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.

We Will Be Spared a Repeat of October

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Well, the word is that Congress has put together a budget deal that will settle up the financial 1210-boehnerdebate for 2014 and 2015. Although it needs to actually pass Congress, it already seems likely that it will, and from what I’ve read so far, it looks like business as usual: the modest reductions in spending that were in place are already being dismantled, and a handful of puny revenue enhancements (like an extra $2.50 for airplane trips) is supposed to plug the hole. With a $17 trillion deficit, the U.S. shouldn’t even bother monkeying around with $2.50 fees. If it’s going to ride the road to ruin, it might as well slam on the accelerator and do it in style.

I, for one, am not going to miss going through another round of antics with Reid, Boehner, and all the other nitwits we had to stomach in late September and early October. I do think, however, that Congress has been lulled into a sense of financial complacency by the tentatively-healthy economy. As things sour in the months ahead on the financial scene, the situation with the finances of the U.S. government are going to go from bad to worse.

Poop in the Soup

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My biggest profit today came from the least sexy stock I can imagine – Campbell’s Soup. It’s about as far away from a Twitter trade as one could conjure up. In any event, I shorted it yesterday, taking advantage of its lurch up toward its gap. I think it’s got further to fall. I’m noticing other boring consumer stocks (like GIS, for instance, which is General Mills) weakening as well. (more…)