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MMA Comments for the Week Beginning August 30, 2010
Written by Raymond Merriman   

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 In the first week following the geocosmic center mass of the Cardinal Climax, and the first week of the new Mercury retrograde cycle (August 20-September 12), equity markets around the world continued their sell-off, and then appeared to reverse at the very end of the week. Yet what may be more interesting is how many economic leaders are changing their tune about the future of the economy since going through that midsection of the Cardinal Climax, July 21-August 21. Prior to - and even during the early part of that time band - the near-unanimous consensus was that the USA would not have a double dip recession. Now the majority are stating that the odds of a double dip recession have just increased, with some actually calling for an outright double dip recession in the next year. Welcome to Mercury retrograde, on the heels of the Cardinal Climax. You are likely to hear many adjusted and “double message” forecasts about the probability of a “double dip recession” as U.S. Treasuries continue to exhibit a “double bubble trouble” pattern.

 In Europe, all equity indices we follow declined to new monthly lows on Wednesday, August 25. Those lows did not take out the lows of early July, and were followed by decent rallies into Friday. In Asia and the Pacific Rim, it was a little different. Most indices bottomed on August 25, but in the case of the Japanese Nikkei, it was a new yearly low, below 9000. The Nikkei fell to 8807 on August 25, its lowest price since May 1, 2009. In India, the market didn’t fall to a low at all. In fact the NIFTY index made a new yearly high on August 23.

 In the Americas, The Argentine Merval index made a low on August 25 too. Brazil’s Bovespa bottomed out the next day. And in the USA, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite bottomed early Friday, and then commenced a healthy rally into the close, following Ben Bernanke’s speech from the Jackson Hole, Wyoming banking summit. Each of these indices held above their lows of early July.

 Gold and especially Silver found new life as well after initial softness early last week. From a low of 1773 on Tuesday, September Silver shot up to 1934 during the day on Friday. It closed around 1904. Gold made a new monthly high at 1246 on Thursday in the December contract. Less than a month ago it was trading below 1160. Crude Oil’s performance was similar to the equities and precious metals. That is, it ended a decline to 70.76 on Wednesday, August 25, its lowest price since early June, and then rallied to close the week above 75.00 on Friday.

 But the big story continues to be in U.S. Treasuries. They reached a new post-panic high on Wednesday, August 25, but then fell sharply into the close of the week. The Japanese Yen was another fascinating story. It skyrocketed against the dollar, which fell below 84.00 on Tuesday, August 24, its lowest level to the Yen since  early 1995, The dollar then rallied sharply into the close of the week too.

Short-Term Geocosmics

So what was so important about early last week, when equities and Silver bottomed, while Treasuries and the Japanese Yen topped out? Well, it was within three trading days of three important “Level 1” (strongest) geocosmic signatures that unfolded August 20 and 21. These included the Sun-Neptune opposition, Venus-Mars conjunction, and the 32-37 year waning square of Saturn and Pluto. On top of that, Mercury also turned retrograde on August 20. Combinations like this, so close in time to one another, usually produce a reversal within three trading days. This was no exception. How long this reversal will last, however, is another matter, because under Mercury retrograde, reversals oftentimes do not last long. More often than not, big price thrusts in any direction usually lose momentum quickly, i.e. within 4 trading days. We also note that these reversals occurred close to the Virgo-Pisces full moon of Tuesday, August 24. Lunations in mutable signs seem to have the most correspondence to reversals in many financial markets, as opposed to lunations in other types of signs.

The next series of important geocosmic signatures starts up on September 4. An abundance of signatures will then unfold lasting through Venus retrograde on October 8. Prepare yourself for another roller coaster ride during that 5-week period, for in addition to ending with the powerful Venus retrograde, we will also encounter the second of three Jupiter-Uranus conjunction passages on September 18. These are two of the highest historical correspondences of all geocosmic signatures to primary or greater cycles in equities, as reported in the studies of “The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles.”

Longer-Term Thoughts

 For some time now I have been writing about a “bubble” in financial assets. More recently (since June) I have referenced that such a bubble seems to building in U.S. Treasuries. But the concept of “bubbles” means different things to different analysts. In the strictest numerical sense, a “bubble” is a phenomenon where a financial asset increases sharply in price without any notable and normal declines. In almost all cases, the advance of that asset is at least 100% of a price from which the move up started. More often than not, the increase is 4-10 times higher.

 Bubbles have correlations to Financial Astrology. They pertain to Jupiter and/or Uranus, either in the skies at a given point in time, or to the chart of particular entity associated with a financial market. The NASDAQ Composite’s tech bubble started from a base of 750 when Uranus entered Aquarius in 1995 to its high of over 5000 in March 2000, as Uranus advanced to the last third of Aquarius, squared by Saturn and Jupiter in Taurus. Aquarius is associated with technology, and the NSADAQ is a tech-heavy index. Or you could look at the bubble in Crude Oil as Uranus moved into Pisces in early 2003 from a base of about $25/barrel to a high of $147.27 in July 2008, when Uranus was in the last third of Pisces. Pisces is the sign associated with Crude Oil. In each case, the ensuing decline took prices down 70-80% within 6-24 months.

 But there is another way to look at bubbles rather in terms of multiples of 4-10 times. Bubbles can coincide with periods of excessive greed or fear, driving investors to flock to a particular investment and thus drive its value sharply higher. This is the case with Treasuries right now, in my opinion, and the basis for my concerns that Treasuries are forming a “Double Bubble Trouble.” There is no way that Treasury Bonds or Notes will appreciate 4-10 times their price at the base from which the move up began, due to the way Treasuries are valued. From a base of 95-105 in 1999 and 2007, Ten Year Treasury Notes rallied to an all-time high of 130/25 on December 19, 2008, as the Federal Reserve Board experienced its 12-year Jupiter return. That was also in the peak of the Financial Panic. It fell back to 115 as recently as April 2010, but is now approaching the 130 area again (the high last week was close to 127).

 The reason I suspect this is a bubble is because of the psychology behind this sharp run up in the last 4 months. It is due to excessive fear, again, as investors have piled much more money into the “safety” of Treasuries than they have the stock market. I see this as a dangerous trend – even a “bubble” - due to the psychological factors. But I also see it as “bubble” from the Financial Astrology point of view. Jupiter and Uranus have been in conjunction in the very early degrees of Aries. And this forms a T-square to the Sun-Pluto opposition in the Federal Reserve Board chart (created December 23, 1913). The Fed and the financial products it affects through its decisions (such as Treasuries) are thus akin to a “bubble.”

 Many astrologers were baffled that the astrological midsection of the Cardinal Climax did not produce any spectacular events, such as another financial crisis or political overthrow, or start of a new world war. Yet this simply demonstrates a lesson in how astrology works. It is not “causal” in terms of human activity, although it may be causal in terms of natural phenomenon, such as the severe heat and dryness that led to the fires and drought in Russia, and the floods that displaced hundreds of thousands in China and Pakistan.

 Astrology correlated to human activity is more “synchronistic” than causal. In the thoughts of the great Swiss psychologist and astrologer Carl Jung, “Every moment of time has its own unique quality, and whatever is born in that moment takes on that quality.” So as I approach the study of astrology, it is not from the viewpoint of predicting an event related to the meaning of each planet and sign. I am more interested in “what is born in that moment” in which an unusual cosmic pattern unfolds. To me, that is the key to understanding what the outcome will be.

 As I see it, there were at least three important economic and mundane policies and decisions that were “birthed” in the July 21-August 21 Cardinal Climax midsection. And those decisions commence the cycles that will soon grow into something transformative regarding our economic future. In fact, they have already begun. As I stated in the Forecast 2010 Book, the year 2010 may be the most important year of our collective life as seen from the study of astrology. We have choices going into the summer of 2010. But by then, the choices will have been made and it will be very difficult to turn back the consequences that those choices will generate.

 What were those choices and how do they relate to astrology? The first was the Financial Regulatory Reform Act of July 21, which took place as Saturn entered Libra, and with Jupiter and Uranus opposite in Aries. Each of these transits squared the USA Venus and Jupiter. Venus and Jupiter are the “money” planets, and this can be a classical bankruptcy aspect related to spending more than one can afford. And then on August 10, the Federal Reserve Board decided to abandon its pre-announced plan of an “exit strategy” by drawing down its balance sheet. Instead it decided to reflate its portfolio by resuming purchases of long-term Treasuries. It did this as Jupiter was stationary, in exact square to Pluto (an aspect of holding too much debt), forming a T-square to the Fed’s Sun-Pluto opposition. When Jupiter is involved in these kinds of aspects, there can be a tendency to misjudge via over-estimation and exaggeration. That’s the astrological perspective, as I see it. Decisions were made and there will be consequences that will grow out of these new initiatives, and they will have an impact upon life as we know it, for better or worse, per the dynamics of the most potent line up of geocosmic signatures in our lifetime. As above, so below.

 The third decision that was made during this period occurred last Saturday, August 21. That was when Russia loaded the rods for a nuclear reactor in Iran. It was on the day of Saturn square Pluto, but also still at the beginning of the 78-year period when the progressed Mars in the USA chart has turned retrograde. Mars rules one’s military outlook. If anyone says that the heart of the Cardinal Climax was a non-event, I beg to differ. I believe it was every bit as important as financial astrologers throughout the world expected. And the markets are reflecting this.

 

Announcements

The monthly MMA Cycles Report and its companions – the MMA Japan Cycles Report and MMA European Cycles Report – will come out this week, Monday and Tuesday, via posting on our web site, and attachment via direct emails, for subscribers. This report covers our longer-term analysis of the U.S. stock market, precious metals, crude oil, currencies, Treasury Notes, grain markets, and now GLD and SLV – the ETF’s of Gold and Silver. The MMA Japan Cycles report covers the Nikkei, JGB Bonds, and the Dollar-Yen. The MMA European Cycles Report covers the German DAX, Swiss SMI, and Netherlands AEX, each in English only, and will be available on Wednesday. Go to http://www.mmacycles.com/catalogue/subscription-services/mma-cycles-report/, for further information and subscription.

The DVD of the Denver Workshop on Financial Market Timing is now available!!! This financial markets workshop offers a completely unique and original perspective, integrating 1) Market Timing studies, 2) Price Objective calculations, 3) Technical Analysis, 4) Pattern Recognition studies, and 5) Trend Analysis. The primary focus of this workshop is on Market Timing Studies, particularly Cycles Analysis and Geocosmic Studies, as leading indicators that identify when to anticipate a reversal in all financial markets. Gold and the U.S. stock market are studied in great detail, especially regarding their current status. There is a wealth of timely and valuable information in this DVD, especially pertaining the forthcoming Venus retrograde period (May 15-June 27), the forthcoming Uranus-Pluto square of June 24, 2012, lasting through March 2015, and the important Jupiter correlation to stock market cycles coming up August-November 2012 and March-May 2013. The cost for this 4-hour DVD workshop is $180.00 plus postage. To order, please go to http://www.mmacycles.com/catalogue/multimedia/dvd-of-boulder-workshop-on-financial-market-timing!!!/. Or call Amber at 1-248-626-3034. If you are a trader or investor who appreciates the value of market timing – especially in the next few months – this is a presentation you will not want to miss!

 

June 23: A special 5-hour workshop on “The Gold Market: Forecasting the Future Price of Gold and Silver.” 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM, Hotel Park Plaza Victoria. Amsterdam, Damrak 1-5, Amsterdam 1012 LG, Netherlands. Sponsored by Schogt Market Timing. This is a special workshop on precious metals you will not want to miss!!! Cost is €345 ex VAT. Subscribers of any MMA reports (trials excluded) receive a 15% discount. For further information, please go to http://www.markettiming.nl/en/producten/workshop-gold-silver, or call 31 (02) 294 415 917, or by fax at 31 (02) 294-415-918 to register for an exciting event in one of the world’s most exciting cities at the most exciting time of the year: the first Uranus-Pluto square will be taking place then, right near the summer solstice! This will be special, and a great opportunity to meet some very impressive market timers who will be present. Register now as seating is limited!

Raymond Merriman’s “On-Line Market Timing Academy” (OLMTA) will offer a pre-training course on “Beginning Principles of Geocosmic Studies for Financial Market Timing,” September 15-16, in Troy, Michigan, at the Management Education Center of Michigan State University. This 10-12 hour course may be attended live, in person, or via webcast televised to your computer. A DVD will be available afterwards as well. This workshop will basically train non-astrologers in the use of reading an ephemeris, the table of planetary positions for any given day. This is essential to anyone who wishes to understand how to find a geocosmic critical reversal date for financial markets. This course (or audit of it) is a pre-requisite for anyone entering the OLMTA market training course, as developed and instructed by Raymond Merriman. The OLMTA two-year training course will begin in March 2013, and will involve 8 weekends of study – 4 weekends each in 2013 and 2014. For more information and registration, please go to www.mmacycles.com (front page, near bottom). We will make announcements as this training program unfolds. The cost for the September 15-16 pre-training workshop is $395.00 ($300 for MMA subscribers). This cost will be deducted from the fee of the two-year training course to those who apply and are accepted into OLMTA by late October 2012.

 

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, as I no longer offer personal consultations. These 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, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Gold and Silver. 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.

NEW! Now available Mini-Congress ‘Outlook for 2012’ on CD!!! Recordings of the congress “Outlook for 2012,” held January 21, 2012 in Amsterdam, are now available on CD, with audio and PDFs of PowerPoint slides. All lectures are spoken in English. The following presentations are included on this CD:  “2012 End Time of Dawning” by Irma Schogt (20 minutes);“Happy New Year” by Drs. Karen Hamaker-Zondag (20 minutes , regarding ECB and Federal Reserve Board); “2012: The Center of the Storm” by Antonia Langsdorf (20 minutes, regarding Mayan calendar and astrology); “Forecast for 2012” by Raymond Merriman (1 hour). Total length 2 hours, with PowerPoint slides sent online in a PDF document.  Cost is $55.00 plus postage. Please go to http://www.mmacycles.com/the-news/about-mma/cd%27s-now-available-on-the-forecast-2012-mini%11congress-in-amsterdam,-january-21,-2012/, or www.mmacycles.com for ordering info.

Our new 2012 MMA Catalogue is now out!! You can download this catalogue directly at http://www.mmacycles.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=41&Itemid=63.

EVENTS:

May 24-29, 2012: UAC!!! The world’s largest astrological conference. Taking place at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel. Go to www.uacastrology.com. There will be an awesome Financial Track, featuring some of the top Financial Astrologers and researchers in the world. There will be private meeting for MMA on Friday evening on the top floor of the Marriott. If you are interested in attending, please contact us and reserve your space! No cost to subscribers! Otherwise $95.00 to participate.

June 23: Amsterdam. A special 5-hour workshop on “The Gold Market: Forecasting the Future Price of Gold and Silver.” 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM, Hotel Park Plaza Victoria. Amsterdam, Damrak 1-5, Amsterdam 1012 LG, Netherlands. Sponsored by Schogt Market Timing. This is a special workshop on precious metals you will not want to miss!!! Cost is € 345 ex VAT. Subscribers of any MMA reports (trials excluded) receive a 15% discount. For further information, please go to http://www.markettiming.nl/en/producten/workshop-gold-silver for an exciting event in one of the world’s most exciting cities at the most exciting time of the year: the first Uranus-Pluto square will be taking place then, right near the summer solstice! This will be special. You may also register by calling 31 (02) 294 415 917, or by fax at 31 (02) 294-415-918. Register now as seating is limited!

August 2-6, 2012: Midwest Astrology Conference, in Ann Arbor, MI, Holiday Inn. Pre-seminar workshop on Financial Astrology, Thursday, August 2, with Raymond Merriman. More details soon.

 

September 15-16, 2012: Troy, Michigan. OLMTA – the On-Line Market Timing Academy – will conduct it pre-curriculum introductory workshop on “Basic Principles of Geocosmic Studies for Financial Market Timing.” This will be an introductory course on how to read an ephemeris and how to calculate a critical reversal date. It is open to anyone, but understanding this material is mandatory for anyone entering the MMA mentor-apprenticeship program that will officially start in March 2013. This introductory workshop will be available as a live webinar too. The cost is $300 to subscribers of any MMA subscription report, or $395 to others. For further information, please contact mmacustomerservice@gmail.com or ordersmmma@msn.com.Or go to www.mmacycles.com, and scroll down to the bottom of the first 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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