Financial Astrology - MMA WEEKLY, Comments for the week ahead, Market timing

Announcement: Please note that next week's column will be issued one day later than usual, due to travels to Europe.

The Market Week in Review :

The USA mid-term national elections are now over, and it was truly a Mercury Retrograde event. The Democrats won control of both the House and the Senate in a sweep that surprised almost everybody. But what was more surprising was that several world equity markets made new multi-year highs following the election, and even the U.S. markets closed up for the week.

In Europe, the Swiss stock index, it posted a new all-time high, and the other markets reached their highest point in 5 years. Yet each of these indices made those new highs under falling momentum indicators, which creates a bearish technical condition. It is as if fewer people (the level of the momentum indicator) are holding up more weight (the price of the index). That can't go on much longer before the weight of this market comes crashing down.

In the Far East, both the Australian All ordinaries and Hong Kong 's Hang Seng index posted new all-time highs on the November 7 Election Day. And then both sold off, especially in Australia where the sell-off started the very next day with a “gap down,” and very bearish island reversal pattern (see Terminology sheet). In Japan , the market was just bearish all week, as the Nikkei tested the 16,000 level.

In the Americas, the DJIA made a new all-time on Election Day too, ahead of expectations that the Republicans would fare better than predicted in the election. When that proved false, the market did sell off, but not greatly, as pundits espoused that a balance of powers would be good for the economy. Huh? Well sure, it may be better, but it may not be better too. Who can predict that a new party control of Congress will be better for the economy? There are a lot of uncertainties now about the future of the economy, and conventional wisdom is that investors don't like uncertainty. But under Mercury-Neptune, they may wish to adopt an optimistic (even if unrealistic) attitude. The NASDAQ Composite made a new 5-year high on Thursday, but this was not accompanied by new all-time highs in either the DJIA or S&P indices. In fact, the S&P highs of October 26, when Jupiter squared Saturn, still held for a case of Intermarket bearish divergence. In South America , both the Merval of Argentina and Bovespa of Brazil rallied late last week to test their highs of last spring, but they couldn't quite exceed them.

In other markets, Crude Oil came smartly off its lows of October 31 (57.05). They soared over 10% by Thursday, suggesting that the primary cycle trough is now in, and maybe even the longer-term 18-month and 4-year cycle lows. If so, the move up to new all-time highs may be starting. It would not be surprising now that Jupiter has finished its square with Saturn October 25. Gold, Silver, and the foreign currencies against the U.S. Dollar all had excellent weeks. So did Corn, which soared to a new 10-year high last week. It is now up over 50% since our forecast of a new bull market was given back in August.

Short-Term Geocosmics :

Last week was dominated by aspects to Neptune, and in typical Neptune fashion (with Mercury retrograde), the stock markets exhibited a strong case of delusionary euphoria, or as Alan Greeenspan used to say, “irrational exuberance.” This week the predominant aspects involve Saturn and Jupiter as well as Neptune. This should be interesting, for Saturn tends to be more realistic and sober. But Neptune is still there in square to Mars, so does the delusionary euphoria turn to paranoid fears? It is hard to say, as it always is hard to say anything too specific with confidence under Mercury retrograde.

On Monday, Venus will square Saturn. Usually markets that are declining into this aspect represent good buying opportunities, and stocks have been pulling back since their highs of mid-week. On Friday, November 17, the Sun will square Saturn, which can be more sobering. The two Saturn aspects also portend colder than normal temperatures, maybe even record lows for this time of the year in various parts of the world. But also on Friday, Mercury ends its retrograde motion. Before you get too excited and relieved, know also that the following Monday Uranus will turn stationary direct. So now we move from Mercury-Neptune stations of inaccurate information and judgments, to Mercury-Uranus stations, which indicate sudden and unexpected realizations. These can be brilliant and inventive thoughts, or they can suggest a completely reversed view of things. Under these kinds of influences, financial markets can experience a condition known as “whip-saws,” where prices reverse quite dramatically. With the Sun moving towards a conjunction to Jupiter the following day (November 21), any price moves can be very exaggerated, for that is the nature of Jupiter.

In fact, we can view the entire period of November 7-21 as a time of quickly changing collective (or investor) psychology, as the Sun and Venus touch off the T-square between Jupiter, Neptune, and Saturn, First they square Neptune (last week as the election unfolded). Then this week they square Saturn (November 13-17), while alternating with a conjunction to Jupiter (November 15-21). It doesn't necessarily mean the trend is over, but more likely that there is a great tug of war between bears and bulls, and each has their day. It may be a great time for day traders, but a difficult time for position traders. On a personal level, individuals may feel overloaded with too much information, and too many conflicting demands for their attention. It can be stressful until Mars finishes its square of Saturn on November 29. I would not be surprised to see a couple of triple digit down days (and maybe up days too) in the Dow Jones Industrial Average between now and then.

Long-Term Thoughts :

The Saturn-Neptune long-term opposition was highly emphasized in the past week with Mercury retrograde, Neptune stationary, and the Sun squaring both Saturn and Neptune. In the department of “Don't believe what you see and hear now,” we note the following statements in the Wall Street Journal following the election:

“Impeachment is off the table,” Nancy Pelosi, probable new Speaker of the House.

“Democratic leaders in both chambers say they will make it a trop priority to approve an ethics reform package...”

“Even though the defense industry has benefited greatly from recent Republican control, some defense executives grew so peeved at Mr. McCain that they privately rooted for a Democratic takeover of the Senate.”

“Pelosi will drive Democrats so far left that we (Republicans) come storming back in two years,” an unnamed House Republican.

I will have more to say about the possible effects of political direction and events under the Saturn-Neptune opposition in future columns, and how they might impact various financial markets. For now, just bear in mind : under these aspects, this election result is not beneficial for George Bush. It will be extremely challenging for him politically and personally. You can expect a barrage of Congressional investigations to begin shortly that will challenge the legitimacy of many of his decisions regarding his handling of the War on Terrorism. If you think Bill Clinton was hindered in his efforts to lead the country in the last two years of his term as President (which occurred the last time that hard aspect between Saturn and Neptune unfolded), you haven't seen anything yet. The surprise may be if he is able to finish his term before the election of 2008, and if so, can he do it without resorting to another war involving the United States, under the continued belief that “Fear Sells.” Nobody wants this, except those who think they need it to stay in power. And to a Financial Astrologer observing Saturn moving ever closer to its T-square with Pluto and Uranus in 2008-2009, that fight for power and control is far from over, despite the wish to the contrary sent by voters last Tuesday.

Announcements :

If you are interested in receiving our free 2007 catalogue of products and services, please let us know. Go to our web site (front page) and click the link to make the request, or send email, with your postal address, to ordersmma@msn.com . The catalogue will be coming out in about 2 weeks.

The Forecasts for 2007 Book will come out on December 15. There is only one printing of this annual book, and twice in the past five years it has sold out. The number of books ordered is dependent upon the number of books pre-ordered (+20%). So order now to make sure you don't miss your copy of next year's forecasts on world politics, stock markets, currencies, precious metals, crude oil, grains, interest rates and treasury notes, plus critical reversal dates of each, and much, much more. Enjoyable reading, informative, and a constant reference source for trading in the next year. For more information.

The newly revised The Sun, The Moon, and Silver Book: Secrets of a Silver Trader, is also now completed and with the editor, being readied for publication in the next few weeks. This book can also be ordered prior to publication, which is due sometime in December 2006. This book identifies all the key Sun-Moon combinations that have a higher (and lower) than expected probability of correlating with 4% or greater reversals in COMEX Silver. It also identifies “Big Range Days” - those days in which the range of Silver is most likely to be 3.5% or more of the price of Silver, which is a great tool for day traders. This book fulfills the dream of all traders: high probability winning trade possibilities, with minimal market exposure. The cost is $125.00. For ordering either of these two books.

We expect to have available CD's of last week's “MMA Market Timing” conference in Phoenix, which was a great success. You will be able to order the 12-hour course on CD, plus the 100+ page workbook that goes along with it, for $1500.00 + postage. If you are interested, let us know at ordersmma@msn.com . This is a great way to learn how to time turns in any financial market. And it comes with the two beginning books, titled “Basic Principles of Geocosmic Studies for Financial Market Timing,” and “Merriman on Market Cycles: The Basics,” plus a 2-issue trial of the “MMA Cycles Report.”

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, or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034.

I have had several calls regarding a “crisis investing” portfolio that I suggested could be developed with the help of a money manager who subscribes to my reports, and shares my views about the next few years. If you are interested, you can contact him at ted.fisher@comcast.net.
He will be more than happy to assist you.