Weekly Column: The stock market might be in the early stages of steep decline

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The producer price index for final demand jumped 8.3% year over year, according to the Labor Department. The reading was hotter than the 8.2% increase that analysts surveyed by Refinitiv were expecting and above the 7.8% print recorded in July. The reading was the strongest since recordkeeping began in November 2010. – Jonathan Garber, “Producer Prices Surge 8.3% Annually, Fifth Straight Record Gain,” www.foxbusiness.com, September 10, 2021.

It is good to be back after a one-week absence during which I delivered a special webinar on the Chinese stock market, Gold, and Bitcoin last weekend. It went very well. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same for the U.S. government and its withdrawal from Afghanistan during the break, nor can I say the same regarding the recent data on inflation and its effect on European and American stock indices last week.

As the quote above notes, producer prices increased at their greatest rate since records began almost eleven years ago. In the U.S., stock indices fell right into the close of the week, after the S&P posted a new all-time high the previous week, on September 2, and the NASDAQ posted its new all-time high on Tuesday, September 7. This is important because the holiday weekend of September 3-7 was a two-star geocosmic critical reversal date (CRD), anchored by the Mars/Neptune opposition of September 2 and Venus/Pluto square of September 6. The high in both the S&P and NASDAQ was right there. In the case of the DJIA, its all-time high was back on August 16, so there is a triple case of intermarket bearish divergence involving an important geocosmic CRD related to the NASDAQ high of last Tuesday.

Right on cue, all the major U.S. stock indices fell the remainder of the week, and now there is concern about another possible “Black Monday.”  This relates to the observation that when the U.S. stock market falls all week, the Monday of the next week is sometimes very severe. This goes back to the stock market crash of October 19, 1987, when – according to Investopedia.com – “Black Monday occurred on Oct. 19, 1987, when the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) lost almost 22% in a single day. The event marked the beginning of a global stock market decline, and Black Monday became one of the most notorious days in financial history.”

The story was similar in Europe. The Netherlands AEX made a new all-time high on September 6 of last week. But the German DAX and Zurich SMI did not take out their highs of August 13-18. Then all indices, including the London FTSE, fell into the end of the week as concerns of inflation began to spook investors. This may be the start of the Saturn/Uranus selloff many financial astrologers have been expecting, and which history shows it tends to happen before the third and final passage takes place. In this case, the final pass will be on December 24, 2021.

Yet also typical of Saturn square Uranus is the fact that the pattern was completely different in Asia where the Shanghai Composite and the Tokyo Nikkei indices soared. They are now testing their multi-year highs made on the first passage of Saturn square Uranus, February 16-18. It is an uneven global market situation. China and Japan are exploding higher. The rest of the world’s stock indices are imploding and falling. India’s Nifty may be an exception as it made a new all-time high early last week but started to drift lower, but not to any serious extent yet.

The September 3-7 two-star geocosmic critical reversal date was also significant in other markets. Gold and Silver both ended their impressive rallies Friday, September 3 and then declined right after trading began in the new week. The same happened in Bitcoin and Crude Oil. Bitcoin made a new cycle high of 52,948 on September 7 and then fell hard the same day, as El Salvador attempted to issue a new national cryptocurrency that failed miserably on its initial launch. Ethereum had peaked the week before, on September 3, for a case of intermarket bearish divergence there, too. Crude Oil also peaked the week before, on September 2, but still within one day of the September 3-7 two-star CRD.

Short-term geocosmics and longer-term thoughts

“Based on our best and most recent information, the most likely outcome is that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted during the month of October,” (U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen wrote in a letter to congressional leaders. – Megan Henney, “Yellen Warns Treasury Could Exhaust Extraordinary Debt Limit Measures in October,” www.foxbusiness.com, September 8, 2021.

President Joe Biden stiffened his stance on getting Americans vaccinated on Thursday, outlining a plan to mandate Covid vaccines for millions. Federal employees will be required to get a Covid vaccine and the president is asking the Labor Department to require employers with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccines or weekly testing. – Hannah Miao, “Dow, S&P 500 are Flat After Four Straight Losing Days,” www.cnbc.com, September 10, 2021.

If you are looking for fundamental reasons why the stock market might be in the early stages of steep decline, the above two quotes may provide an explanation. The fact is that the U.S. credit account is on borrowed time and may still have a couple of weeks to work out a solution. But the second matter is far more serious longer-term because it means U.S. productivity is about to come to a grinding halt due to the enormous new bureaucratic red tape and reporting requirements (and the prospect of being “shaken down” by a new army of new regulators). Companies will have to comply or face stiff penalties – mostly financial. And if they do comply, they will have to place a huge number of employees on leave who won’t get vaccinated or tested on a weekly basis. They will lose productive people while at the same time need to hire new workers whose job will be to make sure their companies comply with onerous new reporting requirements, which does not add to productivity. There has to be a better way, and one that won’t destroy businesses far worse than COVID-19 did.

But let’s return to the cosmic realm and its relationship to financial markets. For this week there are two important geocosmic signatures. The first is the Sun/Neptune opposition on Tuesday, September 14, followed by the Venus/Saturn waning square of Friday, September 17. Both are Level 1 types, which have the highest correlation to primary cycles within an orb of 13 trading days. The Sun/Neptune generally coincides with a period when world leaders make questionable decisions that lead to great confusion. We just discussed what that might be, in regard to the plan to force companies to have their employees get vaccinated and/or tested every week. It can also coincide with euphoria or panic in financial markets. The second aspect – the Venus/Saturn square – often coincides with an excellent buying opportunity. Any market that declines into this aspect is a candidate for a decent rally to follow.

In addition to these planetary aspects, Venus will enter Scorpio (September 10-October 7) and Mars Libra (September 15-October 30). It is interesting that each planet will be in the other planet’s sign of detriment. That’s a problem of cosmic meaning. Mars wants to do something, but Libra can’t decide how to do it without a fight. Venus in Scorpio wants to get even and reveal the truth and the whole truth but knows that to do so would create more problems than solutions, so it’s a conflict between loyalty to the clan or telling the truth that will not set anyone free in the end. The truth will only bring about retribution and revenge from those who might be exposed by it. So, once again, truth may be compromised for peace, or peace may be compromised for truth. The idea, of course, is to figure out a way to tell be honest in a diplomatic manner and maintain equanimity.

On a more personal level, Venus in Scorpio may entertain visions of great passion and taboo activities. But this too is in conflict with one’s inner ethic of doing the “right thing.” It is tempting to pursue the taboo, but the consequences may not be pleasant. And in the end, Venus wants everything to be amiable.

With these thoughts in mind, work hard, stay out of trouble, and have a rewarding week. The following week the Sun will enter Libra with its ruler Venus trine Uranus. It’s bumpy, but they are spots of optimism and opportunities for gains coming up, too.