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.

Peak Oil: This Saudi Doesn’t Understand Either

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Peak Oil will always be a controversial theory… always.

But it’s a reality.

What’s maddening is explaining it over and over again to people that don’t get it.

For example, as Dr. Sami Al-Nuaim reported in the Saudi Gazette:

In the last few years, there were several attempts from several non-specialized writers in the Saudi media to advocate for what is called “Peak Oil Theory” that wrongly predicts dark future for oil production. 

This theory was introduced in the US after the oil embargo in early 70s by some bankers stating that when 1/2 of the oil reserves in any field is produced, the production will follow steep decline. This concept is based on a probability theory that is not linked to any scientific facts or physical laws that govern oil production in oil reservoirs. 

In addition, what makes this theory completely false is the fact that it totally ignores the impact of technological advancements in increasing the recovery factor and the probability to find new oil discoveries. (more…)

Watch for the “Silver Tsunami”

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Shares of Vitamin Shoppe (VSI) were just upgraded from Neutral to Outperform at Wedbush, Credit Suisse and Wells Fargo.

I’m not a fan – yet – as the stock may have gotten ahead of itself.

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On a dip, I may be interested only because of the coming “silver tsunami.”

Baby boomers have begun retiring by the thousands, clearing out their retirement accounts, spending trillions of disposable income just to keep their bodies going another 30+ years.

But what many don’t realize is that this major formidable, 20-year event will change just about everything.  Not just because this generation holds trillions in wealth… not just because they’ll force massive changes in Social Security and health coverage…

But because this group expects to have longer, more active lives…

And that means they’ll spend heavily – at any cost – to keep their bodies in tip-top shape.

Retailers, marketers, doctors, gym equipment companies, and hair experts alike have already picked up on this very trend, as 80 million baby boomers spend whatever it takes to keep their bodies up to par.

GNC Holdings – a national retailer of supplements – just announced that baby boomers are one of its biggest buyers of its products for high blood pressure, digestion, eye and brain health, and muscle and bone density.

Vitamin Shoppe is likely to benefit from the trend as well.  Keep an eye on it for now.  It’s not a buy just yet.

Biotech Trading: How to Trade ASCO 2013

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“Keep
up the good work,” a reader kicks off.  “I made a profit on 235% on MAPP
and 176% profit on ISIS calls.”

To
that, I say thank you… and offer a hearty congratulations.

It’s
our hope to provide even more explosive gains especially as we head into ASCO
2013, or the American Society of Clinical Oncology meeting held every year.

Every
one knows nothing has the power to send a biotech to the moon like the FDA.

Unless
that biotech is presenting at the annual American Society of Clinical Oncology
Conference (ASCO)

(more…)

China’s About to Screw Us Again

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China
is about to outmaneuver the world – again…

And
we’ll all pay for that dearly…

Years
ago, China realized there was value in rare earth metals.  So they invested heavily and took control of
the very metals that were in short supply.

They
were smart…

Unfortunately,
we find ourselves in an even deeper, dire situation again today.

China
– which already controls 95% of the rare earth market – may go after
Greenland’s rare earth supply.

While
the European Union has urged Greenland to restrict Chinese development of rare
earth projects, Greenland has no plans to restrict them.

In
fact, according to Reuters:

“Greenland's prime minister warned the
European Union he could scrap a preliminary deal intended to safeguard the
bloc's access to his country's huge mineral resources, saying Brussels has
failed to follow through.”

If
China gains the upper hand in the area – reserving rare earth supply for its
own – the rest of the world will be let scrambling to meet future rare earth
needs.

For
us, that’s a nightmare situation.

Without
enough supply, we’re screwed.  Technological
advancements are history; the world in which we have become accustomed to
living in and the way in which we work, communicate, and progress will change.

Drastically.

When
you think of where your iPods, cell phones, computers, and electronic motors
come from, consider this: China holds 95% of the materials that allow these
products to function.

All
China has to do is takeover Greenland’s supply and halt the export of rare
earth materials  — again—and we’re out
of luck…

Electronics
would disappear from the shelves and products that depend on these materials
would see prices skyrocket, possibly bankrupting the very companies that depend
on these sales.

Our
last hope would be for Molycorp (MCP) to get its US mine up and running.

How Do You Profit from the
Greenland-China speculation?

You
can always buy into the rare earth ETF (REMX) or even Molycorp (MCP) at 52-week
lows. 

But
I have my eye on two Greenland-related stocks that could attract heavy investor
interest in the near-term.  Fast Money
Trader is currently doing its due diligence on these two explosive stocks, as
we speak… and looking to issue buys on them in days.

Stay
tuned for news on rare earths and profit opportunities in Fast Money Trader.

Ian
L. Cooper
Fast Money Trader

An Inconvenient Truth

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Wednesday’s
sell-off is just a taste of what’s to come…

Pay no attention
to what the press has to say.  Pay no
attention to what the Fed has to say. 
All is not well.  I said the same
thing before the subprime and housing fiascos, the Dow collapse to 6,500, and
the UK economic collapse.

No one trusts
this market. Volume is very low.  Traders
are still on the sidelines.  And the
billionaires are running scared.

Warren Buffett –
who is now complaining about ‘disappointing performance’ in companies like
Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Kraft Foods – has been
drastically reducing his exposure to stocks that depend on consumer buying
habits.

Considering 70%
of our economy relies on consumer spending, that’s worrisome, to say the least.

John Paulson –
who made a fortune betting on the subprime disaster – is selling, too.  His hedge fund just dumped 14 million shares
of JP Morgan, for example, as well as positions in Family Dollar and Sara Lee.

George Soros
just sold massive positions in bank stocks, including JP Morgan, Citigroup, and
Goldman Sachs.

Just why are
these guys selling in one of the biggest rallies we’ve ever seen?

Because even
they know the truth…  They know the
market rally based on easy money printing has run its course. 

We’re not
recovering.  We’re far from it.

The press can
try to convince the sheep otherwise, but I’m not buying it.  I never have. 
And I never will.  I’m interesting
in making money for myself and for readers. 
I’m not interested in following the sheep off the edge of the
cliff.  And neither are these billionaires.

Tell me this.

If our economy is doing so
well, why are retailers closing their doors?                      

Best Buy is
forecast to close 200 to 250 stores.

Sears is
forecast to close 100 to 125 stores.

JC Penney is
forecast to close 300 to 350 stores

Blockbuster
is closing 300 stores and cutting about 3,000 jobs.

Hasbro may
be reducing its work force by about 10 percent.

Wal-Mart is
having a disastrous month.  The company’s
president of finance just said this is “the worst start to a month I have seen in
my 7 years with the company.”

Reader’s
Digest just filed for bankruptcy.

Atlantic
City’s newest casino just filed for bankruptcy.

There’s no
plan to solve Detroit’s financial nightmare, and bankruptcy could be around the
corner.

The CEO of
Town Sports International just said the company is struggling because consumers
don’t have “disposable income” any more.

And corporate
insiders are selling hand over fist.

Still,
the press would have you believe the economy is great.

What
will the press say when millions of federal workers face painful furloughs?

As
long as things look okay, that’s good enough. 
Right?

No…
not any more.

I’m
not a pessimist by nature.  I’m a
realist.  And I’m tired of watching Wall
Street railroad Main Street over and over again.

So
we’re fighting back… We’re making money playing by our own rules at Speed
Retirement. 

Getting
even,

Ian
L. Cooper
Speed
Retirement System