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.

Finding X Reasons For Why (by Mark St.Cyr)

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This weekend will be one not remembered for the joyous times we all
should be having with family and loved ones, but for a senseless
mindless tragedy that will bring many of us to question everything. As
it should.

The problem with such heinous acts of evil is we want to lash out at
anyone, and everything. We want answers, and we want them now. Sometimes
there are no easy available answers which will enrage some of us even
more.

Some will focus on the easiest of targets as the reason, some will
draw conclusions where they shouldn’t. Both sides charged with emotion
defending their sides rightly, but maybe for the wrong reasons.

Sometimes there just isn’t a correct answer, an easy fix, just do
this and this won’t happen. Which escalates the anger even more. To
paraphrase an old axiom: “These are the times that try one’s soul.”

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Money Flow for December Week Two (by SB)

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SB's NOTE: Sorry about the length of this post, folks, but it's not really as bad as if first looks!

Further to my last weekly market update, this week's update will look
at:

  • 6 Major Indices
  • 9 Major Sectors
  • Germany, France, and the PIIGS Indices
  • Emerging Markets ETF (EEM), the BRIC Indices, and the BRIC ETF (BKF)
  • Canada, Japan, Britain, Australia, and World Market Indices
  • Commodity and Agriculture ETFs (DBC and DBA), Gold, Oil, Copper, and Silver
  • 7 Major Currencies
  • Ratio Charts comparing the SPX to other Major World Indices

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Novus Ordo Slopeorum

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You've probably heard the old saying along the lines of "It's not the things you do that you regret; it's the things you don't do." That is especially true of me in 2012's trading. I am far, far more bothered by not taking full advantage of market stumbles than I am by losing money during rallies. When the market is breaking, I need to be bold enough to absolutely slam the pedal to the metal.

My belief is that we are at the threshold of one of those opportunities. The widespread view right now seems very simple, and it goes something like this: "This fiscal cliff thing is going to get solved, and once it is, the market's going to keep zooming higher, just like it has done for the past four years."

I'm not so sure. The trillion dollar QE4 stimulus produced a rally lasting about thirty minutes, and although I think the fiscal cliff problem is going to get "solved", what people seem to completely miss is that the "solution" consists of a mix of (a) higher taxes and (b) lower spending. Period. Find the awesomeness in either of those. Both are bad for the market, and the cold fact of the matter is that no matter what "solution" comes forward, it's going to be a spit in the ocean. The country's financial problems are an inescapable whirlpool, and whatever compromise is worked out for the next decade (yes, decade – – they actually think they can plan that far ahead) will do nothing but fund the government's shortfall for a month or two.

Looking at the index charts, trendlines are shattered left and right, and they are not small trendlines – – – most of them broken ones are the big kahunas going back to the March 2009 bottom.

1215-COMPQ

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