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.

After the Fall

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There’s something I’ve noticed on Slope that I find perplexing, a little troubling, and ever-so-slightly amusing. Whenever I write anything that seems to be a prediction, some people get their feathers quite ruffled. Indeed, it seems to kind of piss them off, and they pound their virtual fists on the virtual table and declare that no one can predict anything, and that it’s an arrogant waste of time to even attempt it.

I’m in the business of prediction. Principally, I use historical price charts to try my best to suggest what the future holds. That sort of thing doesn’t seem to bother folks. On the contrary, it’s kept Slope popular, to varying degrees, for nearly fourteen years.

However, when I make, shall we say, textual predictions, some people object. I guess all I can say to that group is………you might as well stop reading the post now, because I wanted to offer up a few speculations about what’s ahead. I am by no means a futurist or an expert in societal trends. By far my biggest “this is what’s coming” success was the 1983 book I wrote, which I’ve mentioned here before, called The World Connection, which predicted our online world with Nostradamus-like accuracy. (more…)

So Why Cover Now?

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First off, I urge you – -nay, insist! – – to check out the incredibly sexy and fantastic Quarterly Reports page. Oh, my God, it’s beautiful!

Second, I wanted to tell you that I’ve covered a ton of positions. And by “ton” I mean I’ve gone from 300% margined to only about 95%, and from 90 positions to 35. For someone like me, this is almost like “nothing but cash”. Now let me be clear, I hate taking profits. Just hate it. Here’s why:

  • The opportunity is gone. Well, mostly. I still have some shorts. But if we crash, I’ll feel like stupid.
  • The thrill is gone! It’s FUN to see profits explode when the market is falling.
  • The entry prices were DYNAMITE. I’ll never get prices that good again!

However……… (more…)

A Strange Problem to Have

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We are only 18 trading days into the final quarter of the year, and part of me wants to close out everything, chalk up a profitable year, and be done with it. I honestly don’t think I’ve had such a powerful run in such a short span of time since, well, a decade ago. Going entirely into cash right now would take risk to zero and allow me to lock in all these fabulous profits.

Just look at how quickly things have become undone. That sliver of time on the right utterly unwound the long slog of gains shown in green. Sell-offs are swift and severe, aren’t they?

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Fibber McGee

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You know that things are starting to turn around for the bears, because people are starting to ship me alcohol. Back in the good old days of 2008, my mailbox was always stuffed with wine and chocolates. That dried up for years – – yes, years – – but recently fine liquors have started arriving. Indeed, I’m sipping on a superb bourbon at this very moment. Slopers are a fine lot.

I asked in the prior post whether people liked the variety of writers we have or whether it should be just me. Well, a large quantity of you responded, and the winner is………the status quo!

results (more…)