MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JUNE 2, 2025

NOTE: Note: This week’s guest columnist is MMA market analyst Gianni Di Poce. He is the author of the newly published book Esoteric Economics — highly recommended! You can reach him at gianni@mmacycles.com. Gianni will also be leading the six-week series of classes on Beginning Astrology for Traders and investors starting this weekend (see Announcements below)

 REVIEW

A federal trade court struck down President Donald Trump’s worldwide reciprocal tariffs and ordered the administration to stop collecting them.

— Christina Wilkie, Erin Doherty, Lora Kolodny, and Kevin Breuninger, “Federal Trade Court Strikes Down Trump’s Reciprocal Tariffs,” CNBC, May 28, 2025, https://www.cnbc.com.

U.S. stocks kicked off the shortened trading week due to the holiday on a strong note, exploding higher on Tuesday. However, from Wednesday to Friday, we saw nothing but choppy, sideways price action. Even so, the Nasdaq led the way higher last week and still finished near its highs. The tech sector’s rebound has been critical to the recovery in U.S. markets, and it continued last week.

European markets were also higher last week, with the German DAX hitting yet another new all-time high. In fact, Europe is home to the best-performing international market year-to-date in Poland. The AEX was up but off its highs of the week, while the FTSE is still consolidating just under its all-time high and finished near its highs of the week.

In the Pacific Rim, the Hang Seng index finished down on the week. The Australian ASX saw a solid rally, but it paled in comparison to the Nikkei’s rally, which led the way higher in Asia last week. The Shanghai Composite was virtually unchanged.

Both Gold and Silver closed slightly lower last week as some cyclical risks continue to mount in the sector. The question, of course, is whether Jupiter in Cancer will be a tailwind for Silver prices specifically.

Cryptocurrencies finished mixed, as Bitcoin finally paused in its rally and closed lower on the week, while Ethereum continued its rally and hit a new cycle high. The latter’s technical situation continues to improve with each passing week.

In commodity markets, the selling continued. Crude Oil and all grain markets finished lower. This is not the type of price action that we would be seeing if inflation was on the rise. Instead, it looks like another break to new multi-year lows is around the corner.

Treasury markets saw a nice rebound and are building the case for a bottom being complete, despite concerns from the bond vigilantes. The Dollar finished up on the week, but more against the Yen than the Euro.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS

In this upcoming week, it’s all about Venus. It’s been a long journey for the planet of money, beauty, and art to make it to her ruling sign of Taurus, given the retrograde motion earlier this year. But if anything, 2025 has been a reminder of the importance of this planet for financial markets, given how the April 7 low occurred less than a week before the retrograde period ended.

Through our studies here at MMA, it’s been found that Venus in Taurus is especially key for Bitcoin. The transit has been shown to correspond to 20% or greater moves in the price of Bitcoin. The ingress occurs on June 6, and Venus will remain in her ruling sign until July 4. Now, this doesn’t automatically mean that the rally in Bitcoin is going to continue – that’s not how geocosmics work. The 20% could go either way. Nonetheless, we’re in the early stages of a new intermediate-term cycle in Bitcoin and probably in the final phase of an even longer-term cycle. And what do we know about the final phases? They can go parabolic if 1) they close significantly higher than the prior primary cycle and 2) they exceed a normal MCP (Mid-Pause Price) target. We cover that in our MMA Weekly subscription reports. If we end up seeing a 20% or greater move to the upside during Venus in Taurus, it could kickstart the crypto mania that would seemingly be needed to correspond to a long-term cycle crest, perhaps as soon as this fall.

Just a few days after Venus ingresses into Taurus, we have Jupiter moving into his sign of exaltation, Cancer, on June 9. Venus will square Pluto on the same day. With the whole tariff situation in disarray now, it’s entirely possible that the Fed will begin to moderate its stance on the inflationary front. Jupiter, a planet of stimulus, transiting Cancer, supports the idea of economic expansion. There are tax cuts coming down the pipeline from Congress, and with the recent tariff news, it seems that the market previously priced in a scenario that was much worse than it really is.

Then there’s Pluto, which rules the “four D’s” – debts, defaults, deficits, and downgrades. We just had a federal debt downgrade recently, and the new federal budget is only going to increase the fiscal deficit and increase the national debt. It’s the same old story, but guess what? Markets tend to like it. But Pluto also rules interest rates. It’s no secret that there’s been tensions between President Trump and Jerome Powell over at the Fed. I’ve even remarked previously how Pluto’s eventual transit over the Fed’s natal Uranus at 5 degrees of Aquarius could lead to an attempted takeover by the current administration of the central bank.

In the near future, I’d watch out for a rhetoric shift from the central bank on the potential for rate cuts. Powell and Trump met together at the White House this past week for the first time since 2019. It doesn’t seem like the June 18 meeting will correspond to a rate cut at the moment – perhaps the July 30 one will – although the odds are slim. But that can change quickly, especially if next week’s jobs report shows any signs of weakness. There are more and more reports surfacing that artificial intelligence is replacing jobs, and it would be wise for the Fed to try and stay ahead of the curve. Fortunately, last week’s inflation data showed that inflation is not accelerating – not in the slightest bit. This is likely to remain the case so long as Crude Oil prices remain subdued.

 LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS (AND OPINION)

“Participants noted that the Committee might face difficult tradeoffs if inflation proves to be more persistent while the outlooks for growth and employment weaken….”

— Jeff Cox, “Fed Worried It Could Face ‘Difficult Tradeoffs’ if Tariffs Reaggravate Inflation, Minutes Show,” CNBC, May 28, 2025, https://www.cnbc.com.

Last weekend, we had Saturn join Neptune in the sign of Aries. The two planets are now a little more than a degree apart, and while the exact conjunction won’t take place until February 2026, the close proximity of these two outer planets means that we’re getting a preview of what’s to come in 2026 and beyond. This is because both Saturn and Neptune will retrograde back into Pisces later this year, on September 1 and October 22, respectively. The definitive ingress for Saturn into Aries takes place in February 2026, while the definitive ingress for Neptune into Aries takes place in January 2026.

Saturn spends about 2.5 years in each sign, while Neptune spends around 15 years in each sign. Saturn in Pisces corresponded with an absolute bloodbath in the energy and healthcare sectors, while Neptune in Pisces marked an era of “luxury beliefs” and the rewarding of individuals for parroting ideas that have little-to-no no basis in reality.

As crazy as it sounds, we may eventually end up looking back at the period between 2011 and 2026 as “the good old days” at some point in the future. Such is the nature of Neptune – things are never as good or as bad as they seem.

But in the meantime, let’s discuss this potent synodic cycle that lasts approximately 36 years. The last time this occurred was in 1989 when the Berlin Wall fell. The time before was in 1953, which marked the end of the Korean War and the death of Stalin. Before that, there was the conjunction of 1917, which occurred a little more than a year before WWI ended and coincided with the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia. This certainly provides a reason to be optimistic on the geopolitical front, given the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and in the Middle East, to name a couple. But the catch here is that the conjunction is in Aries, a sign of war and aggressiveness. Saturn conjunct Neptune can easily mean the dissolving of barriers, but what kind of barriers? Will it be barriers to war or potentially even barriers to trade? It may even have something to do with NATO, which has an Aries stellium – Mercury, Venus, Mars, and the Sun are all conjunct between 6 and 14 degrees in this sign. We know there has been pressure for funding reforms in this military organization.

Let’s consider some economic factors in play here, too. The conjunction between Saturn and Neptune will take place right on the Federal Reserve’s midheaven, right at zero degrees of Aries. The Fed has been facing a tremendous amount of pressure from President Trump to cut interest rates. Their hesitation has centered around inflationary impacts from tariffs, but now that those don’t seem to be as significant of a factor as before, what’s left to stop them?

We know from history that Neptune in fire signs tends to be inflationary, but we may have a “goldilocks” scenario on our hands whereby the Fed could get away with cutting rates without reigniting inflation – at first.

Saturn is a planet that’s often associated with deflation and lower prices. This means that we could look for the Fed to lower rates without creating much inflation until Saturn starts to separate meaningfully from Neptune next year. In essence, Saturn would “restrict” the inflationary nature of Neptune while the two planets are close together. The catch, of course, is that Saturn is in its fall in Aries, so we must be prepared for its deflationary forces to be weaker than normal.

In this scenario of low-to-moderate inflation, stocks should perform exceptionally well. This fits with the idea that a significant cyclical reset just took place in April, too. Bonds, which have faced notable headwinds, may also see some relief. But in the near term, we’re still faced with two distinct long-term cycle scenarios. Either way, a decline on the interest rate front is supported both by cycles and geocosmics in 2026.

Enjoy it while it lasts because once the tide of Neptune turns, there’s no stopping the wave of rising prices. Fortunately, we have geocosmics to guide us along the way. But make no mistake – the time to prepare is now. Remember, Saturn is involved, too, so diligence and responsibility will be rewarded.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 NOTE 1: TWO MORE WEEKS!!! SUNDAY, JUNE 15, 2025, AT NOON EDT (9 AM PDT, 5 PM Greenwich), THE ANNUAL MMA MID-YEAR MARKET WEBINAR WITH MMA MARKET ANALYSTS!!! From the comfort of your own home or office, you can tune in to MMA’s annual Mid-Year Financial Markets Update Webinar. This broadcast will be hosted by Raymond Merriman and will include updates for the next several months from top MMA market analysts, as follows: Geocosmic Overview for Geopolitics and Financial Markets (Merriman), Bitcoin (Merriman), NASDAQ (Wiebke Held), S&P and T-Notes (Gianni Di Poce), Euro (Ulric Aspegrén), Silver and Crude Oil (Pouyan Zolfagharnia), and Gold and Soybeans (Wyatt Fellows). This webinar will last approximately four hours (about 20 minutes per market plus Q&A), with two five-minute breaks. The cost is $66 — a tremendous value for a workshop covering this range of markets). This includes access to the live presentation via Zoom, the presentation slides, and the video recording of the live event 24 hours after the presentation. This is MMA’s once-a-year midterm market update. If you are unable to attend live, the video recording will be available the following day. To register, click here.

NOTE 2: REGISTRATION FOR THE TWO-YEAR MERRIMAN MARKET TIMING ACADEMY (MMTA4) IS NOW UNDERWAY!!! ONE MORE MONTH TO SIGN UP BY THE FIRST CUTOFF DATE (JULY 1) AND SAVE BIG BUCKS!!! This highly valued two-year educational and training program, created by Raymond Merriman (CTA), is an experience that will change your life and the way you view financial markets. Yes, the course is challenging, but it is also incredibly exciting! Through this program, you will learn how to identify where the market is at any given point in time — and which trading or investing strategy to apply.

The eight-course program includes six to eight Zoom meetings per course — over 100 hours of live instruction and interaction — with instructors Wiebke Held and Raymond Merriman, along with special guest MMA analysts such as Pouyan Zolfagharnia, Gianni Di Poce, Wyatt Fellows, Derek Panaia, and Kat Powell.

Classes will meet on Saturdays, approximately 20 times per year, at noon Eastern time, starting on September 27. There are one-month breaks between each course and a two- to three-month summer break. The program also includes at least one live, in-person (or optional online) weekend session, plus a voluntary review session after each course, held prior to the exam for those wishing to receive a certificate of completion. There is nothing else as comprehensive in the field of market timing as the MMTA program! It covers MMA’s market timing methodology for long- and intermediate-term investing, as well as position trading and aggressive short-term trading.

Acceptance into the MMTA requires an interview prior to enrollment. If you are interested in exploring whether the MMTA is right for you, please fill out our contact form, and an MMTA advisor will reach out to schedule a time to talk. To register or inquire about the details of the MMTA4 program, click here. The cost for the entire two-year course is $25,000. A 10% discount is available for those who sign up by July 1. Other payment plans are available upon request.

Here are just a few of the many very positive reviews from graduates of the last MMTA3 program (2023-2024):

I wanted to express my deepest gratitude for generously sharing your knowledge and teaching it. As you know, I am fairly new to trading and joined MMTA3 to learn a system to approach the stock market. Starting the year, I set myself the goal of doubling the money that I had in my trading account, thinking at the time that this was impossible to do. Thanks to the knowledge and tools MMTA3 teaches, I was actually able to accomplish this goal! In fact, I even exceeded it. —W.H., Germany

 Thank you, Ray and Gianni, for the fantastic course material and support. I have made money, and every dollar for the courses was paid back and more! — J.L., Netherlands

 This course was truly mind-blowing! I learnt in abundance. Thank you all for sharing the excellent trading data and knowledge. This course is worth more than a college degree — and at a fraction of the price, too. — K.L., Australia

My perspective on the markets — and perhaps life — has changed dramatically since being gifted the privilege of joining MMTA2. I am extremely grateful for having been given the opportunity to learn directly from you. — K.M., USA

Doing these research projects and really dissecting the markets during this course has allowed me to trade very successfully over the past year. It is extremely rewarding to do the work and then watch it unfold according to plan. — W.F., USA

NOTE 3: THIS WEEKEND!!! MMA’S SPECIAL SIX-WEEK COURSE ON “THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF GEOCOSMIC STUDIES FOR FINANCIAL MARKET TIMING” BEGINS!!! Led by Gianni Di Poce and backed up by Ray Merriman, this course — starting May 31 — is designed to teach attendees the basic principles of planets, signs, and aspects (including retrograde and direct stations) as used in MMA’s market timing methodology, one of its most important tools. The course will also explain which planets and signs rule the various sectors of the economy and financial markets. In addition, it will cover how to use an ephemeris and astrological software (Solar Fire) for important routines such as calculating charts, generating transit “hit lists,” and identifying signs, ingresses, planetary stations, and aspects — the essential cosmic features necessary for determining market reversal periods.

The course is especially useful for those interested in taking the MMTA4 program, which begins on September 27, and who feel their astrological knowledge is at a beginner level. However, it is open to all interested participants. The cost for this six-week introductory course is $300. Classes will be held online on Saturdays at noon Eastern time through July 12, with a break on July 5 (no class that day due to the holiday). Each class will last approximately 90 minutes, followed by a Q&A session. Recordings will be available for download within two days of each live session. This is a great opportunity to learn basic astrology from a master economic astrologer! Click here for registration information!!! For a YouTube video explaining the class and FAQs — featuring Gianni, interviewed by Alie Schneider — please visit our YouTube channel.

NOTE 4: THE “JUPITER REPORT“ — YOUR MOMENTS OF OPPORTUNITY — IS NOW AVAILABLE. This new product, written by Raymond Merriman, is a 30- to 40-page report that all traders (and even non-traders) will find highly valuable. It identifies the times during the year when Jupiter transits are highlighted in your natal chart. It delineates the meaning of Jupiter’s transits to your natal planets and angles over a 14-month period (including one month before your order and one month after the year ends). As an added bonus, each transit is ranked on a scale from –3 to +3 in terms of favorability for trading. Traders may find this especially valuable! Would you like to know when you are under a +3 transit and, therefore, most likely to experience trading successes? Or a –3 transit with stronger-than-usual potential for misjudgments and losses? You betcha! The cost for your 14-month Jupiter Report is $69. Click here to order!!!

NOTE 5: THE MMA Solar-Lunar App now offers reversal signals on the NASDAQ to all subscribers! The app provides daily weighted values for four markets: the DJIA, NASDAQ, Gold, and Silver. This app is an ideal tool to have in your back pocket if you are a short-term swing trader looking for high-probability dates that identify isolated lows and highs in the DJIA, NASDAQ, Gold, and Silver markets. It is currently available only on Apple products (iPhone and iPad).

To learn more about the MMA App, click here. To order it, go to the Apple App Store and search for Merriman Solar/Lunar Reversals.

 NOTE 6: The MMA Weekly YouTube show, “Geocosmic Week in Review and Look Ahead,” with Gianni Di Poce, is conducted on Wednesday evenings! Each 5- to 20-minute FREE episode reviews the previous week’s market activity and offers a preview of the geocosmic signatures in effect for the coming week and beyond.

NOTE 7: MMA’s Free Weekly Column Podcast Is Available on SPOTIFY, APPLE, and AMAZON! Now you can listen to a podcast of this weekly column, narrated by Thomas Miller, every Saturday! Thomas has an excellent voice and brings the weekly column to life in a personable and, at times, humorous fashion. Just follow Merriman Market Analyst on Spotify or Apple to listen to all our episodes. A new podcast episode will be released every weekend. This is a FREE service and is available to everyone. Check out our podcasts on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon Music. It makes for great listening!

NOTE 8: MUST READ!!! A NEW BOOK, “ESOTERIC ECONOMICS” BY GIANNI DI POCE, IS NOW AVAILABLE!!! This is an excellent introduction to the correlation between geocosmic studies and the fields of economics and financial markets. In many ways, it is the perfect book to launch one’s journey into the world of financial astrology — but it is more than that. Esoteric Economics offers a clear and accessible explanation of how economics and financial markets work, then beautifully ties these fields together through an esoteric lens. It is ideal not only for those beginning this journey but also for readers seeking a deeper understanding of how economics operates on both a practical and esoteric level.

Gianni Di Poce is a well-respected MMA analyst and served as the director and lead instructor of the MMTA2 and MMTA3 (Merriman Market Timing Academy) programs from 2021 to 2024. He also holds an MBA in economics from the University of Michigan. The cost of this excellent 288-page book is $55 for the softcover or $60 for the hardcover (plus postage). It is also available as an eBook (no postage). To order, click here.

NOTE 9: THE MAY ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report Plus+, edited by Pouyan Zolfagharnia, was issued last week. This market letter has become a very popular addition to the MMA Cycles Report (it’s less technical, more visual, and contains horoscopes of current importance, high-quality analysis, and updates on MMA Cycles Report markets). The mid-month addendum to the MMA Cycles Report covers Pouyan’s outlook on Gold, Silver, NASDAQ, and Crude Oil. It contains stunning graphics and charts (people love it!) and is highly readable. This edition includes more illustrations and references to geocosmics than most MMA Cycles reports and is only available to subscribers of 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. A subscription to both reports is $55 per month. This includes the most recent May issue of the MMA Cycles Report and the MMA Monthly Cycles Report Plus+ addendum that was issued last week. For more information and ordering instructions, please click here.

NOTE 10: THE MMA GRAIN CYCLES REPORT BY WYATT FELLOWS WAS ISSUED LAST WEDNESDAY, MAY 28. With Saturn and Neptune moving toward their once-every-36-year conjunction — a configuration historically correlated with large moves in grain prices — this is an excellent time to consider subscribing. Wyatt’s analysis has been very accurate, and his writing style is exceptionally clear. Truly, if you are a trader or producer of grains, this is a valuable report to read each month. Wyatt is an exceptionally gifted analyst of Wheat, Corn, and Soybeans. To order a copy of this excellent report, please click here.

EVENTS

 MAY 31, 2025: SPECIAL SIX-WEEK COURSE ON “THE BASIC PRINCIPLES OF ASTROLOGY FOR FINANCIAL MARKET TIMING” — REGISTRATION IS NOW UNDERWAY. The cost is $300. For registration information, click here!

JUNE 15, 2025: THE ANNUAL MMA “MID-YEAR MARKET UPDATE” will take place on Sunday, June 15 — just in time for the powerful Jupiter square Saturn/Neptune event. Save the date!

SEPTEMBER 27, 2025: MMTA4 begins!! Special rates apply through July 1. Click here for details.

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 of educating the reader on the relationship between astrological factors and collective human activities as they occur. 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 those movements 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, 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 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 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.