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MMA Comments for the Week Beginning May 23
Written by Raymond Merriman   

The Market Week in Review


    Last week’s full moon was particularly noteworthy in world stock prices. Depending on where in the world you were, the full moon took place on either May 16 or 17. In Asian and Pacific Rim equity markets, the low of the week took place on May 16 or 17. In the Australian All Ordinaries index, the low was May 16 at 4718, which was considerably higher than the primary bottom of March 17 at 4559. The high of the week occurred on Thursday at 4834, which is considerably lower than the high of the year so far at 5069 on April 11. Both the Hang Seng and Japanese Nikkei bottomed on May 17, and again that low did not take out the primary cycle trough of March 15-17. Both then rallied to their weekly highs on May 19, and again that was considerably below their recent highs of April 18 in the Hang Seng and May 2 in the. Nikkei. So for each of these indices, prices are in congestion between the lows of mid-March and the highs of April 11-May 2. In Russia, however, the MICEX stock index to a new multi-month low last week at 1603. That was its lowest level since December 2, 2010, and was probably a result of falling crude oil prices over the past two weeks.


    In Europe, there was some intermarket divergence as well. Each of the four indices we track made weekly lows on May 17 or 18. None took out their primary cycle troughs of March 15-17. Each of the four markets then rallied into the end of last week, May 19-20. These rallies did not make new monthly highs in the AEX, DAX, or FTSE. However, a new cycle high was recorded in the Swiss SMI index on Friday, May 20. Since this is right in the middle of a time band of several powerful geocosmic signatures, it may become a case of intermarket bearish divergence. However, that idea will be negated if prices in the former three indices make new cycle highs in the next 1-2 weeks. That possibility cannot be ruled out, as Jupiter and Uranus are still in Aries, and that is the engine still driving this “Asset Inflation Express,” although it is getting old.


    In the Americas, there is also a potential case of intermarket divergence developing. In the USA, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite made their weekly low on May 17. That low was considerably above the primary bottom of March 15-16. The rally that followed into the end of last week, however, was not too impressive. It has not exceeded the multi-year highs of May 2, and it closed weak. Thus like most of the world’s stock indices, the USA equity markets are also in congestion between the highs of May 2, and the lows of mid-March. But in South America, it was a little different. Argentina’s Merval index is getting less and less volatile. The range of every week seems smaller and smaller, as it too continues in congestion between the cycle low of March 16 and cycle high of April 6. The Bovespa index of Brazil, on the other hand, continues to fall to its lowest levels since July 2010, even as other markets were rising into the end of last week. Inflation in Brazil and Russia is not translating into higher stock prices on their exchanges.


    In other markets, both Gold and Silver were weak into Tuesday, May 17 when they formed their weekly lows. Gold fell to 1471 and Silver to 3296. But in each case, those lows remained above the lows of the prior two weeks. The rally that followed was not too impressive in Silver as it topped out 3575 on Thursday. But Gold prices rallied to a weekly high into the close of last week, with Friday’s intraday high up to 1515.80. Both metals still remain well below their highs of April 25 (Silver at 4984) and May 2 (Gold at 1577.40). Crude Oil made a weekly low on the same May 17 date, with the June contract down to 95.02. Again the market started to rally afterwards, slightly above 100.00 on Wednesday and Thursday, but it closed the week below 100. In currencies, the Euro and the Swiss Franc posted their weekly lows on May 16, one day prior to the full moon, and commenced rallies into early Friday that were still well below their cycle highs of May 4. The Euro then sold off again into the close on Friday, while the Swiss Franc remained near its weekly high. The Japanese Yen on the other hand, did just the opposite. It posted its high at the end of the prior week (May 13), and spent most of last week declining each day. The Sun is in Gemini now, so consistency between these markets is not to be expected.


    Regarding the U.S. Dollar, it made a new multi-year low at 72.86 on May 4. It had an impressive rally to a high of 76.19 on May 17 last week, after which it started to pull back into the end of the week. But it managed to close the week at a respectable 75.58. Readers are encouraged to read my long-term analysis of the U.S. Dollar posted at www.mmacycles.com. Just scroll down the page until you see the article.   


Short-Term Geocosmics


    Only Jupiter and Uranus, the key components of the “Asset Inflation Express,” remain in the speculative and assertive sign of Aries. Indeed this ride has slowed down considerably since the new moon in Taurus on May 2-3 was followed by several other planets moving into the sign of the bull. The Sun is now leaving the conservative earth sign of Taurus for the wild and unpredictable sign of Gemini, May 21-June 21. Gemini is a mutable sign, and mutable signs are where trends often change. It gets volatile in mutable signs. Mercury will join the Sun in Gemini on June 2. Venus does the same one week later on June 9. Neptune is already in the mutable sign of Pisces through August 5. You can see the cosmic forces are shifting, because on June 4, Jupiter also leaves Aries. Only Uranus will remain there. In fact, Uranus remains there for about 7 years. But without the accompaniment of Jupiter alongside it, the “Asset Inflation Express” may become like a like a fast car without a driver, speeding along the autobahn without a map and lacking a clear idea of where it is headed. It’s in a big hurry to get somewhere, but it seems to have lost its way, and so it starts to take alternative routes, hoping that one leads it onto a path it recognizes. But instead it just seems to get further and further off course, and increasingly anxious about it. Did I mention that the USA hit its $14.3 trillion debt limit last week, on May 17?


    As discussed previously, there are at least 4 major geocosmic signatures in effect May 20-23. Last week’s column stated, “Something big may be about to happen. Maybe this is the end of the line for the Asset Inflation Express. Or maybe it continues into Neptune turning retrograde on June 2. This signature has an astounding 86% correlation to primary or greater cycles within just 10 trading days, and has the extra advantage of occurring just one day before Jupiter ingresses from Aries into Taurus.” It is interesting that Mercury also transits into its ruling sign of Gemini just one day earlier, June 3. The end of the line is near.


Longer-Term Thoughts


    The end of the line for the Asset Inflation Express relates to the historical correlation in stock prices of Jupiter moving from Aries to Taurus. In prior columns I have discussed the orb of time (7 degrees) in which this passage has correlated with long-term crests in the U.S. stock market. We are in that orb of time now that is centered on June 4, give or take about 7 weeks. And we discussed how it re-enters this astrological orb of space October 7, 2011-March 7, 2012 due to Jupiter’s retrograde motion. One (or possibly both with a double top pattern) of these times is scheduled to coincide with the crest of this current bull market that started in March 2009.


    But it could be now, unless U.S. political leaders can come to an agreement on 1) raising the debt ceiling limit and 2) reducing government spending. One without the other is just kicking the can further down the road, and the further it is kicked, the harder it will be to get back to normal. The debt ceiling limit of $14.2 trillion has been reached as of last Tuesday, May 17. However, through its clever banking practices, the U.S. Treasury is now borrowing from federal pension funds (and other questionable steps) in order to stretch its cash flow out until August 2. That is the new “D-day” (default day), which seems to lack a certain required sense of urgency. If the USA defaults on its debt, that will be catastrophic, an opinion I have shared long before, but which is just now being talked about in financial and government circles.


    The problem for us as Financial Astrologers is that we see a time window of possible agreements coming to an end very shortly. May was previously identified as the “best month” for resolving this debt crisis issue through practical agreements, as many planets were together in the practical sign of Taurus, combined with a slew of favorable Venus transits. Venus also rules agreements, and the last Venus transit of this period ends on Monday, May 23, when it conjuncts Mars. After that, the cosmos starts to move from the stable and sensible influence of Taurus to the highly volatile, brilliant, but not necessarily practical influence of Gemini, where anything can happen. Typically agreements made in Gemini are more temporary than long-lasting. They are subject to many modifications. With Neptune also turning stationary retrograde on June 3, agreements may soon be more wishful thinking than practical. Promises made may not be deliverable once reality enters the picture.


    This is all a wonderful time for love and romance (May 2-June 6). But it is rapidly evaporating from a period of potential agreement on financial issues to escalating anxiety over the lack of any definitive solution. Equity markets are likely to respond with a resounding thud by the full moon period in mid-June (June 10-17). However, that does not negate the possibility of a sudden rise in equity prices first in the next few sessions, as long as the lows of last week hold. If not, this express may be derailing.

 

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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