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MMA Comments for the Week Beginning May 9, 2011
Written by Raymond Merriman   

The Market Week in Review

This is a column about Financial Astrology. Due to a computer crash Friday morning on my trip to Ljubljana, Slovenia, I don’t have access to charts and all the data I require to write the weekly column. So this week’s report will contain some information about markets, and a lot more information about astrology. By the way, for those of you who are astrologers, transiting Uranus was exactly square to my Capricorn Sun as this occurred. Uranus rules computers and sudden disruptions in one’s life. This is a big disruption. I can’t wait for the next two passages.

Let’s first of all talk about my interesting life as a Financial Astrologer, in light of what has happened this week. I remember nearly ten years ago, leaving the United States for a lecture tour in Europe. I left on September 10, 2001, and arrived in Amsterdam early the morning of September 11. My hostess, Dutch astrologer Joyce Hoen, whisked me from Schipol Airport in Amsterdam to her lodge somewhere in Belgium. As always, I immediately went to bed upon arriving after the overnight flight. Around 3:00 PM, Joyce woke me up, saying, “Raymond. Something is happening in your country that you should get up and see.” I went to the living room and watched a plane crash into the World Trade Center. In fact, it was the second plane that I was watching crash into twin towers in live time, for it was around 9:00 AM in the USA.

Having been suddenly awakened after an overnight trip, I of course thought this was part of my dream state. I was in a daze and thought: “This cannot be real.” But it was. As it turned out, I began to experience a heartfelt sympathy from strangers everywhere I went in Europe that week, unlike anything I had ever experienced before. People would come up to me on the street, in restaurants, in stores, and express how sorry they were for what happened, and how much they loved and admired Americans. I felt a connection to people that I never felt before, or since.

Now flash forward to last week, May 1 and 2. Again, I leave for Europe, via Amsterdam. I arrive Monday morning May 2, and almost immediately I learn that Osama Bin Laden, the architect of the attack on the World Trade Center, has been found and killed. But the reaction this time is very different. In general, people here seem pleased that this chapter of the story has been settled. But there is not this outpouring of love and admiration of courage. There is no sympathy or congratulations. It is business as usual. Something is very different now than it was immediately after September 11, 2001. Maybe it has to do with difference in the role of victim versus conquering hero. It gives me pause to think about what has happened between the shock of 9-11, under the Saturn-Pluto opposition, and the resolution to the cause of that part of the problem on May 1, 2011, with Uranus in Aries. Maybe people don’t really see it as closure to a problem, but instead just another step in the process of many steps involving world unrest today.

And how did markets react last week to these events? Stocks declined, commodities collapsed, and the Dollar rose. The big story of the week was Silver, which went from a 31-year high of 49.82/ounce on April 25, our three-star critical reversal date, to about 33.00/ounce on Friday, May 6. Most of that decline happened in just one week as Silver was trading over 49.00 last Friday, May 29. Both weekly and daily subscribers were advised that if Silver could not get above 50.00 this past week, watch out below as a stampede to exit would commence. For those who went short, profits were phenomenal. When you consider every one dollar move in a 5000 ounce Comex Silver contract is $5000, you can see the downside of this move alone captured approximately $80,000/contract. This fits the mantra for short-term traders: maximum profit potential with minimum time exposure. The move down was just as impressive in Crude Oil, where the June contract fell from a new multi-year high of 114.83 on Monday, May 2, to a weekly low of 94.63 on Friday, May 6. Let’s see how long it takes prices at the gas pumps to drop the drop the same 17.5% that Crude Oil futures dropped in just four days.

Which brings me to another large distinction between Americans and Europeans. When I left the states last Sunday, gas prices were about $4.25/gallon and everyone was predicting $5 – 6 gas by summer. People were outraged in the states by this huge run up. I noticed that it last cost me over $60.00 to fill my car with a full tank of premium unleaded. I have the same car here in Europe, same size gas tank. When I filled it up to drive to Frankfurt airport on Thursday, the cost was just under 100 euro. Adjusted for U.S. Dollars, that would be about $145.00 for a full tank. In other words, the cost of gas in Germany is close to $10.00/gallon. And although the Europeans complain, it is nothing close to reaching the level of outrage present in the United States. It just tells you something about our cultures. And I won’t even get into the tax difference between the USA and Switzerland, where everyone is employed (well, unemployment is around 4%, which is considered full employment), construction is going on everywhere I look, and people are thriving and confident. There is no debt limit crisis fast approaching. What is the difference? Maybe it is their 21% personal income tax rate that allows for such a successful and fully employed society. And at the same time, Switzerland provides great social programs for its citizens. The idea that you need to raise income taxes to solve the federal deficit just doesn’t ring true here. But the idea of getting to a fully employed society does ring true. And what makes small business employers hire or not hire? It is not the complex rocket science that politicians exhort.

Short-Term Geocosmics

 Heliocentric Mercury exited Sagittarius on the new moon of Tuesday, May 3. Gold made its new all-time high of 1577.80 on May 2, while heliocentric Mercury was still in Sagittarius. By Thursday, May 5, it was down to 1462.50. In fact, just as suspected, commodities and foreign currencies fell hard against the Dollar. As our column of last week stated, “It’s all related to heliocentric Mercury in Sagittarius’ explosiveness, and the Jupiter-Uranus transit in Aries. That’s a lot of fire power fueling this bullet train of assets. But helio Mercury in Sagittarius ends this week, just as Jupiter and Mars start entering that zodiac sector when the top to those assets is due to culminate. In other words, we are nearing the end of the line. It would be wise to prepare to switch to another line before all the oxen get on board and tip the balance of this train.”

 By oxen, I was referring to the cosmic shift of planets from Aries to Taurus. The Sun moved from Aries to Taurus on April 20. Mars will do the same on May 11. On May 15, Mercury and Venus will do likewise. Only Jupiter and Uranus will be left. The weight is definitely shifting from the aggressive and speculative fire sign of Aries to the more practical and cautious earth sign of Taurus.

 But we also mentioned before that May would be the best month for world leaders to come to agreements on their national problems. The demise of Bin Laden and his terrorist leadership may be one aspect of this planetary suggestion. But more can come. All it takes is a little effort and time to meet, discuss, and try to find solutions to reduce both spending and debt. Now is the time. Hopefully our leaders will not wait until June gets underway, when the energies will change again, and the geocosmic opportunity for an agreement may give way to more polarization and bickering. Of course, in June-July, the debt ceiling will be reached if nothing is done.

Due to computer crash, there will be no “Longer-Term Thoughts” section this week.

 

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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