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.
Like a National Guitar
I feel that I’ve seen a dystopic future of the United States.
Here I am, visiting Memphis. I want to be clear that the weather is pleasant and I did this stroll in the middle of the day, so there’s no reason to see what I saw. Or, more specifically, to not see what I didn’t see, which is: other humans. I’ve been here for days, and it’s like something out of a science fiction novel. There’s nobody here. Morning, noon, or night, except for the occasional schizophrenic, there isn’t a soul. I took a few photos during my walk (and this is referred to as maps, literally, as Core Downtown):
Through the Lens of Gaps
The week of February 5 was devastating for the bulls. The week of February 12 was devastating for the bears. I have a feeling that the shortened week we’re approaching after Presidents’ Day will have the torch back in bear hands. Sure, we might have a little more strength, but we are so deliciously close to major gap fills, I am looking ahead to next week with anticipation (and, admittedly, some anxiety). These markets, in spite of having greatly different components, all pretty much look the same. The emerging markets:
Macro Update: 1 Week Later, Risk Remains ‘On’ as 2 of 3 Amigos Ride On
Despite a tough week for stocks into Friday, February 9, three big picture macro indicators have continued to support a risk ‘on’ backdrop. Many of the shorter-term indicators we watch, like Junk bond ratios and the Palladium/Gold ratio say the same thing. Junk/Treasury and Junk/Investment Grade are threatening new highs and as we have noted in NFTRH updates all through the recent market volatility, Palladium (cyclical) got hammered vs. Gold (counter-cyclical), but only to test its major uptrend. Now the ratio is bouncing with the market relief that is so predictably taking hold (here’s a public post where we effectively called bullish, in-day on that Friday). (more…)
Memphis Bars
