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.
Today was pretty much a non-event, so I think I'm going to call it a day. I will share this chart, just published by the folks at Elliott Wave International, that shows the TICKS indicator. In their own words: "The push to today's 207 close creates the most overbought condition since September 16 of last year."
I'll do a "comment cleaner" post later tonight. Thanks, and I'll see you Thursday morning!
When I was a youngster growing up in the deep south, I had two older brothers. They shared a room, and since they were quite a bit older than me, I always considered their room a really cool place to hang out and see what the big kids were doing.
On their wall was a poem that you may or may not have seen before – Desiderata. My parents probably saw it printed in the newspaper one day and decided to make it sort of "artsy" – – mounting it on an old piece of wood, giving the paper and antique finish, and so forth – – – basically make it look like a centuries-old text that had been found in the back of a storage room somewhere.
I read it many times as a child, and its message is as true today as ever. It also resonates quite well here on Slope, where we've had a few "vexations to the spirit" and a few who were "dull and ignorant", but, on the whole, "many people strive for high ideals."
This piece means a lot to me, and I hope you find it enjoyable and edifying………
Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs;
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals;
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself.
Especially, do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.
Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe,
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.
Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be,
and whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful.
Strive to be happy.
Just for the heck of it, I went to Google today and typed "Bearish Blogs" – – and was surprised to see Slope didn't even show up once on the first page. In fact, there wasn't a single reference to any useful blog – – – just a bunch of fairly random articles. The topmost link was this post by Paul Kedrosky from nearly three years ago, which is an article he wrote lamenting how dour bearish bloggers were. He said……
…..their commenters in an echo chamber muttering darkly about canned food, plunge protection teams, a bullet-less Fed, and on and on. It's bleak and apocalyptic at the best of times, and now it's a relentless and somewhat bizarre mixture of Calvinist moralizing and noisy negative-triumphalism.
Wow, do you think he's talking about us? Anyway, I've marked the point where he was talking about how loony folks like us were being:
