Merriman's MMA comments for 12/29 week

MMA Comments for the Week Berginning December 29, 2008
Written by Raymond Merriman

Review and Preview
It was a quiet week for equity markets around the world, which is typical for this time of the year. However it wasn’t so quiet in the commodity markets, especially the grain markets. In response to the weakened U.S. Dollar over the past three weeks, Corn prices have soared over 35%, from a low of 305 in the March contract to a high of 414 on Friday’s supposedly “quiet” trading. During that same time, the March contract in Soybeans has rallied from 811 to 966, as Wheat from 471 to 602. Gold also had a nice rally from a low of 829 on Tuesday to a high of 874 on Friday. Not bad for a low volume, holiday market. We can expect continued low volume and possibly narrow trading ranges in equity markets again next week, going into the New Year holiday.

Short-Term Geocosmics
Even though financial markets may be relatively quiet in observance of the holidays, the geocosmic picture is anything but quiet. This means there may be plenty of news, which under normal market conditions would probably result in more impressive price changes. The last week ends with Mars entering Capricorn on Saturday, December 27. This is one of the more important planetary ingresses, because it conjuncts the Sun, and is opposite Pluto, in the Federal Reserve Board chart. This usually coincides with changes in Central Bank policies, directly affecting prices of Treasuries and indirectly currencies. This next day, Mars conjuncts Pluto in the skies. This amplifies the ingress of Mars into Capricorn considerably. After all, we are just in the beginning stages of the 15-year transit of Pluto through Capricorn, a time frame that promises sweeping changes in the world economy and the governments - and even boundaries – of many nations. But beyond that, Mars conjunct Pluto is a potentially dangerous aspect to human lives. Mars pertains to aggression and combat, while Pluto relates to threats of safety. It can be a natural threat, such as severe cold, hot, or volcano eruptions and the like. Or it can be man-made, such as an act of terrorism.

The week will end with Saturn turning retrograde on December 31. When a planet turns retrograde, its principles are highlighted considerably in terms of human activity. Saturn is cold, in terms of weather. That is why the Mars-Pluto conjunction during the same week could coincide with severe cold temperatures, avalanches, and other acts of nature posing a threat to human life. In terms of financial markets, our rule is to look for any market that is declining into this retrograde of Saturn, give or take two trading days, for Saturn’s nature is to depress and push down. Once it is over, conditions rebound. That is, if prices have been depressed going into a Saturn stationary period, look for them to rally immediately afterwards. This could be the case with stocks, which have been trending more down than up in the past 10 days.

Longer-Term Thoughts
There are three major planetary signatures (at least) in 2009, and they seem to suggest guidelines for what to expect in the New Year.

We enter the year in a crisis mode with the 45-year opposition of Saturn and Uranus already in effect. Saturn represents our sense of foundation, and integrity to the structure. It is our belief that things will continue to stand if they have existed a long time. Uranus, on the other hand, is the “shock that rocks” that stable foundation. It is the unexpected, usually an external event that no one is prepared for and results in a shattering of expectations. Plans are forced to be altered. There are probably no two planets that represent the potential for “crisis” and “panic” as a hard aspect between Saturn and Uranus. This particular 45-year cycle unfolds in a five-passage series, starting November 4, 2008 and lasting through July 26, 2010. The actual “influence” of this signature can begin 11 months before the first passage, and last up to 11 months after the final passage. So we are clearly in it now and especially following the full moon of September 15, 2008, which passed over Saturn and Uranus and gave us a preview of what was to come. The world began the current “panic” on that day. Together, these two planets in opposition can coincide with a period of greater than normal “fear” – as in “fear of the unknown” – as in “what is going to happen next?”

The second major signature to unfold in 2009 will be the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in Aquarius, and both in mutual reception to Uranus in Pisces. That is, both Jupiter and Neptune co-rule Pisces, and Uranus co-rules Aquarius. Jupiter and Neptune are in Uranus’ home sign, and Uranus is in their home sign. A mutual reception operates like a big conjunction. So the effect is like a Jupiter-Neptune-Uranus conjunction. In terms of collective psychology, this can seem like Camelot, a “fairy tale come to life.” Jupiter is exaggeration and hope, Neptune is romance and idealism. Uranus in this case relates to 1) the masses and 2) something very unique and extraordinary, something that has never happened before, at least not like this. I don’t think I would be off-base to suggest that Barack Obama is the current archetype of this part of the celestial drama. That is, he is the new leader of the free world (Uranus, Aquarius), he inspires hope for the future (Jupiter and Uranus), and many people believe he will solve the problems of the world, especially the economy. In other words, he is looked upon as a “savior” (Neptune). Another economic manifestation of Jupiter-Neptune-Uranus can be extraordinary new programs requiring a much greater than anticipated spending effort. In other words, the Federal deficit could rapidly expand, along with monetary inflation followed by price inflation. It can happen very quickly once it starts – probably around the time Jupiter and Neptune conjunct one another (May-December 2009). In this climate of prolonged and suspended “belief that things are going to get better,” all assets can rally in prices, from stocks, to precious metals, to crude oil, etc. The only thing that will fall is the value of the U.S. Dollar.

And then the third major aspect hits. This is the Saturn-Pluto waning square, November 2009 through August 2010. Pluto represents death, debt, and taxes, and the need for a major overhaul. As I see it, the current 0.25% interest rate, combined with another forthcoming $150B+ stimulus package, will cause the economy to spring to life very suddenly (Uranus, Aquarius). Things will start to improve and people will start to have hope again (Jupiter and Neptune conjunct in Aquarius). For a couple of months (maybe 2-8 months) it may seem like the economy is turning for the better. But the economy doesn’t stabilize. It heats up too fast, and instead of deflation, we start to see large jumps in inflation numbers.

As we move from deflation to inflation, two things may happen, first politically and then monetarily. First, the new administration may raise taxes. Not income taxes, for that would be a violation of the campaign promise to reduce taxes for 95% of the population. That would be political suicide for Obama, just as it was for George Bush Sr. after the election of 1988. Obama will not make that same mistake (I don’t think he will, anyway). Instead we may see what Europe and other nations have already instituted, which is a consumption tax (VAT, or Value Added Tax). This allows Mr. Obama to keep his campaign promise. However, by creating a new consumption tax, the net result is to raise more monies to pay for the increased spending programs and give the appearance of tackling the out-of-control budget deficit. By the time all the numbers are added up, people may realize that their taxes just went up a lot more than if the income tax was raised. The monetary changes, however, may be more debilitating than the political ones. The Treasury and Federal Reserve Board have no where to go with interest rates in the face of rapidly heating economy and inflation, except up. The Treasury will be forced to offer higher yields on notes and bonds in order to attract buyers for all the cash the USA will need to raise in order to meet its deficit and spending efforts. Interest rates will rise and so will taxes, in line with Jupiter-Neptune rising deficits and inflation, and Pluto’s tendency to raise rates. The result is that assets which had been rising – stocks, commodities, and currencies against the dollar – will suddenly (Uranus again) reverse with a vengeance. They will all start to fall. The result will be what Financial Astrologers would expect from a T-square of Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto, somewhat like it was the last time there were in such a position (1929-1934). Unless this tendency suggested by Financial Astrology is averted, it looks like we just completed the first leg down in a new bear market, we will now recover, and then we will nave another powerful leg down following that. Plan accordingly. That will be the guideline we will be following in developing our plans for traders and investors in 2009, until proven otherwise.

Announcements
For those who are interested, there was a very positive feature story on myself and Financial Astrology in the business section of the Detroit News on December 25, 2008. You can read it by going to http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081225/BIZ/812250383.

For those of you unable to attend our first “Forecast for 2009” speech (via the web) on Saturday, December 13, please know that you can order a viewing of the event at your leisure. It will be available for four weeks after this Saturday’s live presentation, which is now sold out. You can experience this unique presentation in the comfort of your own home or office. All you need is computer with speakers and screen. Please visit www.mmacycles.com for details, or call 1-248-626-3034 to sign up. Log in instructions will be provided after sign up. The cost is $45.00.

You can now order the Forecast 2009 book in four languages! It is available in Japanese at http://www.toushinippou.co.jp/, in German at www.mma-europe.ch and www.mma-europe.de, and in Spanish via www.mmacycles-spanish.com. That site is now working and books are available, while they last. In Serbian, you can order a PDF file of the book at www.mma-balkan.com. In English, you can order directly from us, via our web site, or you can order from www.markettiming.nl in Netherlands, www.astrodata.com in Zurich, and Earlthorn Ltd in Hong Kong at www.earlthorn.com or by email at earlthorn2000@yahoo.com. In Melbourne, Australia, you may order the Forecast 2009 book at www.educatedinvestor.com.au, or by email at investorbooks@iprimus.com.

The next public presentation of Forecast For 2009 will take place in Lansing, Michigan on Sunday, January 4, 2009, starting at 1:00 PM. For further information and reservations, please call 517-676-1680, or go to LCASastrology@cs.com.

Our next Forecast 2009 presentation and Financial Market Timing Workshop will take place January 16 and 17, 2009, in Zurich, Switzerland. For more information, please see our websites at www.mmacycles.com and www.mma-europe.ch or call AstroData at 043 343 33 66.

Our new 2009 MMA catalogue is now out. If you are interested in receiving this catalogue, you can download it directly from our website at http://www.mmacycles.com/freedownload/. A list of all our products and services and software programs is included therein.

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. These reports give in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Swiss Franc, Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, T-Notes, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. 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. 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 German version of “Merriman on Market Cycles: The Basics” is now in print. It is also a revision of the earlier work in English. For more information on this book, please go to our German web site at http://www.mma-europe.ch/.

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

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 2008; you may link to this site or page, but you may not distribute these texts in any way (by email or otherwise).

Archives
Previous weeklies (2006-2007) are archived at www.olmta.com

For other language editions of MMA´s weekly comments:
Dutch : www.markettiming.nl (Nederlands)
French : www.lecochonsideral.info (Francais)
German : www.astrodata.ch (Deutsch)
Japanese : www.astrology.jp
Polish : www.astrobiznes.pl

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The above are Merriman's weekly public comments; his MMA site is listed in the "other sites of interest" at the right side of this page.