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.

Weekly Money Flow: Week 5 January 2018

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The following 1-year chart grids and 1-week gains/losses graphs show, at a glance, where a variety of major world markets are trading and how much they gained/lost this past week. They are presented without individual commentary. The charts will, however, simply show, at a glance, minor and major support/resistance levels in the form of 20 & 50-day moving averages and price swings/consolidation levels, as well as which markets are leaders or laggards in their performance during the 1-year period.

For my detailed analyses that I’ve completed over the past couple of weeks, especially this last week, on some of these markets, you can review them on my Blog at your leisure. (more…)

Equity Volatility is Nearing “Critical Mass”

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I last wrote about the SPX:VIX ratio in my post of January 31.

The SPX continued its plunge (that began on January 30) and closed near its low on Friday (spiking the VIX to a new daily swing high), as noted in this post.

The following monthly chart of the SPX:VIX ratio shows that price closed well below, what was, major support of 200 and is hovering just above the 150 Bull/Bear Line-in-the-Sand or “critical mass.”

Furthermore, the momentum indicator has fallen below the zero level, hinting of further equity weakness to come in the longer term. (more…)

January 2018 Market Wrap-Up

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We could see a tepid recovery of yesterday’s “shock drop” in equities (as I described here), until the Fed’s next interest rate hike (possibly in March), to send Major Indices to levels somewhat higher than their recent all-time highs. But, we’ll likely see higher volatility remain in play and, possibly, more wild price swings, until then.

As I promised in that post, here’s January’s month-end summary.

DOW 30 INDEX

The first daily chart shows that the Dow 30 Index failed to fill yesterday’s gap down and closed 100 points above its low of the day.

(more…)

10-Year Treasury Yields on the Rise

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The following two monthly charts show that 10-year Treasury Yields ($TNX) are on the rise.

The first chart shows that it has popped above the upper edge of a very long-term downtrend channel and is headed for near-term major resistance at 30.00.

The second one shows that price has broken above a -1 standard deviation level of a long-term downtrending regression channel.

Whether or not 30.00, if reached, would have any real negative impact on equities, may be looked at in context as to where it was at its height in 2007 (just prior to the financial crisis) and the economic conditions in play at that time, compared with current conditions (as well as the financial soundness of the major banks). (more…)