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.

Feeling the Bern

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There’s much truth in the saying that one should never mention two things if he wants to avoid an argument: (1) religion (2) politics. Religion doesn’t come up here too much on Slope (except obliquely from those drawing conclusions regarding the members of the Federal Reserve Board), and politics even less. I suspect many Slopers tend to tilt rather Libertarian, as I do, but I wanted to voice my enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders, which surprises even me.

As a young man (that is, a teenager), my politics were described in one simple word: Reagan. He was President at the time, and the message he put across (whether actually true or not) resonated with me. During my college years, and early in my married life, I tilted more and more Libertarian, until I reached the conclusion that the vast majority of people are simply too blinkered to live with a government where personal responsibility and self-actualization were the norm. If we had a nation of Slopers, Libertarianism would be the way to go. Or, failing that, having Dutch as benevolent dictator.

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Palo Alto Outdoes Itself

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As many of you know, the real estate market in Palo Alto has been going bananas for years, particularly recently. I’ve written about this phenomenon here, here, here, and – my favorite – here.

I’ve lived in Palo Alto since 1991, and at the time, it was a terrible stretch for the very-young Tim to buy a house in town. In retrospect, it was one of the greatest (and few) “long’ positions of my life, since it’s worth about twelve times what I paid for it back then.

I sure wish I could buy a put option on it, though, because we’ve got to be at some kind of zany top, given the front page headline on this morning’s Daily Post. Here ya go:

0918-porat

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Gold vs…

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By Biiwii

Note: Well, a normal post became embittered and vitriolic by the end. What better place to post it than SoH, a renowned bullshit-free zone?

Note: Hey, go check out the new NFTRH.com. I think it’s pretty cool.

An update on Gold vs. stock markets, as at yesterday’s close. These charts have improved today, but there is still no conclusive change in trend in gold vs. stock markets. There could be some short-term chop if for example, SPX decides to rise again (I am not necessarily buying – or should I say selling? – today’s post-FOMC drop, though I have started to position that way, while holding a few longs that are doing just fine today) to the upside target of 2040 +/-.

[confusing language alert:  the above attempts to say that I still hold a few longs but started shorting the market on yesterday’s post-FOMC hysterics] (more…)

Breathtaking

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I’m sorry to keep harping on the Gartman topic, but the more I explore this, the more fascinated I get. I’m seriously wondering if I’m wasting my time with all these charts. It seems so much easier to just watch for Gartman Pivot Points.

Out of curiousity, I went to Google and typed “gartman letter” to see what the results would be. The first few results were links to his site, but the first non-native link was this recommendation from May 12 of this year. (For some reason, he’s always interviewed by Melissa Lee, who consistently has this exact expression, and he’s always got a goofy pocket handkerchief; see below.)

0918-gartm

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