Slope of Hope Blog Posts

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I Like Longs

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George Carlin, the patron saint of the Slope of Hope, began one comedy bit by saying, "I like people." The audience burst out laughing, because anyone familiar with George's work knew that he was fairly misanthropic. But he was serious, because his point was that he liked people on a one-on-one basis, and not for particularly long periods of time (90 seconds was just about right for him).

I know how he feels, because my attitude is largely the same. So, likewise, when I say "I like longs", there's no reason to guffaw at this purported permabear, because there are some charts I really like on the long side.

Having gone through my charts early (on Friday evening, as opposed to the weekend), I marked 25 potential longs and 100 prospective new shorts. I wanted to share a handful of them today.

One of them, I've mentioned before, but it's so fantastic it's worth mentioning again. Boring, staid, snoozer Pacific Gas & Electric is just a sensational chart. In addition, I did something I don't think I've ever done in my life…..I found out its dividend, which is about 4%! I don't know why everyone in the country doesn't own this stock. I mean – 4% in this 0% environment is just spectacular, and the chart is one of the prettiest I think I've seen.

0828-PCG

Not all the longs are in classic breakout patterns. Some of them are simply so battered that I think they're due for a meaty bounce, and even if they don't bounce, their risk is relatively small (assuming they don't gap down pre-market on some ungodly horrible announcement). Here's a beauty of an example:
0828-CFFN
Another "bouncer" which looks somewhat healthier is Blackstone, which has a good double bottom. A 10% climb on this in very short order seems reasonable, and perhaps much more.

0828-BLK

Lastly, a gigantic basing pattern from PAY looks just dynamite on the upside.
0828-PAY

If I believed the market was by and large healthy and poised for gains, I would be 100% long with stocks like this. God knows my life would be infinitely easier, because trying to make a buck over the past year has been the triple-diamond-black slope of trading history. It's been just miserable. I pray for the day when the market is filled with patterns like those above, because gobbling up great looking charts and profiting from the upside sounds like a slice of heaven to me.

In the meantime, these are nothing more than hedges. They're stunning hedges, nonetheless, and I've got 21 more I like as well.