The Cumberland Advisors Week in Review is a recap of news, commentary, and opinion from our team.
These are not revised assessments, and circumstances may have changed in the market from the time of original publication. We also include older commentaries that our editors have determined may be of interest to our audience. Your feedback is always welcome.
CUMBERLAND ADVISORS' WEEKLY RECAP
As part of Cumberland Advisors' continuous effort to maintain strong customer relationships, we offer this week's short video discussing current market conditions and how we are positioning portfolios.
John Mousseau & Fixed Income / Munis
Matt McAleer & Equities / ETFs
Please reach out with any questions/comments you may have about this update; we appreciate your calls, comments, and emails. Watch in the player above or at this link: https://youtu.be/If3bXB-LEVw
Have a great weekend
-Matt McAleer & Cumberland Advisors
-Link to Matt's Email: Matthew.McAleer@Cumber.com
-Link to Matt's Twitter: https://twitter.com/MattMcAleer4
-Link to Matt's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthew-c-mcaleer/
-Call Matt: (800) 257-7013Other questions or comments? Email us at info@cumber.com or give us a call at (800) 257-7013.
Contact Matt or any one of our advisors by following this link: https://www.cumber.com/our-people/
CUMBERLAND COMMENT: Municipal Credit 2020 & Beyond
by Patricia Healy - Herald Tribune - Feb 01, 2021
In the depths of the muni market plunge back in March, many feared that the sky had fallen and that municipalities would not be able to manage their services and debt repayment.
The initial fall in prices was due to a collapse of liquidity, when muni money market funds had no one to sell to – until the Fed stepped in. Concern lingered because no one knew what the pandemic would bring. The Cumberland Despair Index combines the COVID-19 infection rate of a municipality with its unemployment rate – and in some cases this is a big number. The index highlights possible stress and helps to direct our analysis.
Those who are familiar with the municipal market know that municipalities are resilient and have tools to manage through a crisis. Additionally, by means of the CARES Act, the federal government stepped in to support the increased costs of the pandemic and to provide additional relief to businesses and individuals to “get over the hump.”
Continued at the Herald Tribune: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/business/briefs/2021/02/01/patricia-healy-municipal-credit-2020-and-beyond/4261819001/

Cumberland Advisors Market Commentary offers insights and analysis on upcoming, important economic issues that potentially impact global financial markets. Our team shares their thinking on global economic developments, market news and other factors that often influence investment opportunities and strategies. Our readers appreciate its timeliness, depth of analysis, and quality of research.
Read current and past commentaries here: https://www.cumber.com/category/market-commentary/
GameStop & SKEW!
Authors: Leo Chen Ph.D., David R. Kotok, & Matthew McAleer - Feb 1, 2021
There were two unusual events last week. One made massive headlines; the other flew under the radar. Unless an investor was on a Martian vacation, it was impossible to avoid the media battering that featured keywords like GameStop, Reddit, Robinhood, Citron, and WallStreetBets. And there was a cash requirement from brokers by DTCC, the stock […]
Veterans, Markets, & Impeachment
Author: David R. Kotok, Post Date: January 31, 2021
We do not expect financial markets to be influenced by the coming Senate impeachment trial. It appears that most market agents expect the outcome to be a repeat of history, where the two-thirds threshold of a Senate conviction vote is not reached. If it is reached, there may be some market reaction; but we think […]
FOMC, January 2021
Author: Robert Eisenbeis, Ph.D., Post Date: January 29, 2021
To no one’s surprise, the FOMC kept its target range for the federal funds rate at 0–.25% and reaffirmed that it will continue adding to its portfolio at the rate of $120 billion per month, in a mix of at least $80 billion in US Treasuries and $40 billion in agency MBS. The Committee’s statement […]
ERP & The Stock Market
Author: David R. Kotok, Post Date:
The tall man eats dinner every Tuesday at the same restaurant on 58th St. in NY. He loosens his bowtie after working late on Tuesday nights; he sits at his usual table; he orders the usual meal from the same waiter who has served him for the last 14 years. The waiter, Demetrius, brings the bowl […]
The Polar Vortex Is Coming To A State Near You!
Author: Bob Bunting, Post Date: January 28, 2021
At Cumberland, we pay attention to weather trends and phenomena since severe weather and the destruction left in its wake can affect municipal bonds and reconstruction efforts may result in new bond offerings to meet repair and improvement costs. Bob Bunting, CEO of the Climate Adaptation Center (CAC), has given us permission to share his […]
COVID Legal liability & Markets
Author: David R. Kotok, Post Date: January 26, 2021
The political debate over COVID-related liabilities of businesses is intense. Companies want a federal shield, which McConnell-McCarthy haven’t been able to get for them. Trial lawyers want an open target, which Pelosi-Schumer haven’t been able to get for them. A bipartisan Senate group was trying to broker a compromise. (“No Agreement on Covid-Aid Liability Reached,” […]
US vs. China – Competition vs. Conflict
Author: William Witherell, Ph.D., Post Date: January 25, 2021
China’s economy grew at a 6.5% year-over-year rate in the fourth quarter, bringing growth for the full year 2020 to 2.3%. China’s was the only major economy to expand last year, despite the outbreak of the pandemic and the related economic shutdowns early in the year in China. That positive growth compares with a 3.5% […]
Palindromes
Author: David R. Kotok, Post Date: January 24, 2021
When I was in the first grade, my teacher said, “David, do you know what you are?” She was reading my last name. In the second grade, the same thing happened. By the fifth grade, I could deliver the lecture: “I’m a palindrome.” The word originates with the Greek palindromos, which means running back again. […]
Week in Review (Jan 18, 2021 – Jan 22, 2021)
Author: Cumberland Advisors, Post Date: January 23, 2021
Fed Attack Responses
Author: David R. Kotok, Post Date: January 21, 2021
Fed Attack Responses We promised we would present responses to our “Attack on the Fed” discussion (https://www.cumber.com/cumberland-advisors-market-commentary-attack-on-the-fed-market-reaction-a-one-day-saga/). But before we do, we must offer an apology to Senator Pat Toomey, whom we criticized in that commentary for appearing to attempt to limit the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending authority. The back story reveals that Senator Toomey […]
Cash!
Author: David R. Kotok, Post Date: January 19, 2021
We would like to suggest that readers take time to read Josh Brown’s December 29 column at The Reformed Broker, “How to avoid bear markets” (https://thereformedbroker.com/2020/12/29/how-to-avoid-bear-markets/). We thank Josh’s colleague Barry Ritholtz for including it in the daily Ritholtz Reads column. Here’s a summary excerpt from Barry Ritholtz’s daily column (January 2, 2020): “There’s a very simple way […]
A message from David R. Kotok...
Frontline Nurses: The USF Program & Why To Do It
Now, there’s a new USF (University of South Florida) program for nurses, “Frontline Nursing During COVID-19: A New Paradigm,” is coming online. It includes four webinars and focuses on helping nurses, who dedicate their careers to caring for others, to take care of themselves in the midst of and beyond the crisis.
The program is free for any nurse anywhere in the world and especially in the United States. It was developed by the USF College of Nursing. It will give nurses continuing education credits, and it will do so at zero cost to the nurses who sign up.
Here’s the program link and the details: https://health.usf.edu/nursing/frontline-nursing
Please share the link and spread the word about this program. We want to protect our nurses. We want them alive and healthy. The ancient words apply: “If you save a single life, it is as if you have saved the entire world.” Join me, and let’s try to save nurses’ lives and patients’ lives, too.
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Cumberland Advisors Market Commentaries offer insights and analysis on upcoming, important economic issues that potentially impact global financial markets. Our team shares their thinking on global economic developments, market news and other factors that often influence investment opportunities and strategies.