MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING AUGUST 26, 2024 ©

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Review

 Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell laid the groundwork Friday for interest rate cuts ahead, though he declined to provide exact indications on timing or extent. “The time has come for policy to adjust,” the central bank leader said.

—Jeff Cox, “Fed Chair Powell Indicates Interest Rate Cuts Ahead,” August 23, 2024, www.cnbc.com.

 Global equity prices continued their Mercury retrograde rally into last week’s three-star geocosmic critical reversal date (CRD) of August 16-19, with several making new recovery highs late in the week. As reported in three special stock market update reports this past week, the strong 2-week rally following the low of August 5, when Mercury retrograde began, is not only highly unusual but confirms August 5 as the primary cycle low. It also looks like a greater 50-week cycle trough, for rallies of this magnitude tend to happen only after longer-term cycles begin. Thus, there is a need for special updates and revisions of our prior trading strategies, with a new outlook for the next few weeks.

In Asia and the Pacific Rim, equity markets exhibited interesting divergences. The Australian ASX, Japan’s Nikkei, and India’s NIFTY indices all displayed strong rallies into late last week. The NIFTY and ASX tested their recent all-time highs (ATH). The Hang Seng of Hong Kong also had a rally, but much weaker than the aforementioned indices. And China’s Shanghai Composite (SSE) actually fell to a double bottom and back to its lowest level in six months. All is not well in China, as it is behaving as the weakest of all the major global stock markets. This may be a drag on the world economy soon if conditions in China don’t improve.

European indices all had decent rallies last week. Most notable were the indices of Germany and Switzerland, which are forming double and triple tops to the yearly highs. The recovery in the Netherlands AEX has only been corrective so far. London’s FTSE had a better than average rally, but the excitement was greater in Germany and Switzerland.

In the Americas, Brazil’s Bovespa soared to a new all-time on August 21. The U.S. markets were also strong, but, as of yet, have not made new all-time highs. They are close, and with Uranus about to turn retrograde, they could explode and do so soon since Uranus loves to break any long-term support or resistance zones, such as previous all-time highs.

In other markets, Gold was a stellar performer, rallying to another new ATH of 2570 on August 20, right into MMA’s three-star CRD zone of August 19. Silver had a good rally, too, testing 30.00 again on August 20, but well off its yearly high of 32.75 made back on May 20, another MMA three-star CRD. Thus, there is still a case of intermarket bearish divergence between Gold and Silvers as Gold approaches the time band when its 50-week cycle low will be due. Potentially profitable trading opportunities may be arising in both Gold and Soybeans, as the last week’s powerful geocosmic combinations coincided with a new all-time high in Gold and a new 3.5-year low in Soybeans.

Bitcoin and Ethereum were flat until Friday, trading within the range of the previous week’s high and low. However, following Fed Chairman Powell’s welcomed announcement of impending interest rate cuts, BTC broke above 63,000 and out of congestion. With Uranus and Mercury about to change direction, we could see BTC and Ethereum make a surprise approach to new all-time highs shortly, too, as long as BTC can stay above 63,000. Crude Oil fell to a new 5-month low of 71.46 last week (August 21). Again, this was within the MMA geocosmic time band for a big reversal (August 16-19 CRD), which could yet indicate a primary cycle trough and sharp multi-week rally has begun.

 Short-Term Geocosmics

 Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s anticipated exit from the presidential race could benefit Donald Trump…. With Kennedy and other alternative candidates off the ballot, , half of the voters backing them would support Trump and one-quarter would back Harris, the late-July poll found. Harris’s 1-point lead with Kennedy in the race turned into a 2-point deficit without him… The (Democratic) party and affiliated groups invested heavily in blocking Kennedy from state ballots and highlighting his eccentricities to voters.

—Natalie Andrews, Aaron Zitner, and Alex Leary, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Expected Exit Could Help Trump, Hurt Harris,” August 22, 2024, www,wsj.com.

Last week’s powerful mutable and fixed T-squares involving Uranus (Full Moon) and Saturn (with Venus, Mars, and Jupiter) coincided with a major volcanic eruption in Iceland. It also coincided with a stunning switch in the dynamics of the U.S. presidential election with Robert Kennedy’s announcement that his run as an independent candidate would end as he joined forces with Republican candidate Donald Trump after Kennedy was deliberately obstructed from participating as a viable candidate by the Democratic party. That behavior may end up being costly for the Democrats and Kamala Harris in a tight election. Furthermore, last week’s powerful geocosmic combinations coincided with a new all-time high in Gold and a new 3.5-year low in Soybeans. Potentially profitable trading opportunities may be arising in each.

Threats from nature and in the realm of world economies and national politics are not over, given the onslaught of geocosmic signatures yet to come. First, we find Uranus changing directions on September 1, the same day that Pluto retrogrades back into Capricorn until November 20, for the last time in about 240 years. Uranus’ changing direction is always a wild card for financial markets and natural events such as high winds, tornadoes, hurricanes, electrical blackouts, and earthquakes. At the same time, Pluto is highlighted as having symbolic associations with volcanic eruptions. Together, they can represent threats to growing conditions, especially in areas where crops are well into their growth cycle and maybe even ready for harvest. This might add to the reasons why Soybean and other grain prices are getting attractive.

At the same time, we are under a retrograde semi-square from Saturn to Pluto, the first 1/8 harmonic aspect following their conjunction in mid-January 2020 when 1) Covid broke out and 2) Iranian General Qassem Soleimani was assassinated by the U.S. The first 1/8 of a cycle is when themes that were present under the conjunction return. Additionally, Saturn, in a hard aspect to Pluto, also represents a threat to crops through acts of nature, such as extreme temperatures, dryness, high winds, or floods. The latter also may be highlighted September 1-12 when Mars squares Neptune (September 3, indicating heavy rains), followed by the Sun in opposition to Saturn and square Jupiter (September 8-12, indicating geopolitical threats and possibly endangering the safety of political leaders since it activates the Saturn/Pluto semi-square). It will be an interesting time for the first debate between Trump and Harris.

However, we also note that transiting Mars will trine the New York Stock Exchange’s Jupiter and Neptune, now through next week. This has a bullish bias for U.S. stocks on its own.

 Longer-Term Thoughts: the U.S. Election

 Mr. Trump has let Ms. Harris claim the mantle of change, though she has been Mr. Biden’s sidekick all along. This is political malpractice. He has also given Ms. Harris the chance to sound the notes of optimism that Americans always want to hear from a candidate. Mr. Trump focuses so much on America’s problems—“American carnage”—that Ms. Harris can dominate the field even with generalities like hope and opportunity.

—Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal, “Kamala Harris Offers a ‘New Way Forward’ of Platitudes,” August 23, 2024, www,wsj.com.

The next conjunction (of Saturn-Neptune) of 2026 is centrally placed at the beginning of Aries and in a triangular quartet of planets with a double sextile to a trine between Uranus in Gemini and Pluto in Aquarius. It is the most benefic configuration of the century, and its interplanetary partnership will work for the best in a splendid relaunch of civilization.

— André Barbault, “Planetary Cycles: Mundane Astrology,” translated by Kate Johnson, The Astrological Association CIO, London, UK, 2016.

 This is the time of year when I start writing the annual Forecast Book. After studying the cosmic lineup for 2025, two words come to mind that express a common American refrain: “Holy sh-t!” This is big! The planetary setups in 2025 symbolize a huge opportunity (and danger) regarding the direction the world will take. It’s not a cliche for astrologers to think the future of the world is about to change dramatically. It could be very hard, but it can just as easily be the beginning of something extremely constructive. I’m going to drink some of that Kool-aid and project thoughts on why I think it could be the start of something very positive for the world and the start of a new and constructive direction for humankind.

We already know that 2025 will be the start of the “Aries Vortex” (lasting into 2027), as outlined in recent webinars and interviews. This is when Saturn and Neptune, a 36-year cycle, conjoin at the midpoint of Uranus and Pluto. The latter two planets will be in a harmonious trine aspect in early air signs. And it all funnels into 0° Aries, the “world point.” You could take any one of these cosmic signatures and write a book about their importance. I use the word “holy” because of Neptune, the planet of the spiritual path that rewards a life of virtue and compassion. With Saturn, it is also a path of commitment and discipline. Saturn rules authority, government, and its leaders. However, with Neptune, it can also symbolize spiritual authority and mastery, as in behaving with a consciousness about spiritual values and exhibiting virtuous acts when positive. When negative, it symbolizes corruption and the willingness to manipulate and deceive others.

Just as important and powerful, the midpoint of Uranus and Pluto can be extremely disruptive and even shocking in the obsession to implement radical changes and reforms. Fortunately, they are in a favorable trine aspect, but with midpoints to Saturn and Neptune, these radical changes can go either really badly (as in coercion) or really wonderful (as in new reforms supported by the consensus of the masses, which is guided by the principle of “More Power to the People”). It probably depends on the attitude, behavior, motivation, and underlying agendas of world leaders who are leading this revolution in consciousness and practice. If the call of destiny is for unity over division, then words that uplift and empower will carry a lot of weight.

With Neptune, people will buy into words if they lift up the spirit. They want that. They can be inspired to demand that of their leaders, and leaders who are in tune with their people will respond to that in kind. With Saturn, there is also the danger of buying into pessimism and fear, fighting against radical change, and wishing to go back to a past that is no longer possible. People will seek safety and protection rather than embark upon the unknown risk of going forward and working in unity with others they do not yet trust. Whenever Saturn and Neptune are connected by aspect, it is always an issue of trust versus fear, which in turn results in taking chances versus paralysis (Uranus and Neptune, respectively). Which candidate inspires which emotion? In reality, astrology – the planets and the cosmos – don’t care. It says either candidate is capable of inciting either of these emotions. In the end, what matters will be the behavioral choices after the election.

Yet, as I look at these moving parts of the cosmos, I think 2025 will be a powerful year. And it will determine whether or not the world moves more towards harmony and the promise of a “New Aira.” It’s possible, no matter who is elected. The conditions of the world are likely to unfold in such a way that events themselves—and the reactions to them—will shape the character of the leader(s). And from this source, the “future” for years to come.

Personally, I am very impressed with the potential for positive new directions and healthier relationships for humankind on all levels starting in 2025. Symbolically speaking, it’s almost like a magic spell is being cast over the planet. The seasonal ingresses of the U.S. look very good for its leadership and its role in guiding the world into this “New Aira.” America is a leader again! It’s not falling apart as I read these signs.

Holy sh-t! I didn’t expect to see this. But now I fully understand what legendary Mundane Astrologer Andre Barbault saw a decade ago when he wrote the quote given at the beginning of this section on “Longer-Term Thoughts.” This “interplanetary partnership will work for the best in a splendid launch of civilization.”

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 NOTE 1: IT’S THAT TIME OF THE YEAR AGAIN! THE “ANNUAL MMA FORECAST 2025 PRE-PUBLICATION SALE” is now underway!!!! The sale will run through October 31 and includes our once-a-year discounts on both the annual Forecast book and MMA subscription reports.Week 240826~

During this pre-order period, the FORECAST 2025 print edition is available at the discounted rate of $55, and the eBook version is available for $45. AND this is also when we offer the best deal on MMA subscription reports! Save 10% off any subscription ($275+) with the purchase of Forecast 2025. For instance, you can save over $300 on a yearly subscription to the MMA Daily Report, which additionally includes the full weekly report (two reports in one!). After the pre-order event ends on November 1, the retail price of the Forecast 2025 print edition increases to $66, the eBook price increases to $55, and the subscription reports return to their normal prices. ORDER NOW AND SAVE BIG BUCKS!

MMA is also offering a special “bundle” discount rate for those who wish to order both the eBook and printed editions of Forecast 2025 for $75. The eBook usually comes out 1-2 weeks before the print edition and avoids delays caused by the postal system, especially for those who live overseas. Yet many readers prefer the print edition, so ordering both via the Forecast 2025 Bundle makes sense. You will receive the Forecast 2025 eBook on December 15, and the print copy will be mailed in mid-December.

MMA’s annual Forecast book is an astrological-themed almanac that has served students of cycles and markets since 1976. It provides a cyclical outlook of the collective world psychology, national economy, geopolitical overview, socio-cultural trends, weather and natural calamities potentials, as well as financial market projections for the U.S. stock market, the U.S. Treasury market, interest rates, Gold and Silver, currencies (the Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, and Japanese Yen), Bitcoin, Crude Oil, and Grain markets. Its valuable market timing forecasts are based on the historical correlation of market cycles overlapping with geocosmic planetary cycles. Additionally, it provides the three-star critical reversal dates for each market for the year, which have an 80+% accuracy over the years to trading cycle highs and lows when given an orb of three trading days. The book is approximately 200 pages, 8.5″ x 11″, and has set the standard for all astrological almanacs written today.

The scorecard for Forecast 2024, as of August 15, 2024, is now available for viewing by clicking here.

To pre-order Forecast 2025 now, please click here.

NOTE 2: LESS THAN ONE MORE MONTH TO GO!!! THE MMA 2024 Investment Retreat is fast approaching! This special wealth-building event will be available to attend online and in person.

 The 2024 MMA Investment Retreat will take place September 19-22, 2024, online and live at the Rikli Balance Hotel in the Julian Alps region of beautiful Lake Bled, Slovenia. You won’t want to miss this chance to hear the outlooks and wealth-building strategies using MMA market timing methods by top MMA analysts Raymond Merriman (USA), Gianni Di Poce (USA), Ulric Aspegrén (Switzerland), Pouyan Zolfagharnia (UK), Irma Schogt (Netherlands), Rita Perea (USA), Vincent Wang (Singapore), Wyatt Fellows (USA), plus special guest speakers Claude Weiss (Switzerland) and Aleksandar Imsiragic (Serbia). Special attention will be given to the stock markets of the USA, Germany, China, and Japan, plus Gold, Silver, Copper, Bitcoin, Wheat, Crude Oil, Real Estate, and interest rates. Every one of these markets is entering a time band for a long-term cycle low and, thus, an outstanding investment opportunity (in our MMA view). At this retreat, we will share our investment plan for entering each market with a “buy and hold” horizon based on MMA’s unique market-timing methodology for creating wealth. At the end of each day, there will also be roundtable discussions so that attendees can interact with that day’s speakers.

The Rikli Balance Hotel, where the event will take place, is now fully booked. However, cancellations do occur, so we are compiling a waiting list for the Rikli Balance Hotel in case that happens. We also have a list of other nearby hotels where several attendees are staying. The cost to attend the retreat, live or online, is $3500. There is a 10% discount for subscribers of MMA Daily or Weekly reports or one-year monthly reports. For those who attend in person, the rate includes meals, snacks, an opening reception, and the Saturday evening banquet at the historic castle on Lake Bled. To register for this spectacular event, click here. To see the full brochure, schedule, topics, and speakers’ bios, click here. To see a list of questions and answers (FAQs) regarding the Investment Retreat, click here. Sign up now and lock in your place at this unique gathering!

 NOTE 3: YOUR PERSONAL “JUPITER REPORT — YOUR MOMENTS OF OPPORTUNITY” IS COMING!!! Due for release in early September, this newest product is a report that all traders (and even non-traders) will find to be of great value. Raymond Merriman created this report, and it identifies the times during the year when Jupiter transits are highlighted in your chart. It delineates the meaning of Jupiter’s transits to your natal planets and angles over 14 months (including one month before your order and one month after the year ends). Why is this valuable? Because transits of Jupiter identify special opportunities for success, popularity, good fortune (luck), and gains in life when under harmonious aspects and used correctly. However, they can also indicate periods of potential misjudgment leading to losses if Jupiter is afflicted and the individual is not properly prepared. As an added bonus, each transit is ranked from –3 to +3 in terms of favorability for trading. Traders may find this most valuable! Would you like to know when you are most prone to trading successes or potential losses? You betcha! Stay tuned for information on how to order your personalized Jupiter report for the next year!

 NOTE 4: The MMA Weekly YouTube show, “Geocosmic Week in Review and Look Ahead,” with Gianni Di Poce, is conducted on Wednesday evenings! Each 5- to 20-minute FREE episode reviews the previous week’s market activity and offers a preview of the geocosmic signatures in effect for the coming week and beyond. Last week’s interview was with MMA Energy and Silver analyst Pouyan Zolfagharnia.

NOTE 5: MMA’s Free Weekly Column Podcast Is Available on SPOTIFY, APPLE, and AMAZON! Now, you can listen to a podcast of this weekly column by Thomas Miller on Saturdays! Just follow Merriman Market Analyst on Spotify or Apple to listen to all our episodes. A new podcast episode will be released every weekend. This is a FREE service and is available to everyone. Check out our podcasts on Apple, Spotify, and Amazon Music. It makes for great listening!

NOTE 6: THE AUGUST ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report Plus+, edited by Pouyan Zolfagharnia, will be issued this week. This market letter has become a very popular addition to the MMA Cycles Report (it’s less technical, more visual, and contains horoscopes of current importance, high-quality analysis, and updates on MMA Cycles Report markets). The mid-month addendum to the MMA Cycles Report has stunning graphics and charts (people love it!) and is very readable. It contains more illustrations and references to geocosmics than most MMA Cycles reports and is only available for subscription to those who also subscribe to the MMA Monthly Cycles Report. Each issue offers an update on NASDAQ, Gold, Silver, and Crude Oil. If you wish to try this month’s addendum, along with the latest issue of the MMA Monthly Cycles Report and the three special update reports on the U.S. stock market by Ray Merriman, sign up online at the link above. A subscription for a monthly copy of both reports costs $55. That will give you both the most recent copy of the MMA Cycles Report (i.e., the August issue), the three special alerts on the U.S. stock market, and the monthly MMA Cycles Report Plus+ addendum coming out this week. For further information and ordering instructions, please click here.

EVENTS

 September 19–22, 2024: MMA’s 2024 Investment Retreat. Save the dates!!! We will be hosting the MMA 2024 Investment Retreat in Europe for the first time since 2015. You won’t want to miss this chance to meet with the top MMA analysts (plus special guest speakers Claude Weiss and Aleksandar Imsiragic) live and hear our long-term investment and wealth-building strategies using MMA market-timing methods. Learn when and at what price to scale in on the 18-year cycle in world stock indices, which is now entering the time band for perhaps the best long-term investment opportunities in over a decade. The location is the beautiful Lake Bled in Slovenia, a premier (and affordable) destination in the Julian Alps, with a historic castle nestled in the mountains where the Saturday evening banquet will take place. The cost is $3500 (10% discount for subscribers of MMA Daily or Weekly reports, as well as one-year monthly reports). Click here to register! The event will be available in person or online. For a brochure, click here.

March 7-9, 2025: Cosmic Patterns Inc. presents its Convergence 2025 conference in Orlando, Florida. This will be one of the top astrological conferences of 2025 and will include a track on “Research and Financial Markets.” MMA market analysts Ray Merriman, Gianni Di Poce, Pouyan Zolfagharnia, Ulric Aspegrén, and Wiebke Held will speak, along with well-known financial astrologer Christeen Skinner of the U.K. There will also be several well-known professional astrologers speaking, including Lynn Bell, Charlotte Benson, Öner Döşer, Pam Gallagher, Demetra George, Aleksandar Imsiragic, Dr. Lea Imsiragic, Rick Levine, Darri Low Murphy, Anne Ortelee, Joni Patry, Kathy Rose, Gisele Terry, and Fei Cochrane. For further information, please go to https://cosmicpatternsconference.com/. You can also hear and read about this exciting gathering on YouTube (click here). Looking forward to seeing many of you there!

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Disclaimer and statement of purpose: The purpose of this column is not to forecast 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 often cite 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 may affect human activity in the times to come. The author (Merriman) will do this from the perspective of a cycles 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 the psychological dynamics that underlie (or coincide with) the news events and their potential effect on financial markets.

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 of this column assume any responsibility whatsoever for anyone’s trading or investment decisions. Readers of this report should understand that commodity futures and options trading are considered high-risk.