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.
Political Puts
I’ll begin by stating that the following post does not violate my self-imposed sanction against political snark on my part. This is a neutral and objective piece, intended to offer thoughts about how the forthcoming election will affect the market. You will be delighted to know it is certified snark-free.
I will begin with what I believe are a few fundamental truths about the relationship of politics and equities:
- No office holder wants to see the stock market go down – – ever – – because 99.999% of the public wants stocks to go up – – forever – – and a bear market makes people grumpy.
- To varying degrees, politicians have some control over propping up the stock market, but they are not omnipotent. George Bush wasn’t cheering on the wipeouts of 2001-2002 and 2008-2009, but they happened anyway, which led to the surprising Obama victory.
- I cannot think of any politician in history, however, who has been more dependent on the stock market staying high than the current occupant of the White House.
Bitcoin Barfs
As much as I like to see asset prices fall, nothing really gives me more pleasure than crypto doing so. The “blue chip“, such as it is, Bitcoin, has lost “only” half its value (well, more, really, but that is incredibly good performance compared to its compatriots).
The psychologically important $60,000 support level is deliciously close.
Twenty-Something Zillionaires
To open this topic, I’ll begin with something I heard Bill Cosby say back in 1983 when I watched him on his comedy special (this was Bill Cosby before – – – you know – – all the other stuff, back when I knew him merely as the fun guy who made Fat Albert and the Cosby Kids).
What Was THAT?
If you could see inside my brain a few days ago, you knew this day was coming. I was actually toying with just giving up and buying dogshit like KLAR, only because it seemed the market was never, ever, ever going to go down again.
And then Friday happened…………
