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.

Mystic Rhythm

By -

Here’s a great example of how corrosive leveraged funds can be. Below is a percentage comparison chart of MSTR, a strong performer, and MSTX, its double-bullish equivalent. Is MSTX up twice as much as MSTR? Of course not! Indeed, it’s about HALF the performance. As a day trade instrument, it can be interesting, but over a span of even a few weeks, these leveraged funds will probably be much worse off than their underlying instruments.

Not Counting Chickens

By -

Let’s talk about Shopify (SHOP) for a moment, because there’s a point I’d like to make. SHOP announced earnings hours before the market opened, and the stock plunged by about $20. I had no position, but if I had puts, I’d have been briefly thrilled. However, the stock’s low was basically set a few moments after the earnings came out, and it did nothing but climb afterwards. Once it was all done, the stock actually CLIMBED for the day. Any Shopify bears were understandably pissed and/or disappointed.

(more…)

Pete, Georgie, and Dim

By -

When I was a boy, I naturally assumed that Senators and Congressmen were the smartest and sharpest among us. If not, why would they be in such a position?

Now, as not-a-boy, I’ve come to realize that not only are Senators and Congressman just regular folks, just like you ‘n’ me, but many of them are profoundly dim. I daresay almost all Slopers are more intelligent than virtually any member of Congress. I mean that not just to flatter you, but also to avoid the fact I was about to simply use myself as an example, which seems a bit too douche. Thus………..all of us!

The topic of slow-witted Congressmen came to mind since I had heard about some brain trust that wanted to amend the constitution to allow Trump a third term, and I couldn’t help but investigate who it was. Turns out it’s a dunce named Andy Ogles, who hails from rural Tennessee. Lest I be accused of some kind of urban elitism, I would remind you I hail from Bogalusa, Louisiana, which makes Maury County in Tennessee resemble Sorbonne Université with respect to endemic intelligence and erudition.

(more…)