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.

Is Japan’s Inflation Failing?

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By Biiwii

We begin with NFTRH.com’s post from July 16 noting the message I got from a former associate (from my previous life as a manufacturer)…

“Just an update for you, some disturbing news has leaked out this week. Machine tool builders have put out blow out [lists] to all sales persons in the USA, not sure if world wide. Mori Seiki list has 600 to 700 machines on it WOW!!! never have i heard of such a huge list by any one Builder. Not sure what they see coming but it can’t be good.”

My comment from that post: “Mori is a big builder and when the big builders start blowing out it goes right down the food chain.”

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More Ritholtz on Gold, and Another Response

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By Biiwii

Anyone who has been bearish on gold for the last 4 years has been right. They have been right in Euros and though the trend appears to have been gently changing over the last year or two, they have been right in Canada & Aussie (i.e. commodity currencies) dollars as well. Certainly, they have been right that gold as measured in most global stock markets has been (and remains) bearish.

They have also been right in that gold as a hedge against the kind of inflation that global policy makers have promoted non-stop for years now, has utterly failed. And for gold as an insurance and value asset, a small phase like 4 years is like a blip. Yet still, so many people throw their hats into the ring on gold, constantly micro-managing its every twist and turn.

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Macrocosm

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Below is the opening segment of this week’s edition of Notes From the Rabbit Hole, NFTRH 353. After this theoretical exercise we got down to nuts and bolts analysis, which provided logical ‘bounce’ targets (provided a bounce is indeed what is in play) for Gold, Silver and HUI, a compelling trend in the Commitments of Traders data and more talk about the trends that will need to be in place before a favorable macrocosmic environment is in place for the gold sector.

Not one to obsess on the gold sector in a vacuum, NFTRH also covered US and global stock markets, commodities, macro indicators and currencies as usual.

Macrocosm

macrocosm

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The ‘Real’ Reason the Fed Wants to Raise Rates

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By Biiwii

In case you thought you were smart enough to know why the Fed wants to do what it supposedly wants to do [1] MarketWatch sets you straight with the real scoop. We’ll use this as a talking point and see what comes of it…

Here’s the real reason the Fed wants to raise rates

Policy makers want to give themselves some room to maneuver

That is the commonly held belief and who am I to dispute it? A big part of the problem is and has been their refusal to begin a journey toward normalization 2 years ago, when the economy began to visibly (we noted the seeds of that improvement in January of that year) improve. They had no confidence and I was left to wonder (aloud here, frequently and I am sure, sometimes obnoxiously) why Grandma [2] (and her 0% savings account payout) had to continue to bear the brunt of this non-action despite a recovering economy.

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Let’s Talk About Gold

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Excerpted from this week’s edition of Notes From the Rabbit Hole, NFTRH 352:

For what seems like forever we have been mechanical in managing the precious metals because they have been bearish; period. This has been based on short and long-term technical indications and incomplete macro fundamentals. Gary the robot has had no difficulty whatsoever holding this stance despite Gary the human’s unwavering view that the value of gold is in its insurance and long-term retained value qualities.

The precious metals took a hard bearish turn last week and that is the best news I have seen in a while because the complex has been locked below important resistance (failed support) for some time now and the sector usually completes its severe corrections and bear markets with a bang, not a quiet whimper.

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