Reply #18: Market Timing Astrologer Richard Merriman's thoughts on market & politics.

[KoKo]

My Comment on this: I think he's smoking something....although he's been interestingly correct in some of his weekly market predictions...I think he's missing the picture on Bush getting re-elected.

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Week of July 19
http://www.stariq.com/MarketWeek.HTM

In the U.S.A. the stock market deteriorated all week. After posting a double top high of 10,487 and 10,471 on June 24 and 30 as Venus turned direct, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell to a new post-Venus direct low of 10,135.10 on Friday, and closed only slightly off those highs at 10,139.80. The NASDAQ Composite was even worse. After reaching a high of 2055.65 on June 30 when Venus changed directions, it fell to 1882.93 on Friday, just a few points above its 1865.40 low of May 17 when Venus started its retrograde motion. That was also a 50-week cycle trough, which seems vulnerable now to be taken out. That could be ominous from a cycles point of view for the Composite. And if the DJIA also takes out its 9852-9862 double bottom of May 12-17, it may be very ominous looking for the White House. It would mean the 50-week and "Pre-Presidential Election Year" cycle troughs have been penetrated. Usually that spells trouble for the party in office. Only Ronald Reagan, in the last half century, has been re-elected to office when that has occurred. However, even though such an event would argue that Bush would lose this year’s election because of its historical correlations, I am sticking with my forecast that he will win, based on other geocosmic signatures. And also that the U.S. stock market will experience an incredible rally in late September and early October, possibly even to new yearly highs. When the market makes new yearly highs that close to an election, the incumbent party usually wins. So based on these geocosmics and cycles, I think we should consider the possibility that U.S. stock indices may take out the lows of last May, which would suggest trouble for Mr. Bush. And then they may reverse and make new yearly highs within two months of the election, which would suggest victory for Mr. Bush. What we might see is a case of Intermarket bullish divergence in the next week, where the NASDAQ Composite takes out the low of May 17, but the DJIA remains above it.

For this present period, we note the Mars is in opposition to Neptune (July 16), Venus is in a waning square to Jupiter on July 20, Venus is in opposition to Pluto on July 25, the same day that Mars will form a waning trine to Pluto. The midpoint of this cluster is July 20-21. The first two signatures are the most important, because according to the studies I reported in The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles, both of these are Level 1 signatures. That means they have the strongest correlation to primary cycles. Well, no primary cycle crest or trough is due now, but we are in a time band for a half-primary cycle trough in the U.S. and European indices. So we will look for a low to form in the next week.

But then the next geocosmic cluster becomes very interesting, as discussed last week. There are a series of signatures unfolding between August 6 and August 18, starting with Jupiter in a waning square to Pluto, and ending with Mars in opposition to Uranus. These aspects have the potential for great danger and/or cruelty to humanity. The market may start to recover from its recent downturn, commencing a healthy rally as we approach that time frame. But then something sudden and possibly shocking happens on a very fundamental, geopolitical level, that may rock the system. It has the symbolism of a crash, or a mini-panic. It’s not that we will have a crash or panic, but only that something dramatic could happen, and it could lead to that type of reaction by investors worldwide, or in a particular location. The last time Jupiter formed a waning square to Pluto was July 16, 1991. As written in The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing Volume 2: Geocosmic Correlations to Investment Cycles, this coincided with the kidnapping of Russian President Gorbochev. The U.S. stock market plummeted for the following month, and then it recovered sharply in October, just two months later. I expect a similar phenomenon this time.

Last week I also mentioned the correlation of Pluto in such an aspect to matters of debt, deficits, the military draft, and taxes. I note that last week the U.S. Commerce department reported that the U.S. Government’s deficit "…ballooned to $326.6 billion in the first nine months of the 2004 budget year. That’s more than 20% larger than the $269.7-billion shortfall for the corresponding period last year." I also note that both candidates were asked their views on a military draft, and as expected, both indicated they were against such a move. But I wish this line of questioning by the media would go a little further, to see just how adamant they stand for this position, and under what circumstances they might alter that position. I also note that in the effort to renew my passport today, the government employee in charge of this department alerted me that it will no longer be possible to travel to Canada (only 30 miles from my house) without a passport, by the end of this year. Birth certificates and driver’s license will no longer be sufficient for Americans and Canadians to cross one another’s borders. Perhaps we will hear more about that within days of Jupiter (travel to other countries) square to Pluto (end of cycles, threat to end of basic freedoms).

Jupiter square Pluto: it’s sort of like "Give me liberty, or give me death." It will be interesting to see how it manifests in today’s world in the next couple of weeks.