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.

When Patterns Fail

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It should go without saying that I like patterns. I see them everywhere: not just in charts, but in physical objects, human behavior, and events in my life. There’s even a term for it – apophenia – which isn’t necessarily a laudatory title. It can suggest seeing patterns where there really aren’t any.

As the proprietor of this little corner of the web, I try to do a good job showing patterns that I see, but there are certainly times when a given pattern – – even a remarkably good one – – can “go sideways“, as the expression goes. That is to say, it starts to do what it shouldn’t do, and it ruins the pattern. Here are a few examples from some long-term continuous futures contracts that I just thumbed through, and I’ve marked or highlighted the areas where things went bad.

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Q4-Q1 Rally Led by Miners

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Copper and Gold miners are leading the Q4-Q1 rally in broad asset markets

Back in October we began to plan the prospect of a relief rally that would be fueled by over-bearish sentiment (contrary bullish), ‘Fed hawk’ relief as we anticipated inflation signals to ease, and a post (mid-term) election seasonal pattern that is bullish for stocks. This public article had a lot to say about that on November 10th:

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