December 28, 2003
There may be a little extra churning in the markets early this week with some last-minute shuffling of portfolio positions prior to the end of the year, but our expectation is that trading volume will remain light because of the New Year's holiday. While stock trading will cease in the U.S. just on New Year's Day, many markets around the world will also close on New Year's Eve. This will help dry up trading volume even more. . . .
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December 21, 2003
"It's the goat minding the cabbage patch," said John Bogle, the founder of mutual fund company Vanguard Group, when he learned that John A. Thain, the president of Goldman Sachs Group Inc., had been appointed last week to become the new CEO of the New York Stock Exchange on January 15. "I don't think you can be more of a consummate insider than Goldman Sachs." . . .
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December 14, 2003
Traditional astrology tells us that Venus is associated with refinement, peace, beauty, and financial well-being-in short, good things and improvements in general. Uranus, on the other hand, is all about surprises-events that are explosive, unusual or simply unexpected. So the simplest way of talking about the Venus/Uranus conjunction is just to say that it marks a time in which things seem surprisingly good for a change. And that's exactly what happened. . . .
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December 7, 2003
For a brief amount of time last week, it looked like the stock market had something to celebrate. The NASDAQ moved above the 2000 mark in intraday trading, and the Dow Industrials squeaked above 9900. The bulls were about to be vindicated once again, but then reality set in, in the form of the latest employment reports. . . .
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November 23, 2003
As it turned out, the market's performance matched our forecast perfectly. We saw the second week in a row with U.S. equities significantly lower, interrupted only by brief positive interludes during the lunar voids. . . .
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November 16, 2003
For some reason, every time there seems to be a light at the end of the economic tunnel, another one of the economy's light bulbs burns out and things get a little darker. A couple of weeks ago government officials were cheering about the economy's remarkable turn-around, but then last week the big corporations who were reporting earnings added a dose of reality to the mix. . . .
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November 9, 2003
Of course, with the economy heating up, it also means that interest rates are likely to move up as well. As soon as that happens, we start to walk an economic tight rope, as business activity slows down with the rising cost of borrowing. Tighter money also means less enthusiasm for the stock market, so the good economic news that's pumping up the market now could very easily wind up provoking a sharp market correction. . . .
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November 2, 2003
Hooray! Hooray! The economy has suddenly miraculously gotten better! It's time to celebrate wildly and buy more stocks! That was the message last week when the government released its Q3 GDP figures. In an electrifying surprise, the GDP came in at a mind-boggling 7.2%, way above even the most optimistic estimates, and all thoughts of corrective actions and bearish trends vanished immediately. . . .
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October 26, 2003
When we warned our readers in our last letter that the "hot zone" of astrological action "coming up toward the end of the week" would "make a major shift in market direction quite likely," we were fully expecting a move into lower stock prices, but we weren't totally prepared for just how dramatic the move would be. Right on schedule, stocks reversed on Wednesday, and the declining prices continued through the end of the week. . . .
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October 19, 2003
We are moving into a week that requires extreme caution from traders, with three planetary stations, two planetary ingresses and a lunation combining forces to make a major shift in market direction quite likely. It's a time when trust and confidence are quite vulnerable, and it becomes very difficult to maintain an optimistic attitude. . . .
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October 12, 2003
The astrological picture is not nearly as intense this week as has been the case recently, but that doesn't necessarily mean that things will calm down in the markets. For example, one the planetary aspects this week is a Mercury/Chiron square. This dynamic has sent the stock market up roughly 70% of the time during the past couple of decades. There's thus a good likelihood that some bullishness will continue in the market for this week, but there are growing signs that the situation is getting dangerously toppy. . . .
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October 5, 2003
In last week's forecast we suggested that the "real news. . . should be the amount of volatility in the markets-watch for some wild swings ahead!" As things turned out, wild was certainly the right word for it-there was more than enough volatility to go around! . . .
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September 28, 2003
Two days later the worst power blackout in Italy since World War II impacted virtually the entire country. Hot on the heels of the resignation of embattled New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso, several board members of the NYSE announced that they were quitting, too, leaving many pundits worried about the future direction of the venerable institution. . . .
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September 21, 2003
"Most of the strongest astrological action comes toward the end of the week," we noted in last's week's letter, commenting that Thursday's direct station by Chiron and the heliocentric Jupiter/Uranus opposition "could bring big surprises," including "heavy trading volume and extra volatility" as well as "the possibility of major storm activity or explosions away from the trading floor" and "news impacting the London Stock Exchange, the Chicago Board of Trade, and currencies in particular, especially the Mexican Peso, the Canadian dollar, and the U.S. dollar." . . .
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September 14, 2003
In last week's issue we noted that "The week's hot spot definitely comes on Wednesday, with a Full Moon, a Venus/Hades square, a Sun/Pluto square, and triggers to both solar eclipses of 2002," and suggested that our readers "Look for major shakeups in and out of the markets then!" . . .
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September 7, 2003
A Moon/Mars occultation on September 9 promises an intensification of emotional energy, so if things start to move emotionally in the markets be alert for excesses! The week's hot spot definitely comes on Wednesday, with a Full Moon, a Venus/Hades square, a Sun/Pluto square, and triggers to both solar eclipses of 2002. Look for major shakeups in and out of the markets then! On Thursday, September 11, a lunar Void-of-Course period will keep us out the markets until just after noon; as the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attacks it's sure to be a day that will be challenging to trade. Mars opposes Jupiter in right ascension on Friday to bring the trading week to a close; this resonates with the aggressive air of this past weekend, but also offers an opportunity for bold market moves. . . .
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August 31, 2003
Those last figures are of particular interest as a follow-up to Labor Day-most economists are estimating that unemployment in August hit 6.2% in the U.S., but that one statistic hardly reveals the true extent of the job loss challenge in the country. . . .
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August 24, 2003
And what a week it is for astrology! With a Void-of-Course Moon throughout the trading day on Tuesday, it's a good time to step back from the markets and re-evaluate our strategies and positions. Actually, taking a break that day may not be such a bad idea, especially considering the power of the celestial events coming up for the remainder of the week! Tuesday evening features a Mars/Venus opposition that highlights some of the push-pull challenges of the current Mars retrograde period as the Red Planet nears its perigee; this is the time to let opposites attract and to go for the excitement of high-polarity unification instead of drawing lines in the sand and getting upset about differences. . . .
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August 17, 2003
Astrologically, we are moving into one of the year's most intense periods during the next few weeks. In understanding the full potential impact of astrological events, it's sometimes helpful to think of the various planetary energies as creating a layered effect, either in the sense of a visual representation like a painting or a theatrical set design, or in an aural sense as in the layering of sounds in a musical composition. In our current set of circumstances, for example, the transits of Pluto through Sagittarius and of Neptune through Aquarius give us a bass note or distant backdrop, while it is Jupiter and Uranus that are providing a more dynamic kind of background energy. . . .
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August 10, 2003
Astrologically, this week's highlights are the Full Moon and Admetos/Vulcanus sextile on Tuesday and Mercury reaching maximum eastern elongation on Thursday. Mars continues its retrograde motion (as it will through the end of September), making most aggressive actions less effective than usual. The void-of-course lunar periods don't interfere with trading action much this week, with the possible exception of Tuesday afternoon (watch for lots of confusion around the Fed announcement then!). . . .
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August 3, 2003
Last week we suggested that our readers "watch for war news, terrorist activity, or other upsets that could shake up the markets" and cautioned that it was "likely to be a week in which a good bit of vain posturing takes place, even though it may not necessarily be backed up with effective action." We also noted that "Astrologically, the key period for the week comes on Tuesday." As it turned out, Tuesday was indeed the day for a market shake-up, . . .
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July 27, 2003
The last time Saturn was transiting the zodiac sign of Cancer, some of U.S. President Richard M. Nixon's troubles centered on an 18-minute gap in a White House tape recording, a portion of the tape that presumably contained sensitive and perhaps potentially incriminating material that had somehow gotten erased. Now there's another gap. . . .
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July 20, 2003
If you're trading actively, be cautious during the extended lunar void-of-course period on Wednesday, which impacts the entire trading day. Trading decisions don't work out as expected during such times, so don't be afraid to watch from the sidelines! . . .
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July 13, 2003
The planet Saturn typically connects us with our need to stay focused on reality, particularly with those areas associated with the sign of the zodiac that Saturn is currently transiting. Unfortunately, however, as Saturn has begun its current transit through Cancer, that ability to stay connected with reality seems to present a bigger and bigger challenge, at least for some of the people and situations associated with that sign. . . .
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July 6, 2003
Thanks to last week's Jupiter/Pluto action, the markets managed to stay fairly buoyant during a holiday-shortened trading week in spite of some unsettling economic and geopolitical news. . . .
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June 29, 2003
Once again, we have seen the principles of astrology eloquently reflected in world events. Last week we noted that the Saturn apogee would "add some clout" to the astrological dynamics of the week, and astute readers of our calendar section would have noted that the apogee coincided with a Mercury/Admetos aspect that occurred both heliocentrically and in right ascension . . .
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June 22, 2003
Our best guess is that the Fed will cut by 25 basis points, but use such dire language in doing so that it will give a clear signal to the markets that a new, "get tough" approach is now underway, and the investment community will be quite disappointed, bringing the market averages down. . . .
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June 15, 2003
Yet from the standpoint of those of us watching the markets, the really serious news came with the Sun/Pluto opposition on Monday. That's when the board at Freddie Mac, the second largest mortgage finance company in the U.S., abruptly fired its president and chief operating officer David Glenn, and forced the resignations of Freddie Mac's CEO and CFO as well. It seems that a little bit of accounting hanky-panky had been going on for the past few years. . . .
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June 8, 2003
The Dow Jones Industrial Average scratched and clawed its way to hang on above the 9000 mark last week, but its repeated failure to confirm efforts extend its rally even farther sent a sharp signal that we can anticipate some corrective action ahead. . . .
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June 1, 2003
Eclipses move markets. That's one of the first rules of financial astrology, and we certainly saw it at work last week, with the market action moving into the solar eclipse that finished out the week's trading . . .
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May 25, 2003
Asian markets showed some strength last week, but US & European equities markets were weaker. . . .
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May 18, 2003
The European equities markets were much stronger last week as the dollar continued its slide against the euro, but some weakness started to show on the Asian exchanges. . . .
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May 11, 2003
The global rally in equities continued last week, but somebody clearly put the brakes on. The pace clearly slowed in almost every market, with the Frankfurt DAX even moving back into negative territory fweek. or the week . . .
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May 4, 2003
According to the Pew Research Center, for the first time since September 11, 2001, more Americans are concerned about the economy than about terrorism. . . .
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April 27, 2003
Isn't astrology great? Last week we were looking at the transits of Chiron, the "healing crisis" planet, to the horoscopes for the Federal Reserve, wondering what kind of impact they would have on U.S. fiscal policy. This week those transits took material form when Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan had prostate surgery! President Bush had reassuring words about keeping Chairman Al in place, and it was really the low GDP numbers that caught more attention from economic pundits, but it was an interesting display of astrological dynamics at work nevertheless. . . .
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April 20, 2003
Despite some gains, the advances in U.S. markets failed to break through key resistance levels last week, while signs that bottoms may be forming in the Nikkei and Hang Seng averages hint that an oriental rally of historic proportions could be waiting in the wings. . . .
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April 13, 2003
As always, our aim is to time our entry point so that we can gain the maximum possible advantage from every trade; even so, we choose not to become so enamored of being right that we forget to observe what the markets themselves are trying to teach us. The markets are shifting dramatically now, and we're shifting right along with them, using our astro-trading tools to help increase our confidence level so that we can stick with winning strategies. . . .
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April 6, 2003
I've just finished up two very stimulating days at the 13th World Conference on Astro-Economics in Scottsdale, Arizona, where some of the world's top financial astrologers and market analysts met to discuss the impact of cosmic cycles on the markets. It's now more clear than ever before that financial astrology has not only become an accepted part of technical analysis; it's also the part with the best track record! . . .
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March 30, 2003
Most of the pundits in the major media blame the shift in the markets on the changing currents in the war, which, much to everyone's surprise, actually kills people. But our astrological bias is, we think, a much better explanation-the Pluto station did the trick. . . .
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March 23, 2003
The "shock and awe" of the oil war in Iraq removed all of the market's uncertainty about whether or not a war would take place. Since the market likes uncertainty least of all, this was the signal for bourses around the world to jump on the bandwagon, joining the rally that had already begun on Wall Street. . . .
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March 16, 2003
T: Last week we called for a turn in the trend and the U.S. equities markets complied beautifully, converting a week that got off to a devastatingly bad start into a winning one for the Dow, the NASDAQ, and the S&P 500. . . .
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March 9, 2003
Once again the traders stayed away from Wall Street with a vengeance last week. The two great emotions that drive the markets are fear and greed, and when the players aren't greedy enough to even come out and play, it can only be because there's too much fear around. . . .
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March 2, 2003
Unfortunately, "going it alone" militarily will probably mean "paying for it alone" as well. No doubt that's one of the reasons why equity markets were uniformly down in response to Bush's latest round of belligerence, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down 1.58%, the Dow Utilities down 1.32%, the Dow Transports down 2.26%, the S&P 500 down 0.83%, the NASDAQ Composite down 0.85%, and the Russell 2000 down 1.05%. London' FTSE 100 was down 1.92%, Frankfurt's DAX was down 3.84%, the Paris CAC-40 was down 2.68%, Tokyo's Nikkei was down 1.77%, Sydney's All Ordinaries were down 0.93%, the Singapore Straits Times Index was down 3.13%, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index was down 1.39%. . . .
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February 23, 2003
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week up 3.46%, with the Dow Utilities up 3.66%, the Dow Transports up 1.11%, the NASDAQ Composite up 5.60%, the S&P 500 up 3.77%, and the Russell 2000 up 2.70% . . .
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February 16, 2003
What a week we've just been through! With the Moon increasing in light, and the deadline nearing for another report from United Nations arms inspectors, the United States increased its pressure on Iraq, mobilized even more troops and weapons in its colossal buildup for an oil war, and informed Americans that they certainly shouldn't feel safe in their own homes. . . .
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February 9, 2003
The stock market never likes uncertainty, and the world's political leaders did their best to make sure that uncertainty was the order of the day as February got underway. While United Nations arms inspectors observed that Iraq seemed to be undergoing a change of heart, Colin Powell played smoking tapes and George Bush polished his six-shooters. . . .
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February 2, 2003
Stocks continued their downward journey to finish January on the losing side last week. The Dow Industrials were down 0.95% for the week, the Dow Utilities were down 1.38%, the Dow Transports were up 0.46%, the S&P 500 was down 0.66%, the NASDAQ Composite was down 1.58%, and the Russell 2000 was down 0.77%. . . .
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January 26, 2003
As it turned out, of course, we saw a week in which U.S. stocks not only turned in their second losing week in a row-they completely obliterated the gains of the much-touted January rally and smashed decisively through the technical support zone provided by the lows of November and December. . . .
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January 19, 2003
Inept diplomacy, bungled communications, transportation disasters, traffic jams, earnings disappointments, media strikes, layoffs and work stoppages-what better way can you imagine to cross the hump of a Mercury retrograde cycle during the past week? . . .
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January 12, 2003
The U.S. markets continued their Mercury retrograde rally last week, with the Dow Industrials up 2.13% for the week, the Dow Utilities up 1.93%, the Dow Transports up 1.21%, the Russell 2000 up 1.57%, and the S&P 500 up 2.09%. The big winners were in the NASDAQ, however, with the NASDAQ Composite posting a powerful 4.37% gain for the week. . . .
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