MMA WEEKLY - Financial Astrology commentary, Market timing, MMA Cycles, The Merriman Market Analyst

The Market Week in Review :

             Next week will be a shortened week in the United States due to our markets being closed on Monday's Labor Day holiday. For the U.S., this marks the psychological end of summer. With the new "season," many markets will likely begin new directions in earnest. The next three months should be very active, volatile, and filled with trading opportunities. The volatility and reversal studies in our "FAR for the Galactic Trader" software program demonstrates this to be the historical case for almost every market we track, whether equity indices, precious metals, treasuries, or currencies.

Lat week's column stated, "However, in cases of the past year, the Jupiter-Uranus trine of August 29 has been more of a correlate to crests than troughs, and so our bias is that prices will rally still. Adding support to that outlook is the fact that this coming week precedes the Labor Day holiday of September 4. Generally speaking, the days leading into a holiday are bullish. This is true even when the technical indicators of the prior week are more bearish than bullish, as is the case right now." Bingo. Even though many equity indices of the world were technically more bearish than bullish at the close of the prior week, last week's activity was clearly bullish. Most of the world stock indices rallied smartly last week, closing at or near their weekly or even multi-monthly highs. But now traders and investors must be careful, for as also stated last week, "The astrology tells us to look for a reversal August 25-September 5". Here we are, and as we enter this new week, technical indicators are more bullish than bearish. But then again, technical indicators are mostly lagging (or at best, coincident) indicators. They tell us the market has topped out after the peak has formed, not usually as it is forming. To know ahead of time when a peak or trough might be forming, we need to understand both cycles and geocosmic studies, which are leading indicators.

             In Europe, the Swiss Index continued to be the strongest performer, racing to a high of 8218 on Friday, a level not seen since 2000. The Netherlands AEX and German DAX also rallied to 473 and 5907 on Friday. Although positive, these levels are still below the highs recorded last April 24 and May 11 respectively. The London FTSE index could only achieve a high of 5967 on Friday, which is even below the recent 5982 high of July 28. Thus even though all European markets rallied smartly into the end of last week, there was considerable intermarket bearish divergence when compared to recent highs. This is a warning of potential danger ahead, unless all can continue to rally and make new highs for this year.

The same bearish intermarket divergence is currently noted in the Pacific Rim countries. The Hang Seng of Hang Kong continues to be the stellar performer in this region, soaring to 17,514 on Friday, its highest mark since September 2000. But in Tokyo, the Nikkei index only attained 17,207, below its yearly high of 17,563 in April, and even below the 17,244 mark of two weeks ago. The condition is similar in Australia, where the All Ordinaries got to 5086, below the all-time high of 5352 on May 10, and even below the recent high of 5104 on July 7.

In the Americas, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the NASDAQ Composite rallied to their highest levels since May and April respectively. The DJIA soared to 11,464 on Friday, which is still considerably below the 11,670 level of May 10, and the Composite got to 2198, well below the 2375.40 and 2375.50 levels of last April. In South America, the Bovespa of Brazil and Merval index of Argentina failed to even exceed their highs of August. Thus all these market may be indicating trouble in the near future, unless the rallies that ended the prior week can continue through this week, and eventually exceed those highs of the past 5 months. And the geocosmic signatures currently unfolding suggest that may not be so easy.

In other markets, December Gold fell to 615.50 on Tuesday, testing its 615 low of July 24. But December soared to 1310, its highest mark in over three months. Crude oil fell to 68.65 on Thursday, breaking a critical upward trendline in the process, as it tested its lows of May and June. As stated last week, "But if each of these markets continues to drop into late this week or early the next week, it presents a buying opportunity, according to our methods." Let's see!

Short-Term Geocosmics :

Last week's column stated, "August 22-27 find Venus touching off the T-square of Jupiter-Saturn-Neptune. One might expect a low to coincide with this time band, which effectively ends by Monday. Then Tuesday finds Jupiter forming its last of three waning trines to Uranus, which in the past has been more bullish than bearish." Bingo! Monday was the low of the recent corrective decline for the DJIA and several other world indices by early Tuesday. Then all markets rallied into the end of the week. The three passes of Jupiter in waning trine to Uranus are now over, and the most dominant signature for the next several months will be the more sobering Saturn in opposition to Neptune. By itself, this indicates increasing political and economic tensions in the world, with a greater degree of uncertainty and fear about the future. It doesn't help that this is a national election season in the United States, where candidates of both parties are already trying to frighten voters into voting against their opponent. In reality, this election will be based almost solely on one issue: support for or against President Bush. The election is, sadly, a referendum on whether U.S. citizens want to impeach the sitting president, no matter how much everyone is carefully avoiding the acknowledgment of this point. After all, Saturn-Neptune in opposition is indicative of both a witch hunt to blame others for the discontent they feel, as well as denial by those being accused. Accountability will either be avoided, or if provided, will not likely be accepted. In these times, and withy these themes, it is hard to see how stock prices will rally much more going into this election. Investors are not supposed to like uncertainty. But then again, the market acts like a contrarian. Or perhaps, as many people believe today, the markets are manipulated, which is another potential theme consistent with the Saturn-Neptune hard aspect (covert attempts to hide or manipulate the truth and facts - think "Watergate," which occurred the last time this 36-year planetary cycle was in force).

Jupiter-Uranus in trine is over. And for this coming week, we will find Pluto turning stationary direct on September 4, the Sun in opposition to Uranus on September 5, and a lunar eclipse highlighting this Sun-Uranus aspect on September 7. As stated last week, "This can also coincide with inclement weather and the presence of severe storms, even hurricanes in the last week of August and first week of September. In financial markets, it coincides with huge price swings and volatility in early September, right as traders return from the Labor Day weekend." The hurricane Ernesto was one on schedule. Let's see if the rest is too. And finally on Friday, the important monthly employment reports are released in the United States. That is the day Mars enters Libra, forming a T-square the Sun-Pluto opposition in the Federal Reserve Board chart (December 23, 1913). Look for a major reversal in the interest-related markets within one week of this geocosmic event. By association, this can also impact equity markets.

Long-Term Thoughts :

As astrologers, we had a jolt the previous week as the science community changed its definition of planets in our solar system. Pluto was downgraded from a planet to a "dwarf planet," while the celestial bodies of Xena and Ceres were upgraded to the status of "dwarf planets." Does this mean Pluto no longer works? Not at all. But as astrologer and best-selling mystery writer Toni Fennelly of New Orleans writes in last week's ISAR ezine ( www.isarastrology.com :
"Whose gonna tell Pluto (of his change of status)? Not me!"

Seriously, astrologers have a tremendous opportunity here to get ahead of the crowd and do research on the dynamics of these new "dwarf planets." It is obvious from our experience that Pluto has a profound correlation to human activity. But as astrologers, we know little about Xena and Ceres. We do know their orbital cycles, so we can do some serious research and see what themes they correlated with historically. With Saturn and Uranus coming into opposition (2008-2010), this is not a time to stick with the past and resist the tide of change that is now unfolding. Resisting this change of our cosmic order is a wasted effort. It would be like sticking with DOS when Windows was introduced to computers. Failure to move with the times will be tantamount to being left behind. Instead, astrologers who enjoy research are encouraged to lead the world into understanding these new times we are entering.

When Pluto was "discovered" in 1930, the world was mired in depression, and atomic energy was discovered. The world embarked upon a whole new reality. When Neptune was discovered in the 1840's, the world - and especially the United States - was also mired in a great depression. For the only time in its history, the United States defaulted on its debt obligations in 1842. But it entered a very spiritual and reflective period as well, consistent with what we soon learned was a theme of Neptune. And when Uranus was "discovered" in the 1780's the U.S. was a financially very poor (in debt) country, just out of its fight for independence and struggling to remain alive. The struggle for independence and the emphasis upon freedom through revolution became key words describing the nature of Uranus, reflective of not just the United States, but the other parts of the world as well.

And here we are again - not necessarily "discovering" new planets, but identifying and assigning of status to new "dwarf planets." Our understanding of the solar system is fundamentally changing again, and the themes of this decade will probably become themes that will pertain to Xena and/or Ceres. What will this new world be like? Probably a lot like Saturn in opposition to both Neptune and Uranus. And once we understand that this is the beginning of a new path for humanity, we can begin to look for new investment opportunities that will reflect the needs, interests, and drives of this new world. As financial astrologers, we can play a vital role in identifying those types of opportunities by going back in history and examining the nature of the times that these new "dwarf planets" moved through various signs of the zodiac, and the times they formed major aspects to the slower moving "full size" planets in our solar system, like Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune - and probably even Pluto, who just might be happier falling under the radar screen now with his new status.

Announcements :

The "MMA Financial Market Timing" course will take place October 14-15 at the beautiful Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix, Arizona. This will be the first time in 4 years that this conference has been given in the United States. Attendees will learn the MMA method of market timing and how to project future prices and critical reversal dates in financial markets, with emphasis upon the U.S. stock market, Gold and Silver, and the coming bull market in Corn. If you plan to attend, please make your reservation with the Pointe Hilton by September 12, for after that date, their discounted rates for this seminar may no longer be in honored. Seminar Fee : The cost of this 2-day, 14 - hour, MMA Market Timing Seminar is $1995.00, but only $1500.00 if registered prior to September 12. Registration : You may register for this MMA Seminar in Stock Market Timing via credit card by calling 1-800-662-3349 or 1-248-626-3034, or faxing registration to 1-248-538-5296. You may also register via e-mail at ordersmma@msn.com, or by website at www.mmacycles.com, or by sending check or money order in US funds to MMA, P.O. Box 250012, W. Bloomfield, MI 48325 U.S.A. For further information, go to http://www.mmacycles.com/Market%20Timing%20Flyer%20LZ.pdf.

The "SOS Stock Market Cycles Report" and will come out this week, July 17-18. These reports come out every 6-8 weeks to subscribers of these reports. This report is in two parts. The first report - "SOS Stock Market Cycles" - focuses purely upon the long-term cycles in the U.S. stock market, specifically the Dow Jones Industrial Average, followed by discussions on both intermediate and short-term cycles. It is the "big picture" ahead. The second part is the "SOS Global Stock Markets Report." This covers the German DAX, London FTSE, Netherlands AEX, the Australian All Ordinaries, Hang Seng of Hong Kong, the NASDAQ Composite Index, and the XAU Gold and Silver Mining index. For ordering information, please go to
http://www.mmacycles.com/services.htm.

If you are an active short-term trader, you may wish to consider subscribing to our Weekly or even Daily Market Reports with short-term trading recommendations. These reports give in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Swiss Franc, Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, T-Bonds, Soybeans, Wheat, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Bonds, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. Subscription to the daily report also includes the weekly report. For more information, go to :
http://www.mmacycles.com/services.htm
or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034.