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.

American Okey-Doke

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Many years ago, the great George Carlin spoke of a tendency in this country, no matter what the circumstance, to assume that in the end everything would work out. We’re trained to believe it via our television shows, our musicals, and our movies: in this three-act play we call life, everything is going to be all right in the end. He referred to it as the American Okey-Doke.

This is precisely why, in the fact of news this weekend which should have the markets crashing by many thousands of points, we have equity futures that have flipped by about half a single percentage point.

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The Worst Good Feeling

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On this momentous morning, which could either be one of the most important inflection points in market history or another Taco-driven bore-fest, I’d like to discuss an important phenomenon that I’ve experienced more than once in my life. It is best described in steps:

  1. I uncover a spectacular opportunity by way of my charts
  2. I write about it and position myself in that investment
  3. I am expecting it to “behave” perfectly, but it moves against me to a small degree
  4. I become disillusioned and frustrated that it is not doing what it “should” do
  5. I dump it at a loss out of exasperation
  6. It moves against for me a little while longer, making me feel good I’ve made the right choice
  7. It then proceeds to make precisely the kind of magnificent move I predicted the entire time
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Wake Me When It’s Over

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For me, trading this market has morphed from an electric thrill to a tepid bore. The reason is simple: the nonstop threats/TACO cycle is exhausting, and making trading decisions that can be upended by the unhinged whims of a single man isn’t my cup of tea. It’s “Chinese trade talks are going well” all over again.

You can see the market’s bewilderment by way of the /ES grinding away with absolutely no clear direction for days on end…………

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