Musings from the CU Suite

Happy Friday, my friend.

Things are heating up in D.C. Literally. We're in the middle of a heat wave that has pushed temperatures into the high 90's. And unlike heat familiar to my friends in the southwest, this isn't a dry heat. It is a humid-change-your-shirt-every-fifteen-minutes heat. Briggs even said he was whipped last night. And that's a rare bird indeed.

Things were busy here at NAFCU as well. Coastal FCU CEO Chuck Purvis testified on your behalf. NAFCU released its latest BSA Blast. We represented you at the NCUA Board meeting this week. And your NCCO program picked up a prestigious award. 

So grab a glass of iced tea (sweet, unsweetened, or Long Island) and enjoy this week's reading pile. 

• New York to DC in 29 minutes? Elon Musk says it's coming. (BI)
• Whoa. Sears partners with Amazon to sell its appliances online. The market thinks that is bad for Home Depot, Lowes, and Best Buy. (WSJ)
• Unemployment claims dip. Check out the graph inside the story. It paints a picture of a tight labor market. (Calculated Risk)
• Toward dumber. (Godin)
• Housing starts and permits boom. (US News)
• U.S. home sales to foreigners surge 49%. (CNN Money)
• Point, counterpoint. There is no 'existential crisis' challenge for banks from fintech. (CNBC) Banks may face Kodak-Style obsolescence in 5 years due to fintech. (Bloomberg) Take your pick!
• Digital services mean every bank is a national bank. (BankInnovation)
• Digital continues to define BOA's future. (BI)
• A nice Q and A with Noah Alper, CEO of Noah's Bagels. (SmartBrief) 
• The worst boss behavior is... (Bamboohr)
• Why leaders cannot be easily offended. (Hyatt)
• Where the cranes are. (Ritholtz)

And finally, in case you missed it. Is this worthy of a caption contest?