“I’ve just checked my home insurance policy and apparently if my blanket is stolen in the middle of the night, I’m not covered.” For many home owners, taxes and insurance now cost more every month than the mortgage. Is the cost of some imported merchandise from some countries about to go up? Will anyone notice their laptop went up $300 or smartphone $200? Will the dollar’s strength or weakness impact consumers, therefore the economy, therefore lenders? As Dr. Elliot Eisenberg put it, “While Trump speaks of wanting a weak dollar, imposing tariffs will strengthen it. It’s because imposing a tariff makes foreign goods more costly and that means fewer such goods will be imported and thus fewer dollars will be converted into foreign currency. Moreover, tariffs will reduce growth abroad, especially in export-focused nations, which lowers foreign interest rates which causes investors to seek higher rates and thus hold more dollars.” (A tariff primer is below.) (Today’s podcast can be found here and is sponsored by Gallus Insights, the go-to reporting and analytics platform for mortgage lenders and servicers. Gallus makes it easy to access real-time data, create custom reports, and uncover actionable insights, all with a user-friendly design. Simplify your reporting, streamline your decisions, and drive profitability with Gallus Insights. Hear an interview with Spring EQ’s Reno Heine on the home equity lending market) Software, Products, and Services for Lenders