Cumberland Advisors

The recent CBO minimum wage study has sparked a lot of headlines because it concludes that if the US moved to a $10.10 minimum wage, the increase would cost the economy about 500K jobs, most of which...

The events unfolding in Ukraine set the stage for much broader global policy issues. Will brutal arrogance on the part of the Yanukovych regime and Vladimir Putin’s ambition to restore a Soviet...

“Just a correction ... or something more sinister?” That is the title of a February 12 financial market briefing by Carsten Valgreen.Carsten is a skilled economist, a global strategist,...

During a recent Fox Business interview with Lori Rothman, we referred to a report on volatility and the stock market. That report was prepared by Talley Leger of Macro Vision Research.  Talley...

Almost two years ago, the president of the European Central Bank (ECB), Mario Draghi, pledged to do “whatever it takes” to save the euro. This pledge was backed and made credible by the...

IRS Notice 2011-29 & Puerto RicoAn as-yet legally untested US tax credit for the excise tax US multinational companies pay to Puerto Rico essentially functions as a form of ongoing back-door...

“You never give me your money, 
You only give me your funny paper, 
And in the middle of negotiations, you break down.” 
– The Beatles, Abbey Road album, 1969What...

Standard and Poor’s rating service downgraded the general-obligation debt of Puerto Rico yesterday from the barely investment-grade rating of BBB- to BB+, citing continued economic weakness and...

My colleague David Kotok has already commented on the FOMC’s most recent decision with respect to the path for tapering its asset purchase program. It is now obvious that unless the FOMC chooses...

The Fed meets and Bernanke hands the baton to Yellen. Results materialize; new voters vote; the tapering process continues.Tapering for the rest of this year and until our central bank becomes neutral...

Currency risk, foreign exchange volatility and their impact on emerging markets, frontier markets and mature markets are hot topics at the 7th annual Inside ETFs conference, hosted by ETF.com...

We have taken our overweight exposure in banks and financials to an underweight.The reason is simple. When the US Attorney General threatens banks in a public forum with statements suggesting that no...

Walk into Captain Tony’s Saloon on Greene Street in Key West. On the left side you'll see the original “hanging tree” that now grows through and towers over the roof. It is aptly...

Investors may be underestimating the power of America's oil and natural-gas industry evolution.The US is producing more oil today than ever. It has abundant natural gas and growing production....

As we enter 2014, we are faced with mixed developments affecting municipal bond issuers. Our firm-wide thesis is that the present slow, uneven recovery will continue, creating both challenges and...

As 2014 commences, the already modest pace of the recovery in the Eurozone will likely be weighed down by the fragmented and undercapitalized banking sector. The accelerating decline in bank lending...