REVIEW
Stocks fell on Friday as worries over the coronavirus’ impact on the Chinese economy outweighed the release of the stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.. The spike in confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths came as investors pored through the latest U.S. jobs report. The U.S. economy added 225,000 jobs in January. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 158,000 jobs. Wages rose 3.1% on a year-over-year basis, also topping expectations. – Fred Imbert, “Dow Drops More Than 250 Points,” www.cnbc.com, February 7, 2020.
“It was all bullshit. It was hell,” Trump said. “It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops, it was leakers and liars,” – ‘It Was Hell’: Trump Celebrates Impeachment Acquittal, While Ripping Democrats and Romney,” Christina Wilkie, www.cnbc.com, February 7, 2020.
Ronald Reagan was always more popular than his policies. When his reforms put a spring back into the step of the economy, he could run an upbeat campaign about it being morning in America again. That’s in part because Reagan was an upbeat guy. Trump, in contrast, is considerably less popular than his policies. And it will be hard for him to run an upbeat campaign because, to put it mildly, he’s not an upbeat guy.” – Robert Robb, “The Paradox of Donald Trump,” Arizona Republic, February 6, 2020.
The U. S. economy is still strong, in spite of a bizarre week that was both comedy and tragedy. It was the continuation – escalation – of the deadly coronavirus threat that is wrecking even more havoc on the Chinese economy and is now expected to expand and adversely affect the economy of the entire world.
It may have also been tragic for the Democratic Party in the U.S., which botched the first caucus election for a Democratic presidential contender early last week, as well as lost their bid to remove President Trump from office. In an almost perfect partisan vote, every Republican Senator voted not call witnesses to the impeachment trial and to acquit the president of two articles of impeachment, and every Democrat voted to have witnesses and convict. There was exception to this tragic partisan vote: Mitt Romney, Republican, who voted to convict on one count, and for voting according to his conscience, he was vilified by his own party and conservative media outlets. Let that be lesson to anyone in this day and age of Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn: if you stand by your principles and go against the idea of loyalty and acceptance of your social group (or is it your political party?), you risk being ostracized, shunned, and condemned. That why one of the manifestations of Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn described in the Forecast 2020 Book was as a battle between villains and heroes, personal ethics and corruption. And it is ironic how each side in this partisan example of disunity that afflicts American politics today accuses the other side of being corrupt.
But on at least one count, President Trump seems right. The Democrats indeed looked like “dirty cops.” Well, I don’t know if they were “dirty cops,” as much as like the “Keystone Cops” last week, fighting against someone they see as “Pinocchio on Steroids.” It was entertaining and tragic at the same time.
Nevertheless, it was an overall good week for many equity markets of the world. After falling 600 points the previous Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 1000 points from that low through Thursday. And then they fell 300 points intraday on this past Friday, February 7, despite the excellent payroll report numbers. Is it really the “black swan “ of coronavirus that is spooking the markets? Or is just time for equities to take a breather and correct an intermediate-term cycle? That’s what we discuss this Sunday in our annual Forecast webinar (see announcements below).
In other markets, Bitcoin continued its push towards 10,000 on the belief that “Bitcoin Halving” will take place in May 2020. This means that less and less Bitcoins will be created over time and due to its limited supply, will become more and more scarce. If the demand remains constant and supply diminishes, that’s a formula for higher prices.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS
Due to this weekend’s annual webinar, and the fact that there are really no outstanding geocosmics in force right now other than transiting Mars making favorable aspects to the chart of the New York Stock Exchange, there is not much to report. Next week, there will be. A series of several important geocosmic signatures will begin on Sunday, February 16, when Mars enters Capricorn, and Mercury in Pisces will begin its three-week retrograde period. Get ready for more episodes of the Keystone Cops versus Pinocchio on Steroids. It’s not over until … well, there is no end in sight before the 2020 Election, and probably not even after that if Trump is re-elected (or even if he is not re-elected). As long as Pluto is in Capricorn, investigations may never stop.
Nevertheless, as traders, we will have a lot to work with February 16-March 9 when eight very important planetary correlates to market reversal unfold, includ9ng Venus in Aries making a square to the Capricorn Stellium planets of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto.
I look forward to talking with many of you on Sunday! It should be exciting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: We will leave the registration window open through Saturday night (one more day) to sign up for The MMA Forecast 2020 Webinar that will take place on Sunday February 9, 2020 at 2:00 PM EST (that’s 11:00 AM PST and 7:00 PM GMT). This once-a-year broadcast will show the odds for a potential stock market crash in 2020-2023 and discuss what to do in order to protect one’s portfolio. This webinar will discuss the geocosmic importance of Saturn conjunct Pluto that took place January 12, but is very evident in today’s news (impeachment, assassinations, pandemics, sports scandals, record high in stock prices, rallies in metals, etc.). It will discuss the forthcoming Jupiter/Saturn conjunction on the Winter Solstice 2020, right after the U.S. election. Updates will be provided on financial markets since the book was written in November 2019, including the U.S., German and Chinese stock markets (DJIA, DAX, and Shanghai Composite), Gold and Silver, Crude Oil, Bitcoin, and currencies. Cost is $55.00, and includes the slides of the presentation, plus a video recording of the event. If unable to attend live, you can still sign up and receive the video recording on the next day following the live event.
NOTE 2: SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY RATE ENDS FOR NEW MMA CRUDE OIL REPORT THIS WEEKEND! The special introductory rate (save several hundreds of dollars!) for MMA’s new Crude Oil Report by MMA Analyst and MMTA Graduate Gianni Di Poce is still available to those who sign up before February 13th.
Crude Oil is once again becoming a very hot market. This is no surprise to readers of MMA reports over the past several years, for Mars is now in Sagittarius and Capricorn, a time when our studies have shown Crude Oil prices tend to be most volatile and vulnerable to large price swings. You have seen this volatility manifesting as of late. This time band began on January 3, concurrent with the assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani that sent Crude Oil to a new multi-month high. We see more steep price changes coming up in the next three months while Mars transits these two signs. In this new report, Gianni will analyze Crude Oil from a daily, weekly and monthly perspective, and each report will conclude with trading strategies for each type of trader or investor. For those who don’t know Gianni Di Poce, we have posted an interview with him, conducted by MMA President Raymond Merriman on our website.
And one of the best parts of this is the new rate for this report. We have reduced the price from $2,500/ Year to $1,800/ Year. AND WE ARE OFFERING A 20% SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY DISCOUNT ON THE NEW RATE! Sign up now – before February 10 – for a 20% discount. For a sample of the Daily MMA Crude Oil Report, click HERE.
NOTE 3: March 11, 25, and April 1: LEARN ABOUT FUTURES! See below for more information.
EVENTS
February 9, 2020: LAST CHANCE!!! SIGN UP NOW! MMA’S FORECAST 2020 WEBINAR will take place on Sunday, February 9, 2020, 2:00 PM EST. In the comfort of your own home or office, you can tune into Raymond Merriman’s annual worldwide Forecast 2020 Webinar. This broadcast will address subjects from this year’s Forecast 2020 Book, with updates on financial markets since the book was written in November 2019. Outlooks for the U.S. stock market, Gold and Silver, Crude Oil, Bitcoin, and currencies will be discussed. 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. Sign up to attend the live event will close Saturday evening.
March 11, 25, and April 1: LEARN ABOUT FUTURES! We are hosting a three-part course over a 4-week period, 2 hours each class via video conference. At first, we were going to schedule it on Sundays, but this will interfere with the national collegiate basketball tournaments (I am a big college basketball fan), so we are moving it to Wednesdays starting March 11, at 7 PM EST (or EDST). The objective of this 3-part course would be to instruct attendees about trading futures, or ETF’s that reflect futures’ prices, as given in each MMA subscription report. The class would be structured with the first hour of introduction and review of the current markets and trading opportunities that are setting up, especially during the important March 20-April 7 critical reversal zone. The second half of each 2-hour class will be Q&A. The cost for these three classes would be $295. If you are interested, please visit TRADING WITH MMA MARKETING TIMING METHODS or let us know if you are interested in such a series of classes by contacting customerservice@mmacycles.com. Attendance will be limited to 30 students. If you can’t make the live presentation, video recordings of each class will be available for those who enroll in the course.
September 9-14, 2020: The ISAR 2020 Conference in Colorado on “Reimagining the Future.” The largest and most exciting international astrological conference taking place in 2020. With a faculty of over 100 of the world’s top astrologers from 25 different countries, and very dynamic tracks on Financial Astrology, Mundane and Political Astrology, and other topics, this is an event you will not want to miss. On Wednesday, September 9, Ray Merriman will be conducting a 4-hour workshop on “Astrology and the Art of Financial Market Timing: How to Forecast Market Trends and Market Reversals.” This course will provide research studies showing the correlation of astrological factors to short- and longer-term financial market timing in stock markets, precious metals, and Bitcoin. It is the only workshop Ray plans to conduct in 2020.
Saturday, September 12, 2020: Raymond Merriman will be presenting a lecture on “The Times, They Are a Changin’ – The Political, Economic, and Monetary Revolution.” It’s not just the convergence of the 20-, 200-, and 800-year long-term Jupiter/Saturn cycles. It is also Saturn in Aquarius, squaring its ruler, Uranus, in Taurus. The convergence of the Jupiter/Saturn cycle in air sign Aquarius symbolizes the dawn of a new socio-economic-political era; the waning Saturn/Uranus square, the demise of an older order. What does this bode for financial markets of the world, and what can you do? We will discuss that in this lecture.
Sign up by April 19 and receive a pre-registration special discount price for the Main ISAR 2020 Conference. A discount for pre- and post-conference workshops is also in effect until April 19. To register or see more information on this spectacular event, go to go to https://isar2020.org and be prepared to be amazed!
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 a 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.