Over the past 12 months, as of July 6th, the Japanese equity market  outperformed. The TOPIX index  increased 31.1% and the NKY 225 30.5%. These figures compare with increases of 14.8% for the S&P 500, 19.35% for the STOXX Europe 600, and in Asia, 22.4% for the MSCI AC Asia Pacific ex Japan…

The minutes of the FOMC’s June meeting are especially interesting this time. Not for because of what the FOMC said about raising its policy rate this time, but rather because of the insights that the minutes provide regarding participants’ widely divergent views on the policy path going forward…

In her quarterly missive, Cumberland’s Patty Healy offered a terrific summary of credit conditions in the US muni market. Here’s that commentary:cumber.com/2q-2017-municipal-credit. John Mousseau furthered a dissection of the subject on Asset TV.

We received many replies after we published my commentary “America’s Birthday” (cumber.com/americas-birthday/). A sampling of readers’ responses follows, and then we will turn to the implications of the First Amendment for markets.

The majority agreed with us and offered “well done” or “…

We closely follow the bond insurers because they remain an important part of the municipal market, and they are integral to our Insured Puerto Rico Strategy.

Cumberland exited all uninsured Puerto Rico exposure in 2011, as it was clear that population loss and economic circumstances…

Our International ETF strategy analyzes fiscal and interest-rate policy and complements that research with trading analytics to determine portfolio risk/reward and valuations. The strategy has the benefit of flexibility to assign allocations by market cap size and developed vs. emerging markets…

It’s America’s birthday. Hot dogs and fireworks. Burgers and beer. Gatherings. A lightness is in the air from Key West to Presque Isle, from Pasadena to Juneau. We have good reason (our freedom) for that lifting of spirits.

Let’s celebrate, but let’s also be serious for a moment.

For two years, we have been following the Zika virus outbreak and the failure of the US government to protect its own citizens, let alone demonstrate world leadership. In total, by the time Congress managed to pass a stopgap spending bill for the fight against Zika in September 2016, more than…

As budget season comes to a close, there were 14 states joining Illinois that still had not finalized their budgets by the time of this writing. Illinois, which has received numerous downgrades because it has not had a budget in two years and has amassed a large backlog of receivables, could…

For 30+ years, Cumberland Advisors has worked with nonprofits, helping boards of directors draft RFPs, structure investment policy statements, and design investment portfolios within a separately managed account format – all in compliance with our clients’ unique state regulatory environments.…