MMA FREE WEEKLY COLUMN FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING JULY 22, 2024 ©

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Review

 Financial services and doctors’ offices were disrupted on Friday, while TV broadcasters went offline as businesses worldwide grappled with an ongoing major IT outage. Air travel has been particularly hit, with planes grounded, services delayed and airports issuing advice to passengers…. cybersecurity giant CrowdStrike experienced a major disruption, following an issue with its latest tech update.

—Ruxandra Iordache, “‘Largest IT Outage in History’ Leaves World Reeling,” www.cnbc.com, July 19, 2024.

Gold prices were down more than 2% on Friday, putting the precious metal on track for its biggest one-day loss since June 7 — when it shed 2.8%. The move comes after gold hit a record high earlier this week.

—Alex Harring and Jesse Pound, “Dow Drops 400 Points, S&P 500 Heads for Worst Week in 3 Months,” www.cnbc.com, July 19, 2024, midday update. (It ended up closing down 377 points).

 It was the week the powerful Mars/Uranus conjunction took place right on the ominous fixed star, Algol. It didn’t disappoint regarding the ferocity of disruptions anticipated in the political and economic arenas. As stated two weeks ago, “Combining this legend (of Algol) with the nature of Mars (war, aggression, threats, heat) with Uranus (the “disruptor,” bearer of sudden surprises and shocks, such as earthquakes and natural calamities), and you have the ingredients for a potentially dangerous period for humankind. This can also translate into sudden and sharp reversals in several financial markets.”

Financial markets, from stocks to precious metals and other commodities, were roiled as well. It began with the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, followed by increasing calls for current President Joe Biden to withdraw from the election (especially following the report that he contacted COVID-19 shortly after announcing that he would consider stepping down if he was diagnosed with a medical condition). And the week ended with a massive IT outage affecting critical services worldwide, including online trading platforms, banks, health care services, and airline travel.

Global stock markets started the week well enough, with several making new all-time highs (ATH) before a severe decline commenced towards the end of the week. New all-time highs with intermarket bearish divergence patterns were witnessed in several regions. In Europe, for instance, the Netherlands AEX soared to a new high on Monday, July 15. But this was not matched by any other major European indices we track. But by Friday, all had fallen hard.

In Asia and the Pacific Rim, Japan, India, and Australia all recorded new all-time highs, but only India survived until Friday. The other two indices sold off sharply by Friday.

Similar intermarket bearish divergences were evident in the U.S. Both the S&P and DJIA soared to all-time highs on July 16 and 18, respectively, but the NASDAQ did not breach its ATH made the prior week. For the week itself, the DJIA lost over 1000 points between Thursday’s ATH and Friday’s low. The NASDAQ fell over 1300 points from its ATH of July 11 to its low on Friday, July 19. It’s possible the four-year cycle crests are in, as described in our recent webinars. If so, the 15-26% decline is underway by November and possibly even by the end of next month.

Gold and Silver also exhibited intermarket divergences last week. Gold shot up to another all-time high on July 17 at 2488.40, but Silver fell well short of the current primary cycle high from July 11 at 32.01. By Friday, Gold had plummeted nearly $100 in two days, and Silver nearly 10% since July 11. For the record, the new MMA App recorded its sixth hit in a row involving a swing trade in Gold of over $50 within one week.

The one bright spot was in Bitcoin and Ethereum. BTC rose to 67,452 on Friday, breaking above important moving averages following its cycle low of 53,523 on July 5. This aligned with our comments recently that the double bottom in BTC (July 5 and 8) looked very good and represented at least a decent short-term buy up to the 34-week moving average. It just closed above that on Friday, which opens the possibility of a move to 90K +/- 6K as long as it remains above this moving average, currently around 65,000.

Short-Term Geocosmics

 On Ukraine, Mr. Vance has gone further than Mr. Trump, saying that he does not care which side wins, to the alarm of European allies. Recently he has backed away from this. The most hopeful interpretation is that Mr. Trump realizes that allowing Vladimir Putin to rampage across Ukraine would make him look weak in the same way that Mr. Biden looked weak after pulling out of Afghanistan—and more than anything Mr. Trump hates looking weak.

—“Where Would Donald Trump and J.D. Vance Take America?” The Economist, July 18, 2024.

If the next president tries to maintain the imperial privilege of the US dollar, the US economy will shrink to the point where it will resemble the British economy in 1945, when economic weakness forced the UK to give up its empire. The same will happen to the US. The choice is between US imperial privilege and the US economy. The solution will be for the new administration to emulate Theodore Roosevelt and to go after the Magnificent Seven and their like and break them up. And if these behemoths are broken up into dozens of smaller companies, the US dollar will abruptly depreciate, and the US current account will improve. This will create the conditions necessary for the rebirth of US industry and the revitalization of the US economy.

—Charles Gave, “Trump and the Dollar,” www.gavekal.com, July 18, 2024.

The sudden severe reversal in global stock indices, as well as several commodities, concurrent with the last two MMA geocosmic critical reversal dates, does not bode well at the moment, given that long-term cycles are due. In bull market cycles, the most severe declines are always at the end of the cycle. Furthermore, the research of our MMTA3 students has shown, that these selloffs have a huge correspondence to times when Mars forms a hard aspect to an outer planet, especially when there are two outer planets in a major aspect simultaneously.

First off, this column and our subscription reports noted the Saturn and Neptune retrogrades of June 29-July 2 as a potential low from which rallies would commence in some financial markets, especially in Gold. That indeed happened in both Gold and Bitcoin. It then noted that these and other markets could suddenly reverse July 12-15, +/- 3 trading days when the Mars-Uranus-Algol conjunction would unfold. That has now happened. In the case of stocks, this is the kind of signature we would look for when the 4-year cycle crest takes place. If not now, then the next one of August 14-19 +/- 1 week could be even greater. That is when Mars will conjunct Jupiter, and both will square Saturn. Venus will join these planets in a T-square then, too

.Additionally, there will be a Full Moon in T-square to Uranus on August 19, as the Democratic convention convenes. It has the potential to be a very chaotic event, especially as the Full Moon T-squares Uranus and activates President Biden’s 12^th house Sun/Mercury conjunction. As stated in this column previously, the longer Biden stays in the race, the worse it becomes for him and the Democratic party. It could also become increasingly bearish for the U.S. and other world stock indices.

There is a Full Moon this week as well, as the Sun prepares to move out of the emotional and oftentimes “clinging-to-the-past” sign of Cancer on Monday morning and into the fiery sign of Leo. This Full Moon and change of signs will also form a hard aspect to Pluto (the “end of the matter”), which makes a T-square to President Biden’s natal Moon (family and popularity). Once again, the longer he resists, the harder it becomes for him, his family, and his party.

Additionally, these same aspects do not lessen the danger to lives from either natural calamities or violent human actions. Pluto not only represents the “end of a matter” but also a “threat to security.” With Pluto in hard aspect to one’s natal angles or planets, no one escapes unscathed – unless there is a surrender to the inevitable. Pluto can represent the obsession with power and resistance to let it go. But once one lets it go, a healing and recovery process can commence. It’s part of the cycle of life.

This is a deeply disturbing but insightful period humanity is going through via the message from the arrangement of the cosmos. It has the potential to change behaviors. In fact, it requires a change of behavior or activity, lest those behaviors become more and more destructive. Yet, in the end, destruction can never outlast creation. Creativity is infinite. Destruction is finite, always with a beginning and an end. Markets may fall and can fall hard, causing much fear and panic. But they do recover once the fears are exhausted. Smart money will find opportunities when fear is at a peak. Such an opportunity may be developing now and over the next month.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

 NOTE 1: THE LAST DAY IS APPROACHING TO SIGN UP FOR THE SPECIAL OFFER FOR A TWO-MONTH SUBSCRIPTION TO THE NEW MMA SOLAR/LUNAR FORECASTING APP FOR IPHONE!

 We have now had almost two months to experience this new app, and at the risk of sounding too exaggerative, I can say that this new app is the most incredible and consistently accurate market-timing product I have ever seen for short-term trading. In Gold, for example, there have been seven dates for potential reversals given, of which six have fulfilled the setup criteria. All six have worked beautifully, capturing $50 (2%) or greater moves in Gold within one week of the signal. It is working well with DJIA and Silver too.

You can still sign up and receive the $19.99/mo. rate until July 23. Search “Merriman Market Analyst” in the Apple App Store to take advantage of this introductory offer. After July 23 (this week), the regular rate of $39.99/mo. or yearly rate of $299.00 will be available. The yearly rate gives you a savings of $180/year. For those who have been using it over the past two months, this is a very low price for the potential profits returned to date if used as directed in the FAQs and “Setup” features given in the app.

To learn more about the MMA app, click here.

This app is an ideal tool to have handy if you are a short-term swing trader looking for high-probability dates that identify isolated lows and highs in the DJIA, Gold, and Silver markets. Since it was launched four weeks ago, it has been uncannily accurate in identifying swing lows and highs in each market. This has been especially true with Gold in every case since the app was launched in May.

How does it work? Based on historical frequencies, the higher the weighted value, the greater the probability of a swing trade reversal in the following 1-7 trading days (usually 2-5 days). Built into the app are instructions for ideal setups and explanatory FAQs. It’s pretty amazing!

Update: The MMA Solar/Lunar App gives each market an average of one trade per week every five trading days, creating a more active experience than the MMA Daily report (an average of one trade per market every three weeks) or the MMA Weekly report (an average of one trade every 3-18 weeks for each of the 15 markets tracked). The Solar/Lunar App is designed for “swing trades” looking for 2-5% moves from isolated lows or highs. If you like active trading signals based on solar/lunar combinations, the MMA App is for you! There is nothing else available today like this app for short-term market timing and trading.

 NOTE 2: ONLY ONE MORE WEEK TO REGISTER FOR THE MMA 2024 Investment Retreat AT THE SPECIAL RATE!!! It is available online or in person. To view the new video on YouTube about this special event with views of Lake Bled and the staff of presenters, click here.

 This special event will take place September 19-22, 2024, at the Rikli Balance Hotel, located in the Julian Alps region of beautiful Lake Bled, Slovenia. This will be MMA’s first investment retreat in Europe since 2015. 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), Matthieu Kaiser (France), 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 are entering a time band for a long-term cycle low and outstanding investment opportunity (in our MMA view).

Sign up this week if you wish to attend in person and get the best rate for the retreat as well as for the hotel. There is just 1 room left at the Rikli Balance Hotel as of this writing. Otherwise, we have a list of other hotels nearby where several of the attendees have reserved. 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.

NOTE 3: THE JULY ISSUE OF THE MMA Monthly Cycles Report was released last week. This was a timely issue because it came out concurrent with the powerful Mars-Uranus-Algol conjunction, which has a strong correlation to primary cycle highs or lows within ten trading days. It also coincided with the attempted assassination of presidential contender (and former president) Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden coming down with COVID-19, right after he made a speech in which he stated he might step down if he had a medical condition. Several financial markets are now in their time band for primary or longer-term cycles, including the U.S. stock market. Each monthly MMA Cycles Report covers the outlook in the U.S. stock market, Gold, Silver, Copper, Treasuries, the Euro currency, Crude Oil, and Soybeans. The MMA Monthly Cycles Report also provides MMA’s original geocosmic critical reversal dates (CRDs) and solar/lunar reversal dates over the following several weeks, as well as trading strategies for position and aggressive traders. If you would like to try out a one-month subscription to the MMA Monthly Cycles Report, you can sign up for the July Report for only $35! Or save by ordering a three-month or one-year subscription.

NOTE 4: “The Aries Vortex: Timing Financial Markets via Planetary Cycles” workshop with Ray Merriman, sponsored by Kepler College, August 11, 2024, from noon to 3:00 PM EDT. This workshop consists of two parts. The first part covers the “Aries Vortex,” a one-time-only cosmic configuration that highlights 0° Aries, the “World Degree.” Not only does the 36-year Saturn/Neptune synodic cycle occur there, but it is also the midpoint of the Uranus/Pluto trine (2025-2027). This unusual pattern holds the potential for important global changes for humankind. In the second part of the workshop, we will discuss planetary cycles and their correlation with financial markets, with a focus on the outlook for the U.S. stock market, Gold, and Bitcoin. Special guest Wiebke Held of Bonn, Germany, a top student of the Merriman Market Timing Academy (MMTA), will share her latest research findings on geocosmic correlations to the NASDAQ and what they reveal about the future of this index and AI companies. Kepler College (www.keplercollege.org) is one of the world’s most established and respected leaders in astrological education. The cost is $95. To register for this exciting three-hour workshop, click here.

 NOTE 5: 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. The recent interview with Derek Panaia was excellent and may now be viewed for an insightful look at current financial markets from an options expert.

NOTE 6: 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 a great listening!

EVENTS

 August 11, 2024: “The Aries Vortex: Timing Financial Markets via Planetary Cycles” workshop with Ray Merriman, sponsored by Kepler College, from noon to 3:00 PM EDT. See details in the Announcements section above.

 September 19–22, 2024: MMA’s 2024 Investment Retreat. Save the dates!!! We will be hosting our 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, but only $3000 if you register early, before August 1. Registration is now open! The event will be available in person or online. There is just 1 room left at the Rikli Balance Hotel as of this writing. A list of nearby hotels is available on the MMA website, and a waiting list is now being created for those who wish to book a room at the Rikli Balance Hotel if a cancellation occurs. Those who wish to attend online will receive a link to see the event as it unfolds, or they can watch the event a few hours later, as the recordings of the presentations will be posted for download to those who register. For a brochure of the event, 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 a number of 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!

  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.