not just the doors.

Here are things to watch:

  • Leasing 
  • Maintenance 
  • Inspections
  • Resident communication
  • Rent collection 
  • Compliance 

If you have not hired anyone, it is you, and free labor is the most expensive in real estate because it never shows up on the P&L.

Check your days on market, maintenance response times, rent collection, resident retention, and the hours you hand in every week. Self-manage or hire it out, but pick on purpose. Most people are not self-managing; they are just not managing.

5. Create an Action Plan for the Second Half of the Year

A bad review ends with a feeling, but a good one ends with dates. Pick three things you will finish before December, such as: 

  • Reprice the renewals your comps support. 
  • Schedule preventative maintenance before the season turns. 
  • Requote your insurance. 
  • Finish the capital expenditures you keep pushing.

Small operational fixes compound, and that is the entire business.

Don’t Wait to Improve Performance

Most investors learn how they did in April, sitting across from their CPA, holding a number they can no longer do anything about. I already hate tax time, but it becomes really stressful when I have no clue what I am walking into.

That’s why Mynd is offering complimentary midyear portfolio reviews for rental property investors. During your review, the team will help you evaluate:

  • Year-to-date financial performance and cash flow
  • Upcoming lease renewals and rental pricing opportunities
  • Local rental market conditions
  • Opportunities to improve occupancy and strengthen long-term returns

Whether you currently self-manage your properties or work with another property manager, you’ll receive practical, data-driven recommendations designed to help you maximize the performance of your portfolio during the second half of the year.

Schedule your complimentary midyear portfolio review today, and head into year-end with a clear plan to maximize your rental property’s performance.