The Lede

Washington Post, Aug. 19, 2019--Felicia Somnez, Damian PalettaPresident Trump on Monday sought to play down the risk of a recession while also pinning the blame for a potential economic downturn on the Federal Reserve, chastising the central bank's chairman, Jerome H. Powell, for a "horrendous lack of vision."

HousingWire, Aug. 19, 2019--Kathleen HowleyThe funding round is the company's second sizable capital raise in 2019 alone. Earlier this year, Better.com raised $75 million from Citi, American Express, and others. The company's backers also include Goldman Sachs.

Forbes, Aug. 19, 2019--Breana PatelWhat DLT brings to the table is the ability to store all of the myriad paper documents that need be conveyed between players onto a distributed network that is more secure than the status quo. The data would be easier to access, with current steps in the process that take weeks happening in a matter of seconds.

New York Times, Aug. 19, 2019--David Gelles, David Yaffe-BellanyChief executives from the Business Roundtable, including the leaders of Apple and JPMorgan Chase, argued that companies must also invest in employees and deliver value to customers.

HousingWire, Aug. 19, 2019--Kathleen HowleyThe Mortgage Bankers Association issued a new forecast that predicts the U.S. rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage will average 3.7% in the third and fourth quarters of 2019, down from the 3.9% the group predicted for the same periods a month ago.

Wall Street Journal, Aug. 19, 2019--Lalita Clozel (subscription)HUD is moving to roll back an Obama-era policy aimed at rooting out racial bias in housing, the latest move by the Trump administration to weaken a legal tool combating unintentional discrimination.

American Banker, Aug. 19, 2019--Hannah Lang, Joe Adler, Neil Haggerty (subscription)The industry is hopeful that changes are near to make the Volcker Rule more tolerable, but it remains to be seen if regulators will give the nation's largest banks all the relief they have sought under the proprietary trading ban.