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.

Who is Preferred Trust Company?

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A few months back, I was looking around for a place to earn some decent interest in this ZIRP environment in which we all find ourselves. I was chatting about this at SlopeFest this summer, and none other than long-time Sloper BKudla said that his business did precisely that. Bob (Yes, the “B” is for Bob) explained how he put together an IRA-friendly business which, by way of mostly commercial real estate lending, threw off very handsome returns (I’m not going to cite precise figures, since I don’t know them now, but I think they are along the lines of 7% or 8% versus, ummm, about 0% at the bank). (more…)

Cross Not These Lines

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The past three weeks are simply characterized: the first two, a swift, reliable slump, and the third, a robust bounce-back which, at the end, lost its steam. It’s week four – next week – that is on my mind, because – simply stated – the market needs to re-weaken to constitute a discernable rhythm and pattern. If we get more strength next week, a lot of charts are going to get messy and much harder to interpret for bulls and bears alike. The reversal on Friday, marked below with an arrow, could be a crucial starting point.

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