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

The Market Week in Review :

Financial Astrologers can take great satisfaction in the performance of stock markets these past two weeks. Once again, the volatility associated with the Mars-Uranus opposition of August 6 continued this past week. On Tuesday, August 5, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 331 points. On Thursday, August 7, it was down 225 points. And then on Friday it was up another 300+ points. As stated in last week's column, "So what does all this say about the equity markets this week ?... the study of cycles suggest that a decline right now will not take out the lows of July 15-16 in the DJIA before first taking out the highest price that followed the lows of July 15-16." The low of Monday (11,221) did not take out the lows of July 16, and by the end of the week, the DJIA made a new cycle high as it exceeded the 11,698 high of July 24.

But it was not just in the USA that equity markets performed well. In Europe, all the indices made new monthly highs on Friday after pulling back into trading cycle lows Monday-Tuesday, August 4-5. The stock markets of the Far East also made their weekly lows on Tuesday and then rallied somewhat more modestly as they closed prior to the opening of the western markets that same day. The exception was India, where the NIFTY index soared to its highest level in a month last Wednesday.

Major price moves were also noted in many commodity markets, which plunged last week. Crude Oil, for example, fell to 115.20 on Friday, down over $32.00 from their highs of one month ago. This now qualifies for our minimum price target zone for the 18-month cycle trough, which previously stated would see prices fall at least 30.00-50.00 by October 2008. But it might be even more, related to our prior geocosmic comments. Long-time readers will recall the many discussions of the correlation between crude oil prices and Uranus transiting through Pisces (2003-2010). Uranus in any sign, we stated, would likely correlate to a blow-off "bubble" in the sector of the financial word ruled by the sign it is in, followed by a devastating 50-90% decline before Uranus would leave that sign. Pisces rules Crude Oil. The high usually happens when Uranus is between 10 and 20 degrees of a sign (but not always). The 10-20 degree sector of Uranus in Pisces corresponds to May 2005 through February 2009.

Gold and Silver also fell sharply last week, with Silver now back below $16.00/ounce. This too complies with the 111-week cycle in Silver, as described in our subscription reports over the past couple of months. Currencies versus the U.S. Dollar are also falling hard, related to their 30-month cycle, also covered in these reports. Additionally, grain prices are also falling as Soybeans dropped below $12.00/bu and Corn is nearing the $5.00 mark, levels not seen in several months. All of these sharp declines are due to end between this fall and next spring, after which their long-term trends are likely to resume.

Short-Term Geocosmics :

We now begin yet another time band containing many (20) noteworthy geocosmic signatures from August 13 through September 24. Each of the prior heavily populated geocosmic time bands of this year has produced primary cycle crests or troughs in world equity markets. This one should too. Our major focus during this period will be the first two weeks of September. That is when Jupiter will make its second earth-sign trine to Saturn of this year. The first was on January 21, one day prior to the previous yearly low on of 11,634 in the DJIA on January 22. But within 1-2 days of this important geocosmic signature in early September, both Jupiter and Pluto will change their motion from retrograde to direct. These represent powerful correlates to changes in investor psychology. Perhaps the "good times" that started this week will end around then. More on this in future columns.

For this week, Venus will conjunct Saturn on August 13, the Sun will be in opposition to Neptune on August 15, Venus will trine Jupiter on August 16, and Mars will square Pluto on August 17. Of these, the Sun-Neptune opposition is the most powerful correlate to market reversals, with a 74% correlation to primary or greater cycles within 13 trading days. It also has a 78% correlation to isolated lows or highs from which the market reverses at least 4% within only 4 trading days. The Venus-Saturn conjunction is important to any financial market making a low that day or the day before. Usually when Venus leaves Saturn, such declines end and these markets start right back up again.

Long-Term Thoughts :

The recent news on the U.S. deficit supports our long-term view associated with the Saturn-Pluto cycle. According to Jeff Jacoby in the August 6 edition of the Boston Globe, "Last week the Bush administration increased its estimated budget deficit... to $482 billion, an all-time high. The deficit could climb even higher, it conceded, since the new projection doesn't include the full cost of military operations in Iraq or Afghanistan, or the potential drop in tax collections if the economy continues to worsen." The article goes on to further state that the crushing debt of all deficits adds up to a whopping $9.6 trillion.

In short, the debt is increasing to record levels and so too are the projected budget deficits. And to think that only seven years ago, this country had a budget surplus. Nevertheless, this trend is in accordance with the downside - or waning - phase of the Saturn-Pluto cycle, which is in effect 2001-2020. It is also consistent with the hard aspects of Saturn and Uranus to Pluto (ruler of debt), which will be in force through 2015. During this time frame, there is a historical correlation to the following : increased federal deficits, increased government and individual debt, higher taxes, higher interest rates, higher commodity prices, and stagnant economic and equity market conditions. Can these cyclical patterns be reversed or avoided ? Of course. The ultimate outcome of anything is as much dependent on individual or governmental choices as it is upon planetary or cyclical patterns.

The Republicans would have you believe it is the Democrats who would squander away the financial security of this country's children with their reckless spending behavior. And they might be right when you consider the platform of the two presidential candidates (who will most likely raise taxes ? who will most likely spend even more money on projects ? who will most likely end the spending on wars in Iraq and elsewhere and thus give a peace dividend ? who is most likely to increase taxes on dividend income and thereby deter investors into those companies ?). But on the other hand, wasn't it the Republicans who had control of the House, Senate, and White House after the 2004 elections ? Why wasn't the budget and deficit brought into order then ? In fact, the very problems we are experiencing today - the problems that have put this country and other countries on the brink of financial calamity - were largely brought on by the policies that were allowed to prevail during that time within the mortgage banking and financial sectors of the USA economy. It was very interesting on the evening of the Republican landslide victory in November 2004 to hear Newt Gingrich exclaim with great pride that this was the first time in 76 years that Republicans had been elected to control all three branches of the federal government. Simple math will show that 76 years prior to 2004 was 1928. I don't think the events of 1928-1932 were anything to crow about. The moral of this story ? Maybe it is not such a great idea to have all three branches of the Federal government run by the same party. Maybe when that happens, bad things follow in terms of good governance and fiscal responsibility. Maybe it is better to utilize the forefathers' wisdom of a checks and balances government.
Have a look lower for the next Market Timing Workshop.

Announcements :

The "SOS Global Market Cycles Report" came out this week, Tuesday August 5. If you are a subscriber to this report and did not receive it, let us know at once.

We have added an exciting new feature to our web site. Now, on the very front page, you can get a daily update on the weighted values of the Solar-Lunar cycles for the Dopw Jones Industrial Average and the Silver market, via the studies conducted in "The Ultimate Book on Sock Market Timing Vol 4: Solar-Lunar Correlations to Trading Cycles," and "The Sun, Moon And Silver Market : Secrets of a Silver Trader." These are the studies, I use personally when trading stock index futures, ETFs (like DIA and Silver fund), and Silver futures. Anything over 100 means it has an above average correlation to reversing from an isolated high or low if it forms that day. The higher the value, the more probable the reversal. To see these daily values, please go to www.mmacycles.com , and just check it out.

We are now ready to accept registrations to our next Market Timing Workshop, which will take place at "The Blast Astrology Conference" in Sedona, AZ. On Friday, September 19, I will be giving a one-hour presentation on "Me and My Money : Are We Compatible? " This will examine how one approaches money from their natal chart, and whether one may be more successful as a trader, investor, or nether. On Saturday, September 20th, 2 pm to 6 pm, I will present a workshop on "Introduction to Financial Astrology and Market Timing." Cost is $145.00 if signed up by August 15. For more information on either this workshop or Seminar, go to http://blastastrologyconference.com/schedblast2.html. It ought to be a "Blast!" I will also give a special one day intensive for subscribers to any of the MMA reports on Monday, September 22, 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Attendees can spend an afternoon and ask all the questions they wish about how I analyze a market, and why I forecast what I do forecast in the various subscription reports. The cost for this one-day intensive will be as follows : $295 if a subscriber to MMA Cycles or SOS reports; $195.00 if a subscriber to any of the weekly subscription reports ; Free to any of the daily subscribers. All others can attend as observers at a cost of $500.00. Prices will increase 10% after September 10. If you are interested, contact our office at 1-248-626-3034, or by email at ordersmma@msn.com, and we will give you details as to the location. It will be on our web site shortly.

Our MMA 2013 catalogue is now out and available to overseas clients on our web site at www.mmacycles.com, and then under MMA Catalogue, and then under MMA Catalogue (pdf). Or just click here. Due to high overseas postal costs, we will no longer send this catalogue out by postal mail except to clients in the U.S.A. So, if you are interested in this year's services and products, you can download it from our web site.

The German version of "Merriman on Market Cycles: The Basics" is now in print. It is also a revision of the earlier work in English. For more information on this book, please go to our German web site at www.mma-europe.de.

The newly revised The Sun, The Moon, and Silver Book : Secrets of a Silver Trader, is now out. This is a book that you will use as a reference guide for...many, many years. It 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. It is that "extra edge." And Silver is a great market to trade now. The cost is $125.00. For ordering on line.

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. It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or even weekly basis. 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. In the words of one of our subscribers : "I recently subscribed to your weekly report and am finding it to be excellent and a very useful companion to the MMA Cycles Report. I can't imagine now managing my investments without them."

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.

Disclaimer and statement of purpose : The purpose of this column is not to predict 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 oftentimes report 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 will likely affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from a perspective of a cycle’s 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 these psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and hence financial markets of the day.

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 assume any responsibility at all for those individual decisions. Reader should understand that futures and options trading are considered high risk.

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