The unemployment rate is at 15-year low

REVIEW

The U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 222,000 new jobs in June and the unemployment rate held at 4.4 percent, according to a government report Friday. Economists surveyed by Reuters had been expecting nonfarm payrolls growth of 179,000 and the unemployment rate to be 4.3 percent. Wage growth, however, remained muted, with average hourly earnings rising 2.5 percent on an annualized basis, essentially unchanged from the previous month. The report "… is another illustration that the real economy is in good health," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics. "The only disappointment is that wage growth still shows few signs of accelerating." Jeff Cox, “U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls Total 222,000 in June vs 179,000 Expected,” www.cnbc.com, July, 7, 2017.

America doesn’t have a worker shortage; it has work shortage. The unemployment rate is at 15-year low, but only 55% of American adults 18 to 64 have full-time jobs… According to demographer Nicholas Eberstadt, the labor participation rate for men 25 to 54 is lower now than it was at the end of the Great Depression. The welfare state is largely to blame. – Peter Cove, “Get Able-Bodied Americans off the Couch,” Wall Street Journal, July 5, 2017.

This cardinal T-square (Sun/Mars to Jupiter and Pluto) is proving to be one nasty bug to many financial markets. With stock markets, it has coincided with very erratic behavior, especially in the USA, where lately the indices seem to reverse sharply every 1-2 days lately. With precious metals, it was another week of surprising price movements, but this time down to new multi-month lows, in spite of the continued weakness in the Dollar and the Euro currency soaring to its highest level in over a year. Aren’t currencies and metals supposed to move in the same direction? Usually, however, we have one making new highs and the other making new lows. What makes it even more bizarre is that at 7:07 PM Thursday night, after normal market hours had ended (and in a very thinly traded market), Silver fell sharply from 16.06, near the high of this new session, to 14.34. A couple of minutes later it recovered much of that decline, but not enough to erase the technical damage that was done. That maneuver took Silver to its lowest level since February 2016. One wonders: where are the regulators when you need them? For traders, it is as if Venus and Mercury are stuck in retrograde mode where things happen contrary to the norm. Cardinal T-squares can have the same result, but with more shock than Mercury retrograde, which dwells more in absentmindedness than shock. The “mistake” that led to a large selloff in Gold the prior week, and then another unaccountable selloff in Silver this week, is more shock than absentmindedness.

Crude oil ended its longest streak of “up” days in several years rather suddenly on July 5, which also defies normal market correlations, as commodities like Gold, Silver, and crude oil are supposed to go up when the Dollar falls. That “normal” correlation, however, was present in the Soybean market, which just exploded to the upside last week. After testing the $9.00/bushel mark on June 23, its lowest level since April 2016, Soybeans skyrocketed as the new crop (November contract) was testing $10.20 by Friday, July 7 – an increase of 12% in two weeks.

On the international front, the Mars/Pluto opposition of July 2, followed by the Sun/Pluto opposition of July 9, ratcheted up the threat of a nuclear confrontation. On July 4, the USA Independence Day, North Korea launched its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.

SHORT-TERM GEOCOSMICS AND LONGER-TERM THOUGHTS

NORTH Korea has successfully tested its first intercontinental ballistic missile, sending a chill through the US defence community. – James Law, “North Korea Exposes Major U.S. Flaw,” news.com.au, July 7, 2017

If we include the wide presence of Uranus, it is actually a cardinal grand square that is in force June 25-July 20. But the heart of it, which ends this Sunday, July 9, is transiting Sun and Mars in Cancer, making a T-square to Jupiter in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn.

It is very interesting that during this time on Monday, July 3, the Dow Jones Industrial Average made a new all-time high, but it was not accompanied by any other index in the world. In fact, several just continued their multi-week declines all week, especially in Europe. There were a couple of exceptions, such as China, whose Shanghai Index was up all week, and Argentina, where the Merval Index made a double top on Thursday to its all-time high. It is just the kind of unexpected behavior one would expect from cardinal grand or T-squares that involve Mars and Jupiter, and even more so when Uranus is involved, which – by the way – will be evident July 17-20, when both the Sun and Mars square Uranus, leading up to the Sun/Mars conjunction of July 26. For financial markets, the wildness is likely not over at all. It appears to have another leg to go to close out July with a big bang.

For world politics, this cosmic drama can also represent a big bang, or another shock. Mars and the Sun are both fiery bodies. When they align with the exaggerative quality of Jupiter, things can get over the top. Impulsive decisions and actions might occur that could later be regretted. Add in the “shock” element of Uranus, and the “threat” element of Pluto - as all are in a wide grand cardinal square - and you can see why Financial and Mundane astrologers are very alert to both world and financial market movements right now. This is a highly combustible time, when surprising actions and reactions are prone to unfold, as the world witnessed last week with North Korea’s ballistic missile test. The USA military establishment, in reaction, went ballistic, demanding a “military option” plan. And strangely enough, aren’t these the type of unsettling world threats that are supposed to cause Gold and Silver to soar upwards? But instead, the metals fell to new cycle lows as traders and investors seem more focused on the Fed’s plan to raise rates gradually – very gradually. That expectation might also soon deliver a surprise.

This column has said it before and will say it again: the period from mid-May through September is a very dangerous time. It is a time that is charged with very high emotions and the temptation to act impulsively. Yes, it can also be a time of great inspiration, electrifying new thoughts, and pioneering actions. But to succeed, one also needs discipline and self-control. Otherwise, matters can unravel very quickly, and markets can exhibit very sharp price movements in very short periods of time. We have the grand cardinal cross in effect now through July 20, followed by the Sun/Mars conjunction in early Leo, a fire sign, July 26. That is followed by the total solar eclipse of August 21, and then the final Jupiter/Uranus opposition of September 27.

It is said that we live in interesting times. Whoever said that had no idea of what today would be like. This is what I would call the beginning of a very interesting time – a very interesting summer. We will learn much about the nature of Mars correlating with human behavior this summer, as it pertains to world leaders, financial markets, and ourselves.

On the bright side, we have lived in other interesting times, and made it through. Think of it as a learning experience, a valuable educational period – with a lot of tests. And Mars loves to compete. It doesn’t accept failure or defeat. Those are just temporary states that will have to be – and will be - corrected. Mars has confidence. With Jupiter, however, it can be over-confidence (macho confidence), and that’s where the danger in judgment – being judgmental – also comes in. This is one of those times that will challenge every one of us to practice being non-judgmental. Add that to the list, starting with discipline and self-control, as requirements to succeed under this cosmic exam.