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.

Practicing Patience

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Going through 2018’s posts to pluck out my favorites for the “best of” retrospective was truly eye-opening. I re-read some things I had written back, for instance, in March, and by recalling how certain I was of a particular direction (which, in some cases, absolutely did not happen) gave me a renewed sense of humility. It was an edifying exercise.

I was so relieved that the ES and NQ exhibited strength last night. I have dipped my little toe back into the shorting waters again, but five-sixths of my potential shorts are too cheap for me to want to short still. I’m holding out hope we’ll have enough power to reach the yellow tint.

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Countdown

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Well, folks, just ten trading days to go this year. I’m in a constant conversation with myself about how much risk to take. I’ve got a good profit. Do I just go to all-cash and guarantee it, thus avoiding the traitorous and self-serving actions of the clearly-cowardly Jerome Powell, or do I boldly try to enhance the profits until the bitter end? Dunno. The market isn’t exactly screaming “bull-party” at the moment. 2620 was the key, and last night’s attempt at a rally flopped before it even got there.

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In all likelihood, I’ll remain relatively aggressive up to the Fed meeting. If Powell slips on a pink taffeta dress and runs shrieking in terror from having his feels hurt by a Trump tweet, then I’ll probably just shut ‘er down for the year. Wednesday is the pivot point. It’s going to be exciting.

Who’s Winning?

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Don’t let my Herculean physique fool you. I’ve never been an athlete. Not even once. In fact, I don’t even like perspiration. The only exercise I get is swimming, and that’s because I don’t have to deal with sweat, which I find sort of ewwww. So, yeah, I’m a man’s man.

My beloved children, however, are all top-notch fencers, and they tour internationally. We travel as a family, the gallant Knights and their swords, which on occasions like this pulls me somewhat away from my normal prolific nature.

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Stages of Rages

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Now that we’re in an honest-to-God bear market………….thank the maker…….I am obsessing over charts even more than I normally do (which is saying a lot). I’ve noticed that the most interesting charts are those which are breaking down in stages. That is, they will be locked into a range-bound period of consolidation, and then some “shock event” will lurch them down to a new, lower range, and they’ll stay locked there. It makes for good use of horizontal lines. Apple is a good example:

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