Slope of Hope Blog Posts

Slope initially began as a blog, so this is where most of the website’s content resides. Here we have tens of thousands of posts dating back over a decade. These are listed in reverse chronological order. Click on any category icon below to see posts tagged with that particular subject, or click on a word in the category cloud on the right side of the screen for more specific choices.

My Biased Job Hire

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I just paid someone for services, and my decision was partly a race-based one.

How’s that for a teaser? Let me explain.

Earlier today, I discovered one of my outdoor plugs was dead. I tested both plugs, tried pressing the reset switch, checked the circuit breaker repeatedly…………no dice. It wasn’t working. And I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not the handiest guy in the world, so I decided to call an electrician.

Before I did so, though, I decided this was more a handyman-level job. There was no need to pay top dollar for an electrical contractor. I suspected it was just a dead GFI outlet, and even a dummy like me could deal with it, but I didn’t want to do so (plus, although my heart’s in the right place when I try to fix stuff, I invariably screw it up the first time, and I didn’t want to waste time on my own services). So I went to Yelp and sent out a message to about seven handyman companies. (more…)

S&P 500 Index: Intraday Support & Resistance Levels

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The following 60 minute chart of the S&P 500 Index (SPX) shows intraday support and resistance levels at 2650 and 2700, respectively.

The momentum and relative volatility index technical indicators have plunged on today’s action, so far (as at 1:15 pm ET, Thursday April 19), and price has fallen back into the lower 1/4 of the uptrending Andrew’s Pitchfork channel…all of which are suggesting that the latest attempted rally that began on April 2 is pretty weak, but the pullbacks that have occurred since then have been tight and shallow.

However, the level of volatility and momentum in today’s intraday action may indicate that this may end soon and that today will mark a pivot point of some kind. Either we’ll see price break free of this tight trading action and spike to 2700, or we’ll see price plunge down to 2650, with a continued breakout in either direction. (more…)