ChartsEdge Pattern Recognition posted at ChartLines.com today

Dear readers, for anyone who's just finding out - I (Ariel) have moved my site and blog to my new site name, "ChartLines". It's at www.Chartlines.com, currently at the blogspot that points to. I've posted ChartsEdge there this morning. Still don't have time to go into more detail - will when I can! Meantime, "see you" at ChartLines!

ChartsEdge Pattern Recognition map for equities 2/23 at new ChartLines

Folks - go to my new ChartLines site to see where I've posted today's Pattern Recognition map from ChartsEdge. It was time for me to shift my site over to a name that's more descriptive (not defining in the negative - although the site remains very dedicated to unbiased trading!). All the content and features are there, and that format is the same, though brightened up a bit, and better logo. (I've taken reader comments into consideration on this!)

So come join us over at Chart Lines!

Dear readers - normally I post here Andre Gratian's Turning Points weekend updates, such as report today on the SPX technical analysis, channel trendlines and cycles and what he's expecting for the upcoming time frames. I did post that at the blog under the new ChartsLine name. And decided I should direct you there, to help move along the transition.

So please go there to see that and start participating in the transition of this blog to my new site with the new name. All the historical posts, sites list, etc., are all in place there. And I'm going to start tweeting under the ChartLines identity at Twitter too! Here's the info to find it:

Announcement - I (Ariel) am moving this blog over to www.ChartLines.com under the new name, "ChartLines" (tm). For now, it will point to http://chartlinestrading.blogspot.com and you can find everything there.

ChartsEdge TCI (Trader Confidence Index) and comments

Dear readers - normally I post here Mike Korell's ChartsEdge updates, such as his comments today about his TCI and what he's expecting for Monday. I did post that at the blog under the new ChartsLine name. And decided I should direct you there, to help move along the transition.

So, of course you can find Mike's public post at his ChartsEdge Daily Maps site (see list at right). Or just go to my new site to see that - here's the info:

Announcement - I (Ariel) am moving this blog over to www.ChartLines.com under the new name, "ChartLines" (tm). For now, it will point to http://chartlinestrading.blogspot.com and you can find everything there.

ChartsEdge week-ahead cycle forecasts for equities and gold, 2/22 week

FIRST a personal announcement - I (Ariel) am making transitions that include moving this blog over to www.ChartLines.com under the new name, "ChartLines" (tm). For now, it will point to http://chartlinestrading.blogspot.com and I've started dual publishing to there, this weekend.

AND NOW AS USUAL:

Below are the week-ahead cycle-based forecasts from ChartsEdge. And thanks again to Mike Korell, who's the fellow doing ChartsEdge - and has also provided some additional comments at his ChartsEdge Daily Maps page (link with his comment below) about what his various indicators are showing (based on his Trader Confidence Index, BP and other cycle-based charting). Anyway, here's what Mike Korell is saying and showing this weekend:
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Volumes suggest traders betting currencies turn - just be sure it's true

Volumes in the euro especially, and somewhat in the yen, suggest that currency traders are looking for a turn to occur. Carry trades can occur using whichever currency they think will weaken and provide lower borrowing rates. But that seems a good question right now - of course, it's all relative, including to the calculation reward for investing in the "riskier asset". Let's start with the US dollar index. Friday, it finally tagged the 80.80 level as I'd stated it was likely to need to do. That represents the ABC zigzag, C=A symmetry target. So there's a possibility it's "done" and readying to turn. The euro chart below (FXE) says the same thing - it slightly exceeded its own symmetry target but probably okay on that score as it counterbalanced the dollar index reaching its own. And look at the FXE volume when that happened on Friday!

The huge volume suggests many traders covered shorts and/or capitulated - probably both. With the positive divergence on the FXE chart, it's very reasonable to think the euro/dollar recent trends are about to change. What about the yen (FXY)? Its volumes ticked up modestly as it tested close to its 200 dma. Given it could be a higher low (as the dollar/yen pair tested close to the 92 revised target of Goldman Sachs), this can be seen as an orderly though deep pullback from a leading diagonal that still propels the yen (FXY) to new highs.

Slam-dunk? Not necessarily. Be certain of two things (at least). One, the the US dollar index doesn't want to go to the 50% retracement at 81.90-ish (virtually 82). Also, that all this really DOES turn. The alternatives include that the euro and dollar change from being zigzag pullbacks to further trending - more dollar up, more euro down. This may be less likely, than just having the trend change turn equire more time and turbulence.

Weekend review of analysts around the web discussing the bullish and bearish aspects of the markets

It's time for another weekend roundup looking at what other analysts are saying on different aspects of the markets' technical and sentiment-based outlook! We'll include some of our usual favorites we recommend to readers, plus some others that look good:

Be sure as usual to read Terry Laundry's Saturday update at T Theory Foundation: T Theory Calculations, Daily Updates, Charts and Data (2/20), at http://www.ttheoryfoundation.org/t-theory-calculations.html. Click to see his chart and discussions of course - here's a quote:

The small hike in the discount rate didn't prove a problem and the AD Oscillator continues its strong uptrend from the W Bottom.

It is approaching an overbought state but it usually turns toppy well before the market gets into any serious trouble.

I will make the next post here early Tuesday Morning. On Sunday I will discuss a 10 year chart history for Gold and Interest rate trends at See Recent Posts at bottom of page. For a full review of all posts since January 5 2010 go this link then go to the bottom of the page and scroll back in time: T Theory Foundation

Safe Haven | Technical Market Report by Mike Burk (2/20), at http://www.safehaven.com/article-15866.htm.

Schaeffer's Monday Morning Outlook: Traders Remain Wary Despite Rally; SPX Reclaims 1,100. Here's their intro quote:

The short week got off to a rollicking good start -- the Dow Jones Industrial Average surged nearly 170 points on Tuesday -- and the major market indexes spent the rest of the week padding those gains. The Dow is now just shy of breakeven for the year to date. Looking ahead to next week, Todd Salamone, Senior Vice President of Research, notes the relatively low-key response to the Federal Reserve's surprise discount rate hike, and concludes that traders are still living in a low-expectation environment. Still, Todd thinks we might be in for a short period of consolidation following the recent rally. Next, Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White explains the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), a popular technical analysis tool. One day last week, more than 500 stocks were showing a MACD buy signal. That's happened only four times in recent years. Finally, we wrap up with a look at some key economic and earnings reports slated for release this week.

Carl Swenlin's Decision Point®: Chart Spotlight (2/19/2010), http://www.decisionpoint.com/ChartSpotliteFiles/100219_cspot.html. Here's a quote from one part, but check out his charts, they're worth a look:

Our market posture for the S&P 500 remains neutral; however, our Thrust/Trend Model (T/TM) could generate a buy signal if positive price action can continue and the Percent Buy Index (PBI) can cross up through its 32-EMA.

Marty Chenard's 2/18 piece at Safe Haven | Today's Current Accumulation-Distribution Study..., http://www.safehaven.com/article-15848.htm.

Thoughtful swing trader views, in Steven Cohen or Trader A?; Lessons Learned From Tim Knight | Charts and Coffee (2/19), http://www.chartsandcoffee.com/2010/02/steven-cohen-or-trader-a-lessons-learned-from-tim-knight/.

SentimenTrader - Independent Sentiment Research for the Stock and Bond Markets- Here's their gauge as it appears today, 2/20, at http://www.sentimentrader.com/:

INVESTOR SENTIMENT

Click here for more information

Jesse's Café Américain: Gold and Silver Weekly Charts - Explosive Silver Situation Intensifies (2/19), at http://jessescrossroadscafe.blogspot.com/2010/02/gold-and-silver-weekly-charts.html.

Enjoy listening (but guard against getting overly bearish) - Financial News, Economic Education, Analysis & Data - FinancialSense.com, today at http://www.financialsense.com/

Today's first hour of their audio features:

Carl Swenlin (Technical) President Decision Point Topic: Market Correction Further to Go | Marc Faber Editor Gloom Boom & Doom Report Topic: Stock Market, Gold, Sovereign Debt & Inflation

The Technical Take: Investor Sentiment: Bounce Mode - By Guy Lerner
(2/20), at http://thetechnicaltakedotcom.blogspot.com/2010/02/investor-sentiment-bounce-mode.html.

Market Observation - Brian Pretti 02.19.2010: Is the Glass (Steagall) Really Half Empty? (2/20), http://www.financialsense.com/Market/wrapup.htm.

Bull v. Bear decision point facing stock markets can be analyzed with Objective Elliott Wave: Tony Caldaro's weekend update

Once again the stock markets are at a point where technicians are checking (and debating) whether this is really a bull or bear market. Insights to help discern the difference can cone from Tlliott Qave analysis when it's applied objectively. The Elliott Wave count of the equities markets, typically on the S&P 500 index, is always interesting to puzzle out, and always much appreciated when it's tracked and updated objectively. Of course I'm thinking of Tony Caldaro and his Objective Elliott Wave (and his site is always in the list at right). Here's this weekend's update from Tony's Elliott Wave Lives On site:
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the Elliott Wave Lives On
by Tony Caldaro
February 20, 2010

weekend update

REVIEW

This week the FED increased the discount rate for the first time since Jun 06. This may have been in response to the rising inflationary pressures reported this week, and a message to the banks to increase lending after reports of record declines in lending. Economic reports, in general, were positive. Home starts/builders index was higher, industrial production and leading indicators were higher, and the Philly FED improved. On the inflation front, both the PPI and CPI rose along with import prices. For the week the SPX/DOW were +3.05%, and the NDX/NAZ were +2.65%. The Asian markets were flat, but European markets were +4.4%, and the Commodity equity markets were +3.1%. Bonds were -0.8%, Crude gained 7.5%, Gold rose 2.4% and the USD was +0.3%. Home prices/sales, plus the Q4 GDP revision highlight the next week.

LONG TERM
We start this weekly review referencing the two special reports posted this week: GSC revisited and the Holiday update. Then we'll try to reference the past and relate it to the present and future. In the "GSC revisited" report posted on sunday we examined the theory of a Grand Supercycle and how it relates history. We suggested, based upon an economic cycle in the emerging US economy, that the GSC began early in the 18th century and not with the official Declaration of Independence in 1776. Under this scenario, the US would have experienced five Supercycles (SC) between 1700 and 1929. The two SC peaks, SC1 1770 and SC3 1857, were followed by two major local wars, the American revolution and the American civil war. In each instance the economy contracted about 10% to 20%. When SC5 completed in 1929, however, it completed a much greater cycle: the multi-century GSC. The decline that followed was enormous. The economy dropped nearly 50%, the stock market dropped 89% in only 34 months, and the economic collapse resulted in a major worldwide war. While the US stock market took only three years to bottom after a GSC top. The English FTSE GSC top occurred earlier in 1900 and lasted until 1940, forty years. We also noted some additional technical comparisons in the GSC report. That depression was worldwide.

From 1932 forward the US stock market, as measured by the DOW, progressed in a five wave sequence which is familar to most you. Cycle wave 1 1937, Cycle wave 2 1942, Cycle wave 3 1973, Cycle wave 4 1974 and Cycle wave 5 2007. Some EW pundits have counted the 2000 top, Primary wave III, as the end the of Cycle wave 5. We, however, tracked the five wave bull market from 2002-2007 right on this blog. The charts are still posted in the chartlink. Cycle wave 5 completed in 2007. After it completed it became obvious that it was a very significant top. More aligned with a Supercycle top than just another Cycle wave top. Now, we are fairly certain that it was a Supercycle top, and nothing like the GSC top and collapse from 1929-1932. This revelation has some current and future implications. First, and foremost, we can no longer compare this SC bear market to the GSC 1929-1932 bear market. We had been expecting alternating waves. That expectation no longer applies. Second, we had been expecting a prolonged bear market, similar to 1937-1942, to accomodate the alternation. That no longer applies. Third, we were expecting a retest of the 2009 lows or lower to complete the bear market. That is still possible but we now have to look at other possibilities as well. This bear market is nothing like the depressionary 1929-1932. In fact, neither China nor India even entered into a recession during this worldwide economic contraction.

After tracking the five wave bull market from 2002-2007 we turned long term bearish in early Jan 08. We expected an ABC bear market. All bear markets unfold in ABC's. As the waves unfolded we observed five waves down into Mar 08, a three wave rally, and then another five waves down into Mar 09 to complete a three wave zigzag. At this point we labeled the completed wave structure as Primary wave A and suggested a 50% retracement rally would be next. A few days after the low we projected a target of SPX 1122 (50%) within the range of OEW 1107 and 1179 pivots. In essence we had turned medium term bullish, but remained long term bearish under the wave alternation scenario. The market rallied in three waves, for ten months, and topped at SPX 1150 in Jan 09. Just before the top we had a long term uptrend confirmation from our quantitative OEW. These signals are quite reliable. While some of our other indicators were also flashing bullish signals we made the decision to track the next downtrend carefully. Since there were only a three waves up from the Mar 09 low, and the market had followed our expectations. A resumption of the bear market would be signalled during the next downtrend, with impulsive waves to the downside. Thus far, that has not occurred.

This downtrend is now about four weeks old and the waves thus far look corrective, not impulsive. Corrective downtrends occur during bull markets, or bear market rallies, not in the resumption of bear markets. Since we no longer require wave alternation between the 1929-1932 bear market and present. And, we no longer require anything more to the downside than what has already occurred, see "Holiday update". We can technically count the decline from Oct 07 to Mar 09 as the entire three wave bear market, if we can count the two uptrends from Mar 09 as impulse waves. In the SPX this is quite difficult to do with out major creative wave counting. In the DOW, however, it is not that difficult, and we posted a bullish count on the charts. In review of some of the other technicals we follow. We observe that, unlike the US, and we posted this in early Jan 10, nine of the thirteen foreign markets we follow already have bullish wave structures. At the Mar 09 low this market was the most oversold it has been since the early 1930's. Plus, the last factor we noticed this week was the four-year cycle.

There have only been three times when OEW has confirmed a long term uptrend in a four-year cycle low year: 1950, 1954 and 1958. All three led to multi-year bull markets. On each occassion the four-year cycle low arrived one year early. Prior to that it was in sync with the waves, and in 1962 it synched up again. The 1950's, btw, was also a time when Debt/GDP was over 100%, and the FED fixed rates low while allowing inflation to aide economic growth. It appears in many ways we've been through the current scenario, with some variations, before.
    
Let's sum this up. We currently have two potential counts. The one we have been posting since early 2008: Oct 07-Mar 09 Primary wave A, Mar 09-Jan 10 Primary B, and Primary C now underway. This is still possible, since we are still in a downtrend, and there are only three waves up from Mar 09. The second count arises after all the recent research into GSC/SC waves, cycles, etc. It suggests, and is posted on the DOW charts, that the bear market ended in Mar 09. The anticipated 50% retracement rally, was actually the start of a new 70-80 year SC bull market. The three waves up, thus far, are only Major waves 1-2-3 of Primary wave I of Cycle wave I of this bull market. Should the current downtrend conclude with alternation with the Jun/July downtrend, and hold the 10% correction threehold, it will be labeled Major wave 4 with Major wave 5 to follow. For now we'll continue with the SPX count as the primary count until this downtrend concludes.

MEDIUM TERM: downtrend
After a six month uptrend July 09-Jan 10 the market entered a downtrend on Jan 19th. This, we anticipated at the time, was the most important downtrend since the final downtrend into the Mar 09 low. If it was impulsive we could assume the bear market has resumed. If not, the potential was there for higher highs in the months ahead. On the hourly charts we could observe impulsive waves from SPX 1150-1072, a rally to 1105, then another impulsive wave to 1045. We counted it as a i-ii-1. However, on the OEW charts, we noted that the decline really didn't look that impulsive at all. It looked more like a zigzag than a i-ii-1. As the market started to rally from the SPX 1045 low, it continued to retrace more and more of Minor wave 1. By this thursday it had retraced that entire decline when the rally hit 1108. This increased the expectations that a zigzag had formed between SPX 1150 and 1045. We are also considering an additional count of a Int. wave i and an irregular Int. wave ii. Zigzags are formed by two implusive waves with a counter rally in between. They are not impulsive waves because impulsive wave require five internal waves not three. This downtrend then is not what was expected to resume the bear market. It looks more like a correction in an ongoing bull market.

SHORT TERM
Support for the SPX is at 1107 and then 1090, with resistance at 1133 and then 1168. Short term momentum is displaying a negative divergence on the hourly charts and is a bit overbought on the daily charts. The decline from SPX 1150 to 1045 was 105 points and 9.1%. The decline in the DOW was 8.3%. We noted this near the lows because we had observed that at no time during the 2002-2007 bull market had the DOW corrected more than 10%. During the bear market that 10% threshold was broken quite early. Yet since March 09 the only correction prior to this was Jun/July: SPX -9.1% and DOW -8.9%. From the Feb 5th low at SPX 1045, the SPX has already rallied 67 points and retraced 64%. This is generally considered about the maximum retracement for a counter-rally during a downtrend. If the SPX clears the OEW 1107 pivot range then we would suspect that the low for this downtrend was at SPX 1045. Ideally, the SPX should top soon and turn lower to, at least, retest that 1045 low or lower. This would give us more information about this downtrend. Plus set up a potential alternation between the Jun/July correction and this one. The inflection point, we spoke about last weekend, has been resolved to the upside. The next decision for this market is bull or bear. Best to your trading!

FOREIGN MARKETS
The Asian markets were flat on the week with China closed. Hong Kong lost 1.9% and the rest were slightly positive.
The European markets had a good week +4.4%. All were within a +4.0% to +4.6% range. The SMI confirmed another uptrend.
The Commodity equity markets averaged a +3.1% week.

COMMODITIES
Bonds dropped 0.8% on the week. Rates appear to be in another uptrend.
Crude rallied for most of the week gaining 7.5%, despite a rising USD. It has rallied $10 in two weeks.
Gold gained 2.4% on the week, as Silver +5.0% led gold higher.
The USD gained 0.3% in a volatile week. The EUR lost 0.1%, (certainly appeared worse), and the JPY lost 1.7%.

NEXT WEEK
Tuesday kicks off the week with Case-Shiller and Consumer confidence. On wednesday we have New home sales, then on thursday the weekly Jobless claims and Durable goods. Friday ends the week with the first revision to Q4 GDP, Consumer sentiment, Chicago PMI and Existing homes sales. As for the FED. On wednesday FED chairman Bernanke gives testimony to Congress in his Semi-Annual monetary policy report. Then he testifies before the Senate, same subject, on thursday. On  friday FED governor Tarullo heads a panel discussion in NYC. Best to you and yours this week. It should be an interesting one.

CHARTS: http://stockcharts.com/def/servlet/Favorites.CServlet?obj=ID1606987

Opex Friday caps benign time, now be alert for potentially worrisome markets: Ray Merriman's preview for 2/22 week

Want to hear from someone who predicted markets' positive moves this week? Raymond Merriman's financial astrology-enhanced analysis of the cycles in equities, bonds, currencies and commodities are always fascinating. Here's his set of public preview comments for the upcoming week, from his site at Merriman Market Analyst MMACycles Weekly Preview Comments:
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MMA Comments for the Week Beginning February 22, 2010
Written by Raymond Merriman

Review and Preview

World equity indices rallied most of last week, following their troughs (lows) of the week before. However, the rallies weren’t large enough to confirm the lows of February 5-9 as primary or greater cycle troughs. On the other hand, if these rallies continue for two more weeks, then they will probably confirm the lows of early February as not just primary cycle bottoms, but even the 50-week cycle trough. Thus, stock indices are in a very important stage right now.

In Asia and the Pacific Rim, the rallies were quite mixed. In India’s Nifty and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, the rally from the prior week lasted until Wednesday, February 17. In Australia, the high of the week fell on last Thursday. In Japan, the Nikkei topped out Friday, but then it sold off somewhat sharply to close near the low of the week, following the announcement of the increase in the Fed discount rate.

In Europe, the stock market was bullish all week. Each of the four major indices we track topped out on Friday, February 19.

In the Americas, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ Composite, and Bovespa of Brazil all made their weekly highs on Friday. The Merval of Argentina made its weekly high of Thursday. There is nothing yet to indicate that the rally in any of these markets is completed. In fact, the translation of Venus and the Sun over the former Jupiter-Neptune conjunction remains in force through this week. As discussed before, these translations are in effect February 8-28.

Crude Oil has rallied in concert with stocks. The prior week found Crude prices down to 69.50. Last week saw prices back up to 79.95. Gold and Silver also rebounded from their lows of the prior week. In Gold, the high of the week was realized on Wednesday, but Silver continued higher in to Friday. However, currencies did not fare too well against the Dollar. The Euro currency, for instance, traded below 1.3500 during the day on Friday. This is most unusual, for precious metals and currencies tend to move together. But now, we see them decoupling. Gold and Silver are moving up against all currencies, which suggest something may be developing on the geopolitical front that is causing investors of all nations to demand more Gold and Silver. Maybe that something has to do with the progress of nuclear development in Iran.

Short-Term Geocosmics

The movement up in stock indices last week was not unexpected according to the principles of Financial Astrology. As discussed previously, the geocosmic signatures of February are quite benign, with first Venus, and the Sun, forming conjunctions to Neptune and Jupiter. The last of these “soft” aspects will happen next week, as the Sun will form its annual conjunction to Jupiter on February 28. Three days later, on March 3, Venus will form a conjunction to Uranus, which is more powerful in terms of stock market correlations. In fact, Venus and the Sun will both now start a translation to the Saturn-Uranus opposition. These translations will be in effect March 3-21. If we add the square to Pluto into the mix, it will last through March 25. One would anticipate that the period from March 3-25 will be entirely different in focus and market performance than February 8-28. The February period was benign, while the March time band may be much more intense and worrisome. After all, February highlighted the exuberant and hopeful Jupiter-Neptune dynamic. The March period will highlight the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto dynamic, which instead of being hopeful, has a stronger association with matters like debt, taxes, and “the unexpected.” In the context of “the unexpected,” there may be a slew of incidents involving nature, like high winds, electrical storms, and even earthquakes or volcano eruptions. It will mark the most powerful combination of geocosmic signatures in effect so far this New Year.

Longer-Term Thoughts

I received some mail last week about my column in support of the Federal Reserve Board. It isn’t so much that I support the FRB as I support the leadership of Ben Bernanke. It really doesn’t matter so much (to me) which entity controls our nation’s money, as it does the integrity and honesty of the individual in charge of that role. But it is hard for me to conceive that anyone who is under the control of elected officials (White House or Congress) can be free from an inherent conflict of interest to the American people. Elected officials will tend to make decisions – or demand the Central Bank make decisions - that will enhance their chances of re-election, which may not always be in the long-term best interest of the nation and its economy. For instance, it is seldom popular to raise interest rates, and very few politicians would go on record to support an increase in interest rates.

Yet, every time the economy comes under pressure, politicians are quick to point the finger at the Central Bank. The Federal Reserve Board was blamed by many politicians for the financial panic in September 2008 because it oversaw a very soft and accommodative monetary policy in the middle years of this decade. Yet it could just as easily be argued that it was the lax regulatory policies of the government itself over Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that allowed for such risks to be taken b y banks, causing so many people to enter into mortgages they could not afford.

It is important to bring these issues up now, because the geocosmic signatures of next month – and even into early 2011 – suggest these themes are about to explode again. The Federal Reserve Board can only control the dangers that they can foresee. The problem is that crises in banking occur where no one expects it to happen (well, afterwards, of course, everyone claims they saw it). But we know that Pluto in Capricorn - especially in the waning phase of the Saturn-Pluto cycle – pertains to financial crises related to out-of-control spending and hence debt explosions. Things can look rosy temporarily, but in fact spending and debt levels are not going down, and debt related problems will continually rise again to confront bankers and politicians alike. I suspect we will see this in March when 1) Mars goes direct, and 2) Venus and the Sun will translate the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto T-square.

Mars retrograde is very interesting in terms of military actions too. In the past week, the USA has launched its new Afghan military initiative in the southern part of that country. The initial reports are very encouraging, which is what one would expect under the transit of the Sun and Venus to Neptune and Jupiter. As mentioned in a recent column, Barack Obama will stage a comeback in popularity during February, and he has. But Mars is retrograde, and usually this means that the aggressor will encounter more resistance and difficulties than anticipated. It will be with great interest that we watch the developments in Afghanistan when the transits to Jupiter and Neptune end, and the translations to Saturn-Uranus-Pluto begin, with Mars retrograde and about to go stationary direct (March 10). I think at that time we will begin to see if the new surge in Afghanistan is really a success, or on course to becoming another Viet Nam-like situation. We may see whether President Obama really is an effective commander in chief too. Right now it is hard to call. The start of the new military campaign started under a new moon and favorable fast-moving transits, which are positive. But it also started under the slower moving Mars retrograde, which to an astrologer is usually not the best time to launch a new war effort. It is a better signature to launch a peace initiative, and if there is one thing I would suggest to President Obama at this time, it would be to call together a summit of world leaders who truly want to end the threat of terrorism – who would form a powerful coalition against terrorism and sponsors of terrorist activities with the goal towards world peace. He could do it, and in my opinion, this may be his true calling in life. But he can’t do it alone, he can’t do it via twitter or a teleprompter where he speaks in front of large groups of fans in contrived photo opportunities, and he can’t sit back waiting for others to invite him to their summits. He needs to initiate the call, organize the event, and bring the leaders together by personal invitation. In my opinion, he needs to do this within the window of opportunity while Uranus and Jupiter are still in Pisces, which is in effect off and on for only the next year. After that, it is “Aries time,” potentially a time of wars and major disputes – unless these matters are addressed and agreed to before then.

Announcements

The monthly MMA Cycles Report and its companion – the MMA Japan Cycles Report – will come out this week, Monday and Tuesday, via posting on our web site for subscribers. This report covers our longer-term analysis of the U.S. stock market, precious metals, crude oil, currencies, Treasury Notes, and grain markets. For subscription information, please go to SERVICES at www.mmacycles.com.

Our next private meeting for MMA subscribers will take place at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Cambridge (Boston) Massachusetts, on March 1 at 11:00 AM. There is no cost for yearly subscribers of MMA or SOS reports, or for any subscribers of our daily or weekly reports. For all others, the cost is $295.00. This special meeting will last about 2-1/2 hours. It will follow the NCGR conference on “Planetary Revolution: Geocosmic Alchemy II”, taking place February 25-28. Attendance is limited to about 15 persons, and reservations are suggested. There is nothing as exciting and informative as a gathering with MMA subscribers (to me), because they come from very interesting walks of life, from the fields of finance, banking, government, military, intelligence agencies, academia, psychology, internet technology, and astrology. During this special gathering, subscribers may ask any questions they wish, or they may make any statements that the group may then discuss. Great trading ideas tend to arise from this format. Please contact us at 1-248-626-3034, or email us at ordersmma@msn.com if you would like to be a part of this special meeting, as seating is limited. For information on what these meetings are like, read a review of my winter tour of Europe, where I met several subscribers at two separate meetings, in Amsterdam and Zurich.

Please note that I will be giving two lectures in Arizona in March. The first will be Friday, March 12 in Tucson, 7:30 – 9:00 PM. Please contact 520-625-5762 or gaelchi@dishmail.net for reservations and location information. The second will take place in Scottsdale, Friday, March 26, 7:00 – 9:30 PM. Contact 602-952-1525, or as aboard@azastrology.org for reservation and location details. The title of the presentations will be “FORECASTS 2010 AND THE USA ECONOMY.” These presentations will discuss the importance of the “Cardinal Climax,” an unusual planetary pattern that will be in force 2008-2015, with its strongest astrological set up taking place in the summer of 2010. This set up affects the charts of the USA, Barack Obama, and the Federal Reserve. As each of these entities undergoes radical changes, it will also correspond to powerful movements in financial markets and the world economy. This is a year in which tremendous profits, or losses, can be realized, related to Jupiter conjunct Uranus cycle which begins in 2010.

If you are an active short-term trader, you may be interested in our Weekly or even Daily Market reports with short-term trading recommendations. It is the only way I keep in touch with traders on a daily or even weekly basis, as I no longer offer personal consultations. These reports give in-depth analysis of the DJIA, S&P and NASDAQ futures, Euro currency (cash and futures), Swiss Franc, Dollar/Yen cash and Yen futures, T-Notes, Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Gold and Silver. The daily reports cover all stock indices listed above, as well as futures in Euro, T-Notes, Soybeans, Gold and Silver. Subscription to the daily report also includes the weekly report. For more information, go to http://www.mmacycles.com/services, or call our offices at 1-248-626-3034. In the words of one of our subscribers: “I recently subscribed to your weekly report and am finding it to be excellent and a very useful companion to the MMA Cycles Report. I can't imagine now managing my investments without them.”

CD’S, MP3’s, DVD’S, and webcast viewing of the Forecast 2010 speech will be available in about a week. The Forecast 2010 Webcast Speech took place December 20, 2009. We are offering a CD or MP3 download that contains the audio only. You can also view the webcast again in it’s entirety as a one-time download from Vibation until January 25, 2010. And it will be available in a DVD edited edition too. The cost for any of these recordings will be $45.00 and an additional postage charge if ordering in audio CD or edited DVD format. For further information, go to our website at www.mmacycles.com (it will be up sometime this week). Or drop us an email (ordersmma@msn.com) or fax (248-538-5296), or call us at 1-248-626-3034. “Thank You - it’s very thoughtful and thanks you for sharing your knowledge. A whole new world opened for me.” Attendee to the Forecast 2010 webcast.

The Forecast 2010 book are out!!! For more information, visit our web site at www.mmacycles.com. “Kudos… the 2010 forecasts – you’ve outdone yourself - I see Jupiter is playing a role not anticipated (if I recall correctly) last year .... it all clicks.” RR, Santa Fe

The MMA Catalogue of products and services for 2010 is now out!!! You can download it in PDF at http://www.mmacycles.com/option,com_docman/task,doc_download/gid,161/Itemid,63/. The ordering page is the last page of the catalogue. This is especially useful for those outside of the USA, since we do not send these by snail mail unless requested.

MMA is currently preparing a listing of astrology books on its web site for readers to consider in their education of this unique study. The initial offering can be seen on our web site at www.mmacycles.com, under Astrology Books.

Disclaimer and Statement of Purpose

The purpose of this column is not to predict the future movement of various financial markets. However, that is the purpose of the MMA (Merriman Market Analyst) subscription services. This column is not a subscription service. It is a free service, except in those cases where a fee may be assessed to cover the cost of translating this column from English into a non-English language.

This weekly report is written with the intent to educate the reader on the relationship between astrological factors and collective human activities as they are happening. In this regard, this report will oftentimes report what happened in various stock and financial markets throughout the world in the past week, and discuss that movement in light of the geocosmic signatures that were in effect. It will then identify the geocosmic factors that will be in effect in the next week, or even month, or even years, and the author’s understanding of how these signatures will likely affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from a perspective of a cycle’s analyst looking at the military, political, economic, and even financial markets of the world.

It is possible that some forecasts will be made based on these factors. However, the primary goal is to both educate and alert the reader as to the psychological climate we are in, from an astrological perspective. The hope is that it will help the reader understand these psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and hence financial markets of the day.

No guarantee as to the accuracy of this report is being made here. Any decisions in financial markets are solely the responsibility of the reader, and neither the author nor the publishers assume any responsibility at all for those individual decisions. Reader should understand that futures and options trading are considered high risk.

Copyright MMACycles 2007-2010; you may link to this site or page, but you may not distribute these texts in any way (by email or otherwise).

Archives
Previous weeklies (2006) are archived at www.olmta.com

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Dutch : www.markettiming.nl (Nederlands)
Spanish : www.mmacycles-spanish.com (Español)
German : www.mma-europe.ch (Deutch)
Japanese : www.merriman.jp
Russian : www.urania.ru
Serbian : www.mma-balkan.com
Polish : www.astrobiznes.pl