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.

Options with Gold

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Back on October 6, 2021 I posted an article titled, Embrace Volatility: Three Inflation-Based Options Strategies that Bet on the Financial Sector.

Within the article I discussed three different options strategies on the financial sector, as represented by the SPDR Financial Sector ETF (XLF). The beauty of options is that each approach either was, or remains, profitable.

Since then I’ve posted a few trade ideas on gold and another inflation hedge, each of which have made profits. Here is the most recent post, where I applied a bull put spread:

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Find the Best Stocks When Selling Options

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I’m often asked, “What’s the best stock for credit spreads?”

I’m dumbfounded by the question because it would require me to have a crystal ball, and unfortunately, my crystal ball broke decades ago. So, I can’t answer the question with any accuracy. And it’s exactly why I take a purely statistical approach to the market.

However, I can tell those that ask how to find the best stock for credit spreads, or any options selling strategy for that matter, using the following process.

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Short-term Extremes in Emerging Markets…Potential Trade?

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The market continues to teeter at the top.

Approximately 58.5% of the ETFs we follow in the daily options blog are in a short-term extreme state at the moment. Typically when we see levels this high a short-term reprieve follows.

One of the reasons the ratio is above 58% is the international ETFs. All of the highly-liquid international ETFs we follow are in a short-term extreme. India (EPI) is by far the most overbought at the moment, but it’s actually the emerging markets ETF (EEM) that has drawn my attention. (more…)

My Short-Term Market View Has NOT Changed

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My view hasn’t changed since the middle of October. …this market is set-up for a nice decline.

And so far, while my view hasn’t been realized, the market hasn’t rallied further. In fact, the tight trading range at all-time highs has proven to be an excellent area to sell credit spreads. Moreover, I think the major benchmarks could be trading at levels that offer a  wonderful opportunity to take a few short-term aggressive plays like buy a few puts. I typically, don’t buy options, but at these levels it’s hard to pass up…and we’ve actually had very good fortune buying puts over the past month. So, if you are a subscriber, stay tuned because there is a very good chance that I will be adding to our December positions tomorrow. (more…)