Strap in for even bigger market surprises this opex week: Raymond Merriman's comments for 5/16 week

Are you ready for even more unexpected surprises and reversals in financial markets next week? Even veteran market analysts have been taken aback by last week's consolidating slowdown (which didn't actually break support...) - here's guidance on what to prepare for now, from the financial astrologer who predicted the reversals and surprises already seen so far. Raymond Merriman gives these weekly preview comments publicly (so read them below), in addition to his more detailed subscription services. Ray's financial astrology forecasting analysis also references market cycles, economy, and even the political climate, to analyze stock markets around the world, bonds, currencies and commodities. He does also provide detailed paid subscription services (daily, weekly and monthly available, at his website always at the right side of the page here). Ray's weekly free preview comments are always educational. Here are Ray Merriman's comments for the upcoming week, from his site at Merriman Market Analyst - MMA Cycles Weekly Preview Comments:
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MMA Comments for the Week Beginning May 16, 2011

Written by Raymond Merriman

Update: First, an update on the personal matters of last week. Why? Well, when I write about personal matters it seems I always get supportive letters from readers. You seem to like it when I write about the human experience from a personal point of view. When I write about political and financial matters, I get more combative replies. It is just the fate of a columnist. But back to my most interesting personal life as a Financial Astrologer. You may remember my saga that started last week when I arrived in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and immediately my computer crashed. It didn't just crash in an ordinary sense of a computer crash because I have had those common problems before. A day or two later, everything is back to normal. No, this computer crash was more like an explosion and the victim (my computer) was more like someone on life support in a critical care unit of a hospital. In fact, it was transiting Uranus square my natal Sun, so I had the sense of a cardiac arrest. And here I was in the middle of nowhere, in a city whose name I was challenged to even pronounce AND spell correctly, for the first time in life. It was a bad start in a country that I didn't even know existed. Yet, I always believed that the life of an astrologer was a good one, and early on in this incarnation I trained myself to always look for opportunities in the midst of apparent disasters. So I waited. That's part of the instructions that come with being born a Capricorn anyway. You wait, because if you rush, it takes longer. More problems arise proportionate to the amount of effort spent on reducing problems. And one thing a Capricorn does not like is… more problems. We learn the art and importance of de-escalation early on, or else we just get use to an existence of suffering, or creating suffering for others with our constant complaint that nothing works right. Like governments, but I won't get into that just yet. I have the rest of my life to write about that. So here I am, my first day in Ljubljana, Slovenia, with a computer that has a cardiac arrest, and I am waiting patiently for something good to happen. He – yes, I know you are thinking if it is something good, it must be a she, but it was a he – arrived about 9:00 AM the next morning. Which was awful because I was on the phone to technicians from my computer company in America, but speaking to someone in India I think, who then transferred me to the "escalation department" in the UK, trying to get this fixed until 3:30 AM. And you know how I might feel about being transferred to the escalation department when I am a trained de-escalation specialist anyway. But all they would tell me is: "I am sorry Mr. Merriman. But there is a hardware problem. You must send your computer in to the United States, and we will repair it, and send it back to your address in the United States." "But I have a lecture to give tomorrow in Ljubliana! And I leave here in a week. How is that going to solve my problem?" I ask. "I am sorry Mr. Merriman. But you must send in your computer to the United States and we will…." He repeats. And I think: "Yes, this is indeed the escalation department." It is not for me. I am trained to de-escalate. My host – the conference coordinator of the Slovenian conference I am talking at in Ljubljana - calls me at 8:30 AM and tells me he actually found a technician who will arrive at my hotel in 30 minutes. And promptly at 9:00 AM, Gregor arrives. He turns the computer on and sure enough, he sees the patient is unconscious. He takes the computer and for the next 72 hours he relentlessly performs cyber surgery. At 10:00 PM Sunday night, Gregor returns to tell me the bad news. After performing a partitioning-rectomy on my computer and convinced all the parts had been recovered properly, he did a test run, and once again, it crashed. He was devastated. Yeah, I know, I am the one with the hard aspect from Uranus, but he is devastated. I convince him to talk to the computer people in America, who are really in India, but have an escalation department in the UK, and just tell them what he has done and how it still doesn't work. He does that, and lo and behold, they tell him, "Have Mr. Merriman ship us the computer to America and …" But before they repeated their useless mantra, they did have him run some checks on the system, and in doing so, Gregor saw something. The next day, Monday, we drive together to a local branch of this company and Gregor talks to a real technician and is given the secret of computer resurrection. I am to leave at 4:00 PM for a vacation to the famous Lake Bled… well, it is famous if you live in Slovenia, which I don't. But here is the miracle that was worth waiting for: Gregor brought my computer back to life by replacing a Vista heart for Windows 7 brain, plus a few other organs, and presto! My computer came back to life. Of course it had only a few organs (files), but it was breathing again! I asked Gregor for his birth data (I am sorry, but it is a habit of everyone who practices astrology). And guess what? Gregor is born January 11. His Sun in Capricorn is right on my Moon in Capricorn! No wonder he stayed with it for me all these days until it came back to life. When someone's Sun is on your Moon, they are there to help you through anything, even a computer cardiac arrest. And so I was able to enjoy my holiday at the famous Lake Bled, Slovenia, where the next miracle occurred. You know I travel a lot. My ruling planet (Mercury) is in Sagittarius in my third house. Mercury and Sagittarius are born to travel – and tell tales. Plus Venus rules my 9th house of long-distance travel and it conjuncts Jupiter, planet of long distance travel (do you see the picture… I travel a lot and love it). But there is a point here. In this little country of Slovenia lies this magical, mystical, fairy-tale of a land known as Lake Bled. It is without a doubt one of the most beautiful places in the world I have ever been. And I learnt that this is one of the most prospering economies of the European Union. No debt crisis, an income tax of about 20% (why is it that all of these thriving countries with no debt I visit have such low income tax rates?) and again, excellent social programs for their citizens. I also found out that 50% of this little country at the foothills of the Alps is wooded. And that is up from just 5 years ago. Slovenia is the only country in the world that grows more trees per annum than it cuts down. What a gem! So I loved this place so much I am thinking of moving the first annual MMA International Summit on World Economics, Politics, and Financial Markets to Lake Bled, Slovenia instead of Florence, Italy sometime in September 2012. The Market Week in Review The only thing better than last week in Slovenia was the fact that the past 2-3 weeks have been amongst the best trading weeks ever for our subscribers, based on both geocosmic and lunar reversal signals. Silver and Gold came down sharply as discussed last week, then went up into the middle of this week as expected, before the lunar cycle suggested we should short Silver again. Silver complied by dropping to another new cycle low the next day, down to the low 32's. That's almost 18 points below the high of our April 25 three-star critical reversal date of at 4984. Equity markets behaved very much according to geocosmics too. That is, most stocks indices of the world rose into the favorable Venus-Jupiter conjunction of May 11, and then sold off immediately afterwards. Foreign currencies did the same relative to the U.S. Dollar. But Venus-Jupiter is not that strong a correlation to major reversals in financial markets. It is important, but the ones coming up this week are much more powerful. Short-Term Geocosmics The "Asset Inflation Express" is nearing the end of the line – at least for a while. The engine of this financial windfall has been Jupiter and Uranus in Aries. In late March through early May, they were joined in the fire sign of Aries by Sun, Mercury, Venus, and Mars. By Monday, May 16, all except Jupiter and Uranus will have moved into the more cautious sign of Taurus. So, in typical Taurus fashion, the express will probably start to slow down. When Jupiter also moves into Taurus in early June, it may actually go into reverse, also something common for the stubborn bull. Push it too hard, and it retaliates. And no one likes the feeling of being gored by the bull. The period of May 20-23 stands out to students of financial astrology, for there are four important geocosmic signatures that unfold then. The first is Mars in waxing trine to Pluto on May 20, a Level 1 signature with a 75% correlation to primary or greater cycles within 11 trading days. That's high. The next day, May 21, Venus makes a waxing trine to Pluto, which is not quite as strong. It is a Level 2 signature. The next day, May 22, finds the Sun forming a waxing square to Neptune, which is another powerful Level 1 signature. This one has an 83% correlation to primary or greater cycles within 11 trading days. That's extremely high. And the next day, May 23, the very important conjunction of Venus and Mars takes place in Taurus. Besides the fact that this is great period for lovers, it is also another powerful Level 1 correlation to reversals in equities. It has a 71% correlation to primary or greater cycles within 13 trading days. Something big may be about to happen. Maybe this is the end of the line for the Asset Inflation Express. Or maybe it continues into Neptune turning retrograde on June 2. This signature has an astounding 86% correlation to primary or greater cycles within just 10 trading days, and has the extra advantage of occurring just one day before Jupiter ingresses from Aries into Taurus. That transit - Jupiter in Aries - is the prime engine of the Asset Inflation Express. When it moves into Taurus, it changes from an engine to a caboose, from the accelerator on the floor pad to the brake. Of course, it can take a couple of weeks before the speed is finally de-escalated. And you know what Capricorns think of de-escalation. We are trained for that type of approach. Due to the fact that I now have to catch a plane for my next destination in Germany on this two-month trip through Europe, there will be no "Longer-Term Thoughts" section this week. I should be returning to the more normal column next week…. Well, as normal as a transiting Uranus square to a natal Sun can be, barring any unforeseen developments. With Uranus square the Sun, you must know one's life is prone to nothing but unforeseen developments. I can't wait for the next one. Chances are I won't have to wait very long… not with Uranus now in Aries. Nothing takes long anymore. And more perplexing than that, there is nothing you can do to prevent that which you have no idea is about to happen. So you accept that you simply and only have the free will to choose the inevitable… or wait for it to reveal itself to you. Yes, it is good to be an astrologer and know that there are things about to happen that you cannot possibly know.

Announcements

If you are an active short-term trader, you may be interested in 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, 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. For more information, go to http://www.mmacycles.com/services, or 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 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."

If you are an active short-term trader, you may be interested in 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, 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. For more information, go to http://www.mmacycles.com/services, or 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 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."

The final Volume 5 of "The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing" series is nearly finished. This will complete a project started in 1996. The previous 4 volumes have been on "when" to buy and sell, or how to forecast a future cycle low or high. This last volume addresses the subject of "where" to buy and sell, or "forecasting price targets." It is the missing link. It details the mathematical formulas and technical studies used to enhance timing of entry and exit in any market, but especially stock indices. The book is expected to be out in September 2011. If you have one of the first four volumes, or if you subscribe to any MMA subscription report, you will be receiving a special pre-publication offer this week (or call us to place your order if you want to make sure you are on the list). We should point out that Volumes 2 and 3 will probably be sold out before this new volume comes out. There are less than 15 copies of each available. We will allow them to remain out of print for awhile before reprinting. If you have purchased one of the volumes, or if you are a subscriber to our market reports, and do not receive a letter from us next week, then please call us for the special pre-publication offer that will be in effect only until July 1. At that time we will announce a different pre-publication price to the public.

The MMA Cycles report and its companion MMA Japanese Cycles and MMA European Cycles reportswas issued last week. To order either of these reports, please go to www.mmacycles.com

Special Offer!!! Good while supplies last! New or renewing subscribers to any MMA subscription services will receive FREE one copy of the "English version only" of the Forecasts 2011 Book (postage cost not included). This offer is available to all MMA subscription reports, except 2-issue trials of the MMA Cycles Report. This offer ends when the remaining copies are sold out, and it does not apply to the foreign translated versions unless announced on their respective websites. To get your free copy of Forecasts 2011 with a subscription to an MMA reports, simply go to http://www.mmacycles.com/services/. When you place order, mention "special offer" under the comments section of your order. Or call us at 1-248-626-3034.

The Forecast 2011 Book is still available in both printed edition and electronic book format. The remaining printed copies are currently $55.00, but will be marked down to $40.00 beginning May 1, then $35.00 June 1, and finally to $30.00 on July 1, should any copies still be available. The electronic book version of the book is also available via iPad, the iPhone 4, and Amazon Kindle, but those prices cannot be changed The Amazon Kindle edition is available to anyone anywhere in the world. Just go to their bookstore and type in "Raymond Merriman" or "Forecast 2011." It is available in Spanish as well. It is also available via ITunes if you have the Apple I Pad or I Phone 4. Both the English and Spanish versions are available in this format to any resident of Australia, Canada, France, Germany, United Kingdom, or the United States. If you are not a resident of these countries, you can still order it if you have an email address registered via one of these countries. Just go to iTunes, and then "Library," then "Store," then in the field titled "Search," type in "Forecast 2011" or "Raymond Merriman" (without quotation marks).

The printed version of the Forecast 2011 Book is also still available in Chinese, Swiss, Dutch, Japanese, Spanish, and Russian versions. The Chinese book contains an analysis of the Hang Seng stock market. The Japanese Book contains an analysis of the Nikkei index. We are pleased to announce that that this year's book may be purchased at these websites, and in these languages: Chinese: at http://www.zzdcycles.com Dutch: at www.markettiming.nl German: at http://www.mma-europe.ch/ Japanese: at http://merriman.jp Russian: at http://www.mmafinance.ru/ Spanish: at www.mmacycles-spanish.com

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 MMA services that I would suggest for those looking to structure a longer-term portfolio, such as a retirement account, is Duke O'Neill of Capstone Capital Wealth Management, Boulder, Colorado. He can be reached at dukeoneil1@gmail.com, or 1-(303) 247-0600. Duke will be with us in Kansas City for those who wish to personally meet him. 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. He is also the individual who first introduced me to the idea of "Asset Inflation Express" back in 2009. 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 the "Best 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, you may contact him through www.brunnerinvest.ch.

Events:

August 13, 2011: San Francisco, CA. Financial Market Timing seminar, featuring Raymond Merriman and other market timers. It is on. Details to be announced shortly at www.tsaasf.org. Immediately afterwards will be a special meeting with MMA subscribers who are present.

January 6-7, 2012: Zurich Switzerland. Forecast 2012 Symposia sponsored by AstroData. Details to be announced shortly at www.mma-europe.ch.

April 19 and 21, Boulder, Colorado. "Forecast 2012" with Raymond Merriman, plus a workshop on "Financial Market Timing," focusing on equities and precious metals. Sponsored by ROMA. For more information and registration, contact dralagifts@msn.com.

May 24-29, 2012: UAC!!! The world's largest astrological conference. Taking place at the New Orleans Marriott Hotel. Go to www.uacastrology.com. There will be an awesome Financial Track, featuring some of the top Financial Astrologers and researchers in the world.

Mid-September 2012: The first annual "MMA International Cycles Summit on World Economy, Politics, and Financial Markets." Location will be near Florence, Italy in a 12th Century Medieval Castle that has a rich tradition for hosting other world summits over the past several centuries, including Napoleon, several cardinals and popes, and leaders of the third Reich in World War II (well, it is an interesting past history, to say the least – and they have the ghosts to prove it). Details will be announced soon.

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.

Copyright MMACycles 2007-2011; you may link to this site or page, but you may not distribute these texts in any way (by email or otherwise).

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For other language editions of MMA´s weekly comments:

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• Dutch : www.markettiming.nl (Nederlands)
• German : www.mma-europe.ch (Deutch)
• Japanese : www.merriman.jp
• Polish : www.astrobiznes.pl (Polska)
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• Serbian : www.mma-balkan.com
• Spanish : www.mmacycles-spanish.com (Español)