Gone are the days in which I wear a sandwich board reading "S&P 600 Is Next!" in the public park. As firmly in control of the market as our bullish breathren are, we have to take things a single ES point at a time. And don't even get me started on the NQ, which evidently was preplanned with all the elegance and sophistication of a six-inch plastic ruler from a second-grader's backpack:
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.
Volatility Rising Again on Foreign ETF Weakness
Further to my post of March 6th, volatility rose again on Thursday's decline in most of the Foreign ETFs on my Daily chartgrid below, as represented by the white histogram which is just below price.
India, Brazil, China, and Chinese Financials closed below those March 6th lows today, and the Emerging Markets ETF (EEM) closed just above…ones to watch, particularly in view of the comments noted in my posts on the BRIC countries on March 15th and March 12th.
Additionally, I'll be watching to see if further downside continues on the other Foreign ETFs in view of the build in volatility and Thursday's continued decline in the U.S. Major Market Indices.
Will the American Consumer Save the Day?
Global economic data released Wednesday night and Thursday morning showed multiple contractions in manufacturing in China, in manufacturing and services in Germany, France and Europe, and in European industrial new orders. Additionally, core retail sales contracted in Canada, the price of homes continued to fall in the U.S., while the U.S. Conference Board's Leading Index rose, and unemployment claims dropped in the U.S.
That leaves saving the American economy up to Americans this year. With heavy debt loads already being carried by the average family, as shown below, one can see that will be a very monumental task (click this link for a bigger graphics picture). As noted in my post of March 7th, the levels of consumer debt accumulated during the past three months are higher than they were in 2007/08 just prior to the financials crisis, and are at their highest levels seen since January 2000…an interesting scenario considering that personal income has declined, as mentioned in my post of March 1st.
Ass-Kicking Irish Journalist
Competely by chance – – I'm not even sure how I tripped across it – – I saw this video of Irish Journalist Vincent Browne confronting the ECB's Klaus Masuch (and, periodically, Barbara Nolan, the Irish representative on Klaus' right). It just goes to show how The Powers That Be have no real answers for the public.
As for our own country, any time you hear B.S. Bernanke cite for the millionth time the "dual mandate" of the Fed, just remember the real dual mandate is: (a) protect his friends; (b) get rich after he's done with his post.
….and let's hear from Slope's Patron Saint on the topic….
Chipotle Defies Explanation
Can someone – anyone – offer a viable explanation as to the price behavior of this burrito-maker? Anyone?
