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December 26, 2004
Even though the stock market was booming last week, the greenback didn't fare so well. The U.S. dollar plunged to an all-time low against the euro during the trading day on Thursday. . . . keep reading
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December 19, 2004
As we move into the holiday season, we're looking back on a year of real congestion in the equities markets. Since January 1, it hasn't been particularly profitable to have your money in blue chip stocks-the Dow Industrials are just up 1.9% so far this year. . . . keep reading
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December 12, 2004
Commodity prices continued to fall last week, continuing the declines we noted in our market comments and sector reports in our last issue. Oil, gold, and silver led the way down. The Dollar Index, however, failed to penetrate the Saturn support zone (G,30,N,0) that we have been watching in the 80.50 to 80.75 range. It looks like Saturn may continue to slow the greenback's fall at this point, although with Mercury in retrograde motion, the Saturn support may be quite temporary. . . . keep reading
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December 5, 2004
The speculative nature of the futures markets was made abundantly clear again last week when crude oil prices plunged, with many of the traders who had pumped up prices in recent months suddenly deciding to dump their contracts. Oil prices dipped by about $7 a barrel, going all the way down to $42.05 to hit a three-month low, and we should start to see lower prices at the gas pump as well, just in time for holiday driving. . . . keep reading
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November 28, 2004
The past week was one of contradictions, with some signs of renewed economic strength along with some economic disappointments, a few profitable trading setups in the midst of an increasingly treacherous trading environment, and yet another record low for the dollar versus the euro. . . . keep reading
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November 21, 2004
The plunging dollar has some members of the European Community worried, since it's likely to hurt the export picture there, and exports are responsible for most of the current growth in the European economy. But here in the U.S., the Congress doesn't seem very concerned with the falling dollar, or with its connection to the growing deficit that Alan Greenspan is so concerned about. . . . keep reading
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November 14, 2004
We have been tracking the fate of the U.S. dollar for the past few weeks, and have noted the significance of 12th-harmonic Saturn in providing support for the currency. During the past week's trading the Dollar Index repeatedly flirted with the Saturn support line (G,30,N,0) with intraday lows on the line on Monday and Wednesday and a close on Friday on the line as well. In other words, we have yet to take out this important support factor, and the dollar could be ready for a short-term retracement back to the upside in the weeks ahead. We will be watching this Saturn support closely, however. If it is broken decisively, we still expect huge negative momentum. . . . keep reading
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November 7, 2004
As we have been saying for the past couple of weeks, the U.S. currency is in serious trouble, breaking through Saturn support and moving lower toward the critical 84.56 level on the Dollar Index. We commented last week that we were looking "for a penetration of the 84.56 level and a strong move below." . . . keep reading
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October 31, 2004
We noted last week that the Dollar Index had broken through significant Saturn support, and that we were looking for a drop below 84.56 to test an important technical zone. The intraday low for the Index hit 84.73 on Tuesday, and the dollar has gained a little ground since then, closing out the week at 85.22. While that brings some short-term relief, it's hardly enough to convince us that there is not still more downside to come. Unless the Dollar Index works its way back up above that Saturn line (G,30,N,0), we will continue to watch for a penetration of the 84.56 level and a strong move below. . . . keep reading
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October 24, 2004
We have noted before in these pages that the times near eclipses tend to bring important events. Right now, in the period between the October 13 Solar Eclipse and the October 27 Lunar Eclipse, there are many things that at least seem important, and a few others that will perhaps reveal their true significance only after some time has passed. . . . keep reading
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October 17, 2004
Heliocentric dynamics figure prominently in this week's market astrology, with a Venus/Saturn conjunction and a Mars/Zeus conjunction on Tuesday and a Venus/Vulcanus conjunction on Wednesday. We'll be watching all of them to provide significant price support. . . . keep reading
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October 10, 2004
Last week we commented that "A Sun/Mercury conjunction and a Venus/Uranus opposition should both provide plenty of energy to keep prices moving upward" in the stock market. That turned out to be true in trading throughout the world, except for the action in U.S. stocks, with the major averages turning in a losing week. . . . keep reading
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October 3, 2004
We noted last week that the actions of Mars, Jupiter, Zeus and the Sun "suggest quite strongly that we will see some positive moves in the equities markets." That's exactly what we got, with stocks moving upward around the world and putting in an especially strong showing in the U.S., complete with cross-index confirmation. . . . keep reading
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September 26, 2004
That's what we're looking for now. Mars/Jupiter dynamics this week, along with the continuing impact of the Sun/Mars conjunction leading up to a Sun/Zeus conjunction near the end of the week, suggest quite strongly that we will see some positive moves in the equities markets. . . . keep reading
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September 19, 2004
Last week was a good time to be in the stock market, unless you were drinking too much Coke. The Coca-Cola Company (KO) warned investors that its per-share results for the third quarter will be at least 24 percent below its earnings of a year ago, blaming the drop on bad weather in Europe and admitting that the company is having problems executing its business strategy in North America. . . . keep reading
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September 12, 2004
Some of the semiconductor issues and other tech stocks were among the strongest players in the equities markets last week, just one week after they showed up on our list of the weakest market sectors. This bounce was one of the big reasons that the NASDAQ was among the strongest market averages for the week, but we're not sure it should be trusted as a sign of clearing skies for this troubled part of the market. . . . keep reading
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September 5, 2004
Last week brought what has become the typical dose of economic contradictions. The report on jobs was fairly positive, with 144,000 new jobs being added to U.S. payrolls. Prices at the gas pump went up, however, and the government announced a 17% increase in the cost of Medicare premiums. There was also disappointing news for automobile manufacturers, with new car sales dropping sharply. General Motors was down 14%, Ford was down 13%, DaimlerChrysler was down 6%, and Toyota was down 10%. The overall message is apparently that while you might consider yourself lucky to have a job, don't count on being able to afford to drive to work. On the other hand, don't plan to retire, either, unless you intend to stay healthy. . . . keep reading
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August 29, 2004
Astrologically speaking, we can give the current Mars/Neptune quincunx (a 150-degree angle between the planets) the credit for the prevailing tendency to act on the basis of illusion or misinformation, whether it's wishful thinking in the markets, formulations of policy in international affairs, or even just muddled memories of Vietnam War records. . . . keep reading
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August 22, 2004
This could put the brakes on the current rally in a rather surprisingly fashion. The weekend will bring brings a Venus/Chiron opposition and a Full Moon, so we may get enough volatility to set up some very profitable short-term trades. . . . keep reading
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August 15, 2004
Oil prices continued to skyrocket in the futures markets last week, adding more volatility and uncertainty to trading around the globe. . . . keep reading
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August 8, 2004
As it turned out, there was definitely more volatility in equities trading during the week, with daily trading ranges on the Dow Industrials nearly 30% bigger than the average daily trading range had been in July. Especially toward the end of the week, the action on the trading floor took a lot of wind out of the market's sails, with Blue Chips and the broader market averages both getting a pummeling. And as we anticipated, gold and oil were both up for the week, with oil futures hitting an all-time high. . . . keep reading
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August 1, 2004
A Jupiter/Pluto square is currently in sway, adding a huge potential for market volatility and for ostentatious displays of power. . . . keep reading
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July 25, 2004
A big sell-off did in fact end the week, with the Dow Industrials continuing their decline and closing well below the psychologically important 10,000 mark. That sets the stage for a short-term rally to get underway this week, and we're looking for higher equity prices as trading unfolds. . . . keep reading
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July 18, 2004
Last week we noted that "Thursday's Sun/Chiron opposition and Friday's face-off between Mars and Neptune both promise drastically lower prices for the broad market as well as the market bellwethers" and said that "our expectation is for any blue-chip strength that reveals itself early in the week to have vanished by the time Friday rolls around." . . . keep reading
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July 11, 2004
We were pleased to see that the "Market Watch" column in the current (July 12) issue of Barron's reprinted an extended excerpt from last week's issue of FINANCIAL CYCLES WEEKLY. Barron's found our comments on global developments, economic news, and the U.S. political scene relevant, and we were grateful for their attention. . . . keep reading
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July 4, 2004
In such cases, where there are obvious political motivations for interpreting economic numbers in totally contradictory ways, we've found it best to pay attention to the markets. After all, there's typically a remarkable amount of wisdom in the consensus opinion of crowds, and the markets are a daily meter of that consensus. So when the Labor Department report came out and the stock market tanked, we figured that for once we had a final answer. . . . keep reading
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June 27, 2007
Venus returns to direct motion this week, strengthening cash flow potentials and renewing opportunities in markets that are getting stagnant. It joins forces with Friday's high-energy Full Moon to promise a very memorable week in the markets! . . . keep reading
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June 20, 2004
With the May Consumer Price Index showing its biggest increase since President Bush took office, and with the Producer Price Index also much higher than most economic pundits had anticipated, it's becoming increasingly clear that inflationary forces are a good bit stronger than government economists have thus far been willing to admit. . . . keep reading
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June 13, 2004
The astrological dynamics for the week are mainly colored by the Sun/Hades conjunction and the Mars/Chiron opposition, which add some potential for confrontation and volatility, both in and out of the markets. . . . keep reading
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June 6, 2004
This week we get a truly rare celestial event-a transit of Venus across the face of the Sun. It's something that's of considerable interest to astronomers, partly because observing it can teach us a lot about planetary measurements and distances, and partly because transits of Venus don't happen very often. As Edmund Halley, the British Astronomer Royal, put it in 1691, "The sight of Venus on the Sun is by far the noblest that astronomy can afford." . . . keep reading
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May 30, 2004
The Venus-Pluto opposition on the eve of the June 3 Full Moon makes Thursday the day to watch in this week's shortened market action. There's a void-of-course Moon that gets underway a couple of hours before the closing bell that day, however, so we'll need to be especially attentive as we focus on the trading activity that morning. The weekend's Mercury ingress, combined with two eclipse triggers, could make for a marked shift in market action and direction when next week's trading gets underway. . . . keep reading
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May 23, 2004
It's the astrological picture that promises some market turbulence this week. Tuesday's Mars/Saturn conjunction (which takes place in right ascension on Monday evening), along with Cupido triggering an eclipse point, could make for a trading environment in which prices encounter unexpected resistance. . . . keep reading
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May 16, 2004
As we mentioned last week, this week's biggest astrological action comes on Monday, with nearly simultaneous retrograde stations by Neptune and Venus. This is a configuration that is likely to bring a trend reversal, but since the market action in U.S. equities has been anything but strongly trending lately it's a little hard to tell what the net result will be. . . . keep reading
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May 9, 2004
We have an unusual event coming up on May 17, which is the 212th birthday of the New York Stock Exchange: two planets, Venus and Neptune, will both be going into retrograde motion on the same day. What's the market impact that we can expect? . . . keep reading
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May 2, 2004
The broad U.S. market, exemplified by the NASDAQ and the Russell 2000, led world equities into the tank during the final week of Mercury Retrograde trading. U.S. transports, as well as Paris, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, were also hard hit in a week that saw all losers and no winners. . . . keep reading
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April 25, 2004
So while we are still getting used to having to stop at the ATM machine before we stop at the gas pump, we need to keep one important thing in mind: it's not just the price of gasoline that's going up; it's everything else, too. In fact, if we really want to shift our attitudes, we can just stop thinking that things cost more now. Instead, we can just get used to the fact that our money is worth less! . . . keep reading
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April 18, 2004
Generally speaking, eclipses are the most important astrological events in terms of their ability to move markets and to signal major natural and geopolitical upheavals. This week's Solar Eclipse is no exception. . . . keep reading
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April 11, 2004
This week we were presented with an interesting question: "What do you do when you aren't getting big returns from the stock market? Shouldn't you be putting more energy into other ways of making money?" . . . keep reading
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April 4, 2004
In our last issue we noted that "the overall astrological outlook this week is bullish for stocks." That certainly proved to be the case, with the NASDAQ, the Dow, the S&P all turning in strong performances, while the Russell 2000 surged ahead more than 5% on the week. . . . keep reading
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March 29, 2004
But as always, our approach to the market is a short-term one. In today's market, the long-term "buy and hold" approach is just too upsetting to the nervous system and too damaging to the pocketbook. There are many opportunities for profits ahead in swing trades. These are very treacherous times, however, and active trading requires a lot of emotional stability and more than a little caution. . . . keep reading
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March 21, 2004
On Friday a Sun/Saturn square also works to bring negative energy to stock prices, particularly because it is intensified by Saturday's lunar apogee and Mars simultaneously parallel Hades and square Uranus (with the Moon at maximum declination) later in the weekend. We wouldn't be surprised to see share prices significantly lower by the end of the week. . . . keep reading
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March 14, 2004
In last week's newsletter we noted that in equities we should "see the overall momentum likely to flatten out this week as the market looks for opportunities to give back some of its recent gains." More specifically, we pointed to the "Saturn direct station and a Mars/Admetos conjunction" adding "some restrictive energy which may inhibit market action and create a downward bias" with "a heliocentric Venus/Chiron opposition and a heliocentric Venus/Vulcanus conjunction, a geocentric Venus/Poseidon opposition, a Cupido retrograde station, and a Kronos direct station" also contributing to the negative mix. We also commented that "Thursday's lunar perigee could trigger a short-term trend reversal on Friday." As things turned out, of course, this forecast was wonderfully accurate, thanks to planetary signatures that were in absolute lockstep with our expectations. . . . keep reading
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March 7, 2004
Everybody wants to know how to make money in the stock market, especially with the economy suffering and the job outlook getting increasingly grim. But a far more important concern is how to avoid losing money in the market. . . . keep reading
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February 29, 2004
The astrological factors at work this week combine to suggest a positive trend for stock prices. We're moving toward the Full Moon this weekend, which tends to elevate prices slightly, but even more important is Wednesday's Mercury/Jupiter opposition. . . . keep reading
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February 22, 2004
In last week's letter we noted that the "New Moon on Friday, which combines forces with a heliocentric Venus/Hades conjunction that day and a Sun/Uranus conjunction on Saturday" was likely to provide an unsettling influence on Wall Street which could "make for a fairly turbulent atmosphere as the week's trading comes to a close." That certainly proved to be the case. . . . keep reading
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February 15, 2004
We were quite pleased to see Financial Cycles quoted prominently in the current (February 16) issue of Barron's, with the "Market Watch" section of that esteemed journal citing our comments on the state of the economy from a couple of weeks ago. While it's nice to know that our point of view is newsworthy, it's even more gratifying to be reassured that our readers are getting relevant facts and opinions long before the readers of Barron's do! . . . keep reading
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February 8, 2004
After getting approval from U.S. regulators last week, Eurex US started trading in U.S. Treasury derivatives on Sunday evening in Chicago. The first trades on the new exchange, in 30-year Treasury bond futures, took place at 7:00 p.m. CST February 8 (01:00 GMT February 9). . . . keep reading
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February 1, 2004
Wall Street responded to this kind of news-and to the Fed's innuendos-with a big shift in the flow of capital. By the week's end, the Dow Financial Index had lost 2 percent, and the Housing Index was down 4 percent. And with the news that the 8.2 percent GDP growth rate of the Third Quarter had been cut to just 4 percent in the Fourth Quarter, there were some economic reasons for the new-found sobriety, too. . . . keep reading
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January 25, 2004
It's time for a massive reality check on Wall Street this week, with almost 1,000 companies reporting their earnings and the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee holding its first meeting of 2004. Depending on what the corporate profit pictures look like, there could be some real volatility in stock prices, especially since no fewer than 12 Dow component companies will be among the firms reporting. . . . keep reading
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January 18, 2004
It's an extremely lightweight week for economic indicators, however. We'll get the December figures for Housing Starts and Building Permits, and the Conference Board's Leading Indicators, and that's about it. . . . keep reading
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January 11, 2004
The ensuing slide in stock prices on Friday didn't quite erase all the previous gains of the week, but it was a sobering event nonetheless, especially since the currency markets saw through the unemployment numbers, too-the euro hit yet another new high against the dollar. . . . keep reading
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January 4, 2004
With a New Year underway, we are pleased to report that our trading activities during the previous year were again successful, outperforming all of the major market averages. During 2003, the Dow Industrials were up 25.32%, the S&P 500 was up 26.38%, the Russell 2000 was up 45.37%, and the NASDAQ was up 50.01%, while the Financial Cycles Model Portfolio was up 51.72%. . . . keep reading
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