Stocks fall as coronavirus worries impact on the Chinese economy

REVIEW

Stocks fell on Friday as worries over the coronavirus' impact on the Chinese economy outweighed the release of the stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data.. The spike in confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths came as investors pored through the latest U.S. jobs report. The U.S. economy added 225,000 jobs in January. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected a print of 158,000 jobs. Wages rose 3.1% on a year-over-year basis, also topping expectations. – Fred Imbert, "Dow Drops More Than 250 Points,"

"It was all bullshit. It was hell," Trump said. "It was evil, it was corrupt, it was dirty cops, it was leakers and liars," – ‘It Was Hell': Trump Celebrates Impeachment Acquittal, While Ripping Democrats and Romney," Christina Wilkie, www.cnbc.com, February 7, 2020,

Ronald Reagan was always more popular than his policies. When his reforms put a spring back into the step of the economy, he could run an upbeat campaign about it being morning in America again. That's in part because Reagan was an upbeat guy. Trump, in contrast, is considerably less popular than his policies. And it will be hard for him to run an upbeat campaign because, to put it mildly, he's not an upbeat guy." – Robert Robb, "The Paradox of Donald Trump," Arizona Republic, February 6, 2020.

The U. S. economy is still strong, in spite of a bizarre week that was both comedy and tragedy. It was the continuation – escalation – of the deadly coronavirus threat that is wreaking even more havoc on the Chinese economy and is now expected to expand and adversely affect the economy of the entire world.

It may have also been tragic for the Democratic Party in the U.S., which botched the first caucus election for a Democratic presidential contender early last week, as well as lost their bid to remove President Trump from office. In an almost perfect partisan vote, every Republican Senator voted not to call witnesses to the impeachment trial and to acquit the president of two articles of impeachment, and every Democrat voted to have witnesses and convict. There was exception to this tragic partisan vote: Mitt Romney, Republican, who voted to convict on one count, and for voting according to his conscience he was vilified by his own party and conservative media outlets. Let that be a lesson to anyone in this day and age of Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn: if you stand by your principles and go against the idea of loyalty and acceptance of your social group (or is it your political party?), you risk being ostracized, shunned, and condemned. That's why one of the manifestations of Saturn conjunct Pluto in Capricorn described in the Forecast 2020 Book was as a battle between villains and heroes, personal ethics and corruption. And it is ironic how each side in this partisan example of disunity that afflicts American politics today accuses the other side of being corrupt.

But on at least one count, President Trump seems right. The Democrats indeed looked like "dirty cops." Well, I don't know if they were "dirty cops," as much as like the "Keystone Cops" last week, fighting against someone they see as "Pinocchio on Steroids." It was entertaining and tragic at the same time.

Nevertheless, it was an overall good week for many equity markets of the world. After falling 600 points the previous Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose more than 1000 points from that low through Thursday. And then they fell 300 points intraday on this past Friday, February 7, despite the excellent payroll report numbers. Is it really the "black swan " of coronavirus that is spooking the markets? Or is it just time for equities to take a breather and correct an intermediate-term cycle? That's what we discuss this Sunday in our annual Forecast webinar (see announcements below).

In other markets, Bitcoin continued its push towards 10,000 on the belief that "Bitcoin Halving" will take place in May 2020. This means that fewer and fewer Bitcoins will be created over time and due to their limited supply, will become more and more scarce. If the demand remains constant and supply diminishes, that's a recipe for higher prices.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS

Due to this weekend's annual webinar, and the fact that there are really no outstanding geocosmics in force right now other than transiting Mars making favorable aspects to the chart of the New York Stock Exchange, there is not much to report. Next week, there will be. A series of several important geocosmic signatures will begin on Sunday, February 16, when Mars enters Capricorn, and Mercury in Pisces will begin its threeweek retrograde period. Get ready for more episodes of the Keystone Cops versus Pinocchio on Steroids. It's not over until ... well, there is no end in sight before the 2020 Election, and probably not even after that if Trump is re-elected (or even if he is not re-elected). As long as Pluto is in Capricorn, investigations may never stop.

Nevertheless, as traders, we will have a lot to work with February 16-March 9 when eight very important planetary correlations to market reversal unfold, including Venus in Aries making a square to the Capricorn Stellium planets of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto.

I look forward to talking with many of you on Sunday! It should be exciting.