Blame, blame, blame — the media, Congress, and others are blaming bank supervisors, deregulation, and previous administrations in an effort to assign responsibility for the collapse and subsequent fallout from the demise of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank.

The failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) along with Silvergate Bank and the Signature Bank of New York has created what is possibly an inflection point in the bond markets.

What follows is a special update from Cumberland Advisors.

Many readers responded to John Mousseau’s commentary and my follow up commentary on credit ratings and the needed independence of bond managers and rating agencies.

A packed auditorium and many Zoom users attended the Climate Adaptation Center (CAC) "2023 Florida Climate Forecast Conference" in Sarasota on Feb. 9 for a full day of eye-opening discussion regarding Florida hurricane and sea level rise risk.

With the passing of Professor Edward J. Kane on March 2, 2023, the economics and finance profession lost a true giant in the field. His professional accomplishments are multidimensional. He authored over 150 published articles and seven books.

We thank readers for their comments about the writings we are offering to explain the machinations of the tax-free municipal bond market. I can arrange a direct discussion with our firm for anyone interested in greater detail. Just email me.

My colleague John Mousseau published a piece on what is happening in Florida with a political attack on municipal bond credit ratings. I fully agree with John’s analysis.    Some readers responded positively to John’s message and thanked Cumberland for publishing on this subject.…

Economic and Financial Markets Review: February 2023