Week of November 23

Review and Preview

We will only be reviewing U.S. stock markets and commodities this week and next, due to time deadlines in completing the annual Forecast Book for printing on December 1.

The Saturn-Pluto square of November 15 appears to have coincided with at least a short-term crest in the U.S. stock markets, as the NASDAQ Composite and S&P indices made yearly highs on Monday, November 16, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average did the same one day later. This fits with the signatures in effect at the start of the week as describe in our last column, stating, “Monday, November 16, is an important New Moon, because it occurs in Scorpio, will square the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction, and takes place within hours of the Saturn-Pluto waning square.” After those yearly highs were achieved, each then declined into the end of the week. Gold and Silver made new cycle highs early Wednesday, and then sold off later in the day on Friday. In the case of Gold, last Wednesday was a new all-time high as prices briefly poked above 1150. Crude Oil also sold off after posting a weekly high slightly above 80.00 on Wednesday.

Whether these markets continue down or find support shortly before rallying to new highs depends whether support for the U.S. Dollar continues this week or not. If the dollar starts back down again and there is no sense of panic, then there is no reason for these markets to make anything other than a normal corrective decline before resuming their upward ascent. In fact, even if a panic were to begin, that too could result is very sharply higher values in all dollar-backed assets, until such a time that prices were so high that no buyers will step in. I don’t see that happening before spring-summer of next year.

Short-Term Geocosmics

This is a “Venus-laden” week. And that is good for Americans because Thursday is also the Thanksgiving holiday, when families typically come together and give thanks for whatever they feel grateful for. It is a good week to be “Venus-laden,” which highlights relationships of value.

It could be important for financial markets too, since Venus also rules securities and assets. From Monday through Thursday, Venus will “translate” the forthcoming Jupiter-Neptune conjunction in a square aspect. On Wednesday, Venus will also form a trine aspect to Uranus. Thus these signatures imply the possibility of market reversals this week, assuming they find a level of support above 10,000 in the DJIA.

The more important reversal signatures coming up will be Uranus turning from retrograde to direct motion, on December 1, and then Mars turning retrograde, followed by the third and final conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune on December 20 and 21 respectively.
           
Longer-Term Thoughts

One the major news stories last week was President Obama’s first official visit to China that, from most reports, was a lesson in humility and maybe reality. According to Friday’s Wall Street Journal, it “signaled a turning point in relations between a weakened U.S. power and a China that senses its time has come.” But from our point of view, the insightful development—and comments—came from Liu Mingkang, chairman of the China Banking Regulatory Commission, just prior to Obama’s arrival. According to Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal article titled “China’s Blunt Talk for Obama,” Mingkang said a weak U.S. dollar and low U.S. interest rates had led to “massive speculation” that was inflating asset bubbles around the world. The situation is “seriously impacting global asset prices and encouraging speculation in stock and property markets.”

Massive speculation. Inflating asset bubbles. Hmmmm, that sounds a lot like…. Jupiter and Uranus coming into conjunction, as both move from water sign Pisces to fire sign Aries, May-September 2010. As they move into Aries, they form a T-square to the Federal Reserve Board’s natal Sun-Pluto opposition (FRB created December 23, 1913, 6:02 PM, Washing to D.C., according to New York Times article on December 24, 1913). Jupiter rules the principle of exaggeration, optimism, and over-estimation. When in conjunction to one another, Jupiter and Uranus can represent a time of brilliant and innovative new ideas. In hard aspect to other planets, it can coincide with poor judgment resulting in loss. Uranus is also a planet of speculation, but due to pre-mature timing, its presence in hard aspects can oftentimes result in unexpected consequences. And both will be in opposition to Saturn, which is just entering Libra, forming a grand square to the FRB Sun-Pluto opposition. Jupiter (planet of excess) will even reach a square to Pluto (planet of debt and taxes—they are coming). If the Fed’s accommodative zero-interest rate policy isn’t altered before that time, the consequences of excess speculation and increasing debt may indeed create bubbles in all dollar-based assets (except property sales, where supply still exceeds demand). Precious metals and stocks, for instance could soar to levels not imagined today. The Fed may have no choices after that, lest they are prepared to let the dollar go into a free fall.

But ask yourself: who benefits from a free-falling dollar?  What are the politics and history behind engineering a depreciating U.S. Dollar? Maybe that is what the government and Federal Reserve Board wants. Maybe that is the roadmap being followed to resolve this economic crisis. It is a risky plan. But that’s what Jupiter and Uranus do when together—they are prone to take large risks. Hopefully they understand the consequences if it doesn’t work out the way they think it should, for surely with Uranus involved, things don’t go as planned.

On a related subject, the other major story was the 43-26 vote by the House Financial Services Committee to audit the Federal Reserve. Welcome to Saturn in waning square to Pluto, now through August. It could get ugly. Just ask Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who finds his natal Mars (war, aggression, and assertion) at 1 degree of Libra right in the thick of this aspect (Saturn is there too, square Pluto from the first degree of Capricorn). He was called upon to resign his post by House Democrat Peter DeFazio. Furthermore, House Republican Kevin Brady attacked Geithner’s credibility, stating, “The public has lost all confidence in your ability to do the job.” According to Friday’s Wall Street Journal, Geithner shot back, “What I can’t take responsibility is for the legacy of crisis you’ve bequeathed this country.” Here it c