Merriman Market Analyst

The highs of January 11-19 in world equity markets are holding. These highs were nearby to the stations of Saturn (January 13) and Mercury (January 15), which was the basis for our critical reversal date of January 14, +/- 3 days. After attempting a rally from the lows associated with Saturn square Pluto on January 31, the markets sold off sharply again last Thursday. Many markets made new multi-week lows on Friday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, for example, fell below 10,000, to 9835 intraday, its lowest level since this primary cycle began in the first week of November. It recovered to close back slightly above 10,000.

 The sell-off was noted in many commodities as well. Gold, for instance, fell from a high of 1128 on Wednesday to 1044 intraday on Friday. Silver fared even worse, falling from 1695 on Wednesday to 1465 on Friday. Crude Oil also tumbled, plunging from 79.66 to 70.75 in the June contract, from Wednesday to Friday.

 The culprit was exactly what we have been highlighting in the last several columns: debt. But it is not just debt in the United States anymore. It is debt in Europe, and specifically the countries that make up the European Union. Consequently, the Euro currency is plummeting sharply against other currencies. Against the US Dollar, for instance, the Euro currency has now plunged from a recent high of 1.5110 in early December, to under 1.3600 on Friday. That is one of the major reasons why Gold, Silver, and Crude Oil have fallen, for their prices are denominated in the U.S. Dollar, which is rising sharply as forecasted in our recent Forecast speeches, as well as in the Forecast 2010 book.

It started Monday evening, January 11, at 9:45 PM out of DTW. I arrived early, but the take-off was 90 minutes late. I had the clue: Saturn was in its station, and Mercury was ending its retrograde. What was I thinking, I thought again to myself, when I booked a trip under these signatures? And even more so, what was I thinking, given what was happening to my natal chart with the transits of Saturn and Pluto? So this trip started out with the “in-my-face” reminder of the power of Saturn and Pluto: it squared and conjunct (respectively) my natal Sun-Mars at 2- and 5 degrees of Capricorn. Saturn was barely in the first house, after having crossed my 27 Virgo ascendant for the first time.  I know… it will retrograde-station there, in opposition to Uranus (on my descendant) this spring. I can’t wait. But fortunately, I do learn from my experiences, even when they involve my stupidity, so all is not totally lost.

CD’S, MP3’s and DVD’S of FORECAST 2010 SPEECH

The Forecast 2010 Webcast Speech that took place December 20, 2009 is now available in a variety of formats. We are offering a CD or MP3 download that contains the audio only. And it will be available in a DVD edited edition (without the newspaper headlines) by January 9. The cost for any of these recordings will be $45.00 and an additional postage charge if ordering in audio CD or edited DVD format.

The Forecast 2010 Book by Raymond Merriman is now available as of December 15. You can order it now and make sure you get a copy before they sell out. 

 MMA's annual Forecasts Book, written by Raymond A. Merriman since 1976, is one of the most unique, affordable, and accurate glimpses into the coming year. Utilizing the study of cycles and geocosmic factors, this annual Forecasts book outlines forthcoming trends pertaining to political, economic, and financial markets throughout the world. Although 2009 is not yet over, it appears that the 2009 book may have been the most accurate of all that have been written in the past 33 years. Some of the Forecasts outlined in the 2009 book that have already come to pass, include:

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