Weekly column: Cattle’s all-time highs and the Uranus exit

Review

U.S. President Trump suggested talks with Iran could begin within two days. Investors have received enough independent confirmation to give the idea credibility. The “always look on the bright side” mentality has continued. The war does mean that the global economy is worse off than it would have been—though probably not as bad as mathematical models (including those of the IMF) suggest.

— Paul Donovan, “Keeping the Optimistic Bias,” UBS Daily Update, April 15, 2026.

It certainly seems that those mathematical models need to be reprogrammed with the S&P and Nasdaq stock indices recording new all-time highs this past week! While this strength in U.S. stock markets was a surprise to the doom and gloomers, it wasn’t a shock to subscribers of our daily, weekly, and monthly reports, which were calling for the first significant bottom in stocks since the April 7, 2025, tariff tantrum low. However, despite this bullish enthusiasm, it is interesting to note that the Dow remains below its all-time high of 50,512 achieved on February 10. This constitutes a case of bearish intermarket divergence that will need to be rectified in the weeks ahead to keep this equities freight train moving forward.

The bullishness carried over to European and Asian stock indices as well. The German DAX and Zurich SMI each posted solid weekly closes after registering new multi-week highs. The FTSE 100 wasn’t as euphoric but managed to consolidate the sharp gains of previous weeks. The Shanghai Composite and Hang Seng Index followed similar paths, registering fresh multi-week highs. The star of the week, though, was the Japanese Nikkei, which soared to a new all-time high, up over 18% at one point, before giving back some of its gains to close out the week.

For metals, it was Copper that outshone the “precious” ones by closing back above $6 a pound. This appears to confirm the bullish tone being set by the stock market. Volatility in Crude Oil continued with the nearby futures contract crashing to $80.56 a barrel after news hit the tape that the Strait of Hormuz was now back open for business! With that being said, there is strong technical support at the $80 level. The next two weeks could be interesting for this commodity as it is due for a primary cycle low at any time.

In the agricultural space, it was a choppy trading week for the grain complex. Cotton, a market that largely flies under the radar for most traders, is quietly up over 27% since forming a primary cycle low early in February, just as Mercury entered the sign of Pisces. These gains are a product of dwindling acres and the probability of sharply higher synthetic fiber costs. A bigger story, however, could be the Cattle market, which continues to make new all-time highs on a weekly basis. As a producer, it is not lost on me that this is occurring as Uranus (planet of booms and busts) transits the last degrees of Taurus (symbolized by the bull and ruler of the cattle market) before leaving for Gemini on April 25. With Venus set to conjoin Uranus this week, some hedging strategies might be in order here.

In crypto-land, Bitcoin was able to post solid gains on the week thanks to Friday’s price action. In doing so, it was able to break through a downtrend line connecting the October 2025 and January 2026 swing highs. This could be signaling that a larger rebound may be in store near-term, before a resumed decline into the anticipated 4-year low later this year.

Short-term geocosmics

Next week, we enter the time orb around the April 24-27 CRD (critical reversal date). Markets of interest include Crude Oil, Gold, and Silver, and possibly the stock market if the bearish intermarket divergence fails to resolve itself by then. Being that Venus (money) will be highlighted along with Pluto (debt), other markets such as currencies, T-notes, and possibly Cattle are all susceptible to a potential turn. Just what kind of turn is yet to be seen.

Longer-term thoughts and opinion

The 27-country European Union is the U.S.’s biggest partner for trade and investment. And two-thirds of Americans say the U.S. benefits from NATO membership. Trump has never liked the alliance, but this past week marked a shift, said François Heisbourg, special adviser at the Foundation for Strategic Research in Paris and a former French official. “The notion that [NATO] actually is expendable — that is new… There is no trust left,” he said. “It’s like with a divorce: When certain words are used, you can’t walk them back.”

— Marcus Walker and David Luhnow, “The U.S.–Europe Alliance Is Reaching a Breaking Point Over the Iran War,” The Wall Street Journal, April 6, 2026.

As written in this year’s Forecast 2026 book:

“Let us start with the issue of trust, an important factor in the status of America’s exceptionalism. Trust falls under the domain of Neptune. But Neptune is compromised via its conjunction with Saturn, which is not trust, but rather skepticism, which can easily turn to distrust and even separation if one of the parties in a relationship feels that the agreement or precedents supporting the relationship are being changed without its approval and consent. Relationships are the key to this current chart because the Saturn—Neptune conjunction is on the cusp of the 7th house, which rules partnerships and allies. Furthermore, both Saturn and Neptune square the U.S. Venus in Cancer. Venus also rules one’s partnerships and allies, those who support the nation and have been loyal to it.”

The chart referred to here is the USA chart cast for July 2, 1776, at 11:15 AM in Philadelphia, PA.

As Saturn approached its conjunction with Neptune, the issue of trust was first challenged economically as Trump and his administration implemented tariffs on America’s trading partners not long after beginning his term in office. This led to a sharp reaction lower in world equity markets (as much as 20% in the Nasdaq), before finally bottoming on April 7, 2025. Then, as Saturn exactly conjoined Neptune on February 20, the U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury, attacking Iran just 8 days later. The initial attacks were met with mixed responses from allied NATO countries, but as Mars (combative, warlike energy) entered its home sign of Aries, and transited the Saturn/Neptune conjunction while also squaring the U.S. natal Venus in Cancer, the rhetoric and “mistrust” between the alliances of the U.S. and fellow NATO countries has intensified. Mars will form a somewhat rare conjunction with Mercury and Saturn over April 19-20, so the combative tone may persist or even ramp up over the days ahead, despite the official reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

To be fair, it could be argued that this distrust that has developed between the U.S. and NATO allies has been a two-way street. Trump sees the refusal by fellow NATO countries to aid in military operations as a direct “breach of contract” in his eyes. This has led to an increase in divisive, threatening rhetoric (Mars in Aries) from the president, referring to NATO as a “paper tiger” and questioning why the U.S. needs to be a part of such an alliance if it is getting nothing out of it. This was received as a slap in the face to other member nations, and a huge breach of trust to those countries that have operated under a mutual understanding of unity for the past 77 years.

The hope is that as Saturn continues to move away from its exact conjunction with Neptune, and Mars moves through and out of the sign of Aries, the more peaceful and harmonious energy of Neptune will be brought to the fore. There is no doubt that damage has already been done to the “alliance” that is NATO, but should cooler heads prevail, something good can perhaps still be salvaged. However, with Uranus set to enter Gemini this month, its disruptive and innovative qualities will express through an Air sign associated with communication, information, and rapid exchange. Whatever emerges from this will look and feel vastly different when we reach the other side.