Stock Market Comments For The Week Beginning March 31,2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Review and Preview

After posting important lows the previous week on March 17, stocks markets around the world were all over the place last week. In the U.S.A., the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ Composite topped out on Monday-Tuesday’s lunar reversal date, and then sold off considerably throughout the rest of the week, closing near their weekly lows on Friday. But in the Far East and Pacific Rim, the Japanese Nikkei, India NIFTY, and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng indices all traded at their highest levels on Friday. The All Ordinaries of Australia topped out on Wednesday. In Europe, London’s FTSE and Germany’s DAX indices each made their highest marks since March 17 on Friday, whereas the Swiss SMI and Netherlands AEX indices topped out a day earlier. It was most definitely a week of uncertainty and hesitation, but not at all out of character with the astrological and cyclical indicators that were in effect.

Precious metals, currencies, crude oil and grains all attempted comebacks last week, but failed after peaking out in the Sagittarius Factor zone of last Wednesday-Friday. When the Moon is in Sagittarius, these markets frequently end sharp rallies and then give back a good portion of the gains they just made. That pattern happened again last week.

Short-Term Geocosmics

We are in a rather strange transition period right now. On the one hand we are just ending the time band when Venus is in translation to the forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition (March 15-28). As suggested during the past two weeks, this period corresponded more to a rally than a further decline in stock indices throughout the world, probably because Venus was in its exalted sign of Pisces this time. Two weeks ago, everyone on the planet was convinced the world economy was on the verge of collapse and depression, and stock markets were in a mini-panic. Most pundits expected that to continue. But instead, on March 17, the first trading day after this time band began, stocks around the world started a surprising rally (it was not surprising to financial astrologers, but to the rest of the world). Now, instead of predicting a global depression, world-wide stock market collapse, and the end of the financial world as we know it, many market analysts are suddenly forecasting a recovery and proclaiming that the worst is over. What a difference a fortnight makes! What a difference a transit to the Saturn-Uranus opposition makes. If I didn’t understand astrology, I would say the world is crazy. But because I do understand the subject to some extent, I am more of the opinion that these economic gurus are instead just fickle – at least when it comes to convictions in their beliefs espoused of the moment.

During this period when the Venus translation is taking place, we also note that a translation of the Sun to a Mars-Pluto opposition is unfolding (March 21-30). With Pluto turning retrograde April 2, followed by Venus in a square aspect to Pluto on April 8, we have to be aware that the forecasts of a great and miraculous recovery may also be pre-mature. Pluto, after all, rules debt, and debt has been the big problem since last August. These aspects of the next two weeks indicate that the debt problem is not behind us. There is still more fallout likely to happen very shortly. But is it enough to send stock values to new yearly lows? That remains to be seen, and the answer determines whether or not the 4-year cycle trough is behind us or still ahead.

One key may lie in the important Venus-Uranus conjunction of this past Friday, March 28. If that indeed acts as a reversal signature, it could lead to a rally, as the U.S. stock market has declined into it. If it does not act like a reversal signature, it may instead unfold as a breakout signature, where once again the floor of the market gives way to an elevator ride south. With Uranus, you never know if it is a reversal or a breakout of important support and/or resistance.

Longer-Term Thoughts

Another reason why stocks may reverse right here is because Jupiter is making its first of three sextiles to Uranus on March 28, the same day that Venus forms a conjunction to Uranus. Anytime aspects form between Jupiter and planets outside of its orbit, it is considered a longer-term planetary signature. And the rule is: the longer the planetary cycle that is unfolding, the longer the stock market cycle that correlates nearby. Jupiter-Uranus has a periodicity of 14 years. It is not as long as aspects between Saturn and planets outside of its orbit, such as the Saturn-Uranus opposition that will take place November 2008 through July 2010. But it is long enough to be considered an intermediate-term correlate to market cycles, such as a 50-week or greater stock market cycle.

In terms of Financial Astrology, Jupiter is considered a dynamic of growth and gains when in favorable aspect, or hysteria and large losses when in adverse relationship. The sextile is considered a favorable aspect. Uranus is the principle of surprises and the unexpected. When markets fall in price around the time of this signature, we look for sudden and powerful rallies to follow shortly afterwards.

Of course any single signature has to be tempered with other planetary signatures that are happening at the same time. In this case, as Jupiter forms its favorable sextile to Uranus, other significant Pluto transits are taking place. The later are more worrisome. So it will be interesting to see how the drama plays out in the next two weeks between this favorable Jupiter-Uranus aspect, and the heavy transits involving Pluto.

Stock MArket Comments For The Week Beginning March 24, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Last week was another classic example of how Financial Astrology works so well in tandem with classic technical studies and basic chart formations. On March 15, Venus made its opposition to Saturn, the first leg of its “translation phase” to the Saturn-Uranus opposition, March 15-28. As stated in last week’s column, “On the positive side, Financial Astrologers can point to the idea that Venus is at least now in Pisces, a sign in which it is exalted. They can also point to the fact that the first passage will be the opposition of Venus to Saturn, which takes place this weekend, March 15. Oftentimes when a market is falling into this aspect, it will bottom, and then stage a sudden recovery just as soon as it is over.”

The collapse of stock markets around the world the prior week spilled over into Monday, March 17. The “mini-panic” plunge represented new yearly lows in many of these stock indices, while others held smartly above their lows of January 22. This is a chart pattern known as Intermarket Bullish Divergence,” and when it happens as close to an important geocosmic signature as Venus in opposition to Saturn, it can be followed by a healthy rally.

We saw this phenomenon in effect in the Far East. The Japanese Nikkei, for example, had a free-fall all the way down to 11,691 last Monday, its lowest price since July 2005. In the next three trading days, it rallied over 800 points and closed near its weekly high. The Australian All Ordinaries also fell to a new yearly low, down to 5130 on March 17. But new yearly lows were not made in Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, or in India’s Nifty Index. Both took out the lows of January 2008, but not the lows of last summer.

In Europe, the Intermarket Bullish Divergence signature was in even more evidence last Monday. Germany’s DAX and Switzerland’s SMI indices fell to 6167 and 6769 respectively, their lowest levels since October 2006 and October 2005 respectively. But both the Netherlands AEX and London FTSE held well above their January 22 lows. Furthermore, each of these indices appears technically poised to rally more this coming week.

The same divergence was present in the United States. Last Monday’s low in the Dow Jones Industrial Average was 11,756. This was even higher than the 11,731 low of the prior week, March 10, and well above the 11,634 low of January 22. But the NASDAQ Composite fell to 2155 last Monday, below its 2202 low of January 23, and in fact to its lowest level since September 2006.

Although the action in the stock indices of the world continued to be erratic and surprising, they were rather tame compared to that in the commodities. Gold, for instance, made a new all-time at 1017.50 on Monday, March 17. But by Thursday, just three days later, the yellow metal was already back down to 914.50. And Silver was hit even harder. After posting a new 28-year high of 2094 just the previous Friday, March 14, it collapsed over 400 points by Thursday of this past week. This was right in line with what our weekly subscription reports had forecasted – a decline of at least 300-500 points after the CCI (Commodity Channel Index) reached one of its rare overbought levels discussed therein. A similar fate awaited the Crude Oil market. After posting another new all-time of 111.80 on this critical March 17th date, black gold fell all the way down to 98.95 intraday on Thursday, just three days later. The pattern it formed on this decline contains the possibility of more to come, suggesting that perhaps the all-time high is in. This would be consistent also with our call for a 50-90% drop to begin in crude oil from an all-time high achieved by the first half of 2008, per our Forecast for 2008 publication. And finally we are seeing similar breakdowns in the grain prices, especially Soybeans, which staged three limit down days during last week’s shortened 4-day trading week. This too is consistent with our analysis given in the Forecasts form 2008 book, in which we postulated that this would be an almost ideal growing season due to the Jupiter-Saturn trine, combined with overplanting of Soybeans by farmers, thus likely to yield a huge crop this year.
Short-Term Geocosmics

The translation of transiting Venus to the forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition will end on this Friday, March 28. When the Sun made this translation February 27-March 10, we speculated that stock prices around the world might fall hard, much like what happened in January. And it did. But we suspected the pattern might reverse in this current translation period, because Venus was in Pisces, where it is exalted and thus much stronger. And typical of Uranus time bands, the market has a way of doing just the opposite as what one might expect. As we ended last week, everyone on the planet seemed to think that the financial fabric of the world was about to totally unravel. I don’t ever remember the “D” word (Depression) being bandied about so much as I saw in the European financial press last week. To say that the financial community was in a panic last Monday would be an understatement. The mood was utter despair and hopelessness, sort of like one might expect with planets in Pisces, with Venus in opposition to Saturn.

But Financial Astrology teaches us that when the investment community’s mood is bleak, and markets are declining into these types of planetary periods, it is time to buy. Once aspects to Saturn leave in a declining market, prices tend to rise immediately afterwards.

Still, we cannot say the market has confirmed that the worst is over. More bad news probably lies ahead in the next two weeks, as Pluto will turn retrograde on April 2, and the full moon of March 21 formed a T-square with Mars and Pluto. Whether stock markets fall again to new yearly lows remains to be seen. But with Pluto being highlighted so remarkably in the next two weeks, the problems with debts, defaults, and more financial write downs by major world financial institutions, is probably not over.
Longer-Term Thoughts

The big news in Europe last week was the hysteria about a coming financial collapse. It seems that the financial media is not just focused on a recession anymore, but a full blown depression. The European market analysts seem convinced that nothing can save the USA banking system now. No matter how much money the FRB pours into the system or how low they lower the interest rates, the future of the USA – and hence world - economy is doomed. We are in for a serious washout unlike anything we have seen since the 1930’s. Upon returning back to the states on Wednesday night, it appears that pessimism in the USA is almost as serious. But not quite.

If we look at long-term planetary signatures and their correlation to economic history, we can make a case for both a positive and negative viewpoint. First of all, I would suggest that Jupiter in Capricorn exaggerates (Jupiter) the fear of an economic downturn (Capricorn). The Federal Reserve Board is a Capricorn entity, and transiting Jupiter in its natal Sun and Jupiter sign (of Capricorn) leads me to believe they can still pull a "rabbit out of the hat" and prevent an immediate collapse. I believe they are acting quickly and boldly in exactly the way they have to act. Sure, it may seem like it is too late, and the hysteria can create a feeding frenzy leading to a collective self-fulfilling prophecy. If enough people lose confidence, then of course the markets and economies of the world will crumble, regardless of the planetary signatures. And we saw some of that last week. But with interest rates coming down quickly and with the U.S. Government about to send out $150+ billion dollars in tax rebates, and with a lot of money now in the hands of mutual funds as a result of retirement savings accounts contributions that are now due, it won’t take much to suddenly uplift this economy and the stock market. Once the market starts to rise, these money managers will yank all that cash and buy stocks in huge quantities. And once that happens, the headlines of the major financial publications around the world will be dumbfounded, and will probably proclaim something of a miracle just happened. Why not? Uranus is in Pisces all year (symbol of miracles), and about to be sextiled by Jupiter in its first of three passages this year, on March 28. The danger may not be that market is about to collapse, but rather that it is about to launch to a new round of some serious buying by the funds who are sitting on large cash positions.

If this happens, the financial pundits will declare the problems are behind us. But they are not. Well, they may be temporarily behind us for a few months, for these geocosmic signatures may have an effect lasting a few months, and these stimulus packages perhaps about the same, like just enough to get us close to the election. Once they wear off, the possibility is strong that these same problems will resurrect once more when Saturn begins its square with Pluto (2009-2010). How appropriate to see all this unfolding on Easter weekend, a symbolic time of death and resurrection. Enjoy the respite while it lasts (if it lasts), and try to construct your future financial strategies while you have this opportunity.

Stock Market Comments for the Week Beginning March 3, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Most stock indices around the world continued their previous week’s rally into Wednesday of this past week. And then the “Sagittarius Factor” hit Thursday and Friday, and prices begin a substantial decline to end the week on dangerous ground as we head into next week’s important geocosmic signatures. As stated previously, “But an important geocosmic period commences… February 25 through March 7, when the Sun will form an opposition to Saturn and end with a conjunction to Uranus. In essence, this is yet another period of a faster moving body translating the more important slower moving aspect. The Sun is translating the Saturn-Uranus opposition of later this year, and hence February 25-March 7 may offer a glimpse of what to expect from November 2008 through July 2010 when that Saturn-Uranus opposition is in effect.” In typical Uranian fashion, these financial markets either made a sudden and unexpected reversal, or in the case of currencies and commodities, they continued to skyrocket to new all-time highs.

Many stock indices soared to their highest levels in six weeks by Wednesday of last week, following the Sun-Saturn opposition of February 24-25. This was the case with the Netherlands AEX and London FTSE in Europe. But it was not matched with new monthly highs in either the German DAX or Swiss Stock Index, for a case of regional intermarket bearish divergence. New 6-week highs were noted in the Nikkei of Japan, but not in the other stock indices of Asia and the Pacific Rim (Australia’s All Ordinaries, India’s Nifty Index or Hang Seng of Hong Kong) for yet another case of intermarket bearish divergence. In the U.S.A., last Wednesday’s high was a double top to the high in early February, but in the case of the NASDAQ Composite, it was far off, for yet a third case of this bearish divergent pattern. Thus it sets up a dangerous chart pattern for next week, especially as we move fully into this translation of the Sun to the forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition.

But the big stories were again in commodities. Crude Oil made another slightly higher new all-time high at 103.05 on Friday. Gold soared to another a new all-time high of 977 on Friday. Silver soared close to 2000 ($20.00/ounce) for the first time in 27 years. Many currencies made new all-time against the U.S. Dollar, with Euro well above 1.5000 for the first time, and the Swiss Franc almost at par with the U.S. Dollar now. Soybeans and Wheat both soared to new all-time highs last week, topping out at $15.24/bushel and $13.00/bushel respectively. Who says prices aren’t rising? Yes, it is true in regards to home prices, and wages are staying fairly stable. But the cost of raw goods is soaring, and has been since 2001, when the Saturn-Pluto cycle topped out (opposition). As stated so many times before in this column, the opposition to the conjunction (2001-2020) is the time when commodities do well, and stocks go all over the place, but mostly down. The stocks haven’t really stayed down for long yet, because we still have the Saturn-Uranus opposition to go through, November 2008 through July 2010. Burt we are getting the picture of what to expect then with the transiting faster moving bodies when they translate by hard aspect to the Saturn-Uranus opposition, as we are seeing now, and as we saw in January when Venus did similar. As stated last week, “Of course there will be mini-bear and bull markets within this long-term 32-37 year cycle. But basically the cycles goes like this: economic prosperity and favorable investment environment from the conjunction to opposition (1982-2001), versus commodity inflation and economic struggles from opposition to conjunction (2001-2020).

Short-Term Geocosmics

This could be a very dangerous week for many markets. In addition to the Sun translating the opposition to Saturn and conjunction with Uranus there are other powerful forces at work that should be of interest to all Financial Astrologers. As stated last week, “Mars will also cross the 0 degree Cancer point on March 4. Historically that is a period when central banks make critical changes or announcements in their interest rate policies, which in turn affect Treasuries and currency prices, and by association, also precious metals and stock markets.” And then also, “On March 4, heliocentric Mercury will also enter Sagittarius through March 17. This is a period that has a very high correlation to sharp price swings in many markets, especially precious metals and currencies. With heliocentric Mercury in Sagittarius at the same time as the new moon in Pisces conjunct Uranus around March 7, it could be a very dramatic time coming up.”

So here we are. Fasten your seat belts again. It could get very turbulent into next Friday, And that is also the day that the Federal Reserve will release its very important Unemployment and Payroll Reports.

Longer-Term Thoughts

The Saturn-Uranus opposition takes place for the first of five passages right on Election Day, November 4, 2008, in the United States. It is certainly shaping up into a classical representation of these two planets. On the Uranian side, you have the Democrats, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, who each rep[resent a “first” – either the first African American or first female potential president. That’s Uranian. On the other side, you have John McCain, who would be the oldest person to assume presidency if elected. That’s Saturn, which represents age and experience – and also the Establishment (but Hillary could be viewed as The Establishment too… she could be Saturn and Uranus).

This election is particularly challenging to me – and I suspect most astrologers. The candidates to be selected fit just fine with the principles of Mundane Astrology. In fact, they fit exceeding well. It is easy to define who is who by planetary symbology. But it is not so easy to choose who will win, for with Uranus, anything can happen, and surprises are more than likely the order of the day. As an extreme, under this signature, there can be no certainty that the candidates selected to represent their parties even make it to election or inauguration day. Something disruptive is always a possibility, especially with Saturn and Uranus in hard aspect, complemented by Pluto about to move back into Capricorn at that time (November 26, which is between election day and inauguration). I am not predicting assassination, for these symbols can mean many things. But the last time Saturn and Uranus were in opposition, and Pluto was involved, was in the mid-1960’s. Both political and racially-motivated assassinations stung the USA deeply during that time. At the very least, we must at least hope that these candidates have adequate protection, and are not harmed. And that is why I state this possibility in this column. It is not with the wish to “be right,” but instead to diffuse the energy of this possibility, for in metaphysics, we know that if you want something to have power and grow, you keep it within yourself. If you want to diffuse the energy, you bring it out into the open. We have a very exciting and highly energized process taking place in the United States at this time. The youth – and representatives of several demographic groups – are more involved in this election than ever before. That too is consistent with Saturn in opposition to Uranus. And when you have such “new” involvement involving such “first-time” things, it can disrupt the status quo, and this become a very dangerous situation. Bit as we also learn in metaphysics, danger and opportunity go together. Let’s hope safety is not forsaken in this amazing time we are living, and circumstances (people) allow these cycles to unfold in a natural manner.

Stock Market Comments for the Week Beginning February 25, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Stock markets around the world traded in a rather narrow range last week, consistent with the principle of Mercury slowing down as it changed from a retrograde to a direct motion. On Wednesday evening, Thursday morning, there was a lunar eclipse conjunct Saturn. Many stock markets were making a modest rally into that time, and then sold off a bit to end the week. But the big stories were in commodities. Crude Oil made a slightly higher new all-time high at 101.32 on Wednesday. Prices then retreated back to 97.16 intraday on Friday before closing the week at 98.81. Gold also made a new all-time high last week, on Thursday, at 957.10. Silver soared above 1800 for the first time in 27 years. The currencies were also very strong against the U.S. Dollar, with Euro back up above 1.4800, and challenging its all-time high of 1.4966 recorded back in November. In the food sector, Soybeans also soared to a new all-time under the lunar eclipse factor, topping out last week at $14.22/bushel. Despite the data of economic reports, it is apparent that raw goods prices are in a state of inflation, and with the Dollar falling again, this trend is continuing. And as we know from previous discussions, this trend could continue until the Saturn-Pluto cycle ends and begins anew, which is not until January 2020 +/- 18 months. Of course there will be mini-bear and bull markets within this long-term 32-37 year cycle. But basically the cycles gores like this: economic prosperity and favorable investment environment from the conjunction to opposition (1982-2001), versus commodity inflation and economic struggles from opposition to conjunction (2001-2020).

Review and Preview

Stock markets around the world traded in a rather narrow range last week, consistent with the principle of Mercury slowing down as it changed from a retrograde to a direct motion. On Wednesday evening, Thursday morning, there was a lunar eclipse conjunct Saturn. Many stock markets were making a modest rally into that time, and then sold off a bit to end the week. But the big stories were in commodities. Crude Oil made a slightly higher new all-time high at 101.32 on Wednesday. Prices then retreated back to 97.16 intraday on Friday before closing the week at 98.81. Gold also made a new all-time high last week, on Thursday, at 957.10. Silver soared above 1800 for the first time in 27 years. The currencies were also very strong against the U.S. Dollar, with Euro back up above 1.4800, and challenging its all-time high of 1.4966 recorded back in November. In the food sector, Soybeans also soared to a new all-time under the lunar eclipse factor, topping out last week at $14.22/bushel. Despite the data of economic reports, it is apparent that raw goods prices are in a state of inflation, and with the Dollar falling again, this trend is continuing. And as we know from previous discussions, this trend could continue until the Saturn-Pluto cycle ends and begins anew, which is not until January 2020 +/- 18 months. Of course there will be mini-bear and bull markets within this long-term 32-37 year cycle. But basically the cycles gores like this: economic prosperity and favorable investment environment from the conjunction to opposition (1982-2001), versus commodity inflation and economic struggles from opposition to conjunction (2001-2020).

Short-Term Geocosmics

We are now coming into a potentially very interesting geocosmic period. As stated in last week’s report, “But an important geocosmic period commences the following week, February 25 through March 7, when the Sun will form an opposition to Saturn and end with a conjunction to Uranus. In essence, this is yet another period of a faster moving body translating the more important slower moving aspect. The Sun is translating the Saturn-Uranus opposition of later this year, and hence February 25-March 7 may offer a glimpse of what to expect from November 2008 through July 2010 when that Saturn-Uranus opposition is in effect. One might expect a very sudden turn of markets during that period, especially near the end, for Mars will also cross the 0 degree Cancer point on March 4. Historically that is a period when central banks make critical changes or announcements in their interest rate policies, which in turn affect Treasuries and currency prices, and by association, also precious metals and stock markets.”

Within this highly charged geocosmic period, we may see the greatest level of volatility right near the end. On March 4, heliocentric Mercury will also enter Sagittarius through March 17. This is a period that has a very high correlation to sharp price swings in many markets, especially precious metals and currencies. With heliocentric Mercury in Sagittarius at the same time as the new moon in Pisces conjunct Uranus around March 7, it could be a very dramatic time coming up. Last week may have been relatively quiet in world stock indices, but I would expect that to change in the next two weeks. The question of course is whether that means a powerful rally starts at once and continues into that time, or if instead a powerful decline commences that ends around that time. With Uranus, you never know for sure. Oh, some pundits may think they know ahead of time, for under Uranus aspects, nearly everyone thinks they are psychic and/or knowledgeable. But Uranus has a way of defying logic and making dogmatic types look foolish. It also has a way of causing large losses to those who are grossly mistaken in their conviction as to how the market must behave. So the best way to handle this is to be flexible and nimble.

Longer-Term Thoughts

In lieu of our comments recently made in this column about how the U.S.A. election results will depend greatly on the turnout of the youth, a report out of the Detroit Free Press on Wednesday was most interesting. It stated, “The youth vote tripled and even quadrupled in some states on Super Tuesday. U.S. Senator Barack Obama, with his inspirational words about unity and new approaches to our nation’s challenges has struck a chord on college campuses around the country.”

So it seems clear that Barack Obama represents the Uranus part of the Saturn-Uranus opposition that starts this year, in terms of the U.S.A. election. And it seems clear that John McCain will represent the Saturn part of this signature, since Saturn is conservative, and also pertains to older age (McCain, if elected, would be the oldest president to assume office). So where does this put Hillary Clinton? Well, she too is Uranus, for if elected, she would be the first female president, and the 45-year Saturn-Uranus opposition does have in common historical theme related to women’s rights.

Right now Obama has the momentum and is in the lead. Can he pull it off? It is possible, of course, because of Uranus. But also because of Uranus, there are many expected things that can and probably will still happen that no one anticipates. My view remains that the geocosmic signatures on Election Day will point to the themes that will sway the votes of the population. And on Election Day, the Moon will be in Capricorn conjunct Jupiter, just as it was on the day of the New Hampshire primary and Super Tuesday. I don’t think you can count any of these three leading candidates out at this time. But on Election Day itself, it still appears that the American electorate will go for experience, tradition, and the candidate who makes them feel the most “safe.” Fear still sells. And as result, I am not so sure that Americans will change their stance that this country is headed in the wrong direction, a belief that appears to be shared by over 75% of the U.S.A. population.

U.S. Election Only Part of the News In 2008

Posted November 27th, 2007 by James R. Gregory

While the presidential campaign of 2008 will dominate the media and advertising landscape for the next year, here are some issues you’ll be hearing more about in the upcoming year.

1. Energy Dependence deserves to be the hot issue for the 2008 presidential election. It is by far the most critical issue facing our nation. We’ve had decades to fix the problem, and have only made ourselves more dependent on foreign nations for our energy needs. We need to treat this issue as a national priority and mobilize our resources to get energy consumption under control while identifying and expanding renewable energy resources. The presidential politician who provides a workable solution gets my vote.

2. The dollar’s decline means the U.S. will no longer be “leader of the economic pack” on the world stage. It doesn’t mean that we will fade into oblivion, but we no longer have the economic clout to dictate outcomes. The decline of the U.S. dollar is the result of a long list of self-imposed economic ills including the impossibly large federal budget deficits, huge international trade deficit, weak savings practices by Americans and the cost of the Iraq War. As a consequence, Americans might have the ultimate hangover–the need to adjust to a lower standard of living.

3. The U.S. will gain a new sense of competitiveness over the next decade. The good news is that the historic decline of the U.S. dollar is finally having a positive impact on exports. Business and government leaders should be focusing on streamlining business processes to make it more rewarding for manufacturers to export products. Culturally we need to become more innovative, create lean manufacturing techniques, keep our labor costs under control and put our marketing expertise in gear around the world by identifying unmet global consumer needs.

4. Globalization vs. Protectionism is a question that many governments wrestle with around the world. On the one hand, globalization has created millions of jobs, brought technologies to third world countries and helped keep inflation under control in the U.S. The other edge of the sword is that it can wipe out entire industries when inefficient or outdated. There is a growing sentiment in this country that free trade isn’t fair when trading partners have all the advantages. Labor and environmental provisions are weak in most free trade agreements, which puts downward pressure on standards here. Sustainable development and the reduction of poverty are excellent reasons to promote fair trade, but this tool of economic growth needs to take into consideration the American industries and workers that are at risk.

5. The green revolution will continue to expand because it is now beginning to make economic sense, whether you are a manufacturer or a consumer, to think about eco-friendly products and sustaining the environment. In the past, consumers felt that it was important to have recyclable products, for example–but they were not willing to pay a premium to purchase them. That is changing with growing pressure from society to have more eco-friendly products and to live in a sustainable environment. The fact that the price of eco-friendly products is coming down presents a genuine business opportunity that will also improve the environment. It’s a win-win for everyone.

6. Social Networking is here to stay. When I get a question or survey from someone on LinkedIn, I usually respond. It just makes sense that I participate because I would also want them to respond to me. When my high school had a reunion, it communicated through Classmates. When my kids want to find out what their friends are up to, they visit Facebook or MySpace. Amazon knows what I like to read. I like it when they make suggestions of new books, and more often than not, I buy them. The way to think about communication in business is changing and it is not just about frontal assault of the past, it is much more about understanding how people think and where they think–on social networks.

7. The Cool War. Vladimir Putin is returning his country to his roots, which is a darker, mysterious Russia. This means it is possible that the days of the Cold War will return. This time, it may be welcomed by the U.S. leadership because it will give the U.S. a chance to be the good guys again. We need a visible world leader who is worthy of our anger, and clearly a bad guy to contrast against our self-perceived good guy image. In keeping with this scenario, Putin is aligning himself perfectly with other bad guys we love to hate like Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. This new hostility will unlikely devolve into anything remotely like The Cold War, but it will certainly remain in The Cool category for some time to come.

Gregory is founder and CEO of CoreBrand, a global brand strategy and communications firm based in Stamford, Conn. With 30 years of experience in advertising and branding, Jim is credited with developing pioneering and innovative tools for measuring the power of brands and their impact on a corporation’s financial performance. He has written four books on creating value with brands.

Stock Market Comments for the Week Beginning January 14, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Review and Preview

Welcome to the Saturn-Uranus opposition preview.

Starting on Election Day, November 4, 2008, Saturn will make five passages of its 45-year opposition cycle to Uranus, lasting through July 26, 2010. Those who study Financial Astrology know that this is one of the most significant geocosmic correlations to long-term stock market cycles, per the studies done in “The Ultimate Book on Stock market Timing Volume 2: Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles.” But this past week, we had a preview of what this longer-term planetary pair cycle might be like, as transiting Venus translated the midpoint of the developing opposition between Saturn and Uranus.

For most of the world’s stock indices, the declines of the prior week continued this past week. However, these declines were not straight down. In fact there were sudden and sharp rallies. There were wide price swings. For instance, the Dow Jones Industrial Average made a new 9 month low on Wednesday, falling top 12,501. That was below the low of last August 16, which represented the steepest decline so far of the expanded 4-year cycle. Wednesday’s low exceeded that, suggesting that this expanded cycle is still unfolding, as suspected. But by the next day the DJIA soared over 400 points, up to 12,931 during the day. Yet that rally quickly fizzled as the DJIA gave back 400+ points into Friday’s low of 12,543. Wide prices swings lime these in such very short periods of time, is the nature of Saturn (depressed prices or news) and Uranus (sharp price swings). Last week’s Venus translation, as a T-square to that forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition, just gave us a preview what world stock indices may be like from November 2008 through July 2010.

The price behavior was also similar in the NASDAQ Composite, which fell to a low of 2407.39 on Wednesday, just a little above its 2386 low of August 16, for a potential case of intermarket bullish divergence if those lows hold. By the next day, it was back above 2500, but only briefly, as it sold off to as low as 2428 during the day on Friday.

There were no such rallies in Australia or Japan, where stock indices just fell the entire week. In fact the Japanese Nikkei is now testing the 14,000 mark, it lowest level since June 2006. The ASX All Ords index of Australia is now testing the 6000 mark, far off its all-time highs of 6873 posted on November 1. Even India’s NIFTY index fell a bit after posting a new all-time of 6357 on January 8. It closed the week at 6200. The Hang Seng of Hong Kong was relatively quiet all week, not making any new monthly highs or lows.

Europe on the other hand was down all week too, but not too new multi-month lows in all indexes. The AEX of Netherlands is currently testing the 479 lows of last August. But the German DAX and London FTSE are holding well above the lows of not only last August, but November too. The Swiss Index took out those lows on Monday, falling all the way to 8070. But, after a strong rally to 8385 the next day, the Swiss index also started a decline that lasted well into Friday, taking prices back down to 8156. Most of the indices of the world thus closed the week rather to their lows, giving a sense of more troubles ahead for stocks.

Gold and Silver, on the other hand, soared sharply last week, with Gold poking above the 900 mark for the first time ever. March Silver closed right near its high of the week at 1637, a level not seen since 1980. Crude Oil did not fare so well, closing the week at 92.31, well off its all-time high of just over 1200 posted on January 3. Interestingly enough, Crude Oil made cycle lows within a week of the prior two passages of Jupiter trine Saturn in March and May 2007. It is coming up again January 21. Jupiter is a co-ruler of Crude Oil.

Short-Term Geocosmics

The Venus-Uranus square ends on Saturday, January 12. With Venus in Sagittarius and Uranus in Pisces – both mutable signs – it should not be surprising that the stocks markets of the world experienced such wild swings last week. Mutable signs are known for their “changeable” qualities. That may be even more understandable given that the Moon was in Aquarius, the sign ruled by Uranus, Wednesday through Friday, when the steepest price swings were in force.

From here, the markets will head towards the third of five passages of the Jupiter-Saturn trine on January 21. The first two passes were in fire signs, back on March 16 and May 6. The March 16 date was just two days after the end of a very sharp 2-3 week stock market sell-off. May 6 was one day before a crest in the NASDAQ Composite, followed by a modest sell-off into May 16. But now we begin a series of three more of these passages, but in earth signs. From our studies reported in our Stock Market Timing series books, it is not unusual to see a 4-year cycle in U.S. stocks form within one month of one of these middle passes. That means any low forming now – or with the next passage, which is September 8 – could be the 4-year cycle trough (which is now stretched out to 6 years for the first time since 1932-38).

It will also be interesting to observe the movement of Venus into Capricorn on January 24. For the following 8 days, it will cross the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction. You may remember that Jupiter and Pluto conjoined exactly on December 11, the day from which the current sell-off began. If the influence of that conjunction is still in force, we might see a significant rally into January 24-February 1, the time band in which Venus translates the Jupiter-Pluto conjunction. But we must keep in mind that in December, the two planets were in late Sagittarius., This time they will be in early Capricorn. We will have to wait and see if the results are the same, or perhaps opposite, what we saw in December.

Longer-Term Thoughts

The Venus translation to the Saturn-Uranus opposition was not only noticeable for its surprises and sudden changes in the stock markets of the world. It was also evident in last Tuesday’s primary election in New Hampshire. Going into that election, all the polls showed Barack Obama well ahead of Hillary Clinton, by 9-14%. Following his surprisingly large win in Iowa the prior week, Obama seemed to have a momentum that could not be stopped. Mike Huckabee also had great momentum following his victory in Iowa too. But both Huckabee and Obama fell far short of what they had hoped for, and what the polls had suggested, as Clinton (for the Democrats) and McCain (for the Republicans) executed remarkable comebacks to win. As last week’s column stated, “This coming week will also feature a new moon at 17 degrees of Capricorn on Tuesday. This is where transiting Jupiter will be on Election Day, November 4, 2008. In fact, the Moon will also return to this position at the start of Election Day too (a lunar return to this new moon). Consequently we are getting a preview of what this election holds in the next two weeks, during the waxing phase (new moon through the full moon), in effect January 8 through 22. Any candidate who gains momentum during this period has a good chance of being on the ballot in November. Based on this principle, it would seem that New Hampshire may be more reflective of what to expect in November than Iowa was this past week – unless of course, these primaries mirror the Iowa results. But I wouldn’t rest on those results if I were Obama or Huckabee.”

As a Mundane Astrologer, it is tempting to predict that one of those two winners (Clinton or McCain) will be the next president of the United States, simply on the basis of the new moon position on last Tuesday’s primary being at the same degree as the Jupiter position on the national Election Day. Historically, New Hampshire has an 85% historical rate of accuracy for choosing the presidential candidates of each party in its primary. It is shaping up to be one of the most exciting elections in the United States in a very long time. Previously this column had also pointed to the importance of Saturn and Uranus in opposition as being a period when one must follow “the youth” in order to spot new trends emerging. That 45-year cyclical aspect makes its first of five passages right on Election Day. The turnout of the youth may very well decide who the next president of the Untied States is. They turned out in unexpectedly large numbers the previous week to deliver Obama the victory in Iowa. Will they do it again in November, thus kicking off this longer-term planetary cycle’s past history? Or will the geocosmic similarities between last Tuesday’s new moon and the position of the Moon-Jupiter on Election Day be the dominating astrological correlate? Or something else entirely? Any time Uranus is involved, there is bound to be “unexpected” developments that alter the most sophisticated forecasting tools – like polls, which were dead wrong for New Hampshire. Financial Astrology methods, on the other, were more accurate in this case. But which do you think the general public will follow most closely as this election unfolds? Astrology would suggest that the polls could be wrong again going into the voting on Election Day itself, based on both the New Moon in to Jupiter correlation, and the Saturn-Uranus opposition. It might be a good wager to task at the last minute.

Stock Market Comments For The Week Beginning January 7, 2008

Written by Raymond Merriman

Review and Preview

The New Year has started out with a thud. Typical of Venus moving towards a square with Saturn this weekend, many stock indices of the world ended the first week of 2008 with substantial declines. As stated in last week’s column, “… traders may want to concentrate on the Venus-Saturn square of Sunday, January 6. Any markets declining into that signature could complete a bottoming formation, and ready themselves for a rally. When Saturn coincides with a depression in values, that depression oftentimes lifts when the aspect separates. Venus rules values, such as stocks.” Almost as if on automatic pilot, stocks started selling off on the first trading day of the year, and continued their decline right into the end of the week.

In the United States, the sell-off in equities was evident all week. Near the end of the prior week the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up to 13,563, and appearing on the verge of a thrust to new all-time highs. By the end of this week, the DJIA was down to 12,800, flirting with the neckline of a “head and shoulders” chart formation, and about 75 points above its double bottom low of November 26. A break of that trendline may finally lead to the kind of a washout usually seen when 4-year cycle troughs unfold. The only problem is that we are now entering the 6th year, something we haven’t seen since 1938 when the DJIA lost 50% of its value in an “expanded” 4-year cycle. In all cases since the early 1890’s, 4-year cycles happen in 3-5 year increments. And yes, one might say that in the case of all other world indices (Europe, Asia), the 4-year cycle bottomed in 2003 and not 2002, so it would still be “on time.” But I think this is a case of cycle distortion, which tells us something about the longer-term cycles yet that are soon to unfold.

Severe sell-offs were also noted in Japan, where the Nikkei “gapped down” last week and fell to its lowest level since June 2006. In fact, it is now in the vicinity of challenging the 14,045 level recorded at that time, which was the last 18.5-month cycle trough. In Switzerland, the Swiss stock index fell to 8109 intraday on Friday, just barely above its yearly low of 8081 back on November 21. All other U.S. and European markets ended the week considerably above their lows of November. And in case of India, the NIFTY stock index actually made a new all-time on Friday, briefly touching 6300.

What does this tell us? It suggests that as depressing as it seemed in some countries, the indices of other counties were not quite so bad. In fact, we may see some indices making new multi-month and maybe even yearly lows at this time, but they may not be confirmed by other indices, thus creating cases of bullish intermarket divergence. If these markets do in fact reverse upwards by early this coming week, it will show yet another instance where Financial Astrology and pattern recognition studies worked very well together.

Last week was notable in other markets too. Crude Oil touched 100.00 for the first time ever, with a high of 100.09 in the nearby contract on Thursday. Gold also achieved a new all-time high on Thursday, with the February contract notching 872. And the Dollar fell hard again. By the end of the week, the Euro currency was approaching 1.4800, not far off its all-time high of 1.4966 recorded back in late November.

Short-Term Geocosmics

The Venus-Saturn square ends this Sunday, January 6. This offers hopes for the bulls. But the next aspect is another Venus square, this time to Uranus, on the following weekend, January 12. What is interesting here is that this is the first case of a faster moving planet translating the most significant aspect coming up this year: Saturn in opposition to Uranus. Thus this offers us a preview of what we might expect when this longer-term planetary signature unfolds five times between November 4, 2008 (Election Day) and July 26, 2010. By the looks of last week, it will not be pretty. For now, these two planets are about 7 degrees away from exactness, and they will widen that distance over the next few months. But come October and November, they will start their 45-year cyclical havoc on human affairs, and this will last nearly two years.

This coming week will also feature a new moon at 17 degrees of Capricorn on Tuesday. This is where transiting Jupiter will be on Election Day, November 4, 2008. In fact, the Moon will also return to this position at the start of election day too (a lunar return to this new moon), Consequently we are getting a preview of what this election holds in the next two weeks, during the waxing phase (new moon through the full moon), in effect January 8 through 22. Any candidate who gains momentum during this period has a good chance of being on the ballot in November. Based on this principle, it would seem that New Hampshire (and other primaries taking place prior to January 22) may be more reflective of what to expect in November than Iowa was this past week – unless of course, these primaries mirror the Iowa results. But I wouldn’t rest on those results if I were Obama or Huckabee.

Longer-Term Thoughts

Jupiter and Saturn will commence the first of their three trine aspects in earth signs later this month (January 21). Not only that, but Saturn is now retrograde, and will move within one degree of a trine to Pluto in April-May. According to the studies I reported in “The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 2: Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles,” there is a strong correlation to 4-year cycles in U.S. stocks within one month of the first or second passage of this transiting aspect. January 21 is actually the third of five passages, which is most unusual. But it is the first to happen in the earth signs, so traders and investors need to pay close attention to this and the next passage, which takes place September 8, just one day after the Jupiter retrograde ends. As we look at the stock market, it is apparent that there is no 4-year cycle crest happening right now. But if the DJIA breaks below 12,500, a case can be made that a 4-year cycle trough may be forming.

With Jupiter in Capricorn, home of Saturn and ruling sign of such things as real estate and government, it would seem that the economic leaders of this nation could resolve the sub-prime mortgage crisis that is currently spooking the markets. And with Saturn retrograding back to a trine to Pluto in April-May, when the second Jupiter-Saturn trine unfolds this year as well, it would seem like this could all soon be a distant memory, for Pluto rules debt and the trine is a favorable aspect in terms of Mundane Astrology. In other words, I think there is fear in the market place right now, and it may even lead to an expanded 4-year cycle trough in the next few weeks and even days. But I am not yet convinced that this is “the big one,” just yet. There is plenty of reason to still have faith in Bernanke and Paulsen, and their capacity to conjure up magic and pull the stock market out of these doldrums. In fact, I would not be surprised to see them announce some new effort designed to do just that within the next 1-3 weeks. As stated time and time again, this fire-sign duo doesn’t want a recession or stock market collapse on their watch. And I still believe they have the power and the will to do something to avoid it prior to the November elections. Of course, Jupiter is now in earth signs, and not the fire signs to which they belong, so perhaps their magic is leaving them. I wouldn’t bet on that, though. I think there are yet other ploys to try, and they could realize more successes yet this year.

After the election, however, anything is possible. That’s when the 45-year Saturn-Uranus oppositions begin, and last through much of 2010.