The economy added 313,000 jobs in February

REVIEW AND PREVIEW

The economy added 313,000 jobs in February, far surpassing Wall Street expectations…. Economists surveyed by Reuters had been expecting nonfarm payroll growth of 200, Wage growth came in less than expected, rising 0.1 percent for the month and 2.6 percent on an annualized basis… President Donald Trump signed two declarations on Thursday, which would implement tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. The tariffs are expected to take effect in 15 days and will put a 25 percent charge on steel, and 10 percent on aluminum. Canada and Mexico however are exempt. Meanwhile, the U.S. incumbent has accepted an invitation to meet with the leader of North Korea Kim Jong Un by the month of May. – Alexandra Gibbs, “Two-Year Yield Climbs Back to 9-Year High After Strong Jobs Report,” www.cnbc.com, March 9, 2018.

“I like conflict,” the president said Tuesday. “I like having two people with different points of view, and I certainly have that. Then I make a decision. But I like watching it, I like seeing it, and I think it’s the best way to go.” – Rebecca Ballhaus, “Trump Defends West Wing Turnover: ‘I Like Conflict,” www.wsj.com, March 6.

It was another remarkable week of highs and lows, both politically and in terms of world equity prices. The resignation of the President Donald Trump’s Chief Economic Advisor Gary Cohn on March 6, following Trump’s announcement of stiff, new tariffs late the prior week, caused many world indices to fall hard mid-week. However, they did not fall below the secondary lows of March 2-5, which coincided with our three-star geocosmic reversal date (CRD) of March 1. And then came Thursday’s announcement that North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un “… expressed eagerness to meet President Trump as soon as possible,” according to South Korea’s National Security Office head Chung Eui-yon (Amanda Marcus and Christina Wilkie, www.cnbc, March 9, 2018) – and Trump agreed. This was followed by Friday’s very strong jobs report, and once again, stocks are on the move, confirming February 9 as the start of the new primary cycle. So, the economy continues to show strength. One of greatest threats to world peace is agreeing to meet with President Trump after their bitter war of words last year. Key players in his administration continue to leave amidst the conflict he invites, and in which he seems to thrive… maybe he is the smartest man in the world. He is a Gemini, and Gemini rules intellect – and multiple sides of the ideas that come out of it.

The good news of last week fits with the abundance of Jupiter aspects in effect March 1-13. As stated in our last issues, “(March 1-13) will be a major dose of Jupiter and should be a clue whether the low of February 9 really ended the selloff, or if the next shoe is ready to drop. The big selloff into February 9 was also under a Jupiter-laden period. The difference, however, is that early February was the end of an older cycle, when markets are more prone to be bearish. However, Jupiter transits are usually more bullish than bearish, especially in the beginning stages of a new cycle. Thus, if February 9 was the end of a cycle, we are now in the younger part of a new cycle when conditions are more bullish. Given that Jupiter is associated with the principle of exaggeration, the market is likely to soar upwards if it is a younger cycle.” On Friday, March 9, the DJIA was up close to 400 points, but still below its post-crash high of 25,800 recorded on Monday, February 26. The same is true with other world indices. That is, many bottomed February 9, rallied strongly into February 26, pulled back sharply into March 2-5, and are rallying again as we come to the end of this time band of multiple Jupiter transits.

This Jupiter-highlighted period, however, has not been so kind to precious metals, treasuries, and Bitcoin. In the case of treasuries, higher equity prices and positive economic news means higher interest rates ahead. Both rising equity prices and falling treasuries do not bode well for non-interest-bearing assets like metals and crypto currencies. In the case of Bitcoin, it fell from a weekly high of 11,687 on Monday, March 5, to a low of 8366 on Friday, March 9, a decline of 28.4%. If you are a trader, you have to love this market and its volatility. The sharp decline from Monday to Friday fits with the solar/lunar correlations related to Bitcoin prices over the past 4 years, as discussed in Thursday’s free “Q&A with Ray” webinar for subscribers. If you are subscriber to any of MMA’s subscriptions services, and were not able to make that March 8 webinar, contact us at once and we will send you the recording of it. It was pretty good!

 

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS

Bitcoin’s computer code was unveiled on January 3, 2009, by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. It deftly allows participants to complete transactions without having to rely on any centralized governance regime… Its founder wrote shortly thereafter, “The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that’s required to make it work…” Bitcoin is particularly sensitive to any new uncertainties in the conduct of economic policy. – Kevin Warsh, former member of the Federal Reserve Board, “The Meaning of Bitcoin’s Volatility,” Wall Street Journal, March 8, 2018.

The final Jupiter transit in the March 1-13 time band ends on Tuesday, with the Sun making a waxing trine to Jupiter. As discussed in Thursday’s meeting with subscribers, this is one of 22 planetary signatures that have a 75% or greater historical correlation to 4% or greater reversals in stock prices within 4 trading days, as published in The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing Volume 3: Geocosmic Correlations to Trading Cycles. Usually it is a high. From the low of Friday, March 2, at 24,217, the DJIA has already achieved the 4% rally level within 4 trading days (4% would be a move up to 25,185, and it closed up 435 points on Friday, to 25,335). Let’s see if it tops out within 4 trading days afterwards, which is in effect into next Friday, March 17.

As if to underline the volatility of stock indices right now, two more of these 22 geocosmic volatility signatures will be present before this end of this month. On March 23, Venus will form its waxing square to Pluto, followed by the Venus/Uranus conjunction of March 28. If you have been hoping for some steadiness in the stock market or the national political scene, March is not likely to be the month that will accommodate that wish. But if you like volatility and conflict, as does Mr. Trump, March is the month for you, especially since transiting Uranus continues to plow through the last degrees of Aries, conjunct the NYSE Saturn, while at the same time in an opposition to the NYSE Jupiter/Neptune conjunction (23-27 Aries-Libra). This volatility may recede after mid-April when the last new moon in Aries will occur near Uranus in Aries, before the 84-yearUranus cycle moves into Taurus on May 15. That will open a new chapter in this “Great Reset” era that we have the honor of experiencing.