Please note there will no weekly column issued for the week of March 13, as I will be conducting our MMA Investment Retreat in San Diego March 9-13.
REVIEW
"Indeed, at our meeting later this month, the committee will evaluate whether employment and inflation are continuing to evolve in line with our expectations, in which case a further adjustment of the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate," Yellen said… The likelihood of a rate hike at the March 14-15 Federal Open Market Committee meeting has increased dramatically in recent weeks amid improving economic data and hawkish Fed rhetoric. – Anmar Frangoul, “Janet Yellen Hints at Possible March Rate Hike.” www.cnbc.com, March 3, 2017.
“My bias is the Fed will raise rates again during Venus retrograde, March 4-April 15, and hence I look for this market (Treasuries) to fall again.” MMA’s Weekly Report for the last several weeks, plus the Forecast 2017 Book, in several places.
The fact that Fed Chair Janet Yellen made a March rate increase much more likely in a speech on Friday, March 3 – just one day before Venus turns retrograde and one day after the Jupiter/Uranus opposition -– is not a surprise to anyone who reads this column. Such announcements by central banks going into the 6-week period of Venus retrograde are quite common. Not only that, but such announcements at the time Venus turns retrograde will often correspond closely in time to the end of multi-month trends, and the start of counter-trend reversals, in many financial markets.
Even before Yellen’ speech on Friday, we began to see the volatility and large price swings usually associated with Mars, Jupiter, and Uranus in hard aspects to one another (and with Pluto, forming a cardinal T-square, also addressed in this column). Last week may have also witnessed the start of major trend reversals in many financial markets, which is something else that we anticipated within twelve trading days of both the Jupiter/Uranus opposition (March 2) and Venus turning retrograde (March 4) Level 1 geocosmic signatures.
New all-time highs were thus registered last week in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P, NASDAQ Composite, and the London FTSE index, all on March 1 or 2 as the Jupiter/Uranus opposition was at its height. The German DAX soared to 12,082 exactly on March 2, approaching its all-time high of 12,390 made in April 2015. Likewise, the Netherlands AEX and Swiss SMI indices posted new yearly highs on March 2-3.
India’s NIFTY index rallied to its highest level in nearly two years, right on March 2, while the Japanese Nikkei and Chinese Shanghai indices made new multi-month highs (or tested those highs) on March 1 and 2. Strangely, it was the opposite case in Hong Kong, Australia, and Russia, where their equity markets fell to new multi-week lows.
Gold and Silver posted new cycle highs on Monday, February 27, which was in our exact three-star critical reversal zone (Feb 27-28, +/- 3 trading days), but then they sold off rather sharply into March 2-3 as Venus prepared to turn retrograde. The leader in this decline may have been the XAU Gold and Silver Miners index, which topped out on February 8, long before Gold and Silver topped out, and then declined on Friday, March 3, to its lowest level since January 3. In concert with the decline in metals, the US Dollar, on March 2, rallied to its highest level since January 11 – and on the same day, the Euro currency fell to its lowest level since January 11.
These are the types of market moves we wanted to see in this time band. Now let’s see what type of reversals follow.
SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS
This was Trump’s best day in the White House, because for the first time he expressed a desire to unify the country without baiting his speech with insults for his opponents. It was a speech that expressed a modicum of decency that has been so lacking in a “movement” driven by anger and fear… This was the speech he should have given January 20 at his inaugural rather than the “American carnage” address. That man looked small and petulant. This man looked presidential. – The Arizona Republic Editorial Board, “The Night That Trump Became Our President,” Arizona Republic, March 1, 2017.
Last week, started out by stating, “Has there ever been a week like the one coming up? Probably, but there won’t be another like it this year.” We were referring to the back-to-back planetary signatures in effect February 26-March 4, which included five Level 1 geocosmic signatures, including the Jupiter/Uranus opposition and Venus retrograde, as noted in our introduction this week, and discussed at length last week. These are two of the very most important planetary correlations to the culmination of primary cycles in many financial markets, within 12 trading days, and then followed by a major reversal.
The next week or two are therefore likely to see a reaction to the important lows or highs that are forming in this time band. The next somewhat important date to note is March 25, which is the midpoint of Venus retrograde, and can correlate with reversals in any market that does not reverse now. More important will be the period March 30-April 21, which will include the second passage of the Jupiter/Pluto waning square, and Venus turning direct nearby Saturn turning retrograde, and both in an exact square aspect to one another (twice, on April 8 and 21). That period may be just as important as the one taking place now. In a perfectly symmetrical universe, any counter-trend moves that start now will end and resume their basic underlying trends again at that time. Unfortunately, seldom is anything in this universe perfect, although some spiritual, new age thinkers may argue otherwise, that everything in the universe is always perfect. I would probably agree, except I have the experience of balancing check books, and engaging in personal relationships involving romance or business. Things are not always perfect, which is par for the human experience.
Given all that is unfolding now in the cosmos, the markets, and within notable sectors of the human experience, and considering what might occur in about 4-7 weeks, this is the perfect time to host our MMA Retreat and share ideas with some of the greatest minds in cycle studies on the planet today. And that is exactly what we will be doing later this week and early the next (see announcements below).
TRIBUTE
It is with great sadness that I announce the passing of one of the greatest cycle’s analysts ever, Walter Bressert. Walter was my mentor in cycle studies. He generously shared with me his wisdom and findings regarding cycles after I met him in January 1980, at the height of the Gold and Silver boom. He taught me how to use cycles in financial market analysis, and he asked me to do research for him regarding the correlation of his cycle findings with my knowledge of astrology. That collaboration led to the writing and publication of my first book, titledThe Gold Book: Geocosmic Correlation s to Gold Prices, in 1982, which was also the first book ever published on the quantitative correlation between planetary movements to a financial market (this was different than Sun/Moon studies that earlier researchers had conducted). It was a great partnership, and I will always be grateful for the knowledge he imparted, not just to me, but to the world. He was gentleman, scholar, master market technician, and he cared genuinely for others. Walter will be dearly missed, yet his innovative approach to market analysis and timing will always be honored in my writings.