REVIEW AND PREVIEW
The U.S. economy added 136,000 jobs in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected an increase of 145,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, a 50-year low, but wages grew at a slower-than-expected pace last month. “This sounds like a Goldilocks number to me,” Steve Grasso, director of institutional sales at Stuart Frankel, told CNBC. “It still gives the Fed some room for cover to cut rates. This is as close to a not-too-hot, not-too-cold greeting for the market.” – Fred Imbert, “Dow Jumps More Than 200 Points After Steady Jobs Report,” October 4, 2019, https://www.cnbc.com.
And on that news, plus supportive statements by Fed Chair Jerome Powell that the economy was still on sound footing, the U.S. stock market blasted off to the upside.
It started out as a difficult week for global stock indices, following the rapid pace of the impeachment investigation on President Donald Trump, combined with a poor manufacturing report mid-week, leading investors to think that the U.S. might be headed for a recession sooner than previously thought. By early Thursday, the DJIA had plummeted to a weekly low of 25,743, a new 5-week low and well off the double top highs of 27,306 and 27, 272 on September 12 and 19 respectively, just before the final passage of the Jupiter/Neptune waning square on Saturday, September 21. But by Friday’s close, the DJIA was back up to 26,573. It was still down 246 points for the week, but at the low on Thursday, it was down over 1000 points. Happy days are here again!
Other markets were just as volatile as stocks. Gold, for instance, fell to a low of 1465 on Tuesday, October 1. That was its lowest price in 8 weeks. That decline didn’t last long either. By Thursday, it was trading up to 1525 before settling the week at 1510. Silver was just as dramatic. It plunged to 16.94 on Tuesday, October 1, its lowest price in 7 weeks. By the next day, it was trading well above 17.50. That was probably a function of heliocentric Mercury in Sagittarius, September 26-October 7, combined with geocentric Venus in Libra, September 14-October 8. The former time frame corresponds to wild price swings in metals and the latter to primary or half-primary cycle troughs.
As stocks plummeted, treasuries and currencies rallied sharply. When stocks fall, investors fear a recession is on the way, and believe that the Fed will lower interest rates. Since rates are already very low, this is perceived to be inflationary, which lowers the value of the Dollar, and increases the expected future value of commodities and foreign currencies. If stocks continue their rally next week, you may see each of these markets retreat.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS
Well, happy days will be here again if the market gets its wish for a rate cut and a U.S. – China trade deal moving forward in the next 1-2 weeks as investors hope. Even though Jupiter and Neptune have made their final passage, there still seems to be a bit of “irrational exuberance” and possibly false hopes as there is still no confirmation that either of those two wishes will be granted.
We note that on October 14, the week that an important announcement on one or both of these matters is due, Jupiter will make a sesquiquadrate (135°) aspect to the unpredictable Uranus, which will re-activate the Jupiter/Neptune square, since they are still in close orb to exact aspects with one another. That is, Jupiter will still be within three degrees of its square to Neptune, and Uranus is still a little more than three degrees off an exact semi-square to Neptune. Jupiter splits them both with its 135° sesquiquadrate that week.
As if that is not enough, October 13 is a Full Moon (it will be in effect when Asian markets open up Monday morning, October 14). And just prior to that, on October 12, Venus will make an important opposition to “Uranus the Unpredictable” again, this time from Scorpio to Taurus, the money signs. Well, Taurus is money, as in credit. Scorpio is debt. This aspect also brings back into play the Jupiter/Neptune square, so there is plenty of cosmic support for “irrational exuberance” continuing for another 1-2 weeks, and again with the very real possibility of turning out to be another big disillusionment.
And as if that is not enough, we also note that the Sun will make a square to both Saturn and Pluto, October 7 and 14. Saturn pertains to the government, and Pluto, as noted before, is associated with debt and taxes. The combination can also be associated with attempts to remove people from office, implying that the impeachment investigation processes are likely to grind forward for at least another 1-2 weeks. If I am reading this right, it may even continue right into the 2020 elections, for Mars will be turning retrograde in Aries in the latter half of 2020, also in square aspect to Saturn and Pluto for the better part of August through November. I don’t know if the impeachment proceedings are being planned with that time line in mind, but that’s how I see it.
If anyone thought 2016 was a nasty election, wait for the 2020 election under Mars Retrograde square Saturn and Pluto. For good measure, Mercury will be just ending its retrograde motion within 24 hours of the election too. The good news is that 2020 may be the peak of political discord exhibited in U.S. elections for the rest of our lives. More on this in the Forecast 2020 Book, which I am finding a fascinating undertaking. It is still on schedule for release December 15, 2019. The 2017 and 2018 books described the “Reset” that would take place in global politics and economics. That was spot on. The 2019 book described the “Setup” for the Capricorn Stellium that will unfold in 2020, and that too is unfolding as discussed. And 2020 will be the year of “Checkmate.” Someone is going to win and someone is going to lose this chess match that has been underway since 2017 between the executive branch of the United States government and other world and national leaders.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOTE 1: LESS THAN 4 WEEKS LEFT!!! The pre-order sale for Forecast 2020 is now underway! This once-a-year sale includes discounts on both the annual Forecast Book and MMA Subscription Reports and will be in effect through October 31st. You may pre-order Forecast 2020 now at the discounted rate of $45. After our sale ends, the price will increase to $55 on November 1st. Order both an eBook and print book (Forecast 2020 Bundle) for only $65, a savings of $45 off the standard rates. Save 10% off any subscription ($275+) with purchase of Forecast 2020. Use code SALE2020 at checkout to receive the subscription discount.
MMA’s 2019 Scorecard (from Forecast 2019 Book) as of September 6, 2019, is now available for viewing! See how we did HERE on our Website.
NOTE 2: MMA’s Daily and Weekly subscription reports are the best way to keep up with rapidly changing markets! If you are an active short-term trader, or even if you are an investor who likes to keep up with our current thoughts on financial markets, you will be interested in MMA’s Weekly or Daily Market reports. The Weekly reports give an in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, Euro/Yen cash, Swiss Franc, T-Notes, Soybeans, Crude Oil, Gold and Silver, and Bitcoin. The Daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as the Euro Currency, Japanese Yen, Bitcoin, T-Notes, Gold and Silver, plus GLD and SLV (the Gold and Silver ETF’s). Both reports provide trading strategies and recommendations for position traders and shorter-term aggressive traders. Subscription to the Daily report also includes the Weekly report. All MMA subscription reports – including the Crude Oil and Indian Markets (NIFTY) reports by Nitin Bhandari, as well as the ICR Monthly Commodities and Financials reports, are part our annual subscription sale through October 31, 2019.
EVENTS
February 8, 2020: MMA’S FORECAST 2019 LIVE WEBINAR will take place on Saturday, February 8, 2020. 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 next 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, and currencies will be discussed. Cost is $55.00, and includes the slides of the presentation, plus a downloadable MP4 recording of the event. If unable to attend live, you can still sign up, as everyone who orders the Webinar will receive the MP4 recording, following the live event.
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.