No way, President Biden decided to drop out of the presidential race on National Ice Cream Day! The markets (take your pick… stock, bond, currency, whatever) don’t like uncertainty. Fixed-income markets, including those that involve mortgage-backed securities, generally sell off price-wise and go up rate-wise with uncertainty. With President Joe Biden announcing that he will not run for re-election in November, there is added uncertainty. Kamala Harris is not a shoo-in to be the nominee although, as of this writing, other Democrats are coming out saying they will not challenge her. And of course, the VP role is anyone’s guess. Financial analysts are scrambling to look at Harris’ history in terms of being anti-corporate, pro-regulation, and so on. None of this really helps borrowers anywhere, and, in fact, much of it increases the cost of residential lending. But while the GOP has been trying to blame the Biden administration for residual inflation, it’s Trump’s plans (another round of tax cuts Democrats say will go to the rich, across-the-board tariff hikes to trigger another China trade war, and curbs on immigration that Republicans blocked earlier this year) that economists are warning will wreak havoc on global trade and send inflation right back up again. That’s a lot of headline risk, regardless of who wins in November. We still have over three months until the actual election, and we can expect even less being done legislatively in Washington D.C. Meanwhile, all lenders and vendors are just trying to do their jobs and help their borrowers. (Today’s podcast is found here and is sponsored by LoanCare, known for delivering superior customer experience as a mortgage subservicer through personalization and convenience, supporting MSR investors with a focus on customer engagement, liquidity, and credit risk. Today’s episode features an interview with InterLinc Mortgage’s Erin Dee on the roles and responsibilities of a Chief Operating Officer at a mortgage company.)