Why do I think that? Because we're mashed up against the undersides of Fibonacci retracement levels and/or fan lines every which way you turn.
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.
Roy
Well, this has nothing to do with charts or the markets. I just wanted to say something about Roy Orbison.
And it isn't because it's the day of his birth, or the day of his death, or that he's in the news. I just happened to watch (yet again) a little 20 minute video about the making of the Traveling Wilburys, and I am always struck by what kind of person Roy Orbison seemed to be.
First off, he had an incredible voice. Everyone recognizes that. But he endured an incredibly tragic life. One snippet, drawn from his Wikipedia entry, reads:
Orbison endured a great deal of tragedy in his relatively short life. His first wife, Claudette Frady, died in a motorcycle accident on June 6, 1966 in Gallatin, Tennessee. On September 14, 1968, the Orbison family home at Old Hickory Lake in Hendersonville, Tennessee, burned to the ground while Orbison was touring in England. Two of his three sons, Roy DeWayne (b. 1958) and Anthony King (b. 1962), died in the fire. His youngest son Wesley Kelton, who was three at the time, was saved by Orbison's parents.
I mean, can you imagine – – losing your wife and two sons in the span of two years? And he still managed to go on and be creative and productive.
What strikes me most about him is that, simply stated, he just seems so nice. Any time I see him from a show or documentary, he just seems so gentle and kind-hearted. He seems to me the best of what a person can hope to be – – talented, strong, and kind.
Oh, and it wasn't a bad day in the market either!
Blackrock
Renewed control from the bulls this week could push this to 165 easily, but my stop is so close – -153.42 – – that I am entering this short at current price levels.
CMTL Again
I'm sorry to be repetitive, but this chart is worth it. I doubled up my puts on CMTL today. They just don't get much cleaner than this.
News and the Financial Markets
Given the market's resilience to bad news lately (the swine flu being the latest example), I thought a guide to news events and their effects on the market would be helpful to Slopers.
| Event | Net Effect on Equity Markets |
| Threatened nuclear detonation in major U.S. city | Quick drop on Dow of 30 points, followed by major rally, particularly in building material stocks. |
| Successful detonation of nuclear bomb in U.S. city | The Dow plunges 50 points and holds its lows most of the day; next morning is seen as buying opportunity. Dow +210. |
| US Treasury declares all national currency in circulation is now worth 5 times its nominal face value. | Dow soars 600, easing back to 550 by day's end. |
| Chili's and Cheesecake Factory issue a joint press release stating that leftover onion rings taken home may also be used as effective marital aids. | Relatively small effect on Dow, but restaurant stocks push 32% higher. |
| JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, and B of A announce they are all bankrupt, due to having dispensed remaining corporate assets to executives into a special retention bonus program. | FAZ finally pushes higher – this time by 7 cents – before collapsing to sub-$1 for reasons no one can explain. |
| Geithner picks nose, discreetly pulling out booger. | Quick spike of 70 points. |
| ….then eats it. | Followed by fresh surge of another 50 points. |
