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.

Euro Saved! – Take #58

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There was a very large move overnight as the EU eased repayment rules for EU banks, and announced a $149bn plan to promote regional growth at the EU summit. Much has been made of Merkel's isolation at the summit and I was reading this morning that French President Hollande won't be backing down on his demand that Germany back a Eurobonds plan, so it seems that risking future German bankruptcy is a risk that the (ahem) French are prepared to take. We'll see how that goes today, but given that unconditional agreement by Merkel looks like political suicide at home, that she stated earlier this week that no such agreement would be reached in her lifetime, and that it would most likely be ruled unconstitutional by German courts in any case, it seems unlikely that Hollande will get his way. 

What we might see however is German agreement to a Eurobonds scheme conditional upon Euro members surrendering a lot of fiscal sovereignty to, in effect, Germany, and that might have the potential to kick any major crisis a few months down the road. We'll find out what has been agreed over the weekend. 

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Stock Watch – Long and Short (by howtobuystockshq)

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Hey Slopers, this is my first post on Slope of Hope, and I hope to be able to bring you plenty more in the future. 

I want to keep my post short and sweet and just share a couple tradeable ideas. I don't have a crystal glass on where the markets are going to head to next, so I thought I would share one long and one short that could turn into an actionable idea depending on which way the market breaks. 

Long: Baidu.com (BIDU)

Bidu daily

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First Russell Gap Filled

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On Tuesday – marvelous Tuesday – I did this post which speculated that the Russell would fight its way back to as high as 810 or so. We've completed the first step, closing the gap. I'm not sure if the index will complete the journey to 810 or weaken here, but I have augmented my existing shorts with some new positions at present levels. I remain only 65% committed and have a long on XME as a hedge.

0308-mhk