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March 5, 2006
Nearly a year ago, when U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice visited India, she raised some eyebrows and annoyed many of her listeners with her condescending remark that the U.S. wanted to "make" India into a world power. Given the patronizing tone of that official visit and the current U.S. president's ongoing reputation for arrogance at home and abroad, it was particularly surprising last week when President Bush popped into India for a quick visit just as Mercury was going retrograde . . . keep reading
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December 30, 2007
Wall Street didn't exactly get a lump of coal in its stocking this Christmas, but the absence of a shiny new bike under the tree was all too obvious. Disappointing retail sales and stunning drops in new home sales and in sale prices of existing homes were more than enough to dampen the holiday mood . . . keep reading
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December 23, 2007
I noted last week that market conditions had "set the stage for a ho-ho rally, helped along by a passel of positive astrological indicators." That's exactly what materialized with Friday's strong finish in stock trading. Even so, this is not the time to throw caution to the winds-Santa Claus will have to pick up a lot of extra energy right now to move this market out of its short-term bearishness. With traders focusing time with friends and family during the first part of the week, it may be hard to get that momentum going. . . . keep reading
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December 16, 2007
I fully expected last week's Jupiter/Pluto conjunction to trigger significant upward price action in the equities markets, but the foolishness from the Fed did more than its share in keeping the bulls at bay. However, the pullback in stock prices has now set the stage for a ho-ho rally, helped along by a passel of positive astrological indicators. The only real question is whether there has been enough of a retracement to trigger a big positive surge in stock prices, or whether we will see a more gradual and tentative return to positive equities trends. Either way, I'm expecting higher prices for stocks by the end of the year, and while I continue to look toward a few short positions in the Model Portfolio to insure against market fluctuations, there are some increasingly attractive buying opportunities to be reckoned with right now . . . keep reading
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December 9, 2007
Last week was a good one for stocks, especially if you were in the bullish camp. Thanks to conflicting indicators, however, I've often felt in recent weeks like a man with one foot on the dock and one foot in the boat, with the market volatility threatening to flip me into the drink at any moment. While the week's gains were not entirely out of line with my astrological expectations, I would have actually felt a little more comfortable if the lingering Uranian energy had pulled stock price sharply lower, so that we would be setting up more clearly for a shift into a renewed rally at this point . . . keep reading
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December 2, 2007
n last week's letter I noted that I was looking for "increasing selling pressure" in the equities markets, but also noted that "by mid-December it's entirely possible that we will see a rebound rally getting underway." As it turned out, both parts of that forecast materialized during the trading week. Stocks dipped through key support indicators on Monday to confirm sell signals, and then promptly bounced back with a vengeance . . . keep reading
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November 25, 2007
Stocks bounced back on Friday on extremely light volume, but failed to prevent a losing week. Although we may see some initial carry-over of this thin enthusiasm as the current week gets underway, I'm anticipating a fairly strong sell-off in equities during the first half of the week. As things wrap up on Thursday and Friday, however, the bulls may get a brief chance to have their say . . . keep reading
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November 18, 2007
Stocks turned in an amazingly volatile performance last week, highlighted by Tuesday's spectacular climb in the blue chips, with the Dow Industrials up almost 320 points for the day. While the newspaper headlines and TV financial programs crowed about this spectacular result, they generally ignored the fact that there hadn't been an accompanying surge in volume to go along with the surging prices. As far as I'm concerned, there is still a lot of downside potential ahead . . . keep reading
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November 11, 2007
Did we sneeze?" That was the question from a loyal reader after Friday's market close, who called me in response to my comment in the special alert that went out on Thursday, warning my clients and readers that "the closing prices Wednesday in all the U.S. equity indices came within sneezing distance of the support zones that indicate a significant change in trend." We did in fact sneeze, and quite vigorously at that. Before we could reach for a handkerchief the short-term market support had vanished. . . . keep reading
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November 4, 2007
The Mercury retrograde phenomenon never ceases to amaze me. Over the years, I've learned to anticipate this three-week period as a time that requires a little extra patience in travel, a little extra caution in the markets, a little extra effort in communications, and a lot more tolerance and forgiveness in general . . . keep reading
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October 28, 2008
Once again, the equities markets have followed the Mercury retrograde path of mixed signals and confusing expectations. As I've noted in recent weeks, the Mercury retrograde period will not only often bring a short-term counter-trend to trading activity; it also adds an element of unreliability to technical and astrological indicators than can otherwise be relied upon with a high level of confidence . . . keep reading
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October 21, 2007
During the coming week we are likely to see even more aggressive selling get underway. According to my analysis, last week's tumble was just the tip of the iceberg, and we have a long way to go before we hit our downside price targets in the equities markets . . . keep reading
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October 14, 2007
With Mercury now in retrograde motion, we have a good possibility of a short-term bearish counter-trend in the equities markets, with the potential for a somewhat surprising slide as well in some commodities, most notably Gold. Even so, this three-week Mercury retrograde period is one in which it's a good idea to be a bit suspicious of any supposedly sure-fire market indicators or once-in-a-lifetime trade setups. As the saying goes, if it seems too good to be true, it probably is . . . keep reading
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October 7, 2007
The Dow's gone wild! Stocks are up! The bulls are back! The economy's great! What's wrong with this incredibly rosy picture? Not much, except for the fact that it looks like the setup for an especially grim scene in a horror movie. The audience knows that something heinous is going to happen at any moment, but the heroine is completely oblivious to the danger . . . keep reading
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September 30, 2007
While all of my cycle and wave studies are indicating that it's time for a market reversal to the downside, a notion that's confirmed by the overall bullishness of the recent behavior in stock prices, there's a fly in the ointment: in sharp contrast to these trend studies, the majority of the short-term astrological indicators suggest a continuation of the rally. . . . keep reading
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September 23, 2007
Last week I suggested that all the publicity surrounding the publication of Alan Greenspan's new book might "motivate Bernanke to make a bolder move in cutting interest rates. Slashing rates by 50 basis points or more would send champagne corks popping on Wall Street right now, and in a heartbeat Ben Shalom Bernanke could once again be the center of attention." . . . keep reading
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September 16, 2007
Just as I had forecast, noting that "we are likely to see stock prices continue to rise past the eclipse," last week's Solar Eclipse brought an upward push in the equities markets. While there's a strong likelihood that we will continue to see rising prices for much of this week, the line-up of astrological factors at week's end suggests that we are headed for a trading top . . . keep reading
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September 9, 2007
It was the face of terror. No, not the visage of still-not-dead-yet Osama bin Laden, which provoked less genuine consternation last Friday than a flurry of jokes about his beard. As far as the markets were concerned, the really horrific thing to see was the minus sign in front of the August number in the Department of Labor's jobs report . . . keep reading
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September 2, 2007
: In last week's issue I said we could expect some "turmoil in the markets in the trading days nearest the eclipse" on Tuesday. Turmoil is what we got-to the tune of a 208-point plunge in the Dow on Tuesday, immediately followed by a 247-point rally on Wednesday. It was a tumultuous week to say the least, but it ended up as basically a wash, with U.S. stocks finishing up on Friday at just about the same levels where they began the week . . . keep reading
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August 26, 2007
COMMENT: The stock market gained back some of its lost ground last week, but the overall trading environment remains quite treacherous. The efforts of central banks in recent weeks to keep the markets afloat have certainly had some effect, but as far as I can tell, there's still a long way to go in rebuilding investor confidence. For the near term, I am looking as much to the short side as I am to the long side in uncovering potential trading positions . . . keep reading
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August 19, 2007
Once again the name of the game in equities trading is volatility. While for the most part stock prices behaved last week in harmony with my expectations, the moves were bigger and more far-reaching than I had anticipated. The volatility took its toll, both on markets around the world and on our Model Portfolio. . . . keep reading
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August 12, 2007
Last week's trading action closely matched my expectations, based primarily on the astrological dynamics at work. I noted in last week's issue that we were likely to "see stock prices valiantly trying to regain some of the ground that has been lost in recent weeks," with a strong start on Monday and a trading environment in which the "positive energy in the markets will continue through Tuesday and Wednesday" to produce "a fairly bullish environment for much of the trading week." . . . keep reading
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August 5, 2007
Once again we've seen some substantial selling in the stock market. Equities worked hard to return to a bullish mood last week, but lousy employment numbers and the collapse of American Home Mortgage undermined confidence in a big way. This is clearly no longer just a subprime lending mess-the debt and lending problems are chewing away at other parts of the economy, too . . . keep reading
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July 29, 2007
Last week's trading action provided quite an interesting dining experience for market connoisseurs. The big question was, do you really have the stomach for that kind of meal? In my case, it was hardly what I might have ordinarily considered the optimal gastronomic event. It certainly wasn't what I thought I had ordered, but it was somewhat satisfying nevertheless. The Financial Cycles Model Portfolio took some losses, but with some profit-taking as well ended up the week in positive territory. My personal resolution to stay away from the market during a Void-of-Course Moon saved me considerable indigestion. So maybe the stock market isn't such a bad restaurant after all . . . keep reading
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July 22, 2007
Very much in line with my forecast for last week, we had a week that got underway with blue chips hitting all-time highs, followed by a sell-off toward the end of the week that washed away all the gains of the previous trading sessions. With earnings season in full swing and dozens upon dozens of earnings reports hitting the market each week, I fully expected some disappointing news in that department to be the signal for a short-term market reversal . . . keep reading
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July 15, 2007
We have a potentially exciting trading week ahead of us, with a flood of earnings reports, plenty of economic news, and some notable activity from the Federal Reserve. All this takes place against an astrological backdrop of essentially positive planetary influences, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a week of fresh records in the equities markets. There's plenty of potential for surprises, however, so no matter how bullish the news may be, this is definitely not the time to fall asleep at the wheel . . . keep reading
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July 8, 2007
Mercury retrograde is always hard to deal with, one way or another. In the markets, as I've noted before, it most often contributes to mixed signals, unfilled orders, communications breakdowns, and a general consternation when it comes to reading market indicators correctly . . . keep reading
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July 1, 2007
I suggested last week that "I suspect the Fed's announcements will be greeted with some enthusiasm from traders and pundits" on Thursday, and that certainly proved to be the case. U.S. equities, which had started the week in a congested trading environment with a slightly negative bias, were briefly resuscitated on Thursday, and then finished out the week with a few optimistic notes being sounded . . . keep reading
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June 24, 2007
I noted last week that I expected the markets to respond to "a week of fairly intense astrological action, highlighted by planetary conjunctions with transneptunian factors, the Summer Solstice, and two planetary stations at the end of the week. The overall outlook is for some initial weakness in the markets followed by a sharp spike upward in midweek. Then I'm looking for declining trends and weakening price action as the week comes to a close." . . . keep reading
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June 17, 2007
Mercury is in retrograde motion now, so we can look for confusion in communications, delays in travel, and plenty of fake-outs in the markets. It will be in effect until July 9, so have a good time! . . . keep reading
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June 10, 2007
I said last week that I was looking for positive price action in stocks, but that "the party could be spoiled at any time by a serious bump in the economic picture or by a hint that higher interest rates are on the way." It was that hint of higher rates that materialized, in the form of some tentative comments from Fed Chairman Ben Shalom Bernanke and an actual rate hike from the Bank of England. The result was a sharp sell-off, which creates the distinct possibility of further stock declines in the weeks ahead. Overall, however, I'm still quite optimistic about the overall market outlook at this point, since none of our major trend indicators have reversed and since there appear to be some good possibilities for trades on the long side . . . keep reading
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June 3, 2007
Even though we had a trading week shortened by the Memorial Day holiday, stocks returned to their bullish ways last week, with markets around the world flirting with new highs. I expect to see more of the same this week, in spite of the fact that the party could be spoiled at any time by a serious bump in the economic picture or by a hint that higher interest rates are on the way . . . keep reading
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May 27, 2007
In spite of some positive days at the beginning and end of the past trading week, stocks as a whole gave up some ground, with the blue chips posting a net loss for the week. The issues in the Russell 2000, however, more closely matched my expectations for the week's price action, taking a noticeable dip but then coming back with a vengeance to wind up the week in positive territory . . . keep reading
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May 20, 2007
We have an interesting week shaping up in the markets, with retrograde stations by Neptune and Chiron, some strong eclipse activations, and some solid indications of even higher prices ahead. While the trading week may get off to a somewhat sluggish start, I expect to see a very impressive performance by the time Friday gets here and we move into the Memorial Day weekend. . . . keep reading
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May 13, 2007
When I commented last week that it was "time for the stock market to take a breather," I didn't realize how literally a breather would be needed in this part of the country. Here on the Gulf of Mexico in Sarasota, Florida, I am about 300 miles from the Georgia state line to the north, but during the past week the wildfires rampaging across southern Georgia and northern Florida have sent a blanket of smoke all the way down the Florida peninsula. For several days here the weather has seemed to a persistent fog, but it only takes one whiff when you step outside to remind you that it's definitely smoke. . . . keep reading
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May 6, 2007
After a whirlwind ride upward, it's time for the stock market to take a breather. The rally of recent months has defied the expectations of many pundits, and has provided an abundance of opportunities for profitable short-term trades. But now we have to look at the possibility of a pause . . . keep reading
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April 29, 2007
On the surface, it looks like a simple story of the Saturn cycle at work. One of the tenets of natal astrology is that the passage of Saturn through the zodiac, a process which takes a little less than 30 years, is an indicator of success and prominence when it is superimposed over an individual's natal horoscope. When Saturn crosses the nadir in a natal chart, it indicates a period of consolidating energies, but when the planet crosses the Midheaven and passes through a natal tenth house, a time of gain, acclaim, and power occurs . . . keep reading
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April 22, 2007
The market continues to set new highs, in spite of all rational expectations to the contrary. The astrological action supports more bullish expectations, at least for the short term, but it's increasingly doubtful that this act of unnatural levitation can be sustained much longer. I'm continuing to add some short positions in my trading, and am locking in profits as my long trades get into the black. . . . keep reading
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April 15, 2007
The action in the stock market last week followed the trading pattern that I had anticipated, with a positive start followed by a price pullback and then a resumption of the market's forward progress. What surprised me, however, was the modest scale of the market advances at the beginning of the week and the relative severity of the downturn at the halfway point . . . keep reading
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April 8, 2007
I noted last week that we could expect a positive trend for stock prices, and that certainly proved to be the case. In fact, last week's trading brought some extremely good news for the bulls, in spite of lighter volume and a shortened trading week thanks to the holiday break. My expectation is for the bullishness to continue throughout this week, in all probability carrying equities prices to dizzying new heights. As we look forward a bit farther, however, things get a bit more treacherous in the markets . . . keep reading
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April 1, 2007
It was an adventure I hadn't planned on having. On Wednesday my 25-year-old daughter Amrita stopped by to visit with me for a couple of hours. She arrived on her motor scooter, a Chinese-made Vespa look-alike she purchased used about five or six months ago. . . . keep reading
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March 25, 2007
I noted in last week's newsletter that "The solar eclipse has tremendous force, even though it's just a partial eclipse, mainly because of its proximity to the Spring Equinox. We can expect some real drama in the markets because of it, not only during the current week, but over the next couple of months as well." Sure enough, right on cue, the stock market grabbed that eclipse energy and ran with it, chalking up one of the strongest weeks that traders have seen in the last four years . . . keep reading
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March 18, 2007
Which way is the economy heading? Not in a good direction, if you pay attention to all the news about the subprime lending crisis and the unraveling of many real estate dreams. Of course there are still some stalwarts in the real estate business who insist that everything is still hunky-dory, but their voices are getting harder and harder to hear amid the moaning and sobbing coming from other directions . . . keep reading
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March 11, 2007
The Mercury retrograde period is over at last, making room for some clear thinking and renewed confidence in trading and market analysis. The recent retrograde was especially dynamic in its impact on stock prices, with dramatically rising prices setting up a big sucker-punch for investors who were caught off guard by the nasty decline at the end of February. For those who have been ready and willing to follow the market flow, however, there have been ample opportunities . . . keep reading
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March 4, 2007
Understandably enough, I've been getting lots of questions about the big decline in the stock market last week. "Could this have been predicted?" one of my clients wanted to know. The answer is of course "yes" if you're using astrology in your market analysis . . . keep reading
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February 25, 2007
I spent some time traveling last week, and the experience gave me a wonderful reminder of just how powerful Mercury retrograde periods are. My overall schedule was sane enough that I avoided any catastrophic frustrations, and I didn't have to contend with a canceled flight as so many travelers have had to put up with during the last couple of weeks. Even so I did experience some unscheduled delays in airports, with gate changes, weather challenges, and a rescheduling due to mechanical problems . . . keep reading
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February 18, 2007
Mercury retrograde is in full swing, with its usual share of complications added to communications and travel. This is not a time to start new projects, but rather to tie up loose ends and bring old tasks to completion. So far at least, I seem to have avoided any major computer problems, but I am traveling this week, which predictably enough has created a slight delay in getting this newsletter out. That's one of the advantages of astrology; because of my decades of involvement with it . . . keep reading
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February 11, 2007
I suggested last week that we were due for some moderation in stock prices, and sure enough, U.S. equities stumbled as the week came to a close. From an astrological perspective, I suspect that the heliocentric Mars/Hades opposition on Thursday evening was the real culprit, but there was also a lot going on in economic news to disturb the trading mood. . . . keep reading
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February 4, 2007
By every sort of cycle analysis, we are now long overdue for a market correction. Our technical studies continue to point in a positive direction for stocks, however, and a variety of minor astrological indications keep pointing to higher prices as well. Our overall outlook thus remains bullish for stocks, even though we could see some moderating prices this week. We are also keenly aware that the longer this rally continues, the more likely it will be that the inevitable correction . . . keep reading
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January 28, 2007
Last week I noted that with a flood of earnings reports coming in, "we can expect to see a much broader picture of the underlying dynamics that are likely to move the markets in the coming months." That's proven to be very much the case. The overall tone of the Fourth Quarter profit pictures for most of the companies that have reported so far is generally quite positive. Even so, the overwhelming sentiment for the months ahead has a . . . keep reading
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January 21, 2007
Last week was a time which foreshadowed significant reversals and market trends. Crude oil futures hit a 20-month low. The Consumer Price Index finished 2006 with its highest annual increase since 2001, making the inflationary trend hard to ignore. And Dell Computer's market share fell to a four-year low as it struggled to keep up with the competition. . . . keep reading
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January 14, 2007
As I noted last week, "Conjunctions of Mars and Pluto are associated with troublesome events, including armed conflict, natural disasters, and interpersonal strife." And sure enough, right on cue as the Mars/Pluto conjunction came into play late last week, there was some strong seismic action in the Pacific. Japan feared a possible tsunami, but that didn't materialize, even though there are likely to be aftershocks and other rumblings for at least a few more days. . . . keep reading
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Astro-Trading; Mars-Pluto Conjunction; George Washington Carver; Federation of Australian Astrologers; Financial Astrology
Stocks got off to a disappointing start in the year's first week of trading. Essentially the price action was just the opposite of what I had anticipated, with prices rising during the week's initial trading and then falling off sharply on Friday. The week's action did however illustrate the power of the Void-of-Course Moon in producing market fake-outs and false trend indicators. Wednesday was an extremely unusual day in the markets, and one that should be examined closely by astro-traders who want to understand more fully the implications of the Void-of-Course Moon. . . . keep reading
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Paintball Attack; W. D. Gann; Many Many Snakes; Erma Bombeck; Stock Market Astrology
We've just wrapped up a year that turned out to be better than expected for the stock market. While it was a year in which my tendency to be overly-cautious took me out of trades that might otherwise have been more profitable, it nevertheless demonstrated the underlying validity of the astrological approach to market analysis and trading. I'm happy (but not entirely satisfied) with the year's results, and while the Financial Cycles Model Portfolio was not as profitable in 2006 as it had been in some previous years, the average annual return has been better than 35 percent during the past five years. . . . keep reading
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