REVIEW
“‘ We’re waiting to become more confident that inflation is moving sustainably at 2%. When we do get that confidence, and we’re not far from it, it’ll be appropriate to begin to dial back the level of restriction,’ Powell said in response to a question about rates and inflation. He said the cuts would be so the Fed doesn’t ‘drive the economy into recession rather than normalizing policy as the economy gets back to normal.’” —Jeff Cox, “Powell Says the Fed is ‘Not Far’ From the Point of Cutting Interest Rates,” www.cnbc.com, March 7, 2024.
U.S. employers added 275,000 jobs in February and the unemployment rate ticked higher, the Labor Department reported on Friday. Growth was driven by the hiring of health care and government employees, along with food services. On the flip side, the manufacturing sector cut 4,000 positions. Strong job growth combined with rising wages is fueling inflation, according to some economists.—Suzanne O’Halloran, “US Economy Adds 275,000 Jobs in February, Unemployment Increased to 3.9%,” www.foxbusiness.com, March 8, 2024.
The Jupiter/Uranus steamroller keeps rolling along as new highs continue to be achieved in several world stock indices, as well as other markets such as Gold and Bitcoin. It makes one wonder if there will be any significant pullback before those two planetary behemoths conjoin near the end of a Mercury retrograde cycle on April 20/21, depending on where you live.
All-time stock market highs were recorded last week in Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, Japan, India, and the U.S. on the S&P and the NASDAQ. That’s quite impressive, and just the way Jupiter and Uranus like it when they work together. But there is always reason to be alert for sudden reversals when Uranus is involved, as it was March 3-9 by order of its square with both Venus (March 3) and Mars (March 9). There was, in fact, a sharp decline on March 5—in both stocks and Bitcoin—but in each case, prices bounced right back and made new all-time highs by Friday (except in the case of the DJIA, where the high of February 23 remained intact).
Bitcoin was an interesting study of the role Uranus plays in financial markets. Early on March 5, right between the squares of Venus/Uranus and Mars/Uranus, Bitcoin soared to a new all-time high of $69,202. Less than five hours later, it lost nearly $10,000, down to $59,313. However, by Friday, March 8, BTC was making another new all-time high, up to $70,175. It’s hard to keep a force like the approaching Jupiter/Uranus conjunction down once it sets new all-time highs in its sight. But once it turns, it is also hard to stop the demon drop-down.
The same can also be said of Gold, which skyrocketed to a new all-time high, reaching $2203 during Friday’s session. Silver had a good week, rising to $24.73 on Thursday, its highest mark yet in this young year. Crude Oil, on the other hand, failed to hold above the $80 mark, but for the moment, it continues to lumber along in an upward channel as long as it can remain above $74.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS
“Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,” Biden said at a March 2020 campaign rally in Detroit. He called himself a “transition candidate.” …I’m struck when I speak with exasperated Biden voters by how often they bring up the “bridge” quote and the “transition candidate” line. This suggests that they viewed their past support for Biden as an emergency proposition—and that his ongoing presence violates an implied bargain…. You can understand how voters might feel bait-and-switched by Biden’s refusal to go away.—Mark Leibovich writing for the Atlantic, March 6, “Notable & Quotable: ‘The Biden Bridge,’” Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2024.
Democrats know they’d be toast if Republicans nominated a younger, less-encumbered candidate. But Mr. Trump’s own liabilities and peccadilloes give Mr. Biden at least a fighting chance, without the risks of an intraparty meltdown that a contested nomination would have brought…. Expect this codependency to continue to define the general election campaign…. The race for the moment is one of relative unpopularity. –Kimberley A. Strassel, “The Trump-Biden Codependency: Both Presumptive Presidential Nominees Are So Weak That They’d Lose to Virtually Anyone Else,” Wall Street Journal, March 7, 2024.
The dramatic cosmic conditions of the past few weeks will now take a slight break after this weekend’s hard square aspect between Mars and Uranus. No Mars—No Uranus—No Jupiter—highlights until April’s return to the celestial sphere of geriatric gladiator activities. The primaries for the U.S. 2024 election have mostly been determined as a result of last week’s Super Tuesday results, in which the expected contest between the current and the former president is indeed underway—a rematch that the vast majority of U.S. citizens (and probably most people throughout the world)—do not wish to see. But it is what we have, which means independents will have to choose who not to vote for—again.
Financial markets will likely not pay much attention to the election polls until summer has passed. However, they will continue to reflect on the state of cyclical and geocosmic factors, as already noted by the forthcoming Jupiter/Uranus conjunction on April 20/21, 2024. Well, let’s clarify that. Financial cycles are distorted by this powerful conjunction. It acts like a magnet for higher prices—in stocks, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies. And it may continue into and even beyond April 20/21, for Jupiter will continue making favorable aspects to the other outermost planets (Neptune and Pluto) into early June. After that, the good times may begin to turn by late summer as Jupiter embarks upon a 10-month hard square aspect with Saturn. What goes up, must come down.
Shorter-term, we may see a semblance of a return to more normal cyclical behavior as the aspects involving Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus peel back the rest of this month, perhaps to recharge their power for another barrage in April. What’s happening between now and then?
First, we have Venus entering Pisces on Monday, March 11, lasting until April 5. That’s a lovely combination of love and romance, but by itself, it doesn’t bestow much energy for financial market fireworks. On March 17, the Sun will conjoin Neptune, another cosmic union of peace and love (especially since it takes place in Pisces). This is considered a Level 1 geocosmic signature with a surprisingly very high 79% correlation to primary cycles within 10 trading days. Four days later, just one day after the spring equinox of 2024, Venus will conjoin with Saturn. This is not usually a great union unless it combines beauty and youth with wisdom and experience. But this is a signature we like because it often coincides with a rally in any market that declines into it. If the stock market rally stalls now, this would be a fine place to look for a primary or major cycle trough. Hence, it is a good time for our Options Webinar on March 16. You want a major or primary cycle low if looking to buy call options or bull spreads in options.
It’s after April 1 that the real cosmic fireworks return. First, Mercury turns retrograde in the late degrees of fiery Aries. Tempers and temperatures start to rise. This is followed by a powerful eclipse on April 8 at 19° Aries, conjoining not only the Moon’s North Node but also Chiron, the “wounded healer.” Someone (anyone) could get hurt. This is further highlighted by the war threat aspect of Mars conjunct Saturn on April 10. It could get very hot. Finally, it culminates with Jupiter conjunct Uranus on April 20/21, around the same time that the Sun squares Pluto. All this occurs just before Mercury turns direct on April 26, near the same degree of the solar eclipse in mid-Aries, which, by the way, cuts right across the mid-section of the United States.
What does this mean, and how shall one prepare to make the most out of April? I will discuss this in next week’s column and next week’s monthly MMA Cycles Report. Also, I may even address it in tomorrow’s presentation on “The Aries Vortex” for the www.astrologyuniversity.com webinar (see below) if it comes up in our question and answer session. I look forward to seeing many of you there and interacting with your questions!
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: THE MARCH ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report will be released Monday evening, March 11. This issue will outline markets that we think are exhibiting—or setting up—breakout moves into the important April 20/21 Jupiter/Uranus conjunction date, as outlined in this year’s Forecast 2024 book. Each monthly MMA Cycles Report gives an overview of what to expect for the next month and even year and includes MMA’s proprietary CRDs (critical reversal dates) for the next month. As we dive into the New Year, we are focused on the status of the 4-year cycle in stocks (when might they top out?) and the 31.33-month cycle in Gold (when might it top out?), as well as the 44-month cycle in Crude Oil (has it already bottomed?) and other long-term cycles due in Copper, the Euro, T-Notes, and Soybeans. We provide key time bands and price ranges when these are most likely to culminate—and reverse. And, of course, we will also update the status of primary cycles in each of these markets for traders. In addition to MMA’s original geocosmic critical reversal dates (CRDs), each issue also lists MMA’s solar/lunar reversal dates over the next several weeks for stock indices, Gold, Silver, and the Euro. If you want to try out one month of the MMA Monthly Cycles Report, you can sign up for the March 11 Report for only $35!
NOTE 2: LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR MARCH 9, 2024: THE ARIES VORTEX: THIRD PHASE OF THE “NEW AIRA” with Raymond Merriman. Hosted by www.astrologyuniversity.com. If you missed the Forecast 2024 webinar in February and/or want to hear more about this incredible pattern soon to unfold and how it will impact the world, join us at 1 PM PST (that’s 4 PM EST or 9 PM GMT). This 90- to 120-minute webinar will describe the hope for humanity as shown by the unusual planetary arrangement of 2025-2027, known as the Aries Vortex. This unique cosmic pattern involves the Saturn/Neptune conjunction at 0° Aries, on the vernal equinox point that marks the start of the spring season in the Northern Hemisphere. It is also the midpoint of the Uranus/Pluto trine, creating a “funnel,” or “vortex,” highlighting 0° Aries. This is of huge and symbolic importance to the world and aligns with other significantly critical economic and socio-cultural time cycles. The cost is only $35! For further information and registration, click here.
NOTE 3: OPTIONS STRATEGIES FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS, March 16, 2024, 1 PM EDT, presented by Derek Panaia and Raymond Merriman. This event is timed to identify top candidates for potentially big price moves into the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction of April 20/21. We think the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction could be explosive for some financial and commodity markets, and it is thus worthy of a limited but favorable risk/reward options strategy if correct. The cost to attend is $95. Note: All participants should have a basic understanding of options before attending this presentation. To register, click here.
If you do not have a basic understanding of options, we recommend that you purchase the recording of the Workshop “Introduction to Options” webinar Derek gave on December 10, 2023. The cost of the 3-hour workshop recording is $250. However, you can sign up for the BUNDLE of both the upcoming March 16 workshop and the December 10 Introductory Course recording for $225 (a savings of $120) by clicking here.
NOTE 4: NEW VIDEO: HOW TO USE MMA SOLAR/LUNAR REVERSAL SIGNALS is now available at no cost on the MMA YouTube channel or by clicking here. We receive a lot of inquiries on how to use the solar/lunar reversal dates that we list in our daily, weekly, and monthly reports. So, we decided to make a video illustrating how to use these market timing dates for short-term trades, using the current Gold and Bitcoin markets as an example. In this video, you will see how the “setup” is determined, and what to do once you enter a solar/lunar reversal zone under the right setup for a one-day to two-week “swing” trade.
NOTE 5: THE MMA’s Annual Forecast 2024 Webinar Recording is now available and still timely!!! This broadcast addressed themes from this year’s Forecast 2024 book, with updates on the U.S. stock market, Bitcoin, Gold, Silver, Crude Oil, and Natural Gas that are still in play. It covered strategies of each market based on the possibility of big moves related to the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction of April 21 and afterward. The recording of this excellent presentation is available for $55 at Forecast 2024 Webinar.
Here are a couple of comments about the recent webinar:
“That was a spectacular webinar you put on! I watched it from beginning to end. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you! The webinar covered every possible question I could come up with, and you gave succinct and direct advice. This webinar is the best performance I’ve ever seen you give.” –D.G., Astro-Researcher.
“I think that was your best webinar yet. I have a feeling we are entering a time we won’t soon forget. A lot of your comments and information resonated very strongly with what I feel is approaching.
Really nice job!“ –G.J., market analyst, editor of “Observations.”
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 by Thomas Miller on Saturdays! 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!
EVENTS
March 9, 2024: LAST CHANCE TO SIGN UP FOR “THE ARIES VORTEX: THIRD PHASE OF THE “NEW AIRA” with Raymond Merriman. Hosted by Astrology University. The cost is $35. For further information, click here.
March 16, 2024, 1:00 PM EDT: OPTIONS STRATEGIES FOR FINANCIAL MARKETS webinar with Derek Panaia and hosted by Raymond Merriman. The cost to attend is $95, and a participant should have a basic understanding of options before attending this presentation. To register, click here.
April 20, 2024: LIVE! IN PERSON! “FORECASTS 2024 AND THE APPROACHING ARIES VORTEX,” Nova Southwestern University, Ft. Lauderdale, FL, with Ray Merriman. An in-person, live event and workshop, 10:30 AM – 5:00 PM, with a 90-minute lunch break. We will also update financial markets that are likely to be at critical stages in their cycles then, which is pertinent since this is also the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction date. The cost is $95. This is one of the few live in-person events Ray will give this year. It will not be broadcast via Zoom, but recordings will be made available for sale a few days after the event. For further information and registration, please click here.
September 19-22, 2024: MMA’s 2024 Investment Retreat. SAVE THE DATES!!! We will be hosting our 2024 Investment Retreat in Europe for the first time since 2015. You won’t want to miss this chance to meet with the top MMA analysts (plus special guest speakers Claude Weiss and Aleksandar Imsiragic) live and hear our long-term investment and wealth-building strategies using MMA market timing methods. There is nothing quite like a life-altering MMA Investment Retreat! This one will be very special, and it will be our first investment retreat in Europe since 2015! The location is the beautiful Lake Bled, Slovenia, a premier (and affordable) destination in the Julian Alps with a historic castle nestled in the mountains. More information and the opportunity to sign up early will be released in two weeks. The cost is $3500, but only $3000 if you register early. Stay tuned, as registration is limited for those who want to attend in person.
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.