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Comments for the Week Beginning May 27, 2008
Written by Raymond Merriman   

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 Most stock markets around the world started the week with positive gains. But by the end of the week, those gains turned to sharp loses. In the USA, for example, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached 13,136 on Monday, May 19, its highest level since the first week of the year. That was right on our May 16-19 critical reversal date. But then the market turned, just as Financial Astrology market timing techniques suggested. By Friday, the DJIA had fallen 12,460, a decline of 676 points from high to low in just 4 days.

 On the other hand, other markets soared. Crude Oil, for instance, continued making record highs last week above $130.00/barrel. As mentioned before, a slew of Jupiter and Neptune signatures end May 21-26. Jupiter and Neptune rule crude oil. Could this be the end of the blow-off? Could be, although technically I can still make a case for $144.00 +/- 8.00/barrel.

 In other markets, Silver and Gold, as well as many foreign currencies vis-à-vis the U.S. Dollar, soared last week. But now comes another reversal period early this week.

Short-Term Geocosmics

 There are at least three important geocosmic events unfolding in the next couple of weeks that will potentially impact financial markets around the world.

 The first is a “translation” time band of the Sun and Venus in square aspect to the approaching five-passage opposition of Saturn-Uranus. On May 22 and 26 respectively, the Sun and then Venus commence a waning square to Saturn after just entering Gemini a couple of days before. They will then proceed to form a waxing square to Uranus on June 12 and 13 respectively. Thus during the entire period of May 22-June 13, the Sun and Venus will “translate” the approaching Saturn-Uranus opposition in a midpoint formation that may act like a T-square. To those who do not understand astrology, a T-Square is considered a major aspect formation of tension, and a time when things do not flow easily. With Uranus involved, conventional solutions simply aren’t working as expected. But to try something new is likely to attract much opposition from conservative forces who only know how to do things as they have done them in the past. Anything else is just “too risky” for them. And so the “blame game” ensues, whereby one side says the radical forces are acting too impulsively and the other side says the conservative forces are acting too slowly. This criticism could be directed to the Federal Reserve Board, but the White House is not immune from criticism either. This signature can also correlate with bizarre weather and natural events, like tornadoes and earthquakes.

 Compounding this frustration is the fact that both Mercury and Neptune turn retrograde on Monday, May 26. Accuracy and facts are in short supply, in favor of misleading or even intentionally deceiving projections of information. Mercury is the planet of communication. Neptune is the planet of aesthetics on the one hand, but with Mercury, trickery and misdirection on the other. Many false rumors or accusations could be intended to harm the reputation of someone in the public eye. In terms of Financial Astrology, Neptune also pertains to oil, and the run away blow-off in oil and gasoline prices may not be accurately explained in the news media. In terms of weather, Neptune can also correlate with floods.

 But also on Monday, May 26, Venus forms a square to Saturn. Remember our previous Financial Astrology discussion on what happens to markets under hard Saturn aspects. Any market that is declining into this signature is a candidate to end that decline and begin a rally.

 So our challenge as Financial Astrologers is cut out for us now. On the one hand, stock markets around the world are declining into the Venus-Saturn square, and the Mercury-Neptune turning retrograde events of May 26. One would expect this decline to end and a new rally to commence. Indeed that may happen. But at the same time, we are in a Sun-Venus “translation” period to the approaching Saturn-Uranus opposition, May 22-June 13. This can be a very difficult time to predict anything, and markets may vacillate back and forth in rather sharp price swings. With Mercury retrograde during much of this period (with Neptune), the trading climate may become very confusing. Our rule is to anticipate investor sentiment switching back and forth between bullish and bearish every 1-4 days. It might be a good time to be a day trader and just take small and very quick profits. But whatever you do, don’t depend upon a trend or investor sentiment to remain stable during the next three weeks.

Longer-Term Thoughts

 It was most interesting to be the moderator of the panel on “The U.S.A. Presidential Election” at the United Astrological Conference (UAC) last week. We had 7 expert Mundane Astrologers describe their methods of forecasting an election, and then give their call on who would win based upon these methods. All 7 picked Barack Obama to be the next president. But nearly all of them were not entirely confident in that forecast. With Saturn making its first passage in opposition to Uranus on Election Day, the majority believed that more surprises were yet in store before the election, or even before the Inauguration Day in January 2009.

 Like my colleagues, I too believe this Saturn-Uranus opposition portends major changes and major surprises. It’s not over yet. But unlike them, I am more inclined to think that John McCain has the upper hand, based on the way that I interpret the forthcoming astrological signatures. On Election Day, the Moon will be in Capricorn, conjunct Jupiter, and I think that favors the more conservative candidate. It was also the same placement as the New Hampshire primary, which was won by Hillary Clinton and John McCain. At the time, I thought the eventual winner of the U.S. election would be one of the winners in that primary. Furthermore, I recount the studies of Michael O’Reilly in his excellent book titled “Political Astrology.” One of his studies demonstrated the fact that 12 of the 42 elected U.S. Presidents had Mars in Leo. Both Hillary Clinton and John McCain have this placement, which is one reason why Ms. Clinton cannot be entirely ruled out yet. Barack Obama has Mars in Virgo, which has occurred in the chart of five past presidents, which is about average. George W. Bush has this placement, and this may account for the fact that Barack Obama is having trouble trying to define the candidacy of John McCain as a third term for George W. Bush. From a purely astrological perspective Obama himself may be more akin to George W. Bush on how he handles military matters.

 But even though I lean towards McCain as the winner of the 2008 USA Presidential Election at this point, I am not at all certain he will be the next President of the USA. Yes, my concerns are about his health. The campaign is taking place with Saturn transiting through Virgo, and McCain is a Virgo. I can think of very few things that are as physically demanding as a Presidential campaign. I cannot think of any professional astrologer who would suggest that Saturn passing through one’s sun sign is a time of renewed physical invigoration. Rather it is a time of potentially greater exhaustion, when one is usually advised to slow down and rest more often, lest one risks a physical breakdown. The Sun rules one’s heart and Saturn tends to coincide with worry or overworked conditions. Saturn as a transit pertains to aches and pains. This condition (Saturn in Virgo) will be present into October 2009. Of course, it can also be a time of increased responsibilities in one’s profession, and being elected to the office if USA President would certainly fulfill that part of the description. Nevertheless, I think the choice of this year’s Vice-Presidential running mates will be more important than usual.

 

Announcements

Announcements

Forecast for 2009 is on schedule to be released December 15. You can pre-order now and thus make sure you don’t miss out on it. Last year, all copies (three printings!) were sold out by the end of January, and there was no additional printing after that. The price remains $45.00, the same as last year. For more information on this book, go to our website at www.mmacycles.com, and click on the opening banner.

You can now order Forecast for 2009 in four languages! It is available in Japanese at http://www.toushinippou.co.jp/, in German at www.mma-europe.ch and www.mma-europe.de, and in Spanish via www.mmacycles-spanish.com. In English, you can order directly from us, via our web site, or you can order from www.markettiming.nl in Netherlands, www.astrodata.com in Zurich, and Earlthorn Ltd in Hong Kong at www.earlthorn.com or by email at earlthorn2000@yahoo.com. In Melbourne, Australia, you may order the Forecast 2009 book at www.educatedinvestor.com.au, or by email at investorbooks@iprimus.com

For those who wish to be part of a “Live Broadcast” on “Forecast for 2009,” this presentation will take place on Saturday, December 13 in a special webcast we are hosting. You can hear the presentation in the comfort of your own home or office. All you need is computer with speakers and screen. Sign up will be limited to 100 people. Please visit www.mmacycles.com for registration details, or call 1-248-626-3034 to sign up. Log in instructions will be provided after registration. If you can’t make it for the live broadcast, you can see a repeat of it anytime during that week via our special log-in instructions.

The “SOS Global Market Cycles Report” came out last week. If you are a subscriber and did not receive this report, please let us know at once by email to ordersmma@msn.com. This SOS monthly report addresses the long- and intermediate-term cycles that affect all world markets, but specifically through the history of the U.S. stock market, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It is the “big picture” ahead, like where we are now in terms of the 18- and 4-year cycles. It also discusses the shorter cycles (primary and its phases) of the German DAX, Netherlands AEX, the Australian All Ordinaries, Hang Seng of Hong Kong, the NASDAQ Composite Index, and the XAU Gold and Silver Mining index. The German edition also covers the Swiss Market Index (SMI). For information, go to http://www.mmacycles.com/catalogue/services/the-sos-stock-market-cycles/.

On December 20, 2008, in Amsterdam, Netherlands, the first public appearance of “Forecast For 2009” will take place. For more information, please contact Irma Schogt at info@marketttiming.nl, or go to their website at www.marketttiming.nl. We will have a special reception afterwards for all MMA subscribers. The second public presentation of Forecast For 2009 will take place in Lansing, Michigan on January 4, 2009. Please see our web site for further information on this event.

 Our next Forecast 2009 presentation and Financial Market Timing Workshop will take place January 16 and 17, 2009, in Zurich, Switzerland. There is also a possibility we will have a special Sunday question and answer gathering for all MMA subscribers who are present. We will keep you posted on this development via our websites at www.mmacycles.com and www.mma-europe.ch.  On January 22, 2009, Forecast for 2009 will be presented in Belgrade, Serbia. Plans are being made for a Saturday workshop to follow on “Techniques of Financial Market Timing.” For information on the Zurich gathering, please contact AstroData at 044-700-1012. For more information on the Belgrade event, please contact info@kepler.edu.yu or vesna-m@hotmail.com. Plans are also being considered for a Forecast 2009 speech and workshop on Financial Market Timing in Buenos Aires, Argentina in March 2009. We will keep you posted with this via our web site in USA, and also our new website in Spanish at www.mma-spanish.com. That web site may not be functional for another week or two, but it is coming. We are now developing a presence in the second most-spoken language on the planet.

If you are an active short-term trader, you may be interested in our Weekly or even Daily Market reports with short-term trading recommendations. It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or even weekly basis. These reports give in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Swiss Franc, Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, T-Notes, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. Subscription to the daily report also includes the weekly report. For more information, go to http://www.mmacycles.com/services, or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034. In the words of one of our subscribers: “I recently subscribed to your weekly report and am finding it to be excellent and a very useful companion to the MMA Cycles Report.  I can't imagine now managing my investments without them.”

The German version of “Merriman on Market Cycles: The Basics” is now in print. It is also a revision of the earlier work in English. For more information on this book, please go to our German web site at www.mma-europe.ch.

We have added a valuable new feature to our web site. Now, on the very front page, you can get a daily update on the weighted values of the Solar-Lunar cycles for the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Silver market, via the studies conducted in “The Ultimate Book on Sock Market Timing Vol 4: Solar-Lunar Correlations to Trading Cycles,” and “The Sun, Moon and Silver Market: Secrets of a Silver Trader.” These are the studies I use personally for short-term trading of stock index futures, ETFs (like DIA and Silver fund), and Silver futures. Anything over 100 means it has an above-average correlation to reversing from an isolated high or low if it forms that day. The higher the value, the more probable the reversal. To see these daily values, please go to www.mmacycles.com, and just check it out on the top of the page.

Disclaimer and statement of purpose:

The purpose of this column is not to predict the future movement of various financial markets. However, that is the purpose of the MMA (Merriman Market Analyst) subscription services. This column is not a subscription service. It is a free service, except in those cases where a fee may be assessed to cover the cost of translating this column from English into a non-English language.

This weekly report is written with the intent to educate the reader on the relationship between astrological factors and collective human activities as they are happening. In this regard, this report will oftentimes report what happened in various stock and financial markets throughout the world in the past week, and discuss that movement in light of the geocosmic signatures that were in effect. It will then identify the geocosmic factors that will be in effect in the next week, or even month, or even years, and the author’s understanding of how these signatures will likely affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from a perspective of a cycle’s analyst looking at the military, political, economic, and even financial markets of the world.

It is possible that some forecasts will be made based on these factors. However, the primary goal is to both educate and alert the reader as to the psychological climate we are in, from an astrological perspective. The hope is that it will help the reader understand these psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and hence financial markets of the day.

No guarantee as to the accuracy of this report is being made here. Any decisions in financial markets are solely the responsibility of the reader, and neither the author nor the publishers assume any responsibility at all for those individual decisions. Reader should understand that futures and options trading are considered high risk.

Copyright MMACycles 2007; you may link to this site or page, but you may not distribute these texts in any way (by email or otherwise).

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