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.

Four Star Signal

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If you want a contrarian signal, I’ve got one for you. This weekend, I wrote to every single one of Slope’s 4-Star generals – – – an elite group that is, by virtue of their active participation on the site, demonstrate their passion for Slope. Specifically, I wrote to those with free Sloper accounts, encouraging them to demonstrate their unabashed support for Slope not just with their 4-star-ness but also with a paid membership, giving them access to all our amazing goodies.

Want to know how many signed up? ZERO!

The fact I have to crawl around on my knees begging people to crack open their VERY, VERY TIGHT wallets is just another data point for me that people are convinced stocks will never, ever go down again. There will be a time in which I am drowning in subscriptions, and when that happens, I hope to have enough sense to get out of every bearish position I possibly can. Until then………..JESUS some of you are – – ummm – – thrifty. It’s honestly beyond belief. If we go out for a meal, I guess I’m picking up the check.

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Sentimental Journey

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This took a little time to put together but click the chart for a screen-filling version. I have overlaid the S&P 500 with the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey. As you can see, major market tops correlated with negative divergences in sentiment. What’s particularly intriguing about this chart is that the plunge in sentiment has been absolutely enormous lately, so I didn’t even bother drawing the insanely-downsloping red line that would be required.

The Market is Stoned

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Equities reached lifetime highs pretty much every single day this week, and the VIX is just about to reach an 11-handle. I just wanted to illustrate for you, going back many, many years, just how low we are with respect to volatility. Examine how infrequently we are at these levels! I have been loading up on puts CHEAPLY these days, since the entire stupid market is convinced that stocks never go down, so premium is basically FREE.