Stock markets around the world sold off sharply much of last week

REVIEW AND PREVIEW

"I think the Fed is making a mistake. They are so tight. I think the Fed has gone crazy," the president said. Fears about rapidly rising rates helped cause the Dow Jones Industrial Average to drop more than 800 points Wednesday. "Actually, it's a correction that we've been waiting for for a long time, but I really disagree with what the Fed is doing," the President added. – Thomas Franck, “Trump Says the Federal Reserve has ‘Gone Crazy’ by Continuing to Raise Interest Rates,” www.cnbc.com, October 10,2018.

He blamed the Fed for causing a massive drop in stocks this week that took the Dow Jones Industrial Average down more than 800 points on Wednesday alone. Stocks fell again Thursday. "It's a correction that I think is caused by the Fed and interest rates," Trump said from the Oval Office. Trump said he believes that the Fed's monetary policy "is far too stringent," adding that "they're making a mistake and it's not right." – Michael Sheetz, “Trump Says the Federal Reserve Caused the Stock Market Correction,” www.cnbc. Com October 11, 2018.

That is a lot of Saturn themes coming up, which means the Fed will be coming up for a lot of scrutiny. It will be forced to account for its actions of the past, for Saturn transits indicate a time when accountability is demanded. The Fed is likely to be criticized sharply, and if it cannot answer to the satisfaction of these inquisitions, it will likely pay a consequence. Its independence may be endangered, and its powers either diminished or stripped altogether. Raymond Merriman, the Forecast 2018 book, written in November 2017.

Pardon me for bringing this up, Mr. President, but… what about your ongoing campaign that is disrupting world trade with tariff threats? Equity markets don’t like that uncertainty, not to mention that these tariffs — if accelerated, as you often state will soon happen — are equivalent to a new tax on consumers that will wipe out gains from the recent tax reform act that was so boldly passed. What about the budget you recently signed that allows for another $1 trillion in deficit spending? We are back to the early years of the previous administration where our budget deficit is concerned, and the national debt is once again soaring. Do you think these factors might also have contributed to the severe stock market decline last week? Yes, the Tax Reform Act of December 2017, passed by the Republican-controlled Senate and House, which had fought for such a measure over the past decade, plus the de-regulation efforts on your own part, along with the national security measures initiated, have helped make “America Great (and safe) Again,” at least from an economic and military point of view. They have been the underlying forces that helped boost this stock market so famously since the election. And a major factor in that confidence, which has spurred the bull market in stocks and overall the USA economy, has been the steady hand of the Federal Reserve Board. Their gradual increase of rates (not so sudden and strong) has actually put additional monies back into the accounts of savers, which is also adding to the nation’s confidence about the future.

As pointed out in the Forecast 2018 Book, a greater danger may lie ahead in the independence of the Fed. And I suspect that too is causing concern with investors after last week’s statements.

Stock markets around the world sold off sharply much of last week, following all-time highs in several indices on October 3, exactly on our three-star geocosmic critical reversal date (CRD), that was anchored by Venus turning retrograde on October 5. As discussed in our prior two columns, Venus retrograde is one of the strongest geocosmic signatures that showed up in our research correlating important reversals in world stock indices. It was present March 6, 2009, when the worst bear market since the Great Depression ended, and the current bull market began. The fact that nearly all world stock indices reversed at the same time again shows the importance of geocosmic transits to one another as affecting the world collective and as a valuable market timing tool. 

Of equal importance is that while stock markets plunged last week, Gold soared to its highest level in over two months, breaking out of a triangle formation to the upside. as heliocentric Mercury ingressed into Sagittarius on October 10.

In retrospect, it was a very interesting week, and one that again pointed out the value of Financial Astrology as an important market timing tool.

 

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM MUNDANE THOUGHTS

Last Thursday (October 4), while the Capitol was consumed with the Brett Kavanagh Supreme Court nomination debate, a few blocks away an event with at least as much long-term significance was unfolding to relatively little notice. Vice-President Mike Pence delivered a remarkable 40-minute broadside against China (which) may come to be seen as an inflection point in the complex trajectory of relations between Washington and Beijing. (Pence) accused China of abusing its economic power, stealing American technology, bullying the very American companies that have helped in its economic rise…. – Gerald F. Seib, “The Significance of Pence’s China Broadside,” Wall Street Journal, October 9, 2018.

I must be doing something right. In the last month, I have received several letters protesting that I have been too harsh on President Trump, more so than on any other president before. Ironically, I also received several letters claiming that I am too much of a supporter of the Trump presidency, far more than I have been of any other administrations in the past. I think this just points out the extreme sensitivity and serious political divide that currently exists in the U.S.A. For the record, I have been critical of every American president this century (and before), especially when they make decisions or commit acts that reflect the geocosmic transits of that week. I am always looking for present-day news stories that highlight the current themes indicated in the cosmos, for in the end, this is an educational column, demonstrating the correlation between cycles in human activity with cycles in the cosmos. Unfortunately, most of the themes reported in news headlines are not positive, feel-good, types of articles. I report on what people are witnessing via the current media news stories, especially pertaining to the fields of financial and political matters.

The past two weeks have been very interesting because Venus turned retrograde on October 5. As is usually the case, the stock markets made stunning reversals, and many made their all-time highs exactly on MMA’s geocosmic three-star CRD of October 3. The cause of that decline is a subject for debate, but most news stories focused on the Fed’s schedule of rate increases, which also fits the history of Venus retrograde, especially in Scorpio. That is, when Venus goes retrograde, central banks are often in the news, either due to policy changes, new announcements on their outlook, or — as was the case last week — of renewed criticism from the executive branch for their policies, in a covert manner designed to influence their future interest rate policy. That’s typical Venus retrograde, and central banks will be in the news for the next six weeks as Venus continues its backwards motion as seen from earth.

There is not much else happening in the cosmic headlines for the next two weeks, not until the full moon of October 23-24, when the Sun will also be in opposition to Uranus, just before Uranus retrogrades back into Aries.  Until them, it is all about Venus retrograde in Scorpio themes (interest rates, debt, taxes, tariffs). Even then, when the full Moon-Uranus conjunction occurs, it will still be about interest rates because Sun/Uranus aspects also have a strong correlation to all interest-rate related markets, like currencies and treasuries. It also pertains to technology stocks.

Bottom line: the lack of major geocosmic signatures for the next 2 weeks implies no major reversal of the trend that started on October 3. Of course, there have been a few exceptions to this normal rule in the past, but it still a rule that has served us very well over the years.