The FOMC delivered on the expected 25-basis-point increase in its target range for the federal funds rate and has penciled in three more rate hikes for 2018. Of course, all of this future activity is “data-dependent.” How likely is it that the data will justify those three rate hikes, and what…

The most recent tax-reform agreement between the US House of Representatives and US Senate is less hurtful to municipal bonds than initially expected. Here are some points.

Our chief monetary economist, Bob Eisenbeis discussed the Fed with Chris Whalen this week. Below, we reproduce the entire interview courtesy of Chris and The Institutional Risk Analyst.

David R. Kotok Chairman and Chief Investment Officer Email | Bio

The last quarter of 2017 revealed continued bullish momentum in the US stock market and ongoing increases in earnings of US public companies. Through the middle of December, the market made progressive new index highs. Rotation among sectors finally took some steam from the “FAANMG” stocks.…

We thank readers for their thoughtful comments regarding our discussion entitled "Tax Bill & Shrinkage Tantrum." For those who may have missed it, here is the link: http://www.cumber.com/tax-bill-shrinkage-tantrum/.

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scoring of the tax bill was released at 8:49 PM on Friday night, and this link will take you to it: https://www.cbo.gov/system/files/115th-congress-2017-2018/costestimate/53362-summarysenatereconciliation.pdf.

Marvin Goodfriend’s nomination represents what will be a welcomed and outstanding addition to a depleted Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.[1] He brings a lot to the table. First, he is a first-rate economist with a truly international reputation.

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="480"] Richard Yamarone sings Folsom Prison Blues[/caption]

German Chancellor Angela Merkel faced a crisis when coalition talks broke down on November 19th. Germany could have endured months of political uncertainty, and it suddenly became possible that Merkel would be forced to resign. The German public and the world awoke to find that the continuation…

Ben White had this to say about Fed appointments last week in his Politico “Morning Money” column:

“FED TALK – Look for the vice chair nomination to come fairly soon. Mohamed El-Erian remains in the mix but could also be a candidate for the New York Fed. John Taylor sounds like a no-go…