October 28, 2026
In professional sports, as in business, spending money and assembling talent don’t guarantee success. You have to build an organization that can compete, make decisions under uncertainty, and earn fans’ loyalty.
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Great News for Tesla Stock Investors as a Merger with SpaceX is More Likely
Parkev Tatevosian, CFA has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Tesla. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. Parkev Tatevosian is an affiliate of The Motley Fool and may be compensated for promoting its services. If you choose to subscribe through his link, he will earn some extra money that supports his channel. His opinions remain his own and are unaffected by The Motley Fool.
Mortgage and real estate mergers and acquisitions in 2026
- Key Insight: Find out how mortgage rivals are quietly scooping up market share, artificial intelligence power and other unique solutions.
- What’s at Stake: Some recent transactions have stemmed from lenders offloading assets because of economic conditions.
The merger and acquisition appetite in the mortgage space hasn’t let up despite wavering market conditions.
Lenders, servicers, fintechs and other real estate services have undertaken dozens of transactions so far in 2026, showing no signs of slowing after
Some players have also offloaded assets as economic woes rattle their businesses. While the industry hasn’t yet embarked on the massive wave of layoffs in response to rapidly rising rates earlier this decade, companies are
Read on to see who’s making moves so far this year.
This list will be updated.
Chase United Explorer $500 Statement Credit + 25,000 Miles + 10,000 Miles For Adding Authorized User
Update 10/28/26: Statement credit back up to $500.
Update 8/30/26: $500 statement credit reduced to $400.
The Offer
Direct link to offer (should also be able to get it to appear doing a dummy booking on United)
- Chase United Explorer is offering the following bonuses:
- $500 statement credit after first purchase
- 25,000 bonus miles after you spend $3,000 on purchases within the first three months
- 10,000 bonus miles after you add an authorized user to your account within the first three months
- Annual fee waived first year
Card Details
- Annual fee of $150 is waived first year
- Chase 5/24 rule applies to this card
- 25% off in flight purchases when using your card (including WiFi and food/beverages)
- $120 Global Entry/TSA PreCheck credit
- Card earns at the following rates:
- 2 miles per $1 spend with United Airlines, restaurant and hotel purchases
- 1 mile per $1 spend on all other purchases
- Last seat availability
- Miles don’t expire
- Free checked bag when you pay with card (for 2 people)
- Priority boarding
- 2 Club passes per year
- No foreign transaction fees
- Receive $50 back as a statement credit on both your 1st and 2nd prepaid hotel stays purchased directly through United Hotels with your United Explorer Card, up to $100 each anniversary year.
- Enroll to receive up to $5 back as a statement credit each month on rideshare purchases when you pay with your United Explorer Card, up to $60 each calendar year.
- Receive $25 in United TravelBank cash, up to $50 each anniversary year, for your 1st and 2nd Avis or Budget car rental booked directly through cars.united.com and paid with the card.
- $10 Instacart credit monthly, up to $120 total each calendar year.
- Earn $100 in United TravelBank cash after you spend $10,000 on purchases each calendar year with your United Explorer Card.
- This card product is available to you if you do not have this card and have not received a new Cardmember bonus for this card in the past 24 months
Our Verdict
Earlier this year we saw 70,000 – 85,000 miles and last year we saw up to 90,000 miles. Personally I’d prefer the $500 statement credit over 50,000 miles but really depends on how you value the miles. Most people won’t be eligible due to the 5/24 rule, but useful for those who are. We’ll be adding this to our list of the best credit card bonuses.
Hat tip to reader Viji
How to Turn Saving Into Investing (Step by Step Path)
Saving money won’t make you rich. Investing will. In this video, I break down the exact step-by-step path to turn your savings into real wealth — even if you’re starting small.
💡 What You’ll Learn
– When to stop saving and start investing
– How to build a proper emergency fund
– The 2-bucket system (Safety vs Growth money)
– Simple beginner investments that actually work
– How to use compound interest to grow faster
Saving gives you security. Investing gives you freedom.
#InvestingForBeginners #PersonalFinance #BuildWealth #FinancialFreedom #MoneyTips #Investing
source
How to Pair It With the Strategies You Are Already Using
If you have been investing in real estate for any length of time, you have probably heard about the “cost segregation for commercial real estate” that comes up in conversations about taxes.
But what I find most investors are missing is not just an understanding of what cost segregation does on its own. Investors need to understand how it fits into the bigger picture of how they are already building their portfolio. When you start pairing cost segregation with the strategies you are actively executing, the results can be significantly more powerful than treating it as a stand-alone tax move.
Here is how I think about it across the most common commercial real estate strategies.
Pairing Cost Segregation With the BRRRR Strategy
If you are running the BRRRR strategy (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat), you are already used to thinking in cycles. You buy a distressed property, force appreciation through renovation, get it rented, pull your equity out through a cash-out refinance, and then roll that capital into the next deal.
Cost segregation fits into this cycle in a way that most investors overlook. When you complete a renovation, many of the components you installed during that rehab are eligible for reclassification and accelerated depreciation. Improvements like new flooring, cabinetry, specialty lighting, HVAC components, and site improvements often qualify for five-, seven-, or 15-year depreciation lives instead of 27.5 or 39 years.
If you commission a cost segregation study shortly after you stabilize and rent the property, you can generate a large depreciation deduction right at the moment when the property is producing income. That means you are offsetting income with accelerated deductions rather than waiting decades for the standard straight-line depreciation to catch up.
One important thing to understand here is that the study should be based on the total cost basis of the property, including your renovation costs, not just the original purchase price. Make sure the firm you hire knows how to work with properties that have been significantly improved.
Pairing Cost Segregation With 1031 Exchanges
This one is a little more nuanced, and it is where a lot of investors get confused.
When you sell a property that you have run through a cost segregation study, you will face depreciation recapture on the accelerated deductions you took. Recapture is taxed at a maximum rate of 25%, which is lower than ordinary income rates but still a real number. A lot of investors see that and assume cost segregation was a mistake.
It was not. Here is why.
If you are planning to execute a 1031 exchange when you sell, the depreciation recapture is deferred along with the capital gain. You are not eliminating the recapture, but you are pushing it into the future while you continue deploying that tax savings into new properties.
The accelerated deductions you took in prior years were real dollars saved at your marginal tax rate, often 32% to 37% for high earners. When the recapture eventually comes due at 25%, you have still come out ahead on the spread, plus you could use that money in the years between.
The key is to plan ahead. If you know a sale and 1031 exchange are on the horizon, talk to your CPA before you list the property, not after. The timing of when you identify and close on the replacement property affects how the entire transaction is structured.
Pairing Cost Segregation With Refinances
When you refinance a commercial property, you are not creating a taxable event. The cash you pull out is loan proceeds, not income, which is one of the reasons refinancing is such a powerful wealth-building tool.
But here is where cost segregation adds another layer. If you refinance a property and use the proceeds to fund improvements or to purchase additional properties, a cost segregation study on the original property or the new acquisition can generate deductions that offset the income those properties are producing. You are essentially using the refinance to keep growing your portfolio while cost segregation keeps your taxable income in check.
This is especially useful for commercial properties that are cash flowing well. Strong cash flow is great, but it means more taxable income. Accelerated depreciation is one of the most effective tools for managing that income without having to sell anything.
Working With Your CPA
A cost segregation study is not a do-it-yourself project or something to hand off entirely to a firm without looping in your CPA. The best outcomes happen when your CPA and cost segregation provider are communicating before the study is ordered, not after the report lands in your inbox.
Your CPA needs to understand your overall tax picture. These are questions they should ask:
- Are you subject to passive activity loss rules?
- Do you qualify as a real estate professional?
- Do you have other passive income that could absorb losses?
- Are you in a high-income year where accelerated deductions would be especially valuable?
All those factors affect whether cost segregation makes sense right now, what type of property makes the most sense to study, and how the deductions will be claimed on your return.
A good cost segregation firm will want to have that conversation too. The ones that just send you a report without asking about your situation are not giving you the full service. The study is only as useful as the tax strategy behind it.
Cost Segregation for Commercial Real Estate: Timing Considerations for High-Income Years
This is the piece that I think gets the least attention and deserves the most. Accelerated depreciation is most valuable in years when your taxable income is highest. If you had a business sale, a large distribution, a significant capital gain from a real estate transaction, or any other event that pushed your income into the top brackets, that is the year you want large deductions available to you.
The problem is that most investors think about cost segregation after the year is already over, when they are sitting across from their CPA in January or February reviewing what happened. At that point, your options are more limited.
The better approach is to think about cost segregation proactively. If you know heading into a year that your income is going to be unusually high, pull forward a study on a property you already own or time the purchase and study of a new acquisition to hit in that same calendar year. Bonus depreciation, which allows you to take a large percentage of the reclassified assets as a deduction in year one, is the mechanism that makes this timing strategy so powerful.
Bonus depreciation percentages have been decreasing each year, so the sooner you act, the larger that first-year benefit will be. Do not let another high-income year go by without at least running the numbers.
Cost Segregation for Commercial Real Estate—Ready to Run the Numbers on Your Portfolio?
If you want to see what a cost segregation study could actually generate on one of your commercial properties, I recommend reaching out to Cost Segregation Guys. They are the firm I point investors toward when I want someone who will do the job right: licensed engineers on every project, documentation that holds up under IRS review, and a team that understands how real estate investors actually operate.
Cost Segregation Guys offers a free analysis upfront so you can see the potential benefit before you commit to anything. Whether you are in the middle of a BRRRR cycle, planning a 1031, or just sitting on a commercial property that you have never studied, they are worth a conversation.
Find them at CostSegregationGuys.com.
3 Reasons Why Your Team Has Stopped Giving Honest Feedback
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Key Takeaways
- Ask your employees for feedback before it’s too late to make any necessary changes.
- Don’t only ask for feedback during an annual review. Have regular check-ins throughout the year.
- Set your expectations before problems arrive; be proactive.
An email arrived this summer with the subject line “Magic Key Holder, your Magic Key pass expires in one month.” It invited me to renew before my expiration date of Sept. 17.
I’ve been a pass holder since 2018, first through the Annual Passport program and then through Magic Key, which replaced it in 2021. This past year I held the Inspire Key, the top tier, at $1,749. I’ve stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian. I’ve booked guided tours at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. I’ve eaten and shopped in the parks.
I decided more than six months ago that I wasn’t renewing my pass. My last visit was December 20. I still love Disneyland, and I plan to go once a year with my parents.
The part of the email that stayed with me was the timing. It was tied to a date on my contract. It had nothing to do with anything I did or stopped doing. If they had solicited my feedback earlier and not just assumed I would renew my pass, they might have changed my mind.
In my work coaching tech leaders, I watch the same thing happen with feedback. Leaders build a feedback process, put it on a schedule and receive information too late to actually act upon it. Here are three timing problems to fix if you want honest feedback from your team while you can still use it.
Ask hard questions while plans can still change
One of my clients found out days before his latest product launch that his team wasn’t going to hit their deadline. He came to our session frustrated with them for not telling him sooner. I asked what he had done to create a way for them to tell him the launch was falling behind schedule.
He had been checking in, but the problem was when. He asked for updates late in the cycle — after the plan was already set — because that was his habit, and he accepted what he heard at face value because it matched what he expected. He didn’t give his team any other way to raise a concern before it became a crisis.
We changed his check-in cadence. He started checking in earlier, well before the plan was locked in, and he stopped assuming projects would take the length of time he had in his head, asking his direct reports directly instead.
Most of his launches have gone out on time since. For the ones that fell behind, he knew far enough in advance to get ahead of disaster.
More importantly, he avoided having to tell his executive team and the customer that he was going to be late, which was the part that frustrated him most.
Don’t make feedback a once-a-year thing
Years ago, a boss of mine asked our department to complete a written feedback exercise on every colleague. I was on my way out the door at the time, so I declined to participate. Formal feedback about people I was leaving, delivered in my final week, wasn’t going to change anything for them. I also didn’t want their last impression of me to be a critique that was headed for their employee file.
The exercise was reasonable. My issue was the timing, since the results would land after I was gone.
Annual reviews and exit surveys work the same way. If you wait until your staff submits a form in June or December, you’ll just get a summary of decisions people have already made, and you’ll have no way to change course.
You have to ask yourself whether what you learn will still change the outcome. When the answer is no, you’re just keeping records.
Set expectations before problems arise
Another client was promoted multiple times, from senior engineer to vice president. His title kept changing, but the way people treated him stayed where he started. He noticed it most when former peers, now his direct reports, kept taking questions to his boss instead of to him.
We decided that it was best for him to set up a series of direct conversations with each person now reporting to him. He opened with language like this: “I recognize our working relationship has shifted. In this capacity, I need to give you feedback as your manager rather than as a peer. How would you like to receive that feedback?”
Then he asked the reverse: How did they want to give feedback to him?
He did this before anything had gone wrong, which is what made it work. Sorting out how feedback moves between people is a much easier conversation when there’s nothing at stake.
Within a few months, his team was bringing issues to him first, instead of going to his boss.
Final thoughts on getting more honest feedback from your team
I tell my clients they have a choice: You can be frustrated that the feedback you want isn’t reaching you, or you can go get it.
Getting useful feedback means asking earlier and asking more often. Ask at a time when people can still act on what you say, then pay attention to what shows up. You’ve got this!
Key Takeaways
- Ask your employees for feedback before it’s too late to make any necessary changes.
- Don’t only ask for feedback during an annual review. Have regular check-ins throughout the year.
- Set your expectations before problems arrive; be proactive.
An email arrived this summer with the subject line “Magic Key Holder, your Magic Key pass expires in one month.” It invited me to renew before my expiration date of Sept. 17.
I’ve been a pass holder since 2018, first through the Annual Passport program and then through Magic Key, which replaced it in 2021. This past year I held the Inspire Key, the top tier, at $1,749. I’ve stayed at Disney’s Grand Californian. I’ve booked guided tours at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. I’ve eaten and shopped in the parks.
I decided more than six months ago that I wasn’t renewing my pass. My last visit was December 20. I still love Disneyland, and I plan to go once a year with my parents.
Mbappé is the latest global name to find himself on the wrong side of Chinese patriotism
Global brands and celebrities have lost the Chinese market over social media posts, promotional events, and trademark lawsuits. Now soccer superstar Kylian Mbappé has joined them.
Mbappé, during an appearance on a popular French online talk show, described a meme figure as “a Chinese dictator,” a comment widely perceived as referring to Mao. Within days, three Chinese sponsors cut ties with Mbappé and China Media Group, China’s state broadcaster, said it would suspend broadcasts of LaLiga, Spain’s top soccer league, as well as other games involving Mbappé.
Global celebrities and companies have faced similar backlash in China over comments, imagery, and jokes deemed politically or culturally insensitive.
Mbappé has since apologized. “My comment was ill-judged, and I now understand that it hurt many people in China and in Chinese communities around the world,” he wrote on X. “I apologize to everyone my words have upset. This was absolutely not my intention. I have deep respect for the Chinese people and their history, and I am sincerely sorry.”
What happened?
The companies that ended their relationships with Mbappé include Dongpeng, a beverage maker; Mengniu, a dairy giant; and Milkground, a cheese maker. The companies did not specify what prompted their decisions.
In an effort to contain the fallout, LaLiga president Javier Tebas met with the Chinese ambassador to Spain to “seek solutions that allow us to overcome this episode.”
“Our commitment is to keep working together so that an individual episode does not harm the important advances achieved nor affect the millions of Chinese fans who follow our competitions,” he said in a statement.
Mbappe’s team, Real Madrid, also apologized on Wednesday. “Our club maintains a deep respect for China, its history, its culture and its citizens, as well as for the millions of Chinese fans who feel affection and admiration for Real Madrid,” the club said in a statement.
Has this happened before?
In 2019, Daryl Morey, then the Houston Rockets’ general manager, posted a tweet in support of protests in Hong Kong. Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pulled NBA games off the air in response; the blackout lasted until 2022.
In early 2021, Swedish fashion giant H&M’s decision to stop using cotton from Xinjiang, following concerns over alleged human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims, drew a consumer boycott and severely affected its sales.
In June 2026, activewear brand Lululemon had to apologize after a promotional event taking place on the Great Wall of China mistakenly featured a Japanese drum, drawing social media backlash. Chinese netizens quickly pointed out that Lululemon, which had posted images from the event, had used a Japanese taiko instrument rather than a Chinese dagu drum. The company later removed all images related to the drum event from its social media.
In another recent case, Louis Vuitton faced a backlash after it won a trademark infringement case against Chinese milk tea chain Molly Tea. A Chinese court ruled in June that Molly Tea’s four-petaled logo infringed a Louis Vuitton trademark, and ordered it to pay 10.3 million yuan ($1.5 million) in damages. The ruling divided Chinese social media: some users called it unfair, and many boycotted the luxury brand in response. LVMH, Louis Vuitton’s parent, later said the controversy had weighed on its China sales; revenue at LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division fell 5% on an organic basis.
Not even Chinese brands are safe from public backlash. In 2024, Chinese bottled-water brand Nongfu Spring faced a public boycott and online backlash after some social media users accused Nongfu of using Japanese-style imagery on its packaging, with some 7-Eleven stores going as far as stopping to sell Nongfu products at their stores.
Bilt November Rent Day: Save Up to $150 on Hotels, Get Up to 100% Bonus on Gift Cards
Bilt November Rent Day
Bilt has announced its November 2026 Rent Day promotions, with two main offers. You can get up to $150 off hotel bookings and up to a 100% bonus when redeeming Bilt points for gift cards.
The hotel deal is already live, so you don’t have to wait until November 1 to take advantage of it. There are also the usual Rent Day double points and other member experiences.
Not the best Rent Day we have seen. I’m sure many people were expecting a JetBlue transfer bonus as that program was added as a transfer partner this month. Let’s see the details.
Save Up to $150 on Hotel Bookings
Bilt Rewards members can get $50, $100 or $150 off a qualifying hotel booking through the Bilt Travel Portal.
The amount you need to spend to unlock each discount varies by member, so you’ll need to check your Bilt account for your specific offers.
- Booking window: October 28 at 9 AM ET through November 2 at 3 AM ET.
- Discount: $50, $100 or $150 off, depending on your booking total and personalized spending thresholds.
- No blackout dates or minimum stay requirements for this promotion.
- One qualifying hotel booking.
- Can’t combine with be combined with Bilt Cash or credits.
- Taxes and fees count toward the spending requirement.
Up to 100% Bonus on Gift Card Redemptions
On November 1 only, Bilt members can get a bonus when redeeming points for gift cards from more than 125 brands.
The bonus depends on your Bilt Rewards status.
| Bilt Status | Redemption Bonus | Approximate Value Per Point |
|---|---|---|
| Blue | 25% | 0.875¢ |
| Silver | 50% | 1.05¢ |
| Gold | 75% | 1.225¢ |
| Platinum | 100% | 1.4¢ |
For example, a Platinum member could redeem 10,000 Bilt points for approximately $140 in gift cards, compared to the usual $70 value.
That’s a decent improvement, but keep in mind that Bilt points can often be worth considerably more when transferred to airline and hotel partners.
Double Points on November 1
Bilt cardholders can also earn double points on eligible purchases made November 1, excluding housing and tax payments.
- Bilt Blue: 2X points on everyday purchases.
- Bilt Obsidian: 6X in the selected dining or grocery category, 4X on travel and 2X on other everyday purchases.
- Bilt Palladium: 4X points on everyday purchases.
The promotion is capped at 1,000 bonus points.
Other November Rent Day Perks
Bilt is also bringing back its Rent Free game, with Jennifer Lopez participating this month.
Members can also book special dining, comedy, magic and fitness experiences in select cities. Reservations open October 29, with early access for Gold and Platinum members.
Some experiences can be booked using Bilt Cash or points, while select SoulCycle and Barry’s classes are complimentary.
The big interview: ‘These are my people’: Lending veteran builds tools for loan officers
“I’ve watched loan officers very unsafely access technology while on their phone driving a car at the same time,” Clayton told Mortgage Professional America. “And so that’s what I think of, right? When they show me technology, I’m like, ‘Could someone do this if they only have one eye on it and they’re kind of zoning out and they’re taking a phone call?’ And like, that’s my litmus bar for usability.”
Climbing a different tree
Her path ran through Countrywide, Bank of America, and home builders before Paramount Residential Mortgage Group (PRMG), where she was most recently a marketing executive. At the Mortgage Bankers Association’s mPowering You summit, speaker Hoda Kotb gave her words for what came next.
“She talked about this, ‘I climbed that tree and now I want to climb another one,’” Clayton said. “And I’m like, 100%. Like, I climbed that tree. I did all the things that there were to do in lending.”
Cotality first approached her as a prospective customer, asking whether she would buy its products. She was still at PRMG at the time.
“I said, ‘Your products are cool, but well, if you did this and this and this, maybe lenders would be interested,’” she said. “And then later on, after I sort of finished my time there, they said, ‘You know, that’s actually a job. You can help us shape products so there’s something lenders actually need and will use.’ Nobody has engineering resources to spare to build products that nobody wants.”