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.

Why Today’s Volatility Is Different

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(and How to Take Advantage)

We’re not in a crisis, but volatility is quietly making a comeback—and for options traders, that matters.

Traders are being reminded—some gently, some with a jolt—that volatility never dies. It merely hides. And now, after a prolonged hibernation, it’s stirring.

For nearly two years, the market lulled investors into comfort with a slow, steady grind higher. The VIX drifted. Spreads narrowed. Option premiums dried up. Selling premium in 2023 felt like wringing water from a stone—you could do it, but not without effort. But something changed in late Q4 last year. And since then, the shift has become increasingly hard to ignore.

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Not NEARLY Short Enough

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Well, slip me into a pink taffeta dress and call me Peaches. The market is collapsing, and I’m not NEARLY short enough. Not even close.

Let’s back up a bit. I’ve been feeling rather jerked around by the market this week. So much so that I trimmed the sails quite a bit. Among the four accounts I trade, the allocation levels I’m at are 40%, 56%, 60%, and 65% allocated to live positions. In other words, I’m at about 50% cash.

That was a comforting thought to me when the Prezident lumbered out to the podium and stated that there would be a 10% “baseline” to tariffs, which sent markets around the world exploding higher. After a little while, though, he clumsily pulled out a big poster board like those a kid would use for a science project and which displayed the much, much higher than 10% tariffs, and the markets absolutely vomited all over themselves. My adoration of that 50% cash vanished INSTANTLY. Jesus H. Christ, man!

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