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.

Weaponizing Intellect

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My fear for the future of the human race is grounded in two contrasting but related facts: (1) I am supposed to be extremely intelligent (2) I consider myself an idiot. In other words, if, based upon hard data from tests, the vast majority of people are less intelligent than me, yet if I consider myself just barely able to function and be a responsible member of society, where on earth are we all heading? I mean, come on – – I suck – – but most people suck even worse.

It wasn’t long ago that this wouldn’t have mattered at all. At any given point in human history, you could have created a bell curve of intelligence among all living humans. And yet how much has it truly mattered until recently?

In the year 1100, if you were far and away the most brilliant person in your entire village, would it have helped you at all? Would anyone have cared? Of course not! Because you just need to shovel the pig shit into a pile just like everyone else. Intellect was irrelevant. (more…)

U.S. High-Yield Corporate Bonds ETF Remains Unstable

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Price on the High-Yield Corporate Bonds ETF (HYG) has weakened further since my late-January post.

It’s now trading in between major resistance and support levels of 86.00 and 83.00, respectively, as shown on the following weekly comparison chart of HYG and the Russell 2000 Index (RUT). Volumes spiked to record highs on last week’s decline and the momentum indicator has fallen below the zero level, hinting of further weakness ahead on this timeframe.

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Pattern Number Three?

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It seems the big news everyone is waiting for is tomorrow morning’s pre-market CPI and retail numbers. In the meanwhile, I’d like to point out that both the ES and NQ might be forming a third pattern, as I’ve tinted here, preceding another leg down. Once again, I cannot turn my head without seeing an article about how new highs are just around the corner, but maybe I’m just weird or stubborn in saying that We Are Done.

NQ (more…)