I don’t know if the rumor is true that Webster’s is considering adding “Tariffied” to its dictionary, but the word certainly fits the climate. Capital markets staffs who have to set rates and prices have been wondering where President Trump’s tariff philosophy is coming from, given that the market volatility has increased hedge costs. The answer is Peter Navarro, and everyone hopes that his tariff strategy pays off for the United States in the long run and is better than his legal past. In the meantime, world financial markets are roiled impacting lenders and borrowers alike. You may not care what they do in places like Armenia, Russia, or Ukraine, but it is good for lenders to know what is going on in various financial markets and these three countries are among the 11 that are dropping the U.S. dollar in international transactions. Hope is not a strategy, but let’s hope that this doesn’t move into MBS demand. (Today’s podcast can be found here and this week’s is sponsored by Figure. Figure is shaking up the lending world with its five-day HELOC, offering borrower approvals in as little as five minutes and funding in five days. Lenders, give your borrowers an experience they will rave about. On today’s hear an interview with STRATMOR Group’s Garth Graham on potential clouds looming on the warehouse bank side of things as IMBs continue to post quarterly losses.) Products, Software, and Services for Lenders “Attention all Mortgage Innovators! Join us for the blueprint in cutting edge mortgage technology at the Mortgage Innovators Conference May 7 – 8 in Huntington Beach. Our Co-Chairs Kevin Peranio, PRMG, and Ike Suri, Funding Shield welcome all California MBA lender members free of charge! Texas MBA lender members and MISMO lender members also receive complimentary registrations! For non-lenders, you can use the coupon code MIC25-SALE to receive 25% off your registration through April 25th. Thank you to our Premier Sponsors Cotality (formerly CoreLogic) and ICE Mortgage Technology. This conference will not only cover technology and product innovations in mortgage, but we’re also featuring a session of private equity and venture capital companies discussing factors that go into investing in technology. Of course, we top it off with the best party in the industry: the Innovation Deck Party! Hosted dinner, bars, entertainment, and fantastic networking. See you in May!”