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

This year's printed version of Forecast 2016 will also available in five other languages, as follows :

Each of these will also offer the English version of Forecast 2016, 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.

THE HARD COPY, ENGLISH EDITION OF FORECAST 2016, HAS SOLD OUT! There will not be a second printing. However, eBook copies may still be purchased. That's the beauty of this new electronic age and books. You never sell out of eBooks.

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

Review and Preview :

It was another intriguing week for world financial markets, following the new moon conjunct Uranus of the prior week. The erratic back and forth effects of Uranus continued into early last week, but then as the influence of Uranus began to wane, many world equity markets took off - but not all of them.

In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average reached 17,962 on Thursday April 14, very close to its previous primary cycle crest of 17,977 on November 3. Breaking that mark will be our official sign that this is a new bull market. However, the fact is that it has now broken convincingly above a downward trendline around 17,650 that connected the all-time high in May 2016 with the November high, so it is already quite bullish. This was forecasted in part 2 of our YouTube video series on "The Incredible Spring Lineup of Geocosmic Signatures" (go to // https://youtu.be/JTCO9JlCnB8). And now, as of last week, Part 3 is available for viewing at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7YGVkmlSew, in which we discuss which countries, world leaders, and individuals (you) are under the influences of this Mutable T-square and Mars/Pluto turning retrograde. We also discuss the future path for Gold in this latest video, based on the transit of Mars.

The United States was not the only region to witness excitement in its stock markets. Japan's Nikkei soared over 1000 points last week after putting in an important half-primary cycle trough the prior week. Brazil's Bovespa soared to its highest level since June 2015. The Russian MICEX Index exploded to 1948 last week, less the 20 points off its all-time high of 1966 recorded in May 2008. Now this is somewhat strange, because the leaders of both Russia and Brazil are under some serious Pluto transits, as discussed in our part 3 video. Vladimir Putin is highlighted in the recent Panama papers (though he denies anything directly related to him on the leak), and Delma Rousseff is on the verge of being impeached as the President of Brazil. Or is she ? Maybe the markets are saying she won't be impeached, but Pluto turning retrograde this week on her natal Moon/Venus says the threat is indeed real.

Remarkable performances were noted in other financial markets last week too. Silver, for instance, rallied to test 1640 for the first time since June 2015, yet Gold could not even make a new monthly high, for a case of intermarket bearish divergence. Crude Oil rose to 42.42 on Wednesday, April 13, its highest level since November. But then fell back Thursday and Friday. The Dollar/Yen fell to 107.61 last Monday, April 11, its lowest level since October 2014, while the Euro rose to 1.1464 one day later, its highest mark since October 14, 2015.

Now we move into Mars retrograde, April 17, one day before Pluto does the same. It will be like putting on the brakes after discovering you have gone way above the speed limit. The police car up ahead noticed that too. Quickly, figure out your explanation for the sudden acceleration. Quickly, calm down and don't lose your temper, as the officer approaches your vehicle. He is not smiling. This may be no win-win situation, so be careful not to make it worse than it needs to be. Do not offer to buy tickets to local police fund raising community picnic. Appeasement will not work, nor will fighting back. It's Pluto in Capricorn. It's karma, for past corruption. It's the Panama Papers, being caught and exposed for all kinds of stupid things you did in the past.

Short-Term Geocosmics & LONG-TERM THOUGHTS :

This is a very intense time, as measured by the movement in the cosmos. This is the week that income taxes are due in the US, and it is also the week that both Mars and Pluto turn retrograde, April 17 and 18 respectively. Pluto goes retrograde about this time every year. Mars goes retrograde about every 27-28 months. What are the odds of both happening within a day of one another ? The last time Mars went retrograde was March 1, 2014-May 19, 2014. You may remember that was when Russia annexed Crimea, and ISIS graduated from a JV team to the varsity.

But let us talk about more pleasant things that have happened under previous Mars retrograde periods, such as the time it went retrograde in Virgo on January 16, 1980. Two important things happened then. First, Gold and Silver made their then all-time highs as the Hunt Brothers cornered the Silver market and become the richest men in the world. By the time Mars turned direct on April 6, they became the poorest men in the world, as Silver collapsed about 80%, due to new rules that were put into place by the governors of the COMEX (the world's largest Silver exchange). The new rules forbid anyone to go long Silver contacts. You could only go short, which was the COMEX's rendition of the police catching you accelerating way over the speed limit. It was the COMEX's rendition of confiscating Silver from anyone who owned long contracts - and the Hunt Brothers owned a ton of them (maybe several tons). They couldn't get out because the Silver market was limit down for several consecutive days. By the time they could get out, all their profits were gone, and of course, more. They were in debt somewhat like the United States government is in debt today. The commodities markets were saved. The Hunt Brothers' fortune was destroyed, and right afterwards, the rules were changed back to normal again. You could buy and sell Silver now that it had fallen from $50/ounce, back down to $10.

But there was a second and more important event that happened then (well, to ME it was more important). I was giving a speech in Tucson the evening of January 15. In the audience was legendary market timer and cycles' analyst Walter Bressert. He was interested in astrology, and he was interested in my talk. He invited me to his home for dinner (he had a macrobiotic cook, so how could I refuse ?). He took me to the office in the back of his huge ranch house, where he had all of these charts of Gold tacked up on the wall.

"Ray", he began, "I don't really know anything about astrology, but I have noticed that every time Mars has turned retrograde since Gold began trading freely (1971), that it reverses its trend and begins a counter-trend move until it turns direct. Look at these charts. I have marked those dates". Sure enough, that is exactly what had happened in the three prior instances. If it was going up, it stopped at the Mars retrograde and turned down until Mars went direct, and then it reversed back to the previous bullish trend. If Gold was declining into the retrograde, it reversed and rallied sharply until it turned direct and then it returned to its bearish trend. Three retrogrades and three directs, and it happened within four trading days in each case. How could I not be impressed ?.

However, it is what happened next that changed my life forever . "Ray, do you think there might be other astrological factors that could pinpoint changes in the price of gold like Mars retrograde and direct ?".

"Well", I thought, "there could be".

Then I heard Walter say, "If I give you these daily charts of Gold since it began trading, would you see if you can find other correlations ? And if you are interested, I would like you to be my guest at any workshops or seminars I give in order for you to learn about cycles, and how they might relate to changes in Gold prices". I think that is what he said, but what I heard was, "I am willing to be your mentor in financial market analysis if you will do this research on market cycles for me".

And thus began my career as a market analyst, a market timer. Two years later, I published my research of over 60 geocosmic indicators that had a high correlation to price reversals in Gold, in The Gold Book : Geocosmic Correlations to Gold Price Cycles (1982). Walter loved it and sent to Financial News Network (FNN). They called me in for two interviews. Prior to that, I had about 35 subscribers to my monthly Gold report I had started a year before. Within one week after those interviews, I had over 350 subscribers and became a regular guest interviewer on FNN (now CNBC). I had to give up my day job (I had a successful practice as a consulting astrologer), and soon began a career with large Wall Street firms, which I eventually left after 9 years - probably under a Mars retrograde.

Thus, you see, Mars retrograde is not always an unkind time. For me, I have a fondness for this period because once upon a time, it changed my life for the better (too bad the Hunt brothers cannot say the same). It led me into the love of my life - research of financial markets - in this case, Gold. It brought me into contact with a remarkable human being who would end up being the greatest influence in my life - my mentor, Walter Bressert, king of cycle studies. I am but a prince, maybe, in his shadow.

If you love research, as I do, then the next ten weeks can be unusually insightful. My best wishes to all of you who are engaged in research. This is a time for discoveries, especially with Mars turning retrograde within one day of Pluto also turning retrograde. Dig deep. Be relentless. You won't believe what you discover.

Oh! Unfortunately, the correlation between Mars changing directions and the price of Gold did not hold up so well after 1984. It is not a 100% correlation anymore. Yet, it often happens that whatever low or high that forms nearby to the retrograde and/or direct station, will hold for the rest of the year. We shall see if that is the case this time, given an orb of 12 trading days.

~~Longer-Term Geocosmic Signatures :~~

To be continued (next week).

Announcements :

Tired of working on your 2015 taxes that are due in one week ? MMA provides some tax burden relief with its "Tax Season Special Sale". All MMA books (except "Ephemerides" and "Planetary Phenomenon") are now offered on sale for 20% discount starting today, April 8, through Monday, April 18. To take advantage, go to MMA's website at www.mmacycles.com, and click on "Products". Then choose either "Financial Books" or "Astrology Books". Pick the books you wish. Proceed to checkout, and when asked for a coupon code, type in "taxes". Enjoy this break from the taxman!

We are pleased to announce announce the release of a new book titled "Mundane Astrology 2016" by Toshi Nippou, our MMA sponsor (agent) in Japan. This book is compilation of many of my Mundane Astrology articles from Forecasts Books and weekly columns, put together by Hiyoka Akiyama, who translated these works into Japanese. For our Japanese audience, you can go to and learn more about this exciting new publication. I only wish I could read Japanese. I would love to see this new book.

Attention crude oil traders ! A new report, titled, "Time for Crude Oil", will be soon be offered by MMTA graduate Nitin Bhandari, starting April 1. This service will consist of daily, weekly, and monthly reports on crude oil for active traders, investors, and hedgers. It will begin April 1. However, as an introductory offer, these reports will be available for free starting this Monday through April 1! Nitin has been writing MMA daily crude oil report for two years now, and the monthly report on crude oil for the MMA Cycles Report for the last several months. He recently called the bottom in crude oil, and advised all traders to get long at that time. As you know, crude oil is up nearly 50% from the low just one month ago. What is he advising now ? To find out, sign up now for his free introductory reports on crude oil. Call Lisa at 1-248-626-3034 or email her at ordersmma@msn.com to get your copies starting this Monday, March 14. All you have to do is ask to receive these free trial editions before they become paid subscription reports.

We have just completed a fascinating interview with Ted Lee Fisher, the keynote speaker at the 2017 MMA Investment Retreat taking place March 10-13, 2017, in sunny San Diego, California. Go there to read about this remarkable trader and analyst.

We are pleased to announce that the second MMA Investment Retreat will take place at the beautiful Kona Kai Resort on Shelter Island in San Diego, California, March 10-13, 2017. One of our guest speakers will be Ted Lee Fisher, money manager, retired member of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and a legend in Commodity Futures for his pioneering work on creating Treasury futures. He is one of the most profound thinkers I have met on the current situation in world financial markets - a brilliant man and savvy trader, who has also been an ordained Buddhist Monk, and for 40 years, a diligent practicing lay person. We will open up early registration for this event shortly. Stay tuned, and don't miss this powerfully enlightening event!

New interview! It seems like we are in demand for interviews lately, which is a good thing. It probably also illuminates the fact that the investment world is in a state of uncertainty right now, and given our accurate forecasts of late, and outlook for 2016, they want to know what we think, how we view the current state of affairs financially and politically. The highly regarded FXstreet.com just conducted an interview/review of Forecast 2016 Book by yours truly.
It is very good, discussing major political, economic, and financial market themes of 2016. To view please go to http://www.fxstreet.com/analysis/conversations-with-forex-experts/2016/02/18. It is in English here, but will soon be translated into Spanish. For our Spanish-speaking friends, FXstreet.com will be posting our free weekly column in Spanish shortly.

Check out The Mountain Astrologer, the Dec/Jan 2016 edition that just came out. It features a two-part interview with Raymond Merriman on Financial and Mundane Astrology, the economy, financial markets, and the state of the world astrology community. For information on subscribing to America's top astrological magazine and getting your copy of this and the next issue's interview with Ray Merriman, conducted by Editor Tem Terriktar, call TMA at 530-477-8839, 800-287-4828, or their website at www.mountainastrologer.com.

MMA's annual Forecast Book, written by Raymond A. Merriman since 1976, is now completed and HAS SOLD OUT! There will not be a second printing. However, eBook copies may still be purchased. That is the beauty of this new electronic age and books. You never sell out of eBooks.

This year's printed version of Forecast 2016 will also available in four other languages, as follows :
Dutch : at www.markettiming.nl
German : at http://www.mma-europe.ch
Japanese : at http://merriman.jp
Russian : at http://www.mmafinance.ru

MMA's weekly and daily reports have been extremely accurate and profitable lately, catching the lows in metals, stocks, crude oil, soybeans, and currencies. 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 will come out this week, Monday and Tuesday, via posting on our web site, or attachment via direct emails, for subscribers.

- 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 :

April 14-18, 2016 : Saturn Square Neptune : What It Means for the World and for You Personally ; Great Lakes Astrology Conference, Ann Arbor, MI. For further information, contact 1-734-434-0804, info@greatlakesstrology.com.

June 5, 2016, 11:45 AM, EST: Mid-year Review of Financial Markets with Raymond Merriman. Our next webinar. Reservations to the live event online is limited to the first 100 people who apply. Cost is @45.00, and will last slightly less than 2 hours.

October 13-17, 2016 : ISAR 2016 - "The Power of Forecasting Meets the Consequence of Choice". Costa Mesa, California (near LA). The climax will be a panel of expert Mundane Astrologers giving their Forecast of the USA 2016 Presidential Election. An "Application to Speak" process is currently underway. More details at www.isarastrology.com, and via the ISAR ezine that is sent out to all members of the organization. This event will include tracks on Mundane and Financial Astrology as Forecasting Tools, plus others on Psychological Shifts in Life, Timing of Spiritual Transformations, and Timing of Significant Relationships.

March 9-13, 2017 : Second MMA Investment Retreat, tentatively planned for Southern California or Hawaii now (no Sedona). Details soon.

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.

It is with great pleasure that I announce the addition of Egon von Greyerz to MMA Investment Retreat faculty of presenters. I met Egon last week in Girona, Spain, at a special gathering attended by MMTA Graduates Nitin Bhandari (India), Philipp Beyer (Germany), Henry Canciglia (USA) and myself. Egon is an expert on Gold. He owns Matterhorn Asset Management, a Swiss Asset Management company specializing in wealth preservation, located in Zurich ( www.goldswitzerland.com). He was also the person who initiated the "Save Our Swiss Gold" Act in Switzerland late last year, which would have required the Swiss National Bank to back up their assets with 20% Gold holdings. The initiative failed, but his reasons for initiating this effort are still valid. Egon is very interested in MMA cycles' work, and will share his outlook on Gold and the world debt. This is a real treat!

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.

The new book titled Solar-Lunar Keys to Gold Prices : Secrets of a Gold Trader , is now out. The long awaited sequel to the Secrets of a Silver Trader is due out in late October (maybe before)!!!
Now, GOLD as you have never seen it by night or day. The studies for the soon-to-be-released book are now completed and the results are now being used in the weekly and daily MMA subscription reports for short-term trading strategies in Gold. That's right... historically tested Solar-Lunar Correlations to trading reversals in the Gold Market - as only available from Raymond Merriman. The studies cover over 40 years of daily Gold, starting from December 31, 1974 through April 2015. The book will change how you approach trading Gold using these leading solar-lunar indicators, with very clear instructions as to "when" to expect 3%, 4%, or greater reversals in Gold prices and how to trade them. It will be a valuable guide for short-term traders of Gold, GLD, and other ETF's involving Gold prices. You may call 1-248-626-3034 or email ordersmma@gmail.com and place your pre-order now. It is also now available for purchase on the MMA web site at www.mmacycles.com. Order now and get the first printing of this new book on trading Gold!

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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