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.

Time Knight

By -

Yep, it’s another all-green morning. It always seems to be that way these days, although as yesterday proved, that can change quite swiftly. But as we prepare ourselves emotionally, financially, and spiritually for the Powell speech (which, I betcha, is going to be a big nothing-burger with a slice of Kraft cheese inside) I wanted to say a few words about time perspective.

For very short-term traders, the overnight action is their bread and butter. With a short-term time perspective, the /ES has done great, as has just about every other asset class. As the fabled market genius and icon of sartorial splendor Jim Cramer might say, “buy, buy, buy!”

(more…)

Changes in the Rearview Mirror

By -

For years now, I’ve done something which is a bit unusual, but I find oddly helpful, which is to track the positions I have closed out. In other words, when I close a position, I move it to a different part of my portfolio spreadsheet, updating its “entry” price with its “exit” price so that I can see what would have happened to that position if I had simply hung on to it.

By its nature, this is a constant source of either relief (“Phew, glad I got out!“) or regret (“Idiot! Coward! You should have hung on!“) I constantly have my eye on the rearview mirror.

(more…)

$1.5 Million Goners

By -

Anyone who trades equity markets on a regular basis knows all too well the feeling of regret. There’s really no such thing as a contented trader, because if the market is going against us, we wish we weren’t in position, and if the market is going for us, we wish we were more aggressively-sized.

Years ago, I even set up a page called Woulda Shoulda Coulda which lets anyone punch in a symbol, date, and purchase amount just to see what the value of any given security would be in the present day. Try it, and I guarantee you’ll want to tear your hair out.

I was reminded of the topic of regret when I stumbled upon this prominent post over in /wsb:

(more…)