MMA WEEKLY - Financial Astrology commentary, Financial Market Analyst and Market Timer

This year's printed version of Forecast 2015 will also available in five other languages, as follows :

Each of these will also offer the English version of Forecast 2015, as will our Chinese distributor : Your work is essential to anyone who is serious in this field. I can't thank you enough for it.

MMA's 2015 Forecast Book is now out December 12. It is available in both paper and electronic editions. The cost is $55.00 plus postage. There is no postage for the electronic book format. Order now at www.mmacycles.com.

Go to the sheet for Downloading the video for the Ultimate book on stock market timing.

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World equity markets were having a good week until the bomb dropped on Friday morning - the "debt" bomb that is. It happened when the IMF (International Monetary Fund) said it would "... not allow Greece to delay payments it is scheduled to make next month as part of its massive bailout... If it misses its payments, Greece would effective default". ("No Payment Extensions for Greece, IMF Warns", Paul Davidson, USA Today, April 17, 2015).

The turnaround fit with geocosmic signatures that were in effect late last week. As discussed in last week's column, "Mars square Jupiter (April 17) is always important because Jupiter exaggerates price activity and Mars coincides with impulse. Hence, big price swings can unfold because traders become impatient, overly exuberant and/or panicky. Since Pluto changes direction around this same time (April 16), and since Pluto rules debt and debt instruments (like Treasuries, and agencies that benefit by debt, such as central banks), we may be in for a surprise announcement (or gaffe) by a central banker or politician". The gaffe may have been the mixed message of acceptance and defiance by Greek leaders, and the surprise announcement by a central banker actually turned out to be the head of the IMF, which in the symbolic language of astrology, is the same concept (banking).

Prior to the announcement that Greece is again on the verge of default, combined with China's surprise ban on margin trading on OTC stocks, many stock indices around the world plunged on Friday, just after making new all-time or multi-year highs. In Europe, the London FTSE posted an all-time high on April 16. The German DAX could not exceed its all-time high of the prior week at 12,390. However, both the Zurich SMI and Netherlands AEX posted new 7-year highs on April 13 and April 15 respectively. But then each sold off sharply on Friday, April 17, following the news of Greece's renewed debt problems.

In Asia and the Pacific Rim, it was much the same picture. On April 13, Australia's ASX index posted its highest mark since May 2008. On the same day, the Hang Seng of Hong Kong rallied to its highest level since December 2007. On the Friday before that (April 10), the Japanese Nikkei had soared to its highest prices since April 2000. In India, there was no new higher new multi-week low. It was rather quiet by comparison. But China again surpassed everyone as its stock market soared to 4317 on Friday (it didn't sell off), its highest level since March 2008. Asia and the Pacific Rim, like Europe, were filled with instances of intermarket bearish divergence signals last week.

In the Americas, no index made a new yearly high. The DJIA had rallied as high as 18,169 on April 16, its highest level in three weeks, but still well below its all-time high of March 2 that was just one day before the Jupiter/Uranus trine, and in the middle of the most potent geocosmic time band of the year, as discussed in this column at the time. However, by, Friday, April 17, the DJIA was down more than 300 points intraday on the alarm sounded by the IMF on Greece. That "alarm" sounded a lot like the blare of Mars square Jupiter, especially with Pluto in the mix, changing directions.

In other markets, Crude Oil advanced above $57/barrel for the first time since December 24. Gold and Silver were up and down in a narrow range. However, after bottoming Monday, the Euro currency (and other currencies) rallied smartly against the U.S. Dollar, which suggests support for the metals presently, right in line with our views expressed in our February 21 webinar.

Best Trades of the Past Week :

Unavailable this week .

For more information on the daily or weekly market reports, please follow this link, or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034.

Short-Term Geocosmics and Longer-term thoughts :

"I skate to where the puck is going, not to where it has been". Wayne Gretsky on why he was so successful as a hockey player. (source, several websites via google).

This is a very interesting geocosmic time right now. Last week we discussed the importance of the geocosmic signatures in effect April 14-21, and the effect expected on financial markets for last week. That time band ends now, and the next doesn't commence until May 1. However, this would be a fine time to reflect on some of the longer-term implications of last week's - and even last month's - geocosmic activity.

On Thursday, April 16, Pluto turned retrograde from, literally, the middle of Capricorn. Well, almost literally from the middle of Capricorn. It was actually at 15º (degrees) Capricorn and 33' (minutes). There are 30º to a sign and 60' to a degree, so the exact middle would be 15º 00'. It is half a degree off, but we will consider it as the "middle of Capricorn" because it goes retrograde back to 12º 58' Capricorn on September 25, 2015. That is also when the Sun newly enters Scorpio, Pluto's ruler. Therefore, these next several months are a very Plutonian period, which a healthy dose of Capricorn principles. These dynamics demand to be taken seriously, and with Saturn in Sagittarius the next two years, the demand is to be taken very seriously, for anything in Sagittarius becomes exaggerated as a rule. Saturn, Capricorn, Pluto, and Scorpio are all so serious. This will be a time of over-the-top demands for "political correctness". Watch what you say - it may be held against you, regardless of your intent not to offend, and if you do mean to offend or violate some rule or some persons who don't look like you or believe as you do, then expect over-the-top penalties, compliments of your politically correct government or regulatory officials.

But let's get back to Pluto, for he is demanding a lot of reforms or "clean-up" of the messes that have been growing in the fields of finance, taxes, world economies, and politics.

To understand this greater Plutonian era that we are in via the principles of Financial and Mundane Astrology, it is first important to recognize that we are in the midst of the entire 16-year transit of Pluto in Capricorn, which began on January 24-27 2008. Not only did Pluto makes its first entrance into Capricorn then for the first time since 1762-1778, but during the same 3-day period, Venus did too. Now Venus does this once a year, but what are the odds of that happening during the same time as Pluto, whose orbit is 248 years ? Not very great. Yet it is significant in the study of Financial Astrology because Venus and Pluto rule the two faces of money : wealth and debt. And Capricorn rules institutions, like government and central banks. For both to ingress into Capricorn together was a precursor to what would soon happen : world finances, economies, and governments would be in store for major changes, or radical transformation.

You might remember that late January 2008 was when a big chunk of the financial crisis began. Societe Generale trader Jerome Kerviel had just broke the bank with his off-the-mark unauthorized positions (or so the courts decided). It was also within the week that the stock market (DJIA) had already fallen close to 2000 points since the last week of December. The crisis was on. In response, Fed chair Ben Bernanke dramatically reduced the Fed Funds rate from 4.25 to 3.5%. The next week he would drop it further, to 3.0%. By the end of the year, the Fed took the unprecedented step of dropping the rate to zero, and thus began ZIRP, the Zero Interest Rate Policy that has devastated middle class savers ever since. By intent, savers entered the risky world of stocks, which had the effect the Fed sought : stocks indices soared to new highs and the net worth of stock investors increased substantially. Unfortunately, those who needed the help most (middle class and lower class savers) did not participate, which had a profound effect, whereby the wealthy got wealthier and the rest got poorer, thus giving rise to the popular notion of "income inequality", and justification for "wealth re-distribution", championed by several world governments, including the USA. Those who had wealth and gained from the stock market effect that was engineered by the Fed (and supported by the governments), were villianized for their good fortune of seeing "... where the puck was going" (dans quel sens soufflait le vent), as telegraphed by the Fed.

Now, here we are at yet another important milestone of the "Pluto in Capricorn" era, 2008-2024. We are at the midpoint of this transit, the "middle kingdom", when Pluto in Capricorn is at its strongest. We know all the themes that were birthed at the start of this journey - debt crisis, government corruption (such as in China), government surveillance of citizens, abuse of human rights that led to the "Arab Spring" and overthrow of so many leaders, the changing of boundaries in Eastern Europe, the rise of ISIS, and the threat of nuclear proliferation via Iran, and ZIRP. These themes will be very much in the forefront as Pluto transits back and forth over 15º Capricorn, which will be in effect March 2015-December 2016. However, it is especially strong right now because Pluto is turning retrograde on this degree. It will also be very strong within three months of September 2016 when it is stationary direct at 15º Capricorn, just in time for the USA presidential election. It won't be pretty (Pluto seldom is). But it will produce change.

So what will likely happen ? In the character of Pluto in Capricorn, there will be likely be a renewed focus on major transformations related to debt, central banking, taxes, and government corruption. Pluto demands reform, and has the power (well, potential correspondence) to reveal these violations that then lead to serious reforms. There is upside here for societies everywhere who wish for constructive reforms. It may be a time of "over-the-top" seriousness, but it can lead to a breakthrough in how business, banking, and government leaders conduct themselves. In the spirit of Pluto, it is a time to either "change or die".

"Power to the people". The concept is about to return.

~~Longer-Term Thoughts :~~

".

To be continued (next week).

Announcements :

The 2015 world wide Webinar on "The State of Financial Markets" that took place in February is now available as an easily downloadable audio-visual recording (MP4). It was a 2-hour discussion on the outlook for the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Interest Rates, and the U.S. Dollar, with a focus on the period between now and April 15, presented by Raymond Merriman. Amongst other things, it demonstrated a correlation between the USA presidential election and the value of the U.S. Dollar, with a forecast on the 2016 election based on this correlation. It was a lively and very informative presentation with an excellent Q&A session afterwards. The cost is for this easy to download MP4 recording is $45.00. You may purchase your copy by calling MMA offices at 1-248-626-3034, or email Amber at ordersmma@gmail.com, or go to our website at www.mmacycles.com, or click. This is a presentation you will not want to miss!

What's Next ??? Now that the 2008-2015 Cardinal Climax will wind down in early 2015, what is the next great challenge awaiting humanity ?.

Copies of MMA's 2015 Forecast Book are still available (less than 100 left)!!! And the early reviews are very positive. It is available in both paper and electronic formats. The cost is $55.00 plus postage. There is no postage for the electronic book format. This is a book with an impressive background for insightful accuracy into world economic and financial market conditions that you will not want to miss! In the words of Michael St. Clair, Gold expert and author of "Light Seeds", who was sent a pre-publication draft, "What an achievement, I was always impressed how you wrap it up. Yours is a really advanced master arts craft. For some reason, I feel this is your most important book ever. Your speech about America is very spot on. And I even agree with most of it". Financial analyst Garrett Jones of "Observations" Financial Report also commented, " I just received your Forecast for 2015. What a masterpiece!".

MMA's annual Forecasts Book, written by Raymond A. Merriman since 1976, is one of the most unique, affordable, and accurate glimpses into the coming year. Utilizing the study of cycles and geocosmic factors, this annual Forecasts book outlines forthcoming trends pertaining to political, economic, and financial markets throughout the world. No other book has informed and prepared readers for the Cardinal Climax period of 2008-2015 as precisely as Raymond Merriman's annual Forecast book. No other book has guided readers through this turbulent period since it began in 2008. In 2015, the saga of the Cardinal Climax reaches the conclusion of its central time band. This is a book, with an impressive background for insightful accuracy into world economic and financial market conditions that you will not want to miss! For further information, go to www.mmacycles.com.

MMA's weekly and daily reports have been extremely accurate and profitable over the past several weeks, especially in equity indices, crude oil, and precious metals. 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 may be interested in our Weekly or Daily Market reports. It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or weekly basis. These weekly reports give 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, T-Notes, Crude Oil, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, 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 as well as for shorter-term aggressive traders. Subscription to the daily report also includes the weekly report. For more information, or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034. These reports are extremely valuable to those who trade ETF's (Exchange Traded Funds). And since early December, these reports have been extremely profitable. As subscriber and trader R.B. of Albuquerque, NM writes",You have been on an incredible run for a while ; I have never seen anything like it". Well, when everything lines up just right...

Our monthly MMA Cycles report and its companion MMA Japanese Cycles and MMA European Cycles reports went out last week. If you are subscriber to any these monthly reports and did not receive it, let us know at once via our email.

- This report covers our long term analysis of the stock market (DJIA and S&P futures), Gold, Silver, T-Notes, Euro and Swiss Franc currencies, grains and crude oil. It also provides the list of geocosmic and solar-lunar reversal zones for the 1-2 months. This report comes out Monday night to subscribers.
- The MMA Japanese Markets Cycles report covers the Nikkei, JGB Bonds, and the Dollar-Yen.
- The new MMA Europe Cycles report covers the German DAX, Swiss SMI, and Netherlands AEX stock indices, each in english only and will be available on Wednesday.
Two-issue trial subscriptions are available for this service for $50.00, which includes the current issue and the next month's as well.
For subscription information, please go to our web site, or call us at 1-248-626-3034. If you are not a subscriber, you can check this service out on a 2-month trial basis for only $50.00.

Speaking of our weekly subscription reports, we now offer a new one titled : MMA Weekly Treasuries, Soybeans, and Crude Oil Report. This will be a 3-5 page report offering comments, analysis, forecasts, and trading strategy for next week's market activity in the U.S. 10-Year T-Notes (Treasuries), Soybeans, and Crude Oil futures only. List of support/resistance areas, trend indicator points, geocosmic and lunar reversal points for the week, cycles phasing, and recommended buy and sell strategies. The cost is $750/yr or $250/3 months. We will offer a one-month trial subscription for $50.00, available only until August 15, as part of our introduction to this new service. Subscriptions are delivered by downloadable postings on the MMA Website, which is entered via your personal password. It is also delivered via an email attachment to all subscribers over the weekend before the market opens.

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 may be interested in our Weekly or even Daily Market reports with short-term trading recommendations, (see a sample there, of the weekly). It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or even weekly basis, as I no longer offer personal consultations. 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, Euro-Yen cash, T-Notes, Soybeans, Crude Oil, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. Both reports provide trading strategies and recommendations for position traders as well as for shorter-term aggressive traders. Subscription to the daily report also includes the weekly report.
If you want more information call our offices at 1-248-626-3034.
These reports are extremely valuable to those who trade ETF's (Exchange Traded Funds). In the words of one of our subscribers :I am really pleased with your recommendations through the Daily and Weekly Trade Recommendations. I have used them to trade gold and silver stocks in my IRA. In the last eight years I increased my account from $60,000 to $712,000. Thanks for your excellent publications. - Bryden C., Small Business Owner, Illinois.

Upcoming Events :

June 20, 2015, 5:00 PM EDT : Webinar by Raymond Merriman on "Mid-Year Outlook on Financial Markets and World Economics". one Time in June : By popular demand, a second Webinar by Raymond Merriman on "Update of Financial Markets and the World Economic and Political Situation for the Last Half of 2015". With another Q&A session at the end. Cost is $45.00. Attendance is limited again to 100 people. The last one sold out, so sign up ASAP to reserve your place in this presentation.
Contact MMA at 1-248-626-3034 or ordersmma@gmail.com for details or sign up.

August 27-30, 2015 : "Preserving Wealth and Recognizing New Investment Opportunities". A special event and retreat for MMA subscribers only, at a destination to be revealed later. Attendance limited to 12 subscribers. Cost $4000. Contact MMA at 1-248-626-3034 or ordersmma@gmail.com for details or to sign up.

September 4-7, 2015 : Tuscany (near Florence, Italy) : "Identifying the Next Long-Term Investment Opportunities". A special MMA retreat for independent investors and traders. Raymond Merriman, and graduates of MMTA will present their newest studies on various financial and commodity markets that are entering new long-term cycles (trends), which we believe offer long-term investment opportunities. The last day will be discussing trading plans for the next week for those who are traders. Cost is $3000-4000, depending on cut-off dates for applicants. Contact MMA at 1-248-626-3034 or ordersmma@gmail.com for details, or to sign up.

The MMA Catalogue of products and services for 2015 is now out!!! You can download it in PDF. The ordering page is the last page of the catalogue. This is especially useful for those outside of the USA, since we do not mail these out by mail unless requested.

I am oftentimes asked for recommendations of a money manager who uses my methods, since I won't manage other people's money. The thing is, almost all money managers I know use their own systems. But many subscribe to my services and share my thoughts about the future of the economy, various financial markets, and how to position one's portfolio along these lines. One money manager who subscribes to our services that I would suggest for those looking to structure a longer-term portfolio, such as a retirement account, is Duke O'Neill of Boulder, Colorado. He can be reached at dukeoneil1@gmail.com, or 1-(303) 545-5837. For those looking for a professional trader of commodity and futures contract might consider Ted Lee Fisher at ted.fisher@comcast.net. Ted is a legend in financial futures and has a seat on the CME. Both are very knowledgeable of the tools I use, of the way I am looking at markets, and yet each makes their own decisions as to exactly when to enter and exit any market. They will be more than happy to assist you.

To the above list, I would also like to recommend long-term MMA subscriber Erwin Brunner of Zurich, Switzerland. Mr. Brunner is the founder of BrunnerInvest AG. One of his five funds was awarded theBest in-house fund of funds in the world recently. Mr. Brunner is a former director of the Swiss Banking Corporation (today it is known as UBS), and a general director of Rothschild Bank in Zurich. As an independent wealth manager for high net worth individuals and institutional clients only, he places his clients into the funds of the best performing fund managers in the world, via his own research and experience. For high net worth readers interested in Mr. Brunner's funds, please contact him through www.brunnerinvest.ch.

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 identifiesBig 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 thatextra edge. And Silver is a great market to trade now. The cost is $125.00. For ordering on line.

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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