REVIEW AND PREVIEW
Hopes for a robust earnings season from the largest communications and tech companies sparked a rally in mega-cap stocks during the holiday-shortened week, pushing the broader market higher (but)…. Investors reassessed the outlook for President Joe Biden’s ambitious COVID-19 stimulus plan. A growing number of Republicans have expressed doubts over the need for another stimulus bill, especially one with a price tag of $1.9 trillion proposed by Biden. Yun Li and Thomas Frank, “S&P 500 Slips from All-Time High, NASDAQ Ends Week Up 4% at a Record,” www.cnbc.com, January 22, 2021.
In the week that finally saw the end of the Trump era and start of the Biden presidency in the United States, world equity markets rallied with several making new all-time or multi-year highs. Those nations that posted new all-time highs included the United States and India. Those that posted new multi-year highs included the Netherlands and China.
However, the news was not very positive on the global pandemic front as new record cases of COVID-19 were reported. And despite the continued rollout of vaccines, the lack of coordination of adequate supplies and their distribution, plus not to mention onerous amounts of paperwork, are becoming a source of much frustration. There is also concern with market chartists over the increasing cases of intermarket bearish divergence across the globe. After reaching new all-time or multi-year highs over the ten days prior to last week, the German DAX, Japanese Nikkei, and Brazilian Bovespa indices could not follow through last week. Market rallies seem to be stalling. Given that we are in the important geocosmic critical reversal period of January 14-28, the situation could easily turn into a reversal if upward momentum doesn’t return this week.
Gold and Silver had an interesting week. Gold fell to 1800 on the first day of trading last week, but then recovered to close back above 1850. Silver tested 24.00 for the first time in a month but recovered to test 26.00 two days later and ended the week above 25.50. On the other hand, Bitcoin broke below 30,000 late in the week after posting its all-time high of around 42,000 two weeks earlier. Grain markets were equally volatile. Since making new multi-year highs the prior week (January 14), each fell hard by Friday, January 22. The explosive nature of Uranus signatures during the last two weeks may not have hit the stock market yet, but it is in full throttle in Bitcoin and grain markets.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS
The left will try to convince Biden that he has a mandate for progressive change. He doesn’t. – Jason L. Riley, “Can the New President Avoid Obama’s First-Term Mistake?” Wall Street Journal, January 20, 2021.
It is anything but patriotic to attack the integrity of U.S. elections and democracy with rumors, anecdotes, and pseudo statistics. Over the chessboard, I’m a famously sore loser. But I learned that if you don’t accept that you lost, and understand why, you’ll keep on losing. Garry Kasparov, “The GOP Hit Rock Bottom, Can Conservatives Recover?” Wall Street Journal, January 22, 2021.
We entered the sun sign of Aquarius last week (January 19 in Europe and the Americas, January 20 in Asia and the Pacific Rim). Aquarius is ruled by the planet Uranus. Both the planet and the sign pertain to change and erratic, unexpected behavior, whether in markets or people. In terms of equity markets, price activity tends to be choppy, with many past instances of sudden and sharp selloffs, even after new multi-month or all-time highs.
Of all the sun signs, Aquarius may be the most challenging in which to predict markets in terms of trend, support, or resistance. It may be doubly challenging this year because Uranus is being squared by Saturn and will have a host of other hard aspects from other planets this year. On top of that, Mercury will turn retrograde in Aquarius next week, which is typically another challenging period for traders due to its erratic nature. The message here is to be nimble and not too attached to any position. This is likely to be a market climate favorable for very short-term traders but not an easy one for position traders.
Looking more closely at the heavily-populated time band of geocosmic signatures in effect this week, we find the Sun will conjoin Saturn (January 24) and Jupiter (January 29). It will also square Uranus and Mars (January 26 and February 1). The midpoint is January 28, the same day Venus makes its conjunction with Pluto. Two days later, Mercury will turn retrograde. The danger of a change in investor psychology is very strong during this period, and hence traders will need to be very careful. This can be a very erratic and volatile market with large price swings in very short periods of time. It can also be a time when technical buy and sell signals are negated overnight.
The tension suggested for this week is further augmented by the Leo full moon on January 28, the same period when the Sun will conjoin Jupiter and Venus will conjoin Pluto. With Jupiter being the planet of exaggeration, still in a hard aspect with Uranus, one can see why there might be very large price moves nearby. With Venus conjunct Pluto in Capricorn, the cause may be a conflict over money matters by world leaders: taxes are a Plutonian matter because they represent the purging of one’s assets. Venus represents one’s assets and the wish to secure those assets. Even though they are conjunct, they rule opposite signs (Taurus and Scorpio), and hence the greater probability of a conflict about who owns what and who deserves more or less. But Pluto also pertains to matters like impeachment or punishment. Venus and Pluto are in Capricorn, which is the sign demanding accountability and subsequent pressure for consequences. All of this is happening at a time when the new U.S. President is calling for unity and healing. Pluto can be a cosmic agent for healing. Still, it can also be a correlate for revenge, and I suspect we will hear strong arguments on both sides of the aisle this week on impeachment, taxes, and maybe even reparations, with the thread of unity trying to tie it all together.
It’s a new day in America, so there is a sense of hope. But realistically, the message from the cosmos suggests that all is not stable yet, whether politically or in terms of the health crisis. Yet the cosmos also proposes that come spring, the collective attitude may begin breathing a more sustained sigh of relief from the hardships of 2020 really starting to fade. Jupiter will be rising in Aquarius on the vernal equinox (March 20) in Washington, D.C. Jupiter likes to bust out and party. Our call remains that the pandemic will also begin to recede by May when transiting Neptune begins to separate from its opposition to the super-charged degrees of 15-19 Virgo, where the Uranus/Pluto conjunction took place in 1965-1966. If not, then COVID could continue until 2024-2025. But with Jupiter rising in Aquarius this spring in the nation’s capital, and given that Jupiter in Aquarius has a strong tendency towards optimism, there must be a reason behind it. These two signatures together lead me likewise to be optimistic about March-June.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: The first 2021 issue of the ICR (International Cycles Reports) will be released this week, January 26-27. The ICR Financials includes analysis on ASX (Australian Stock Index), RUT (Russell 2000), SSE (Chinese Shanghai Stock Composite), HSI (Hang Seng Index), AUD (Australian Dollar), DXY (US Dollar), and GBP (British Pound). The ICR Commodities Report includes analysis on LC (Live Cattle), MJ (Cannabis), XAU (Gold and Silver), KT (Coffee), KA (Sugar), C (Corn), and W (Wheat). These reports are written by MMA Analyst and editor Mark Shyterman (metals, stock indices, and soft commodities), MMA President Raymond Merriman (China’s Shanghai Composite Index), MMA Analysts Ken Liao (Hang Seng), Ulric Aspegren (Currencies), Isabella Suleymanov (Grains), and Gianni Di Poce (Australian ASX and Dollar, Cannabis (MJ), and Live Cattle). Order now to make sure you get this month’s report! Consider a one-month trial for only $35.
NOTE 2: February 14, 2021, 12:00 PM MST: MMA’S FORECAST 2021 WORLD WEBINAR will take place on Sunday, February 14, 2021, 2:00 PM EST (that’s 11:00 AM PST, 7 PM, GMT, 8 PM CET. 1 AM Mumbai, 4 AM Tokyo, 6 AM Sydney). In the comfort of your own home or office, you can tune into Raymond Merriman’s annual worldwide Forecast 2021 Webinar. This broadcast will address subjects from this year’s Forecast 2021 book, with updates on financial markets since the book was written in November 2020. The focus will be on the Saturn/Uranus squares of 2021 and their relationship to national and international politics, economy, and financial markets, including the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Bitcoin, the Euro, and U.S. Dollar currency. Under Saturn/Uranus, things do not usually go as expected. It is shaping up to be “The Year of the Contrarian.” Cost is $55.00, and includes the slides of the presentation, plus access to the video recording of the event. If unable to attend live, you can still sign up, as everyone who orders the Webinar will receive the video recording following the live event. For more information and registration, go to https://www.mmacycles.com/product/forecast-2021-webinar/ or www.mmacycles.com, Shop> Webinars> Forecast 2021 Webinar.
NOTE 3: The print edition of the Forecast 2021 Book is now out. The e-Book English version has been out for three weeks.
This year’s printed and/or e-Book versions of Forecast 2021 are also 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/
In addition to this year’s Forecast book, we are offering a separate publication for those who enjoy the yearly trends for the twelve individual signs. It is titled “Trends for the Twelve Signs 2021” and written by Antonia Langsdorf-Merriman and Ray Merriman. It, too, is at the printer now and due out any day. The eBook version is now available as of Monday, December 7! The cost of this book is $25, with a further discount if ordered with the Forecast 2021 Book.
NOTE 4: MMA is pleased to announce that Great Conjunctions: Shifting Times is now printed and due for release upon delivery this week. Written by Chris McRae, who was one of the world’s leading Mundane Astrologers before her sudden passing to the cloud, this fascinating book on the history of Great Conjunctions involving the outer planets throughout history is a work of great importance to all astrological historians. It is especially appropriate today because 2020 was such a year exhibiting Great Conjunctions. In fact, the grandest of all outer planet conjunctions – the Jupiter/Saturn synodic cycle – took place on December 21, 2020, so this book is timely. The insights that McRae provides on these rare but remarkable configurations will make this one of the most valuable additions to the field of Mundane Astrology. The cost will be $24.95 plus postage.
We are saddened to report that we learned of Chris McRae’s transition to the cloud on the very day that her book was printed (January 20), which was also the date of the U.S. Presidential Inauguration. It was supposed to be a day of celebration, but instead, it was also a day of loss of one of the truly great astrologers of our time. It is also ironic that the book will be released on or close to January 29, which would have been Chris’ 93rd birthday.
Chris McRae did as much, if not more, to elevate the profession of astrology as anyone who has ever graced our planet. Her passion was education, because she knew that would lead to a better and more responsible profession and service to humanity. Under her oversight, the certification program of the International Society for Astrological Research was administered. She specifically led the team that created the Competency Exam, calling forth meetings with the heads of leading astrology schools and colleges around the world to discuss curriculum. Working long hours over several years, her group constructed the ISAR Competency exam that is so respected in the world of astrology today. She was well-known and loved by students and colleagues throughout the world, as she taught in several countries, from Canada (where she lived) to the United States, Brazil, Argentina, Serbia, Russia, Turkey, Portugal, and China, to name a few. It has been a great honor to have worked closely with Chris McRae over the past 30 years. She was an incredible person and will be dearly missed by all who knew her.
EVENTS
February 14, 2021: The Annual MMA Forecast 2021 Webinar. Noon, MST. This will be our annual address to the world regarding the year ahead. The focus will be on the long-term outlook for the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, Bitcoin, the Euro, and U.S. Dollar currency. It will also review and update our views on the world economy and the national political situation Under the Saturn/Uranus square, when things do not usually go as expected. Always exciting, informative, and well-attended. Sign up now to make sure you secure your place in the live presentation. An MP4 recording will be available on the following Monday (February 15) to all who sign up. The cost to attend is $55.00. For more information and registration, go to https://www.mmacycles.com/product/forecast-2021-webinar/ or www.mmacycles.com, Shop> Webinars> Forecast 2021 Webinar.
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 hence potentially affect 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.