How much would you pay for a company responsible for a funny video? How ‘bout $1.7 billion bones? Amazon, catching the eye of the FTC, has made an offer to acquire Roomba maker iRobot for $1.7bn. (Speaking of household goods, I occasionally am asked by LOs or employers about closing or referral gifts that are memorable or unique, unlike a bottle of wine or a doormat. I’ll often suggest Cutco knives (no, this is not a paid ad), as there is free engraving with the LO’s name & phone number, and point them to Luke Sasek for advice or to place an order.) I guess things are good in certain sectors of the economy, unlike residential lending. Plenty of jobs are being lost in residential lending, layoffs continue to occur weekly in big and small lenders and investors as companies grapple with volumes down 50 percent from much of 2020 and 2021. Rumors of impending closure of divisions by major lenders and investors (including wholesalers) continue to swirl, although fortunately jobs are being cut in a great job market. (Those impacted can always post their resumes for free here and employers can view them for several months for a nominal fee.) The 20 million jobs lost during the early months of the COVID-19 lockdown have been fully recovered. More Americans are working today than at any time in history. This remains one of the strongest job markets in the past 50 years, no comfort for those hoping for a slowdown which would reduce inflation and lead to a less aggressive path of rate hikes from the Federal Reserve or lower 30-year mortgage rates. (Available here, this week’s podcast is sponsored by SimpleNexus, an nCino company and award-winning developer of mobile-first technology for the modern mortgage lender. Today’s has an interview with Brian Miller of Planet Home on the current mortgage banking recruiting environment.)