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.

Close Encounter

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It is early morning, with the fog-shrouded sky concealing the puny amount of sunlight on the horizon. I am walking my two large dogs on the wild lawn of Palo Alto’s main post office, constructed during the Great Depression and looking every bit worse for the wear. The dogs are both gnawing on long strands of grass, having found the very specific variety of plant that they seem to favor, and I gaze off into the parking lot on the other side of Hamilton Avenue.

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Bear Case: Valuation (by LZ)

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These are my top reasons for being bearish here. This is not a timing call although in my opinion, the market has been the walking dead since the AI-spike.  Most of these are slow moving data points though and say nothing about short-term action or sentiment.

Give Me the Best Risk-Adjusted Return

The DJIA divided by the CPI. There are two potential bear markets: 1930s (2000 and 2008) or 1970s. Big difference in the performance of commodities and bonds. Stocks will also be difficult for trading in an inflation scenario. It could be 2022 and 2023 repeated for years while inflation incinerates purchasing power.

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Tesla’s Magic Friday Drive

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Something extraordinary happened last Friday night, and outside the world of Tesla fans and self-driving aficionados, hardly anyone seems to have noticed. In my opinion, August 25, 2023 was a red letter day for Tesla.

Allow me to back up and provide some backstory. Most of you know that I tend to think and write with metaphors and analogs, and this time will be no different. I’m going to use Google as my talking point.

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