Author: arthursheikin@gmail.com

[ad_1] Buying or selling a home is one of life’s biggest milestones — and with the right support, it can feel a lot less overwhelming.Enter: Independent mortgage brokers. They are local, licensed home loan experts who can guide you every step of the way from checking your credit to getting preapproved, comparing loan options, and setting a realistic budget. Unlike the big banks, they’re also small business owners who know your market and provide one-on-one guidance tailored to your needs.Even with inflation, interest rates, and tariffs continuing to shake up markets, there are still plenty of opportunities for well-prepared buyers…

[ad_1] CNN  —  Mortgage lenders will soon have a new way to assess borrowers applying for government-backed loans. That sent the stock of America’s biggest credit score company plunging Tuesday. Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte announced that lenders may start using VantageScore, a rival to the Fair Isaac Corporation, the company behind the widely recognized FICO score, to assess creditworthiness for government-sponsored Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac mortgages. “Effective today, to increase competition to the Credit Score Ecosystem and consistent with President Trump’s landslide mandate to lower costs, Fannie and Freddie will ALLOW lenders to use Vantage 4.0…

[ad_1] Wells Fargo is eyeing a handful of stocks that it says have “significant” catalysts to drive upside in the third quarter. Stocks are coming off a stunning rebound in the first half of 2025. The S & P 500 notched a gain of nearly 11% in the second quarter, with the broad market index posting a strong turnaround from its April low. At one point, the S & P 500 hovered near bear market territory. The S & P 500 notched record-high closes last week, adding to its gains with a fresh record Thursday after a better-than-expected June jobs…

[ad_1] TechCrunch Disrupt 2025 hits Moscone West in San Francisco from October 27–29, bringing together more than 10,000 startup and VC leaders for a deep dive into the future of technology. One of the most compelling conversations on one of the AI Stages will feature a panel of innovators redefining what intelligent systems can do — and among them is Alex Kendall, co-founder and CEO of Wayve. Kendall founded Wayve in 2017 with a bold vision: to unlock autonomous mobility not through handcrafted rules, but through embodied intelligence. His pioneering research at the University of Cambridge laid the foundation for…

[ad_1] We’re excited to welcome Mati Staniszewski, co-founder and CEO of ElevenLabs, to the AI Stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2025, taking place October 27–29 in San Francisco. In a featured fireside chat, Staniszewski will dive into how AI-powered voice technology is transforming digital communication and interaction. Takeaways that blend technical depth with business impact ElevenLabs is leading innovation in audio AI, building tools that make synthetic voices more natural, expressive, and accessible. As generative AI becomes central to product development, Staniszewski’s insights will offer a valuable look into the future of voice, personalization, and human-AI interaction. Before founding ElevenLabs, Staniszewski…

[ad_1] Amid renewed uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, history might offer us clues as to how they could impact American life.The last time big tariffs were enacted, in the 1890s, it was at the hand of William McKinley, who authored the highly protectionist Tariff Act of 1890, which imposed tariffs of more than 50% on many imported goods.McKinley, who was president between 1897 and 1901, rolled out his tariff policies when he was an Ohio congressman. They had far-reaching effects on the economy and were ultimately unpopular among voters, leading him and other Republican congressmen to lose their…

[ad_1] The team at Moonvalley, a Los Angeles-based AI video generation startup, doesn’t think you can prompt your way to making a movie. That’s why the company on Tuesday opened up its “3D-aware” model to the public, promising a “hybrid” approach that gives filmmakers more control than other standard text-to-video models.  Moonvalley first launched its model, named Marey, in beta in March, and has now released it as a monthly credits-based subscription. Users can pay $14.99 for 100 credits, $34.99 for 250 credits, and $149.99 for 1,000 credits. Users can generate clips up to five seconds long, which is in…

[ad_1] Tesla shares will probably fall even further as CEO Elon Musk continues to devote his attention to politics, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas told clients in a Tuesday note. Tesla stock fell nearly 7% on Monday, erasing $68 billion from the company’s market capitalization after Musk announced on Saturday that he was forming a new America Party. “While the situation remains fluid, we believe investors should be prepared for further devotion of resources (financial, time/attention) in the direction of Mr. Musk’s political priorities, which may add further near-term pressure to TSLA shares,” Jonas told clients in a 12-page report.…

[ad_1] New York CNN  —  A group of leading tech companies is teaming up with two teachers’ unions to train 400,000 kindergarten through 12th grade teachers in artificial intelligence over the next five years. The National Academy of AI Instruction, announced on Tuesday, is a $23 million initiative backed by Microsoft, OpenAI, Anthropic, the national American Federation of Teachers and New York-based United Federation of Teachers. As part of the effort, the group says it will develop AI training curriculum for teachers that can be distributed online and at an in-person campus in New York City. The announcement comes as…

[ad_1] AI can help your team move faster — but only if your team knows how to move together. Join Jeff Chow, Chief Product and Technology Officer at Miro, for a roundtable sessions at TechCrunch All Stage on July 15 in Boston’s SoWa Power Station, where he’ll break down how product-led innovation can supercharge collaborative problem-solving. This session, titled “Building Team Intelligence: How Product-Led Innovation Transforms Collaborative Problem-Solving,” and is built for founders, product leaders, and startup teams looking to work smarter in the age of AI. From startups to scaleups, how your team thinks together may be more important…