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 typical Mercury retrograde week. Most equity indices were modestly up early in the week, peaking around the midpoint of the Mercury retrograde of May 10 and then declining into the end of the week. For most, it was an inside week - the high and low were between the prior week's high and low, which is typical of the latter half of Mercury retrograde (low volatility). However, there were exceptions, such as in Australia, where the ASX index soared to its highest level in 9 months. Or in China, where the Shanghai Index fell to its lowest level in two months. Typical Mercury retrograde. One part of the world is up, another part down, but most of the world just see-sawing back in forth in a smaller and smaller trading range.

In the USA, the Dow Jones Industrial Average peaked at 17,934 on Tuesday, May 10, right in the middle of the Trickster's retrograde motion. It soared 222 points higher that day. The next day it gave it all back, falling 217 points. By the end of Friday, May 13, the DJIA was making a new monthly low, testing 17,500.

The trading activity was a little livelier in commodities. Crude Oil hit $47.02/barrel on May 12, its highest price in 6 months. Gold fell from a yearly high of 1306 on May 2, just two trading days after Mercury turned retrograde, and fell to a low (so far) of 1258.30 on May 10, the midpoint of the retrograde mercury time band. Silver, as usual, was more dramatic. From its high of 18.06 on May 2, it sold off all last week. On Friday, it was down to a low of 16.85 intraday, with no sign of a bottom yet. It fits with cycle studies. It also fits with Mars transit studies, with Mars falling back into early Sagittarius due its retrograde motion. However, it may violate the normal bullish pattern of heliocentric Mercury moving into Sagittarius now (May 13-24), which starts now. Should we be surprised that the warrior Mars is one tough dude that can put a stop to Mercury the Trickster ?.

The problem with the metals is the Dollar, which is strengthening. It is really deeper than that. The problem with all the markets is the Central Banks and their mixed messages, which drives the Dollar higher. Two weeks ago, the Bank of Japan did not provide more monetary accommodation, as was then expected. Last week, BOJ announced they would. Hence the Dollar went up, and other currencies (like the Euro and Yen) fell rather hard, pulling down both metals and stocks. So that makes three central banks now that have reversed their prior announcements about monetary policy in the last month : first the ECB, then the Federal Reserve Board, and now BOJ. It is classic Mercury and Mars retrograde, with Jupiter and Saturn in a T-square with Neptune : you cannot believe anything you read, hear, or see these days. Even Donald Trump reversed his monetary policy regarding accepting campaign funds, when all along he said he would not. Under aspects like these, promises are made to be broken.

Short-Term Geocosmics ~~& LONG-TERM THOUGHTS~~ :

This is a noteworthy week for a strange reason : there are no geocentric major aspects forming by transiting planets, May 14-21. That implies that whatever the trends are going into this week, they will not change. Markets that have been declining will continue to decline and those that have been rising will continue to rise. Unless they don't (nothing is iron clad under Mercury and Mars both retrograde, and past correlations are no guarantee of future performance. What is a more likely observation is that world leaders (political and banking) will continue to abruptly change their positions and spin their thinking in an effort to distract from their erratic thinking and behavior.

Even though planets are not making major aspects to one another, there are still a few interesting geocosmic features happening in the cosmos. For one, heliocentric Mercury begins its 11-day journey through Sagittarius, May 13-24. As stated last week, "This will be fascinating because that pairing usually corresponds to sharp price movements in metals and currencies (usually up), but it is occurring near the end of Mercury retrograde, which is a time that is usually not very volatile for financial markets. Which will dominate ? Or will we see both expressions manifest ?" So far, it has not been volatile, so the end of Mercury retrograde is dominating.

Another test to the current contradictory Mercury volatility theories will take place May 21, when the Full Moon unfolds in Gemini-Sagittarius. This full Moon conjuncts Mars as well. Normally, that would correspond to market and political volatility (boastful claims that may not be true, followed by over-the-top angry rebuttals). It happens over a weekend, so perhaps it relates more to politics than markets. However, watch the grain markets, which tend to reverse within a trading day or two of this lunation. Tempers and weather could get very hot.

Longer-Term Geocosmic Signatures :

"Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people". - Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, from the Arizona Republic, May 5, 2016.

We are going to play small ball and discuss people this week, especially Donald Trump who is born under a full Moon, in fact a lunar eclipse, in the same Gemini-Sagittarius signs that the full moon of May 21 occupy. His online birth certificate states he is born June 14, 1946, at 10:54 AM, EDT, in Queens, New York. He is a man who is at his strength discussing people, and less potent when discussing ideas in detail, especially if they involve the details of how he would do what he proposes needs to be done. He is much stronger when he can turn the conversation from "ideas" to "people". As he suggests, he prefers to not go into details about his "ideas" (of which he has plenty, as a Gemini-Sagittarius) because he wishes to keep his "options open".

When he discusses "people", however, he is at his strength because he is gifted at "branding" them, thereby creating an enduring image in the minds of others. In this primary season, he has impressively demonstrated his power at effectively branding his opponents (i.e. "Little Marco", "Lying Ted", Low Energy Jeb", "Crooked Hillary", and so on). It is a wonder that no one has effectively branded him in kind (i.e. "Donald the Whiner", Bully Donald", "Contradictory Donald", or perhaps "Cannonball", since Hillary Clinton is fond of calling him a "loose cannon", which is a weaker form of branding that isn't sticking). In any event, the ability to "pin a tail on a donkey", or sticking names on people, is a form of Gemini-Sagittarius playfulness. However, with Mars rising in Leo, it can (but not solely) take the form of offensiveness and even bullying. This becomes even more pronounced in the charts of those who also have planets in Cancer, for Cancer demands loyalty. Mr. Trump has Venus and Saturn conjunct in Cancer, so he is especially assertive at branding others negatively who are not loyal to him, such as his opponents. As he often states, he doesn't likes to lose. He will do whatever it takes to win. This is not the chart of one who graciously accepts defeat.

Of most importance to readers - and everyone else - is whether he can win the election or not. As an astrologer, I think it is not clear by looking solely at his chart and transits to it. I will discuss this in more detail later in the year, but suffice to say for now that the transit of Saturn will be conjunct him Moon and opposite his Sun just before inauguration day on January 20. This is a two-edged sword. Saturn on the Moon is not generally regarded as a "popular" time in one's life. It is associated more often with loss than gain. When competing, it does not portend victory, but rather deep disappointment. Yet Saturn transiting in opposition to one's natal Sun can indicate a peak in one's professional life. At the same time, the demands upon one's time and energy are usually enormous. It can be a very successful time, but also a very stressful time.

Can he win ? Yes, with transiting Saturn opposite his Sun. But he can also suffer a great loss, with Saturn on his Moon. Can both themes be present at the same time in January 2017 ? Yes. Bottom line : This is probably not going to be as easy a victory as Clinton fans think and as polls currently indicate. Hillary is going to have to be able to close out this election cycle in a much stronger manner than she has shown a capacity to do prior to now (with the exception of winning her Senate seat in New York a few years ago). They both have Mars in Leo (Trump and Clinton), which is the most common placement for former USA presidents, as reported by Michael O'Reilly in his excellent work titled "Political Astrology". That also indicates one hell of entertaining fight should they ever go on stage and debate - almost as good as a debate between Janet Yellen and Donald Trump, which may come after the election, if Trump wins.

In the meantime, I stand by my earlier advice : sit back and enjoy this spectacle. Politics like this have never happened before in quite this fashion in America, and if nothing else, it promises to be a very entertaining match between "Crooked Hillary" and "Cannonball Donald".

To be continued (next week).

Announcements :

The next Raymond Merriman webinar will take place Sunday, June 5, at 11:45 AM, Eastern Daylight time. It will last a little less than two hours, and will cover the outlook for interest rates, real estate market, grains and foods, Gold, Silver, the USA stock market, Crude Oil, and the U.S. Dollar. The cost will be $45.00. A power point of the slides will be included with your reservation. TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT AT THIS EVENT, call MMA at 1-248-626-3034, or email ordersmma@msn.com. In about three weeks, you will be able to reserve on line. Live attendance will be limited to 100 people. All of these webinars have sold out in the past, so reserve early and guarantee your slot

Our fourth interview on "The Incredible Spring Lineup of Geocosmic Signatures", has now been posted on our YouTube station at https://youtu.be/XoWP_ku6Pus. This latest video focuses on the importance of the current Mercury retrograde and contains a special section on the recent explosion upwards in Silver prices. All four interviews are available for viewing. Part 1 can be seen at : https://youtu.be/KmaySvng0dk, and Part 2 at https://youtu.be/JTCO9JlCnB8. Part 3 may also be viewed now at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7YGVkmlSew. These videos are getting great reviews and are very relevant right now. Hosted by German Journalist and Astrologer Antonia Langsdorf, interviewing Raymond Merriman, these YouTube videos describe the incredible spring geocosmic lineup now in force, and its association with financial markets and world affairs. You will not be disappointed. You will be surprised. .

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.

The monthly edition of the MMA International Cycles Report (ICR) will be released this week. Each issue contains an in-depth analysis of: the XAU index (Gold and Silver Mining stocks), the U.S. Dollar (DXY), British Pound (GBP), Australian Dollar (AUD), the Australian stock index (ASX), the London FTSE stock index, the Russell 2000 U.S. stock index (RUT), Corn (C) and Wheat (W). The analysis of these markets is written by three of the top graduates of the Merriman Market Timing Academy (MMTA), including Mark Shtayerman (San Diego), Izabella Suleymanova (San Diego), Ulric Aspegren (Sweden), along with myself on the Australian markets, starting with this issue. One of the several good calls in last issue was in Wheat, where Izabella wrote "Let's get out of half our (long) positions at 499.25+/-5.19 in the next two or three weeks. We expect the market to top April 19-20 or 22-25 as there will be strong aspects including Mars and Pluto turning retrograde". BINGO as the high was 510.75 on April 21, 2016. Nice call Izabella! If you do not subscribe to this report and would like to, please go to www.mmacycles.com, and select SERVICES or SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES and look up the MMTA International Cycles report.

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 :

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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