My friend David had his id stolen and now he’s just Dav. Having anything stolen is not a laughing matter, and since we’re in the money business, lenders and vendors are often the target of cyber-attacks. If you want the FBI’s take on them, the Texas MBA is hosting the “Anatomy of Cyber Attacks” webinar next Wednesday, April 13th. (More upcoming events below.) Some MLOs think that interest rates have stolen their livelihoods, but really, did you think 30-year mortgage rates were going to stay in the 2s forever? Or overnight fed funds near 0 percent? As of Friday’s close, the market has priced in a 70 percent likelihood of a 50-basis point hike versus 30 percent for a 25-basis point hike. The question remains whether the Fed will be able to achieve its desired soft landing whereby inflation eases back towards their target without impeding economic growth. Rising prices continue to put pressure on all areas of the supply chain which will likely mean continued pressure on consumer prices: February marked the seventh straight month where inflation outpaced income growth leading to expectations of lower consumer spending as the year moves on. Perhaps rising mortgage rates and still increasing home prices will lessen some demand and ease the bidding wars that have become prevalent in many markets over the last two years. (Today’s audio version of the commentary is available here and this week’s is sponsored by Optimal Blue, a division of Black Knight. Today’s features an interview with Chazz Huston on Optimal Blue’s API strategy and how it helps lenders integrate real-time pricing into their technology stack from the POS to the LOS, the CRM and beyond..)