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.

The Gullible Nation

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As was widely reported yesterday, the huge surge in stocks was caused by excitement over the prospect over Trump getting major tax reform pushed through.

Seriously………..my query is this………..are you out of your Vulcan mind?

How in the holy hell does ANYONE think that the President, who in seven months has the single accomplishment of nominated a judge to the SCOTUS (an act any of us could accomplish), and who is completely estranged from Congress, could do something so unlikely?

It is more likely that Yellen will announce the joyful news of her forthcoming delivery of a second child than it would be for the aforementioned tax reform to happen. You people (well, not YOU, but everyone else) is deluded. (more…)

How Much Higher Can FCX Climb?

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A week ago, we noted to our members to keep a close eye on Freeport-McMoRan Inc. (FCX). 

The chart pattern argued for the price to thrust into a new upleg after completing a 3-week correction. 

The correction, from 15.27 on July 26 to 13.81 on Aug 11, held key multi-month support, and positioned the chart into a bullish cup-and-handle formation. 

Given the compelling technical set-up — portending greater demand and inflationary pressures in copper and others metals — we added FCX to our model portfolio on August 17 at 14.47. 

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Patriots And Tyrants

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One of my favorite Thomas Jefferson quotes is that ‘the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants’. Among other things that’s a reminder that all the powers of the state, however benign or harmless they may seem, are ultimately based on force and the threat of force, and every so often the use of violent means is inevitable either to maintain, alter or curtail that power.

What’s my point? Well markets are similar in the sense that any trend needs to be refreshed from time to time with the extraction of red ink either from those who challenge it, or those who defend it, sometimes both. In a downtrend that often involves a backtest of the daily middle band and it looks like we have another of those coming up shortly. (more…)