So long as the government stays shut down (have you noticed?), you can expect no data to be rolled out to move equities. All “Tentative” means is that there won’t be data if D.C. remains shuttered. Embrace boredom.
The Void
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.
Snap To It!
As you surely have heard, SNAP benefits (called “food stamps” back in my day) are at risk of being chopped off immediately since the government is shut down. Below is a map (larger when clicked) showing the percentage of households using this handout. It’s jaw-dropping to me that this goes up to nearly 50%. Does ANYONE besides me (and premium members) work anymore?
Deepest in Debt
This shows the ratio of debt to GDP of various countries. The United States is a proud member of the triple-digit-percentage club.
Another American First!
Forty Trillion isn’t far away, folks.
A Plausible U.S.-China Grand Bargain
That Escalated Fast
This week escalated fast: Beijing moved to tighten rare-earth export controls, and late Friday the U.S. answered with an additional 100% tariff headline. Markets read “decouple”—but the sequence matters.
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