Menu Content

Merriman Market Analyst

Home arrow Weekly Preview arrow MMA Comments for the Week Beginning August 27, 2012
Advertisement
Please note:
This is not the same as our service titled
"MMA Weekly Comments and Recommendations on Financial Markets"
which is available by subscription only.
Flowchart on MMA Products and Services
MMA Comments for the Week Beginning August 27, 2012
Written by Raymond Merriman   

Review and Preview


    The big story in financial markets last week occurred in Gold and Silver. Both broke out of important trading ranges, eerily close to the pattern discussed in our June 23 Gold and Silver workshop in Amsterdam. You may remember at that time we had an intermarket bullish divergence signature, where Silver barely fell to a new yearly low, but Gold did not (it held its low of May 16 when Venus went retrograde, but Silver dipped slightly lower in late June). At the time (in the workshop and in our financial reports), we projected Silver could now move up to 3100 +/- 58. The high on Thursday, August 23, was 3079. And with Mars now entering Scorpio, it may not be over, even if we first experience a brief but sharp decline.


    Most stock markets of the world topped out last Monday-Tuesday, August 20-21. Some made new yearly highs and even 4-year highs, such as the S&P index. But that was not the case in the majority of indices as multiple cases of intermarket bearish divergence persisted in Europe and the Americas. After the rallies ended early last week, stock prices fell into Thursday before recovering Friday on the heels of the Fed’s announcement that it may be preparing for a new round of quantitative easing (QE 3).


Best Trades of the Past Week


When it’s good, it’s good. But when it’s great, it’s unbelievably great, as was the case in almost every market we trade last week. But the “best new trade” of the week may have been in the NASDAQ e-mini. The report of Tuesday, August 21, stated, “We got both the high and the low (of Monday). Since the low came first, you may be long with a stop-loss on a close below 2750. Or you took positions and profits both ways. If so, do it again – buy 2765 +/ 2, with a stop-loss on a close below 2750, or sell 2800 with a stop-loss on a close above 2825, which ever comes first.” On that day, NQU went to 2802.50 first for the high, and then sold off. So we took decent profits from the long side that day, and went short within 2.50 of the high of the year.


Short-Term Geocosmics


    Next week will be a pre-holiday week in the U.S.A. The markets will be closed the following Monday, September 3, in observance of Labor Day. Thus the trading volume of financial markets will be become    less and less as this week progresses. Usually that means less volatility and narrower price ranges, but not always.


    The main thing we are watching now is Mars in Scorpio, August 23-October 7. We look for a high in precious metals here that would start from a low that our financial astrology studies forecasted would come about August 2-23. That low indeed occurred on August 14-15, as Mars made its conjunction to Saturn. The rally into Thursday, August 23, stalled as Gold formed a three-point downward trendline going back to its all-time high of September 6, 2011. If it breaks that trendline, watch out above. Given the Central Bank’s willingness to tolerate higher prices in metals in exchange for higher equity prices, this could now get very interesting. And isn’t that what we would expect with Jupiter in Gemini, while Uranus continues in its waxing square Aspect to Uranus through early 2015? Actually no, we don’t expect anything except more stimulus to support more spending and more debt. We use to talk about Obama rolling the dice with his 2009 stimulus package. Now Bernanke may be offering another version of “casino royal” with his penchant for quantitative easing measures, in spite of his continuous warning to the USA government that now it’s their turn to show discipline and responsibility on the fiscal front. Everybody warns, but nobody changes.


    So what’s happening this week? Not much on the geocosmic front other than Mars entering Scorpio, which is a prelude for possible military tensions when it next goes into Sagittarius and Capricorn (October 7-December 26). The strategies will now be worked out behind the scenes for action to soon take place – that’s the nature of Mars in Scorpio. Get your men, equipment, and ships in place strategically, for if our enemies don’t do as we demand, they leave us no alternative but force. There may some ancillary (or primary) political advantages to this too. Conspiracy theorists will have a field day now, discussing the possibilities of martial law going into an election or even inauguration day, depending on the results of voter fraud successes or failure on Election Day. Astrologically, such far out possibilities are, well… possible. Mercury turns retrograde on Election Day. The last time it was retrograde on Election Day was in 2000 (Gore had the votes, Bush had the electoral college numbers with some help from his friends). Neptune rules fraud, and it too is stationary and about to turn direct a couple of days later. Furthermore Mercury and Neptune form a square aspect to one another at the time. Numbers are likely to be skewed and allegations could fly high. It’s high drama with the Moon in Leo that day too.


Longer-Term Thoughts


    “The U.S. Economy likely would slide into a ‘significant recession’ next year if Congress doesn’t avert tax increases and spending cuts set to begin in January, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday… as a consequence, the economy would contract at a projected rate of 2.9% in the first half of 2013… the unemployment rate would rise to 9.1% at the end of the year from just above 8% now.” – Wall Street Journal, August 23, 2012, “Fiscal Cliff Has Many Perils,” Damien Paletta and Sara Murray.


    If ever there was a financial astrology symbolism for “falling off a fiscal cliff,” and entering a dangerous economic downward spiral, it would be Uranus square Pluto. And the thing that is so disturbing for people to witness is that both parties – Democrats and Republicans alike – are using the threat (which is very real) to try to gain political advantage, which in turn only increases the probability (and even inevitability) of its occurrence.


    Is this really a threat? If you are a Financial Astrologer, you know the answer is “Yes.” It’s Uranus in Aries, which can pertain to ruthless competition, macho-ism at its height, the willingness to take a dare and dismiss the aspect of danger as synonymous with being a sissy. This is not a game for sissies, and the weak will not inherit the earth. Of course, with this game of “chicken” attitude, there may be no earth left to inherit, and that which is not scorched will surely be taxed too. In fact, the concept of eliminating or reducing income taxes and assessing greater property taxes is an idea that is generating some following in some parts of the world today. After all, who does the planet and its land really belong too? And how did that come about? And why do we really need banks? Thinking out of the box will take on a whole new meaning under Uranus and Pluto in waxing square aspect June 2012 through March 2015.


    The immediate future is shaping up to be a real combat between the inflationary gamble of the Federal Reserve and other Central Banks, versus the deflationary fiscal policies (i.e. Taxmeggedon) of the federal government if it doesn’t repeal all these taxes about to kick off on January 1. As stated before, lack of action on this front is likely to send world equity indices into a 30% or greater decline. But will the additional quantitative easing policies of the central banks be enough to counter act the flight off the fiscal cliff?


    Man, we live in interesting times. And we still have six more passages of Uranus square Pluto to go through. The second of these 7 passages will take place September 19.
 

Announcements

Announcements

Due to the forthcoming Course 2 of MMA’s Market Timing Academy (MMTA) on June 15, and the vast amount of preparation needed to conduct this training, these free weekly columns of the next 3-4 weeks will be shorter than usual. I will need all the time I can muster in order to complete these preparations. Needless to say, I am very excited about the next course, which will instruct students and apprentices on the correlation of long-term geocosmic cycles to long-term financial market cycles, with an emphasis on stock indices, Gold, and Silver, but with material also related to Grains and Treasuries.

More of the research papers by students of MMTA from Course 1 (Cycles and Patterns in Financial Markets) will be posted on MMTA’s website this week at www.merrimanmta.com,  under “Student Research.” I think you will be as impressed as I am of the quality of work these students are performing already.

The next MMTA course will take place June 15-17, 2013 at the Michigan Education Center (MEC) in Troy, Michigan. Once again, it will be available as a webinar to those who wish to attend but cannot be there physically. This course is titled “Geocosmic Correlation to Investment Cycles in Financial Markets.” It will examine the correlation of Pluto, Neptune, Uranus, Saturn, and the Moon’s North Nodes to long-term trends and their cycle troughs and crests in many financial markets, including stock indices and precious metals, going back over 200 years. The cost of this webinar (for non-MMTA students and apprentices) is $2750. For further information and/or registration, please go to http://www.merrimanmta.com/course_two.shtml, or call MMA at 1-248-626-3034. Registration for this course will end June 12.

If you are an active short-term trader, or even if you are an investor who likes to keep up with our current thoughts on financial markets, you may be interested in our Weekly or even Daily Market reports with position trading and aggressive trading recommendations. It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or even weekly basis. These weekly reports give in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, Euro-Yen cash, T-Notes, Crude Oil, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Gold and Silver, plus GLD and SLV (the Gold and Silver ETF’s). Both reports provide trading strategies and recommendations for position traders as well as for shorter-term aggressive traders. 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. These reports are extremely valuable to those who trade ETF’s (Exchange Traded Funds). In the words of one of our subscribers: “I am really pleased with your recommendations through the Daily and Weekly Trade Recommendations.  I have used them to trade gold and silver stocks in my IRA.  In the last eight years, I increased my account from $60,000 to $850,000.  Thanks for your excellent publications.” - Bryden C., Small Business Owner, Illinois.

The monthly MMA Cycles Report and its companions – the MMA Japan Cycles Report and MMA European Cycles Report – came out last week. If you are a subscriber and did not receive your report, contact us immediately. This report covers our longer-term analysis of the U.S. stock market, precious metals, crude oil, currencies, Treasury Notes, and grain markets. The MMA Japan Cycles report covers the Nikkei, JGB Bonds, and the Dollar-Yen. The new MMA European Cycles Report covers the German DAX, Swiss SMI, and Netherlands AEX, each in English only, and will be available on Wednesday. For further information and subscription, go to http://www.mmacycles.com/catalogue/subscription-services/mma-cycles-report/.

If you are interested in a review of Course 1 of MMTA that took place April 6-8, please visit http://www.mmacycles.com/the-news/about-mma/a-review-of-the-mmta-course-1--by-henry-canciglia/. Or go to the www.mmacycles.com website and scroll down the first page. Henry Canciglia has an extensive background in the U.S. political and intelligence community. He is a graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point. Henry is one of the 15 apprentices for the two-year MMTA course.

The April 6-8 webinar and live presentation on “Cycles and Chart Patterns in Financial Markets” has been completed. The DVD of this extraordinary event will be available in about one-two weeks. The LMS (Learning Management System) will also be available for uploading to new students who want to avail themselves of this training over the next two years. The LMS is expected to be available in about 5 weeks. You may now pre-order the DVD at http://www.mmacycles.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=421&Itemid=61. If you wish to place your order directly, please call Maureen Hogan or Amber Lundsten at 1-248-626-3034, or email to mhogan@merrimanmta.com. The cost of the DVD or the LMS will be $3000. It includes the very valuable 130+-page workbook, which follows right along with the DVD and LMS program.

Following the last MMTA workshop in April, MMA entered into an official affiliation with MetaStock. As most of our subscribers know, MetaStock has been my preferred market analysis tool for several years now, along with FAR for the Galactic Trader (they work together nicely).  I particularly appreciate the crispness of their graphics, excellent scanning capabilities, and wide range of technical indicators that I use in the analysis of our various reports. As part of our affiliation, MetaStock is offering special discount and free trial to all MMA readers and subscribers. If you would like to try a free trial of Metastock in order to view and evaluate their charting software, please go to www.metastock.com/merriman. Let us know what you think.

The DVD of the MMTA pre-training workshop on “How to Read an Ephemeris” is also now available! The cost of the 8-set, 10+ hour DVD packet, is $395.00 plus postage, and will include the workbook. If you are a trader, analyst, or student interested in enhancing your skills in market timing, or if you are considering applying for admittance to the MMA Market Timing Academy (MMTA), then this DVD is highly recommended. To order this DVD, please go to     http://www.mmacycles.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=379&Itemid=48.  You may also call or email us at 1-248-626-3034, or orders@mmacycles.com.  

Events:

May 30-June 2, 2013: Great Lakes Astrology Conference, Ann Arbor, MI. Featuring internationally known astrologers, Michael Lutin, Chris McRae, Monica Dimino, Glenn Perry, Lea and Aleksandar Imsiragic, Sandra Leigh Serio, and Raymond Merriman. For further information, please contact Pamela Wenzel at jcweipw@juno.com, or magnum1593@gmail.com, or visit their website at http://www. greatlakesastrology.com.   

June 15-17, 2013: MMTA Course 2: “Geocosmic Correlations to Long-Term Cycles in Financial Markets” with Raymond Merriman. Location: MEC Technical Center of Michigan State University, Troy, Michigan. This will be available as a webinar to non-MMTA students and apprentices fro $2750.00.

August 10-12, 2013: MMTA Course 3: “Geocosmic Correlations to Primary and Trading Cycles in Financial Markets” with Raymond Merriman. Location: MEC Technical Center of Michigan State University, Troy, Michigan.


October 12-14, 2013: MMTA Course 4: “Solar-Lunar Correlations to Short-Term Reversals in Financial Markets” with Raymond Merriman. Location: MEC Technical Center of Michigan State University, Troy, Michigan.

 

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).

For other language editions of MMA´s weekly comments:


Owners of websites:

This Weekly Market Climate is available for co-branding. Call 1-800-662-3349 for details.