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.
Some More Puts
As we approach the end of September – – month seven in which common sense is held hostage – – I am slowing increasing bearish positions. My bullishness from last Friday has been fully closed out (mostly yesterday). I don't intend to get really aggressive until we have a clear break, but I have a Mt. Everest-sized mound of buying power sitting behind me, which I will only deploy when the platform's boards are clearly splintering in two. In the meantime, here's a sampling of the stocks whose puts I bought earlier today:
Dates
For my own edification – and the knowledge of the group – could we get a consensus on the dates and the import of:
- When the end-of-year is for investment banks and hedge funds for the sake of bonus computation? I've heard end of September some places and end of October in others;
- What the significance of tomorrow's OPEX is? Again, in this context, I've heard that today (the penultimate day of the month) is the last one that matters, but perhaps that's wrong.
Thank you!
The Unwashed Masses
Well, the consumer confidence report came out for the month, and while the consensus from the experts was a level between 55 and 60, the actual figure, 53.1, was below even the lower part of the range. Word on the street is that the general public isn't buying all the green shoots B.S. My own portfolio screen flipped from red to green in the span of about 3 seconds after the report came out.
The Rocket Report
Some days I have the time and energy and creativity to make Slope feel like SNL in 1987, and there are other times – like Monday – when it seems like SNL 1981. Joe Piscopo, get off my computer!
I'm catching up on charts (which seems to be taking place at Dracula-like hours lately); it's apparent from /ES that 1061 is the line in the sand. If we can stay below it, things look good for the bears short-term; and if we can actually get below 1035, things look very good medium-term.
