Third-quarter US stock markets have faced a formidable array of media distractions, ranging from hurricanes to Trump tweets to SCOTUS scuffles – and on and on.

Cumberland has utilized separately managed accounts to execute its fixed-income strategy since its inception in 1973, long before separately managed accounts (SMAs) were popularized in the early 2000s.

A while ago we wrote about a one-time tax-code change and why it might be causing the yield curve to flatten. Here is that commentary: “Why the Yield Curve Is Flat & Why It May Steepen” (https://www.cumber.com/why-the-yield-curve-is-flat-why-it-may-steepen/).

Jim Roemer (A.K.A. Dr. Weather) has been forecasting for the commodity and ski industry for over 30 years . He splits his time between Sarasota, Florida and Vermont, and has a deep passion and concern about the environment and climate. We found his work titled, "Florida’s Red Tide: Possible…

The countdown to midterms is now in full force, and the ads, emailings, snailmailings, and robo-phone-call invasions into our personal lives will all combine to show us the worst of America’s political ugliness as it now descends on our country.

On Wednesday morning POLITICO’s Morning Money shared this quote from Bob Woodward’s new book, Fear, and opined on Trump’s intentions in the trade arena:

“I can stop this,” Cohn reportedly said. “I’ll just take the paper off his desk.”

We start September with a cash reserve in our US equity ETF portfolios. Some details of our thinking follow.

We wish our readers a Happy Post-Labor Day return to confront the 9-week run-up to the midterms. Other risk items include a possible government shutdown (not likely, in our view)…

Bob Bunting, a friend, meteorologist, and accomplished professor, has offered his insight on climate change via this guest commentary, It’s Hot and Getting Hotter – The Case for Adaptive Strategies for a Warming Planet. We appreciate his perspective and invite you to join the conversation.

Last week Venezuela devalued its currency, the bolivar, by 95%, cutting five zeros off the exchange rate. This measure was a desperate response to hyperinflation that reached an astonishing rate of 83,000% YoY in July, with prices doubling every 26 days.

As is the custom for Fed chairs, Chairman Powell provided the kickoff address to the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium, broadly attended by many of the world’s central bankers.