Most market participants have accepted that 2018 is unlikely to be another low-volatility year like 2017, but how do we translate the rising volatility into our market forecast? Some Wall Street bulls such as RBC’s Lori Calvasina have revised their year-end forecasts down recently.* Are those…

OMG! What a wonderful lunch. Nine people total in a private room at a restaurant in Punta Gorda. Martin Barnes organized it, and Danny Blanchflower seeded the idea. Joining were Tim Dalton, Ned Davis, Bob Eisenbeis, Jeff Saut, and a certain ancient one who must remain anonymous but who calls…

“China’s reaction to Mr. Trump’s legitimate defence of the American homeland has been a Great Wall of denial – despite incontrovertible evidence of Beijing’s illicit and protectionist behaviour. Instead, China is attacking American farmers with the threat of retaliatory tariffs in the apparent…

“It was a tumultuous first week of the quarter that has left the markets caught between more truculent tweets on trade from President Trump, and slightly more diplomatic messages from his advisors. Predictably China countered with $50 bln in tariffs of their own against a variety of U.S. imports…

In April of 2018, USF Sarasota-Manatee, Cumberland Advisors, and the Global Interdependence Center partnered to host a Financial Literacy Day with multiple panels addressing topics surrounding the economy and financial markets. Dr. Raphael W. Bostic, president and chief executive officer of the…

Well, that didn’t take long! The secondary indicators (sentiment) we mentioned as a concern in our 2017 year-end commentary (see Tactical Trend, Q4 2017) proved to be a bit too much for the equity markets to digest during Q1. The extreme bullish readings in late December and early January were a…

Well, well! Who’d a thunk it?

First we must thank David Blond and Bob Brusca for engaging in a debate for our readers. For those who missed it, the links to the David Blond essay and the Bob Brusca response are here:

Blond: “Winners and Losers from Global Trade” – http://www.cumber…

My colleague Patty Healy discussed the muni sector’s credit scoring and status in her recent quarterly commentary. See http://www.cumber.com/q1-2018-municipal-credit/. Readers who missed her missive may want to take a look at it, as it recites lots of evidence of upgrades and downgrades in…

We thank readers for their thoughtful responses to David Blond's guest paper on trade and tariffs, Winners and Losers from Global Trade. That paper triggered debate. Below is Bob Brusca’s rebuttal. Enjoy the debate as each person can decide her/his own viewpoint.

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