Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2qT0FAOJJepJ1eehXpXERb?si=DfOpLCLNSza8N2hpj7Qu3Q
Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/dDGJ4iUtTPY?si=T5x_t8Yokez9eYrv
REVIEW AND PREVIEW
“Although inflation has moved down from its peak—a welcome development—it remains too high,” Mr. Powell said. He added that the central bank will keep monetary policy at its current “restrictive level” until there is more evidence that inflation is truly whipped. – Wall Street Journal Editorial Board, “Jerome Powell Stays On His Anti-Inflation Course,” Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2023.
The BRICS group invited another six countries to join their photo opportunities. Brazil’s President Lula noted this took the group to 37% of global GDP. That ignores the obvious internal imbalance. It is like my claiming that my farm (plus Australia) is the second-largest lamb producer in the world. With economic nationalism rising as structural change sweeps the global economy, collaboration will be hard to achieve. – Dr. Paul Donovan, “Powell Speaks. Do We Really Care?” UBS morning audio comment, August 25, 2023.
It was an eventful week on many fronts. The Fed meetings at Jackson Hole, the BRICS meeting in South Africa, the “accidental plane crash” that killed Yevgeny Prigozhin, the indictment of Donald Trump and 19 others on Election Interference in Georgia, etc. And yet, the markets held their ground. The ground is shaky and certainly not yet secure. But that’s about par for the course with both Mercury and Uranus turning retrograde, while Venus is poised to end its 6 weeks of retrogradation on September 3. As financial astrologers, we look at the markets’ behavior last week and think: “Is it going to reverse or break down?”
Mars was also in opposition to Neptune last week, so you’ll have to excuse us if we see world leaders and current events exhibiting characteristics that seem passive-aggressive with a lot of bark but no bite. The same behavior seemed present in financial markets, which seemed on the brink of collapsing in many cases but then gingerly tried to mount a rebound that no one really trusted.
In the U.S., for instance, stock indices were mostly higher into mid-week when Mercury turned retrograde. It looked like they had bottomed the week before. But this is where the Trickster is at its best, getting you to think the worst is over – the bottom is in – when really it’s not quite so clear, especially when Mars is also in opposition to Neptune. They all turned south after Wednesday, with the DJIA making a new 6-week low on Friday, but the S&P and NASDAQ were still well above their lows of the prior week. And then all the indices rallied to close nicely higher on Friday. We call that a case of intermarket bullish divergence. The fact that it is happening right in the middle of four planets changing directions (Mercury, Uranus, Venus, and Jupiter) between August 23 and September 4 makes these cases of bullish or bearish divergence even more important as a signal that a reversal is taking place or about to do so. This is one of the core principles of financial astrology and how it can be used as a valuable market timing tool.
Bitcoin was another example of how astrology worked well last week. As Mercury turned retrograde on Wednesday, August 23, Bitcoin made its weekly high and low that very day. Mercury retrograde is known as a “Trickster” in financial astrology because it is often present when the market gives false buy and sell signals, or “fake outs.” It made the low first and then the high, so one would think that was a sign the market was going higher. Except it didn’t. It just flatlined the rest of the week between Wednesday’s high and low, causing traders to wonder: is this going up or down? Like the roadrunner: Is it going this way or that way?
Mixed signals and divergence were also noted in precious metals. Silver exploded higher last week, but Gold took out its prior week’s low (Silver did not), then tried to rally but was not as explosive as Silver. Usually, if the metals are going to be bullish, Gold is the leader, not Silver. But then again, Mercury is retrograde, so conventional theories are not always followed.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS
Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, “is generally someone who thinks that revenge is a dish best served cold,” he said. “In my experience, Putin is the ultimate apostle of payback, so I would be surprised if Prigozhin escapes further retribution,” said Bill Burns, director of the CIA. The Russian public may learn that it was a pilot’s mistake or a fault in the plane that brought Mr. Prigozhin to his end. In Russia, nobody expects to be told the truth. – “Yevgeny Prigozhin’s Reported Death May Consolidate Putin’s Power: But it Shows that Russia is a Mafia State,” The Economist, August 23, 2023.
One of the most powerful geocosmic time bands of the year is now underway, August 16-September 8. The importance of this period was covered at length in our webinar given last Sunday to our Chinese audience, which discussed not only the Chinese stock market and the RMB currency (Yuan/U.S. Dollar) but also the U.S. stock market, Gold, Crude Oil, and Bitcoin. For information on this very current presentation, click here.
In brief, this is a period in which we expect several financial markets to put in primary cycle highs or lows. This means it is one of the 3-4 best times of the year, based on our understanding of generic factors, to look for potentially very attractive risk/reward possibilities. We are seeing such set ups develop now in stocks, metals, energy, currencies, and crypto markets. Each is discussed in that presentation, so we won’t repeat the opportunities again at this time, except to say: have a trading plan in place for this period.
Just as importantly, have an alternate plan in place if things don’t unfold as you expect, for surely, with Mercury and Uranus turning retrograde, things are not likely to unfold exactly as expected. You may need to be clear in your communication with others, be careful of accepting “fixes” for computer issues, and be flexible where expectations are concerned. Expectations are a sign of fixed or rigid personality traits, and both the Trickster and its higher octave, Uranus, have a way of humbling those who are dogmatic and inflexible (closed) in their beliefs and attitudes.
A word of advice to get through this period: Just let it go. Breathe deep, hold it, and gently let it go. And then see what comes to you. At its best, this can be a period of great inspiration and invention. But you have to “let it go” before it can find a place within you to release all that creative energy waiting to be tapped.
Announcements
NOTE 1: The “Annual MMA Forecast 2024 Pre-Publication Sale” has now started!!! The sale will run through October 31 and will include our once-a-year sale discounts on both the annual Forecast Book and MMA Subscription Reports. You may pre-order Forecast 2024 Print at the discounted rate of $55, or the eBook at $45. And the best deal on MMA Subscription Reports is also offered at this time! Save 10% off any subscription ($275+) with purchase of Forecast 2024.
After the pre-order event ends on November 1st, the retail price of Forecast 2024 Print increases to $66, and the eBook increases to $55.
Want to save even more on Forecast 2024? Sign up for any subscription report between now and September 15th to be upgraded to our Active Subscriber Club. Club members receive a discount code to pre-order Forecast 2024 eBook for only $35 and print edition for $42!
MMA will also offer a special “bundle” discount rate for those who wish to order both the eBook and printed editions of Forecast 2024. The eBook usually comes out 1-2 weeks before the print edition, and avoids delays caused by the postal system, especially if overseas. Yet many readers prefer the print edition, so ordering both via The Forecast 2024 Bundle makes sense. You will receive the eBook on December 15th, and your Print copy will be mailed mid-December.
NOTE 2: Special Offer this season!!! MMA’s newest monthly report, “MMA Monthly Grains Report” by Grains Analyst Wyatt Fellows. The cost of this subscription is normally $325, but it is on sale now for only $300 for a 1-year subscription. If ordered together with the Forecast 2024 Book, there will be two further 10% discounts, making the cost of the report only $270 for a 1-Year Subscription! This is an exceptional report by a top MMTA graduate who is also the owner of a large family farm operation. Wyatt knows the farming business and grain markets from both a cyclical and fundamental point of view. This report is an in-depth look at long-and short-term cycles in Corn, Wheat, Soybeans. To order, click here.
MMA offers discounts to our Forecast Fan Club Members and our Active Subscriber Club members. Check out our page on Forecast Club Levels to learn more about these discounts.
This year’s printed and eBook versions will also be available in these languages:
German: www.mma-europe.ch/ or email at info@mma-europe.ch
Japanese: https://www.toushinippou.co.jp/
Chinese: www.nodoor.com/
We created an updated list of our most common Forecast FAQs to help this Forecast season.
The Forecast 2023 Scorecard of the Forecast 2023 Book can now be viewed by clicking here.
NOTE 2:. THE AUGUST ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report Plus+, edited by Pouyan Zolfagharnia, will be issued this week. This market letter has become a very popular addition to the MMA Cycles Report (less technical, more visual with horoscopes of current importance, high-quality analysis, and update on MMA Cycles Report markets). The mid-month addendum to the MMA Cycles report has stunning graphics and charts (people love it!) and is very readable. It contains more illustrations and references to geocosmics than most MMA Cycles reports and is only available for subscription to those who also subscribe to the MMA Monthly Cycles Report. If you wish to try this month’s addendum, along with the latest issue of the MMA Monthly Cycles Report, sign up online at the link above. The cost for a monthly copy of both reports is $55. That will give you both the most recent June copy of the MMA Cycles Report and the June MMA Cycles Report Plus+ addendum coming out this week. For further information and ordering instructions, please click here.
NOTE 3: ONE MORE DAY! August 26, 2023 – October 7, 2023: “Solar/Lunar Correlations For Short-Term Trading.” This course will begin next week, followed by a break for Labor Day weekend (Sept 2), then resume Sept 9-October 7. This is a six-week course on how to determine, measure, and use solar-lunar combinations in financial markets for optimal short-trading (even day trading). This six-week course is based on studies of Ray Merriman as presented in Volume 4 of The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing; The Sun, The Moon and Silver Market: Secrets of a Silver Trader; and Solar/Lunar Correlations to Short-Term Trading in Gold. The course explains the studies identifying Sun-Moon combinations that have the highest correlation to isolated highs or lows in stock indices, Gold, and Silver from which tradeable reversals are likely over the following 1-4 trading days. The set up that activates the trade in these time bands is shared, and supporting market signals that will help in determining the price target with the “lowest risk to optimal reward” possibilities via these studies. In addition, we will also share our latest results on the lunar cycles correlating with sharp, short-term reversals in Bitcoin and the Euro, and, if ready, Crude Oil studies. This six-week course will be part of the MMTA (Merriman Market Timing Academy), Course 4. Those who complete this class will receive credit for that course. The cost is $2500, which includes six zoom classes of about 2.5 hours each, plus recordings of each class and a workbook. Classes will take place each Saturday, beginning at noon EDT, from August 26 through October 14, with the exception of September 2, which will be a break due to the Labor Day holiday in the U.S. Instructors will be Raymond Merriman (CTA) and Gianni Di Poce (CTA), with one or two special guests to be announced soon. Registration is limited, so sign up now by clicking here.
NOTE 4: THE MMAWEEKLY YouTube show, Geocosmic Week in Review and Look Ahead, with Gianni Di Poce, is now conducted on mid-week on Wednesday’s!. Each 5-15 minute FREE episode reviews the market activity of the past week and offers a preview of the geocosmic signatures in effect for the next week and beyond. You may subscribe to MMA’s YouTube Channel today at no cost and get alerted when a new weekly episode is released! Tune in on Wednesday evenings to hear Gianni and his guests update financial markets on YouTube!
NOTE 5: MMA’S FREE WEEKLY COLUMN IS ON APPLE AND SPOTIFY PODCAST NOW! Now you can listen to a podcast of this weekly column by Thomas Miller. The Free Weekly Forecast Podcast is now available on Saturday. Just follow Merriman Market Analyst on Spotify or Apple to listen to all our episodes. New Podcast episodes will be released every weekend. This is a FREE service and is available to everyone. Checkout out our Podcasts on Apple, Spotify, MMA- Merriman Market Analyst Podcast and on YouTube, Merriman Market Analyst. It makes for great listening!
NOTE 6: The MMA Monthly ETF Report WAS ISSUED LAST WEEK. Written by MMA market analyst Gianni Di Poce, the ETF is a monthly newsletter that everyone trading ETFs is encouraged to read, especially those that seek less risky trading venues than futures. This report covers 8 ETFs on a monthly basis for readers. The ETFs include: SPY (S&P 500), GDX (gold miners), BITO (Bitcoin), TLT (+20-year Treasuries), USO (Crude Oil), XLV (healthcare), XLK (technology), and XHB (homebuilders). This is a report that was requested by popular demand and Gianni’s insights and strategies are excellent. For further information, click here
EVENTS
August 26, 2023 – October 7, 2023: “Solar/Lunar Correlations For Short-Term Trading.” For details, see the announcement above. Registration is limited, so sign up now by clicking here.
Disclaimer and statement of purpose: The purpose of this column is not to forecast 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 often cite 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 may affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from the perspective of a cycles’ 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 the psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and their potential effect on financial markets.
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 of this column assume any responsibility whatsoever for anyone’s trading or investment decisions. Readers of this report should understand that commodity futures and options trading are considered high risk.