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.

International Financial ETFs Versus 3 Major World Indices

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It appears that several international Financial ETFs have, generally, performed well over the past couple of years and are, either approaching major resistance, or have already reached it, when compared with their respective country’s Major Index on a ratio basis.

The first is the XLF:$SPX ratio, as shown on the 5-Year Daily ratio chart below.

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Taking The Good with the Bad

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I suppose it’s a symptom of being the youngest-born child in my family, but I’ve always had a special fondness for Christmas. Now don’t get me wrong – – I can’t stand the consumerism, and I’d gladly forego the entire getting-and-giving-of-gifts for the rest of my life. And yet there are some sustained pleasures of the season which I wanted to consider as we approach December.

Sturgeon’s Law still holds sway, however, as i does everything in this life, so there is no shortage of awfulness to deal with at the same time. I have, over the many years of this blog’s tenure, written many times about various cultural artifacts of the holiday season, but I thought there would be no harm in sharing a few more off-the-cuff thoughts. This time, in the interest of balance, I wanted to propose five favorite things about the holidays and an equal number of baddies. We’ll start with the good stuff. (more…)

Give Auto Parts a Try?

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In spite of what you’ve heard, shorting stocks in 2017 has not been like shooting yourself in the foot. Don’t believe it. Because at least when you shoot yourself in the foot, it causes some excitement and, later, sympathy.

In spite of this, for those foolish enough to give it another whirl, the two big auto parts retailers are rocketing up toward massive amounts of overhead supply.

1129-azo (more…)