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.

Perspective Retention

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Don’t get me wrong. Today sucks. And, yes, here and there, I can see there are some instances where there are definite cracks appearing in the core Bear Market argument. Having said that, I want us to collectively remember that today’s explosive rally has delivered prices that haven’t been seen in the futures market since……..Monday morning. So let’s not all seppuku quite yet. Please observe these charts and keep your eyes on the big picture, irrespective of what’s happened over the past few hours.


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Downshift

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This is what is officially known as a “Bad Morning,” but at least it’s not a disastrous one. Here’s a quick portfolio update from me:

  • Yesterday, as I mentioned, I had two “aggressive” positions (relatively speaking, since they expire in October instead of freakin’ next year) but got rid of one of them (the SPY puts) at a profit since I don’t trust this market (and rightly so);
  • When we opened this morning, I immediately closed my other aggressive position, my IWM puts, at a modest loss;
  • I also dumped a handful of positions to trim my risk further;
  • I presently have 21 bearish positions, none of which expire sooner than 163 days from right now.
  • I have transferred a huge wad of cash out of the account back to the safe and boring checking account, just to keep it out of harm’s way;
  • Even with that diminishment, I have 21% cash on hand.

See, I don’t do the balls-out, /wsb-style, crazy-risk form of trading. Of course, if the market was plunging now, my profits would be pleasant, but not anything to shout from the rooftops. It’s a two-way street.

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