MMA Weekly Comments

Review and Preview

Stock markets around the world continued to post new all-time or multi-year highs again last week. And precious metals were strong too, nearing the 20-year highs again that were attained last May.

In Europe, the Swiss stock index continued its rally to new all-time highs, closing at 9258. The German DAX, London FTSE, and Netherlands AEX also made new multi-year highs, closing the week at 6992, 6401, and 510 respectively.

In the Pacific Rim, Japan’s Nikkei Index soared well above the long-term downward trendline at 17,600, closing the week at 18,188 in what is now a break-out to the upside. The All Ordinaries of Australia poked above 6000 for the first time ever, settling at 6009. Only the Hang Seng of Hong Kong failed to make a new high last week, closing at 20,711, about 200 points off its all-time high of a couple weeks ago.

In the South America, both Brazil’s Bovespa and Argentina’s Merval indices made new all-time highs last week, with the former up to 46,752 and the later up to 2225 before settling back off those highs by Friday’s close. The Dow Jones Industrial Average also made a new all-time high at 12,795 last Tuesday, but then sold off a bit to close the week at 12,647. The NASDAQ Composite also posted a new multi-year high last week, surpassing 2530 for the first time since 2000.

The precious metals markets were just as active, with June Gold rising to 698.50, a level not seen since the powerful run up of last spring. And July Silver soared to 1494 intraday on Friday, nearing the 1520 mark hit last May, which was its highest level since the early 1980’s. Even Crude Oil got into the act, finishing the week at 60.95 for the April contract. The March Euro currency contract touched 1.3200 for the first time since early January. But perhaps just as impressive as all of these was the potent rally in  grain markets, which witnessed July Soybeans exceeding 800 and Corn prices breaking out to another new 10-year high, with the July contract now above 450.

All in all, last week was powerfully bullish for nearly all financial and commodity markets, a phenomenon that may now be in jeopardy as we approach the lunar eclipse period of next weekend, in which the Sun will also conjunct Uranus, planet of sudden reversals.

Short-Term Geocosmics

This week will witness the second of the three passes of the 36-year planetary pair cycle of the Saturn-Neptune opposition. The third and final passage will take place June 25, but it is usually the second passage that is the most powerful. Our understanding is that long-term planetary cycles correlate with long-term market cycles. But just as it takes several months for these planetary cycles to be completed, so too do long-term market cycles take several weeks and even months to be completed. The market cycles do not usually reverse exactly on the date of a long-term planetary cycle, but they usually complete their cycle between the first and last passage. So as we witness Saturn making its second of three oppositions to Neptune on February 28, it may correspond to a collective psychological peak of that dynamic, but it doesn’t have to correspond to the end of this great bull market in stocks.

However, there is another geocosmic signature coming up next weekend that may correspond to a sharp reversal in many of these markets. On March 3-4, there will be a total lunar eclipse in Pisces-Virgo, both mutable signs, which are the signs of volatility and change. On top of that, the very next day (March 5), the Sun will conjunct Uranus, the planet of volatility and sudden reversals. Sometime between the end of this week and the early part of the following week, we may see explosive news hitting the market place, or the world itself. An eclipse involving Uranus is symbolic of an earthquake, and in Pisces, of a tidal wave or even a Tsunami. It can correspond to strong winds, tornadoes, and electrical black outs. In the political realm, it can coincide with a sudden event that acts like a shock to the world. In financial markets, it can pertain to an unexpected economic report, or a sudden announcement of changes in interest rate policies. The thing is, with Uranus we never know exactly what the surprise will be. That’s why it is the planet of surprises and the unexpected. Nothing goes quite as expected, so don’t get too complacent or comfortable. And also keep in mind that this will all occur during the last days of a Mercury retrograde phenomenon, which is also a geocosmic signature of instability and unexpected or conflicting announcements.

The bottom line is: fasten your seat belts. The ride is about to get very choppy, and maybe even a little dangerous. I would not be surprised if this becomes the peak of all that money coming into the retirement accounts, as discussed previously as the reason why this stock market has been so strong during the past few weeks, especially in the United States.

Long-Term Thoughts

I mentioned that the Saturn-Neptune opposition was entering its second of three passes this Wednesday. And in spite of the solid gains in many financial markets, the world news continues to be depressing along the lines of Saturn and Neptune principles. As stated before, this aspect is “ethically-challenged.” It is time when rumors, lies and deceit are rampant, and it is difficult to trust what you hear and read. Friday’s Wall Street Journal” has its World-Wide News headline stating “The U.N. said Iran thumbed its nose at orders to halt atom work.” Another headline stated “Microsoft was ordered by a Federal jury to pay Alcatel-Lucent 1.52 billion for infringement on two patents related to MP3 technology.” You would think with the stock market soaring as it has over the past seven months that the world would be expecting at least a draw down in the tensions to world wide security. But just the opposite is happening, and this too is consistent with the dynamic of Neptune. It is not only an “ethically-challenged” world we are living in today, but a “realistically-challenged” world, for Neptune is illusion, and Saturn is reality. The combination can be expressed as “denial” of reality, or even “manipulation of the facts” to produce a mirage, or to distract from the real issues. And with Neptune, the “herd” instinct can be very strong. In other words, the market is going up not because it should go up, but because everybody sees it is going up, and they don’t want to miss it. Nevermind that sub-prime lenders are taking a big hit, and with it the housing market bubble is bursting, which contains most of the wealth of most of the people in the United States. The fact is that most people and most corporations enjoyed a record profit year last year, and all that money earned – and set aside – in pension and retirement funds must find a home now. And so the market is going up, in spite of the disturbing geopolitical situation of the world today, because people see it going up, don’t want to miss it, and they have the money to spend.

But I continue to ask: what happens when this tax season ends? We may find out shortly as the eclipses and Uranus strike in about a week.

Announcements

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