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…

To no one’s surprise, Chair Yellen has announced her intention to resign effective upon the swearing in of her successor, Jerome Powell. Since Governor Powell’s confirmation hearing is set for November 28 of this year, it is possible for him to be confirmed and sworn in before the January 30–31…

Our American mythology of Thanksgiving is imparted to us as schoolchildren, or at least it used to be. The Pilgrims had voyaged to North America on the Mayflower to escape persecution and had been in Plymouth, Massachusetts, less than a year. They were hungry. A cold winter was setting in, and…