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.

Weekend Getaway (by Mr. Wizard)

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Weekend Getaway (To the Year 2034)

Would you like to take a road trip? Yes? This is a trip to the future, to the year 2034. We’re going to accompany Ryan and Brittany, a couple in Knoxville, on an imaginary trip to Orlando, where they will spend a three day weekend with Ryan’s parents.

Our journey begins on a Friday morning at our lovely couple’s home, with Ryan busily planning their trip. It started a few minutes ago when his parents invited him and his wife down for the holiday. Ryan plans to take their car. Like most cars today, the couple’s car has an autonomous driving mode, making it a fast and easy trip, and allowing them to relax virtually the entire time on the road. Ryan’s parents expect them for dinner on Saturday; since they’ve made the trip before, Ryan knows leaving at 9 AM will get them to his parent’s house in plenty of time.

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The Damn’d

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I am seeing some stocks these days which I think are basically doomed, but I’m not going to bother shorting them, mainly because the stocks don’t have much history to go on. Frankly, this is probably a mistake, because these profitless Internet companies have pretty much nothing in terms of price support, and I suspect all three will find themselves in single digits (as Angie’s List already has) in relatively short order.

0804-COUP 

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Focus

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Well, per my post last week we blew right through the crossroads, and Thursday/Friday big range days reminds me too much like 2008 all over again. As volatility picks up, you must swing on shorter and shorter time frames, and the mistake I made then as a leveraged trader is not getting smaller, faster, and more conservative, immediately. Therefore I am going to get very focused, and focused on volatility.

Money is money, and I am just getting pure. No need to look at a hundred stocks when everything is tied to volatility. I made my most money trading XIV and UVXY puts during these elevated levels in 2011 as intraday moves can give you a weeks worth of profits. There are a couple of trade-able edges in this environment, I have shared in the past, and will again.

Regarding gold, et al. I am staying away as I think we are deflating, and with the Fed ending QE, I don’t see a catalyst, unless gold responds positively to a hedge unwind.

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