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Gold slumps on Dollar rally

(12 May 2013)  Gold came under increased selling pressure last week on renewed strength in the US Dollar and more signs of slowing inflation.   Friday saw gold fall sharply and at one point it was down 4% and trading at $1420 before partially recovering to $1450 by the end of day.   In recent weeks gold has rebounded somewhat from its April plunge low of $1320 but Friday's sell-off may have marked a return to bearish sentiment in precious metals. 

Astrology offers a unique understanding of the price fluctuations of financial assets.  While consistent and infallible predictions are not yet possible with any method or technique, there are nonetheless some situations in which correct predictions are more likely.  The trick is to be able to note ahead of time when such high probability predictive scenarios are at hand in order to differentiate them from the random noise of many common, unremarkable and ultimately unknowable planetary alignments.   Friday's gold decline was one such high probability predictive scenario.   Read more...

Eclipses and financial markets: are stocks near a top?

(5 May 2013)  Last week I discussed the effect of eclipses in financial astrology.  With the approach of Thursday's solar eclipse, I thought I would offer some additional thoughts on how eclipses might work in  relation to the financial markets. 

I suggested that the simplest effect of eclipses was as a direct timing signal.  Since eclipses symbolize the interruption of the status quo and uncertainty, they have a tendency to correlate with noteworthy reversals of market trends.  The past 5 out of 6 eclipse periods have coincided with market lows as stocks have generally declined into either the lunar or solar eclipse and then reversed course and then rallied afterwards.  Given how strong the markets have been recently, it seems unlikely that Thursday's eclipse could correspond with a low.  But could it represent a high?  It might, but let's first look at alternate ways of thinking about eclipse effects.  Read more...

Countdown to May 10th solar eclipse: will markets fall?

(28 April 2013)  Eclipses have a pretty bad reputation.  In traditional cultures, they were seen as harbingers of doom and destruction.  Solar eclipses in particular were feared the most as the sun's light was suddenly and unpredictably lost as day was turned into night.  Not surprisingly, humans made the symbolic connection between the interruption of the sun's light with the notion of the interruption of the status quo in life.   Thus, eclipses were associated with the chaos and uncertainty of all manner of natural or man-made disasters.

Fortunately, modern astrology has substantially evolved its view of eclipses.  While eclipses are still seen as potentially important celestial events they are not seen as inherently negative or malefic in nature.  If an eclipse falls on a benefic point in a natal horoscope, for example, it can coincide with a positive event.   But one element of eclipses that endures today is the notion of change and interruption.   Read more...


Terrorist bombing at Boston Marathon highlights difficult week for USA

(20 April 2013)  It has been a difficult week for the USA.   On Monday, the Boston Marathon was struck by a terrorist bombing that killed three people and injured more than 100.  It was the first terrorist incident on US soil since the 9/11 attacks.  Then on Tuesday, a number of anonymous letters containing the poison ricin was sent to various Washington officials including President Obama.  On Wednesday there was a massive explosion of a fertilizer plant in West, Texas that killed up to ten people and injured hundreds.  The explosion was so large that it could be heard 70 km away.  Then on Friday, Boston police chased the bombing suspects in a night of more violence and chaos.  In an unprecedented move for a major US city, the entire Boston area was locked down as police looked for the last remaining suspect and citizens were told to remain in their homes.  The massive manhunt captured the attention of the nation as much of it was broadcast live on television.  While the total number of fatalities from these incidents is quite small, their sudden and violent nature and high public profile has had a significant impact on public consciousness. 
 
A quick look at the key horoscopes shows a clear and simple astrological explanation for these shocking and violent incidents.   The very short answer is that there was a conjunction of the Sun and Mars in the sign of Aries this week opposite the planet Saturn.   Read more...


IMF and G20 praise Japanese easing; US stocks fall on slowdown worries

(21 April 2013)  Stocks slumped on most global markets last week on weaker economic data coming out of China and Germany.   US stocks lost 2% on the week with the Dow closing at 14,547.  Indian stocks fared better, however, as falling commodity prices and the anticipation of fresh inflows of Japanese capital encouraged investors to buy.  The Sensex climbed 4% finishing the week at 19,016.   I had been somewhat bearish in last week's forecast given the Sun-Mars conjunction that came exact on Thursday.   This assessment proved to be plausibly correct as the low for the week on many exchanges occurred on Thursday.  

Despite rising fears of another slowdown, the Bank of Japan's latest monetary easing efforts were applauded by the G20 and IMF last week as necessary for halting that country's deflationary spiral.   The powers-that-be are naturally supportive of any and all forms of central bank easing as the loose monety policies keep the current asset bubble inflated and thereby prolong the shell game for that much longer.  Not surprisingly, the Japanese stock market has responded favourably to this easing initiative.   Japanese stocks have rallied more than 50% since their November lows.   Read more...


Margaret Thatcher 1925-2013; Saturn rules the Iron Lady

(12 April 2013)  Margaret Thatcher, the former British Prime Minster, died last weekend at the age of 87.  She was the longest serving British Prime Minister of the 20th century and was the first female to achieve that post.  While the "Iron Lady" may have been a highly divisive politician known for her uncompromising views and never backing down from a fight, Thatcher nonetheless pioneered radical reforms to deregulate the moribund British economy that helped to reverse years of economic stagnation and labour unrest. 

Not surprisingly, Thatcher's horoscope is very strong and reflects may of her well-known attributes.  Right off the bat, we can see that she was born with Saturn rising in Libra thus creating a powerful Sasa yoga.  Saturn is said to be exalted in Libra and here Saturn is just one degree away from 20 degrees, which is believed to be its most exalted degree where its most positive qualities are likely to manifest.  Saturn in the 1st house confers practicality and prudence and natives are often thinking ahead for ways to further advance their goals.  This placement tends to produce strong-willed people who are naturally given to commanding others.  This placement of Saturn in Libra also confers a significant amount of career success and public recognition.  Read more...


Gold plunges $80 on Cyprus rumour; Mars enters Aries

(14 April 2013)  Gold prices plunged last week as rumours that Cyprus would be forced to sell its reserves coincided with institutional downgrades from the likes of Goldman Sachs.  Gold lost 6% on the week and closed at $1480, below the crucial technical support level of $1520.   Gold has now officially entered a bear market since it has dropped more than 20% since it all-time high of $1923 in September 2011. 

The latest decline in gold comes as no surprise to us, however, as I have been generally negative in my outlook for some time.  I have posted previously in this space (December 2012 and February 2013) that further declines were more likely in 2013 due to planetary afflictions to the key horoscopes that symbolize the gold price.  In my subscriber newsletter, I had also suggested that more declines were likely in April as Saturn was increasing in strength through its aspects with Pluto, Uranus and Neptune.  Friday's death plunge for gold below support coincided exactly with the entry of Mars into sidereal Aries, a clearly bearish influence.  Read more...


Stocks fall as US jobs report disappoints; Saturn aspects Uranus

(7 April 2013)  Stocks moved lower last week on more signs that the global economy is slowing.  Friday's US jobs report seemed to aptly reflect this down trend as only 88,000 new jobs were created in March.  While the unemployment rate also fell to 7.6%, it happened for the wrong reasons as more workers gave up looking for work.   Labor force participation fell to a 34-year low.   US stocks lost about 1% while Indian stocks slumped 2%.  Gold and oil also followed the general trend lower.  

This bearish outcome was in keeping with expectations as I thought last week's Mars-Rahu and Mars-Venus aspects would likely correlate with some negativity.  Perhaps not surprisingly, we did get some early week gains on Monday's Sun-Jupiter aspect.  But stocks mostly declined after that, as Wednesday's Mars-Rahu aspect coincided closely with across the board declines in most global markets.

While these short term aspects are very important in determining the ups and downs on a daily and weekly basis, the overall trend of the market is often more correlated with the movements of slower moving planets.   Read more...


Cyprus bailout calms markets

(31 March 2013)  Stocks moved higher yet again last week as an 11th-hour bailout deal was struck and thereby avoided the worse case scenario from occurring in Cyprus.  Under the terms of the deal, large depositors with savings over $128,000 will lose 60% of their money to a special tax designed to rebuild the crippled Cypriot bank sector.  Using arbitrary and confiscatory taxes on depositors seems like strange way to rebuild confidence in ailing banks.  In any event, US stocks inched higher as the Dow finished the week at 14,578 and the S&P 500 set an all-time record close at 1569.  Indian stocks were also modestly bullish as the Sensex gained 100 points closing at 18,835.  

The week unfolded more or less as we expected.  I thought the triple conjunction of the Sun, Venus and Uranus on Thursday and Friday would likely push up prices in the second half of the week and that is what happened.  I also noted the presence of a potentially troublesome Mars-Saturn aspect on Monday which could coincide with declines.  This also proved to be the case on most global markets.

So what next for the markets?  Read more...

Bank crisis in Cyprus shakes financial markets

(24 March 2013)  Stocks showed more signs of weakening last week as the banking crisis in the tiny island nation of Cyprus emerged as the latest threat to the Eurozone.   US stocks slipped early in the week but largely recovered by Friday as the Dow closed unchanged at 14,512.  Indian markets had a tougher time as the RBI announcement of a cautious 25 point rate cut disappointed investors.  The Sensex fell more than 3% closing at 18,735. 

This outcome was in keeping with expectations as we noted the likely bearish influence of the early week Mercury-Mars aspect.   The late week rebound after Wednesday's reassurances from Ben Bernanke for more easy money was also in keeping with expectations as Friday's Mars-Uranus conjunction coincided with enthusiastic buying.  The ongoing slump in Mumbai throughout the week was somewhat more attributable to specific alignments within the BSE horoscope.

The latest EU banking crisis in Cyprus has financial markets on edge all over the world.  Read more...


US stocks hit new record: are we in a new bubble?

(17 March 2013)  As the Dow continues to set new all-time highs, one may well ask if we are in the middle of a financial bubble.  Financial markets continue to look quite robust here as the Fed's QE3 program into virtual perpetuity has seemingly removed all risk from the stock market.  With no quick end in sight to QE3, investors are only too happy to follow on Ben's lead and pile into stocks.  Much of the post-2009 stock market rally is rooted in central bank programs to free up liquidity and encourage investment in risky assets such as stocks.  This has deliberately punished savers and rewarded debtors by pushing down interest rates close to zero.  After all, who wants to buy a government savings bond if the interest rate is only 1 or 2%? 

We hear more critical voices questioning the long term wisdom of the Fed's zero-interest rate policy as fears of a new bubble are growing.   While skeptics abound, it seems now that Ben Bernanke will not permit the stock market to fall as it is too closely tied to the economic well-being of the US economy.   Read more...


Dow hits new all-time high while Main St. struggles

(10 March 2013)  Investors were all smiles on Wall St. last week as the Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed to an all-time high on the steadily improving US employment picture.  It seems incredible that the stock market should have achieved this milestone in such a fragile economic environment.  There is no boom, jobs are still scarce and wages are not keeping up with inflation as the average American continues to struggle just to get by.  What gives?  

The short answer is that the stock market has completely detached from the real economy.  Wall Street and Main Street have become two separate realities.  This is possible through the actions of the Federal Reserve which has endeavored to keep short term interest rates at zero and has engaged in an unprecedented program to buy trillions of dollars of US government debt.  In its effort to keep rates low and thereby punish savers and reward spenders, the Fed's QE program has freed up a lot of institutional money to seek out greater returns in the stock market.   Read more...


Berlusconi election gains lead to market uncertainty

(3 March 2013)  Financial markets took a hit last week as Monday's Italian election did not produce a clear winner.  Even worse was the fact that anti-austerity parties including the one led by disgraced former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi vowed not to co-operate with the party headed by pro-EU candidate Pier Luigi Bersani.  It may take days or even weeks before a working coalition is formed.  If no coalition can be cobbled together, we can look forward to another election in short order and yet more political uncertainty.  Most global markets fell sharply early in the week as investors contemplated the real possibility that Italy may sink back into its economic morass and thereby drag down the rest of Europe with it.  US markets recovered by week's end, however, as the Dow closed modestly higher at 14,089.   It was a different story in Mumbai, however, as investors gave Thursday's budget a lukewarm response as no new growth policies were announced.  The Sensex lost 2% on the week closing at 18,918. 

The week unfolded largely as expected as I noted how the early week alignment of Mercury, Mars and Rahu (North Lunar Node) looked troublesome and increased the likelihood of some kind of fallout over Italy's election.   Read more...


Sequestration cuts likely inevitable as Saturn takes control

(24 February 2013)  Financial markets showed some signs of nervousness last week as sequestration budget cuts loomed and evidence mounted that the Federal Reserve may end its quantitative easing program sooner than expected.   US stocks were largely unchanged as the Dow finished the week at 14,000 even.  Most other global markets were somewhat more bearish.  Indian stocks slipped by less than 1% as the Sensex finished the week at 19,317.   As expected, markets were generally stronger in the first part of the week as the planetary aspects were sufficiently bullish to offset the negativity from the Saturn's retrograde station on Monday the 18th.   And perhaps not surprisingly given this Saturn influence, gold continued its decline as it closed below $1600. 

More broadly, Saturn's bearish influence would appear to hang over this market as investors try to come to terms with a number of areas of uncertainty.    Read more...


The Russian meteor: what does it all mean?

(17 February 2013)  Friday's astonishing meteor strike over central Russia has left many people wondering just what it all might mean.   Is this meteor related to the asteroid that is due to narrowly miss Earth in a few days?   Is this meteor a warning of something more serious down the road?  And perhaps more related to astrology, what meaning should we humans take from this would-be heavenly omen?   In my view, the answers to these questions are: nothing, not necessarily and probably nothing.  There is not too much insight that astrology can offer about this particular meteor.   As meteors go, it was quite small, about the size of bus.  It broke apart over the city of Chelyabinsk on Friday 15 February at 9.20 a.m. travelling at 44 times the speed of sound.  It weighed about 9000 tonnes with an energy release that was over 20 times greater than the combined force of the Hiroshima-Nagasaki atomic bombs.  Fortunately, no one was killed.

I am generally not one for omens, as I prefer to examine the correlations of previous planetary patterns that have already established a track record of empirical observation.  Single impact meteors such as this are basically one-offs that do not easily fit into a ready-made array of meaning and signification.   Read more...

Gold dives $50 on economic data; stocks hold steady

(17 February 2013)  Stocks generally held steady last week as most economic data continued to suggest that the recovery is slowly proceeding apace.  US stocks were mostly unchanged as the Dow lost only a handful of points on the week closing at 13,981.  Indian stocks were similarly flat as the Sensex was only marginally lower finishing at 19,468. I thought we might have seen more downside than we got as the array of short term aspects with Saturn suggested the possibility of declines.  At the same time, I did not lose sight of the continuing aspect between bullish Jupiter and Uranus which has lifted collective sentiment for the past month or more.   In other words, we had a result that did not violate our basic assumptions and remained within general expectations.

Gold had a more interesting week as it fell by 3% closing near $1610.  It seems that all this fresh evidence of a recovery means that there is less reason for the Fed and other central banks to print money with various quantitative easing measures.   Read more...


Global stocks fall on Euro uncertainty; Jupiter's swansong?

(10 February 2013)  Stocks were mixed last week as positive economic data coming out of China was offset by renewed European worries and the possible return of Berlusconi to Italian politics.  In New York, the Dow lost just a handful of points closing at 13,992.  Indian stocks fared worse, however, as GDP data came in below expectations.  The Sensex lost 2% and finished the week at 19,484.   The mixed outcome here was not surprising as I noted some difficult aspects in play on Monday (Mars-Neptune) and Friday (Mercury-Mars).  The midweek was somewhat less bullish than I might have hoped, however, as the Venus-Jupiter aspect produced only nominal gains. 

While US Stocks held up rather well last week, there are cracks forming in the recent rally across many global markets.   Could this be the beginning of a correction or merely a bump in the road on the way to higher prices?  As I have suggested previously, Jupiter may be on the verge of weakening here as it forms its closest angle with Uranus this week.   Read more...

Stocks fall on Spanish corruption scandal: Is the rally over?

(5 February 2013)  US Stocks extended their rally for another week as the current earnings season continued to inspire confidence.  The Dow cracked the 14,000 level for the first time since 2007 finishing up 1% at 14,009.  Indian stocks slipped a bit, however, as worries over Bharti weighed on sentiment.  The Sensex lost 1% closing at 19,871.   I had been fairly open-ended in last week's forecast as there was a blending of energies, both positive and negative.  I thought that we might see early week gains on the Venus entry into Capricorn and that largely came to pass with mostly positive outcomes across Monday and Tuesday.  I also expected some late week declines on the Mercury-Rahu aspect but that only appeared to manifest on the Indian market.  US stocks remained mostly strong.  

The generally positive condition of the markets here is still a reasonable reflection of the ongoing strength of Jupiter.   Read more... 
Apple plunges 10% after earnings; market rise with Jupiter

(27 January 2013)  Investors continued to see the glass as half-full last week as stocks climbed for their fourth straight week.   US stocks pushed to their highest level since 2007 as the Dow rose 1% to 13,896.   Indian stocks were only marginally higher, however, as the Sensex added 70 points closingat 20,103.  The week unfolded more or less as expected as the two Jupiter aspects did coincide with some upside at the beginning and end of the week.  The midweek Mars-Rahu aspect coincided with some weakness, although this manifested more clearly in Mumbai than in New York. 

One highlight last week was the release of the fourth quarter earnings from Apple.  While the tech giant reported record earnings, the sales were not quite was the market was hoping for and forward guidance was more cautious.  Apple stock plunged 10% on Thursday as a result.  Apple has lost more 30% of its value since its high of $702 on September 21 the day of the release of the long-awaited iPhone 5.   It has been in a sharp down trend ever since and now stands at $440.   Read more...
Markets cheer as Obama wins fiscal cliff deal

(6 January 2013)  US Stocks moved sharply higher last week as investors breathed a sigh of relief in the wake of the 11th-hour fiscal cliff deal.  The Dow jumped 4% on the week and closed at 13,435.  Optimism was somewhat more muted in Mumbai as the Sensex added 2% to start the year finishing the week at 19,784.   Alas, the negative implications of the Sun-Saturn aspect did not play out as expected as lawmakers in Washington did manage to come to an agreement.  While the deal was very much a minimal sort of agreement that did nothing to address the US fiscal sustainability, it was enough to satisfy markets as the worst effects of the fiscal cliff were averted for the time being.   As expected, the late week Mars-Jupiter aspect did appear to magnify the price moves as I thought it might, although these were very much in a positive direction.

It seems clear that the bullish influence of Jupiter is dominant now as it approaches its aspect with Uranus and its direct station on 30 January.   Bearish Saturn is still in close aspect with Pluto but this is a slower moving and less prominent influence.   Read more...

Massacre of schoolchildren shocks America: Rahu and Mars in focus

(16 December 2012)  America's dark obsession with guns appeared to hit a new low this week with the horrific mass shooting of 20 schoolchildren in Newtown, Connecticut.  The killer was Adam Lanza, 20, who murdered a total of 28 people including his mother, who actually owned the gun that was used to kill her.   Lanza was described as an intelligent but socially awkward loner with no friends.  He may also have been autistic.


Adam Lanza was born on April 22, 1992 in Kingston, New Hampshire.  While his birth time may surface in the coming days, we will have to make do with his approximate horoscope cast for the day of his birth.  The chart can then be read by using the Moon as the ascendant and 1st house (Chandra Lagna).  While this is no substitute for an actual timed chart, it is nonetheless offers an intriguing picture of some of the planetary energies that may have been active in his short and disturbed life.

Any event that involves this kind of derangement, one must begin with the condition of the Moon.  The Moon represents the emotions,  mental health and the inner self.     Read more...

Gold outlook: Saturn vs Jupiter

(8 December 2012)  Is gold still a good investment?  In this era of central bank money printing and quantitative easing, gold has experienced an unprecedented price increase as investors seek a hedge against the risk of future inflation.  Officially, inflation in most OECD countries remains low, although commodity inflation has been significant and has impacted the cost of food and fuel over the past five to ten years.  As central banks seem intent on printing money indefinitely, there remains some very good reasons to own gold as an inflation hedge.  If debt continues to grow unchecked, currencies will eventually have their value eroded as inflation takes hold.  This is where gold becomes a more attractive alternative to paper money.  But since it has already doubled in the past few years, how much higher can it go?

There is no simple or definitive answer.  However, astrology does offer some useful clues based on past correlations of planetary motion with the price of gold.   Traditionally, gold has been linked to the Sun and Venus.   Read more...


Psy's Gangnam Style breaks Youtube record

(5 December 2012)   On 23 November 2012, the song "Gangnam Style" by the South Korean singer Psy became the most watched video in Youtube history, eclipsing the old record held by Justin Bieber.  It now has more than 850 million views and seems likely to hit 1 billion soon enough.   The song has reached number 1 in 30 countries all over the world.  By contemporary measures, it may be the most popular song in human history. The fact that this global music craze originates from South Korea is reminder of how our 21-st century world is changing as cultures evolve to reflect a faster pace of life and communication.

As an astrologer, I was curious to know if there was eticsanything special about his horoscope and whether it might reflect his musical talent and incredible success.  Psy was born Park Jae-sang on December 31, 1977 in Seoul, South Korea.   We don't know his time of birth but there may still be something noteworthy in the arrangement of the planets on the day he was born.  For any success in the arts, one would expect Venus to be prominent in some way, since it rules beauty and aesthetics.  Read more...

Obama wins re-election; faces fiscal cliff negotiations with Boehner

(11 November 2012)  US President Barack Obama won re-election on Tuesday narrowly defeating Republican Mitt Romney to win a second term in the White House.  While Obama won by only 2% in the popular vote, he carried most of the key swing states and hence had a more comfortable margin of victory in the Electoral College.  Obama's win confirmed my prediction made back in June that he would defeat Romney as Obama's horoscope generally looked stronger in November. 

While I am obviously happy with this outcome, it's important to acknowledge that as predictions go, it isn't that impressive.  The election only had two candidates and hence only two outcomes.  The race was fairly close but most pollsters had given Obama the edge for most of 2012.   The odds of calling the outcome correctly was therefore a little less than forecasting the outcome of a coin toss.  Fortunately, astrologers can sometimes enhance and add value to that initial prediction by also describing the ups and downs of the race.  While pollsters can deliver some impressive results in the science of public opinion, none has the ability to predict the specific ups and downs of a campaign the way astrology can.   To this end, I offered some observations on the last two debates and the dynamics of the final weeks of the race.  For the most part, these were proven correct as Obama won the last two debates as the momentum shifted towards him in late October.    Read more...


Obama narrowly leading in polls but Mercury may have final say

(4 November 2012)  The election is just two days away and Barack Obama is poised to be re-elected President of the United States.  Polls have showed a small but significant move towards him in the past week in the aftermath of hurricane Sandy.  Obama clearly had a good week just as I suggested he would last week in this space. He appeared presidential in his handling of the Sandy disaster and received plaudits for his efforts from most corners, including from New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, a Republican.

While the race is still extremely close, polls from key swing states like Ohio clearly show Obama on the verge of victory.  As political analyst Nate Silver has shown, the fact that Obama had led in 19 out of 20 recent Ohio polls is clear evidence that he will very likely win on Tuesday.  Without Ohio, it is very difficult to see how Romney can put together the 270 electoral college votes needed to win the White House.  Silver currently puts the odds of Obama winning at 83% while at Intrade.com, the online betting site, Obama's advantage stands at 66%.  Read more...

Race down to the wire; Obama's Happy Halloween?

(27 October 2012) The presidential race is coming right down to the wire now.  Polls show Mitt Romney with an average 1% lead in the national popular vote but Obama continues to enjoy a slight edge in terms of the electoral college.  As expected, Obama did come out on top in the last debate.  As I suggested in the previous week's post, the respective campaign charts showed that Obama's chart was being strongly influenced by benefics Mercury and Venus.  By contrast, Romney's campaign chart was under a difficult Mars aspect.   It was intriguing to see how well these campaign charts appeared to coincide with the debate outcomes. 

I would expect Obama to have a fairly good week this week, especially around Wednesday and Thursday.  On those days, the Moon transits sidereal Taurus where it will conjoins his natal position.  If we look at his relocated chart for Washington, DC, we can see how his Moon moves to the 1st house.  What's important to note here is how the current transit of Taurus will highlight to favourable trine (120 degree) aspects with Jupiter and Venus.  Jupiter (21 Taurus) is also in Taurus where it is exactly trining the Midheaven (10th house cusp).   Read more...

Obama wins second debate; third debate on Monday

(Posted 20 October 2012) The US presidential race remains as tight as ever with national polls showing just a 1% difference between Obama and Romney with less than three weeks to go before the vote.  As I suggested in last week's post, Obama did emerge as the slight winner in the last debate according to most polls. In keeping with the stronger influence of Mars at the time of the debate, the contest was much more spirited and argumentative than the first debate.  Romney's chart suffered from an unfortunate placement from transiting Mars and hence he was unable to harness the energy of the fiery red planet as Obama did.

The third and final debate is slated for Monday night in Boca Raton, Florida.  In my opinion, the stars again favour Obama.  At the same time, I would admit that their respective birth horoscopes are perhaps more equivocal than I would like to see.  Transiting Venus (29 Leo) is exactly conjunct his natal Mars and this is not necessarily a good combination.   Read more...

US Presidential race tightens; Mercury turns retrograde on election day

 (Posted 13 October 2012) As the polls tighten in the US presidential race, it may be a good time to speculate how that Mercury retrograde station on election day might affect the outcome on November 6.  As I've discussed previously, Mercury will turn retrograde on the day of the election. The reversal of Mercury's direction on election day suggests the possibility of confusion and uncertainty around the outcome.  The logic here is fairly straightforward.  Mercury is a planet that symbolizes communication.  When Mercury is strong and otherwise unafflicted, our thoughts and ideas can be exchanged more or less clearly and rationally.   However, when Mercury ceases its forward motion and begins to move backward in the sky, then we may become more prone to misperception and miscommunication.  This tendency towards ineffective or ambiguous communication is likely heightened around the time of the stations where Mercury changes its direction. 

With between 3 or 4 retrograde cycles per year, that works out to 6-8 such Mercury stations where this order-subverting energy is at its theoretical maximum.  Perhaps the most well-known example of this phenomenon was in 2000 when Mercury also reversed its direction on election day (it turned direct) and the US entered a strangely protracted period of political uncertainty when the winner of the election remained unknown for 5 weeks until a Supreme Court decision finally awarded the election to George Bush.  Read more...

Jobs report saves Obama after debate defeat

(Posted 6 October 2012)  Napoleon once remarked that his generals should not only be talented, but also lucky.  This fundamental lesson of the pivotal role of fortune in history was perhaps not lost on President Barack Obama this week in the wake an unexpectedly positive jobs report that came out Friday.  After a fumbling and disappointing performance in Wednesday's debate, Obama's luck turned positive once again when Friday's jobs report showed that unemployment had fallen to 7.8%, its lowest in over three years and lower than it was when he took office in January 2009.  While only 114,000 new jobs were created, it nonetheless gave Obama a much-needed diversion after his poor showing in the debate.

There are some interesting planetary placements for both Wednesday's debate performance and then Friday's surprisingly good economic news.  Wednesday's debate occurred just before the conjunction of Mercury (3 Libra) and Saturn (5 Libra).  Obama's Ketu is situated at 4 Aquarius, exactly 120 degrees away.  As we know, Ketu is a natural malefic and any transit hits to it will tend to produce negative results, especially when there are transiting malefics involved.    Read more...
Israel draws a red line: the war of words with Iran heats up

(Posted 29 September 2012) The long-simmering tension between Israel and Iran was in the spotlight again this week as the leaders of both countries addressed the United Nations.  Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a stern warning that Iran was getting dangerously close to having an operational nuclear weapon.  Both Israel and US are on record saying that such a development would be unacceptable and would be sufficient grounds for launching a military strike, regardless of the consequences.

For his part, Iranian President Achmadinejad was no less forceful in his speech and defended his country's nuclear program as a peaceful one that was directed towards energy production.  Any bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities would likely destabilize the Middle East and cause a spike in oil prices and a significant decline in the stock market.  While Achmadinejad reiterated his pledge to retaliate in the face of an Israeli or US strike, it is somewhat less clear how strong any Iranian counter strike might be.  While a full-fledged war is possible, a limited exchange of air strikes on strategic targets is probably a more likely outcome.   But just how close are these two countries to some kind of military action? 

The horoscope of the Iranian Islamic Republic (Apr 1 1979 3 p.m.) definitely looks more active these days.   Read more...

The Astrology of QE3: third time the charm?

(Posted 22 September 2012)  Is the third time the charm?  The debate continues about QE3 as investors weigh the implications of the Fed's latest round of stimulus announced on September 13.  Will it really give a boost to employment or is it destined to be swamped by the forces of global recession and simply cause more inflation? Despite the fact that its stated aim is to increase asset values like stocks, US markets were fairly tepid last week as traders took a wait and see attitude after the initial show of enthusiasm on the day of its launch.  Not exactly the rousing reception that Ben Bernanke might have hoped for as the Fed is now playing for keeps.  If QE3 does not kick start employment in the next 3-6 months, then the Fed will begin to lose credibility.  It will increasingly be seen as "out of bullets" and unable to do anything to help the economy after trying three different QE programs. Some analysts are already suggesting that the Fed is fighting a losing battle of diminishing returns and can only hope for a very limited growth effect with QE3.

In last week's market post, I offered a few ideas of why this latest round of QE was less likely to have the same big impact on markets as its predecessors did.  I wanted to expand that idea this week by going right to the astrological source, as it were: the horoscope of QE3 itself. Read more...

Romney campaigned damaged by leaked video

(Posted 18 September 2012)  The presidential campaign of Republican hopeful Mitt Romney suffered another setback yesterday. A leaked video made in secret during a GOP fund raiser depicted Romney stating that Obama supporters constituted 47% of the electorate who were dependent on government handouts and saw themselves as "victims" and incapable of self-reliance.  The video was embarrassing to Romney as it solidifies the perception that he is part of a wealthy elite who is out of touch with the daily reality of the average American.  While the Obama campaign took full advantage of the video, even some conservatives admitted it painted Romney in a bad light.  This comes on the heels of Romney's other recent misstep regarding the deaths of American diplomats in Libya where he was also called to account by both the left and the right for criticizing Obama too soon after the attack on the Benghazi consulate. 

These campaign trials and tribulations are a good opportunity to reflect on the respective campaign horoscopes.  Just as individuals, corporations and countries have horoscopes, so, too, do political campaigns.  The moment that a candidate declares he or she is running for office, a horoscope can be cast.  The resulting chart itself can reveal something about the nature of the forthcoming endeavour as well as providing some insight about the likelihood of success.  In addition, we can often see the ups and downs of the campaign.   Read more...

Bernanke launches QE3; but will it work?

(Posted 15 September 2012) After months of hints, testimony and warnings, Ben Bernanke finally pulled the trigger and announced QE3.  This latest attempt to kick start the US economy will buy $40 Billion of mortgage-backed securities every month in an effort to lower interest rates and help boost the moribund housing market.  Perhaps most importantly, Bernanke committed to this program indefinitely until there was significant employment  growth and the economy was back on its feet.  In this sense, QE3 is not a one-time thing.  It is QE Forever now as the Fed is showing signs of frustration (or perhaps desperation?) with the inability of the economy to get going.  Such quantitative easing measures are intended to lower interest rates to boost lending and help to move money into riskier assets like stocks.  According to theory, this should boost the housing market and increase economic activity and thereby boost employment.  It may also boost the stock market and thus enhance the overall 'wealth effect' of the population and stimulate more consumer spending. 

Well, that's the theory anyway.  In practice it may have not have much of an effect.  Interest rates are already near historic lows, so a few tenths of a percentage point difference is unlikely to further entice prospective home buyers. The latest estimates are that QE3 may only end up increasing GDP by half a percentage point over the next year.  Read more...

ECB's Draghi delivers; iPhone 5 launches with Venus Wednesday

(Posted 8 September 2012)  Stocks moved higher last week as the ECB's Mario Draghi delivered on his promise to intervene in the European bond market.   In New York, stocks rose by more than 2% with the Dow closing at 13,306 and the S&P 500 making a new high for the year finishing at 1437.  Indian markets followed suit as the Sensex gained 300 points on the week closing at 17,683 while the Nifty finished at 5342.  I thought we might have seen a little more early week downside on the Venus-Saturn aspect, although I did caution that the negativity could be fairly muted.  As expected, the second half of the week was more bullish as the Venus-Rahu and Sun-Jupiter aspects coincided closely with gains on Thursday and Friday. 

The ECB fulfilled market expectations last week as its bond buying program offered some hope that Europe could yet contain its ongoing debt crisis.  I had been fairly skeptical about the size of any major new stimulus program, so it's worth noting that Draghi did not produce the bazooka-like program that some analysts suggested with hard yield caps and the like.   Read more...


Ben Bernanke: The Most Powerful Man in the World

(Posted 1 September 2012)  Ben Bernanke was in the spotlight again on Friday as he delivered his annual speech on the state of the economy from Jackson Hole, Wyoming.   While Bernanke argued forcefully for the necessity for further stimulus measures to bolster the weak US economy, he stopped short of actually announcing anything concrete.  Nonetheless, Bernanke's QE3 talk was enough to lift stocks higher on Friday.  Without risk of exaggeration, Bernanke and the Fed governors are perhaps the most powerful people in the world these days, as their decisions affect almost everyone on the planet in some way. 

If the Fed decides on more stimulus, it will certainly raise the price of commodities like gasoline and food all over the world.  Stimulus measures like QE3 are inflationary by design as they create money "out of thin air" in an effort to boost economic activity.   But as we know, inflation is not benign.  Rising food prices have been indirectly blamed for much of the civil unrest and popular uprisings in the Middle East over the past two years.  Food inflation is also worsening the lives of the poor who no longer have sufficient income to buy even the bare essentials of life.  On the other hand, if Bernanke and the Fed decide not to embark on QE3, the stock market is likely to decline sharply and this will hit anyone with investments, 40lk, or any kind of pension fund.  The knock-on effects of a stock market decline are somewhat harder to measure,  although they could conceivably spark another recession as consumer spending dries up.  Bernanke therefore shoulders an enormous burden of responsibility at the moment as his next move will directly and indirectly impact the lives of literally billions of people.   Read more...


Lance Armstrong falls from grace; stripped of titles by USADA on drug allegations

(Posted 29 August 2012)  On August 23, the world's most famous cyclist and cancer survivor, Lance Armstrong, announced that he was no longing contesting the drug charges filed against him by the US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).  His decision to no longer contest the charges means he will forfeit of all awards and prizes won after 1998, including all seven of his Tour de France wins. It was a sudden and complete reversal of fortune for Armstrong.  Although he gave up the fight to clear his name, he still maintains his innocence and feels he has been the victim of a witch hunt.  However, it is also true that Armstrong was quickly running out of legal options after his own lawsuit against the USADA had been dismissed in a Texas court  Also the USADA had recently announced lifetime bans for several of Armstrong's teammates, and more former teammates were slated to testify against him.  It seemed as if it was only a matter of time before Armstrong's drug use would become public knowledge and would reveal him as a drug cheat. 

Whatever one thinks of Lance Armstrong's character and integrity, he was undoubtedly a brilliant athlete and courageous survivor of cancer.  Even if he used performance enhancing drugs, he was certainly not alone in that respect as drug use is rampant in professional cycling.   Read more...

Bernanke's Fed: born under bad stars

(Posted 25 August 2012)  The stock market is looking pretty fragile these days.  While it is chasing recent highs, stocks seem increasingly reliant on central bank easing rather than fundamentals based on actual economic growth.  Much of this summer rally has occurred on the assumption that QE3 or its European equivalent are not far off.  Last week's Fed minutes and Ben Bernanke's letter to the House Oversight Committee reiterated his commitment to more easing in order to boost the slumping US economy.  Some of Bernanke's talk should be assumed to be mere jawboning which all central bankers engage in.  But if stocks rally into the next Fed meeting on 13 September, then that puts a lot of pressure on Bernanke to actually come through with a tangible announcement for more stimulus. If he does not, then the market would likely decline sharply.  Even if the Fed does announce some action, there is a possibility that the market could sell off anyway as in "buy the rumour, sell the news".  This is perhaps more likely if the program comes up short of expectations in terms of size and scope.

We can get a deeper glimpse into the inner workings of the Fed by looking at the horoscope of the Bernanke's tenure.  He was installed as Fed Chair at 2 p.m on 31 January 2006.  This natal chart should reflect some basic qualities of his time as Fed Chair.  We should also be able to see some trends and events by examining transits against the natal chart.  The natal chart itself says a lot about the Bernanke Fed. 
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Apple hits all-time high before iPhone 5 release

(Posted 18 August 2012)  It was a fairly quiet week in the markets as trading volumes ebbed during the summer holiday season.  In New York, stocks gained for the 6th straight week as corporate earnings continued to suggest a positive outlook.  The Dow edged higher by 1% closing at 13,275 while the S&P 500 finished at 1418.  Apple shares hit a new all-time high at $648, as the market anticipated the release of the iPhone 5.  Indian markets were also bullish as investors responded to better than expected inflation data.  The Sensex climbed 2% closing at 17,691 while the Nifty ended the week at 5366.   I thought we might have seen more volatility around the early week Mars ingress into Libra and the Mars-Saturn conjunction on Wednesday.  At least the Venus aspect with Uranus and Pluto did appear to correlate fairly closely with the mid and late week gains on most global markets.

It seems that Saturn has been on its best behaviour in the early stages of its transit of sidereal Libra.  According to traditional astrological theory, Saturn is said to be exalted in this sign and hence it may be somewhat less likely to manifest its negative energy and pessimism.   Read more...


Markets rise on bad economic news

(Posted 11 August 2012)  Financial markets engaged in a bit of economic schadenfreude last week as stocks rose against a backdrop of weaker than expected data coming out of China.  The weak industrial production and export numbers meant that a slowdown was more likely in China and around the world.  But in our current upside down world, slowing growth increases the likelihood of more money printing by the Fed and the ECB in the form of QE3.  In this way, bad numbers can actually be good for the market. 

Since 2009, investors have come to rely on the interventions of central banks to inject liquidity into the system and thus free up the amount of capital available for loans and economic expansion.  While this bit of counterintuitive logic may seem a bit perverse in the long run (i.e. let's borrow even more money to solve our debt problem!), the short run is all most markets care about at the moment.  And the short run fear is that global growth may be stalling and a new recession could be just around the corner.   Read more...

Jobs report arrives in time for Obama's birthday 

(Posted 4 August 2012)  Friday's US jobs report may have been an early birthday present for President Obama.  The report exceeded analysts expectations and showed that 163,000 new jobs had been created.  Unfortunately for Obama, however, the unemployment rate actually ticked a notch higher to 8.3% as more people entered the labor force.  As birthday presents go, it perhaps wasn't exactly ideal since the economy is not creating jobs fast enough to move the rate below the politically important 8% threshold.   And yet it reversed the alarming trend from previous months of anemic growth that was below 100,000.  If there had been another sub-100K report, it could have been much more damaging to Obama's re-election chances.

While his opponent Mitt Romney has seized on the fact of the rising unemployment rate, Obama's horoscope suggests that the news was probably a relief and was on balance positive for him.  Mercury is currently retrograde and moving into a very close aspect with Jupiter this week and is also conjunct its natal position at 9 degrees of sidereal Cancer.    Read more...

ECB's Draghi talks markets higher

(Posted 28 July 2012)   US markets moved higher last week as ECB President Mario Draghi reiterated his unwavering support for the Euro.  Investors took this as a sign that more stimulus would be forthcoming from the European Central Bank and pushed stocks higher as the Dow rose 2% closing above 13,000 for the first time since May.  The Dow closed at 13,075 while the S&P 500 finished the week at 1385.  It was a somewhat different story on Indian markets as a weaker than normal monsoon fueled inflation worries and made a rate cut more unlikely.  The Sensex lost 2% closing at 16,839 while the Nifty ended the week at 5099.   The late week gains arrived later than expected as I thought the midweek Mercury-Jupiter aspect would act as a magnet for optimism.  As it turned out, however, the aspect marked a shift away from the early week pessimism.  Stocks rose sharply after Dragi's remarks on Thursday.  Read more...

James Holmes: A look inside the Batman shooter

(Posted 21 July 2012)  The Batman shooting in Colorado has produced a reaction of horror and sadness throughout the US and around the world.  The shooting occurred at the July 20 midnight premiere of the newest Batman movie and left 12 people dead and wounded 59 others. The perpetrator has been identified as James Holmes, aged 24, a PhD student in neuroscience. This latest in a long line of gun rampages has left many feeling insecure and fearful and has raised some difficult questions.   How could anybody commit such pre-meditated savagery on a such a large scale?  And more puzzling still was how could someone who seemed so outwardly normal be capable of such an awful crime?

Holmes gave no indication of any strange or violent behavior before the shooting.  He had no criminal record and no history of mental illness. Everybody who knew him saw him a quiet and somewhat shy person but was generally friendly and seemingly quite stable.  No one knew he had been stockpiling weapons and ammunition, booby trapping his apartment with explosives, and plotting for months to carry out this heinous attack on completely innocent people in a darkened movie theater.  It is a reminder perhaps that nobody truly knows what is going on inside another person.  We can gain clues about the true nature of the people around us through interaction and by watching their behaviour, but there remains a hidden core inside that remains ultimately elusive behind the public mask.   Read more....


Spain's debt troubles return as yields rise; markets seek tangible progress

(Posted 21 July 2012)   Well, that didn't last long.   The recent EU bank bailout was widely applauded for addressing some of structural flaws of the European banking system.  Financial markets had reacted favourably to the June 29 deal as the stock market rallied strongly and bond yields fell.  Before the deal, the financially troubled members of the EU like Spain and Italy had seen their government yields rise towards the critical 7% level as the bond market demanded a greater risk premium.  7% was seen as the threshold beyond which their debt could no longer be serviced and would force a full sovereign bailout from the IMF.  But the summit deal soothed investor anxiety and pushed yields on the benchmark Spanish 10-year bond back below 6.5%.  

But all that optimism and confidence seems to have vanished now as Spanish yields have reached an all-time high topping out at 7.22%.  Italian bonds remained in an uncomfortable purgatory just above 6%.  It seems that buyers of European debt are demanding more tangible evidence from the EU leadership that the grand plans will actually be implemented.   Read more...


China avoids hard landing; Saturn to enter Libra

(Posted 14 July 2012) China came to the rescue of most global markets last week after Friday's GDP data came in near expectations at 7.6% suggesting only a mild slowdown.  Some investors had feared a more disruptive hard landing scenario in which a steeper decline in economic activity would have negatively affected the global economy.  Markets had been trending lower ahead of the release of the data.  In New York, the Dow closed largely unchanged at 12,777 while the S&P 500 finished at 1356.  Indian markets fared worse, however, as new IIP data came in stronger than expected and dampened rate cut hopes.  The Sensex lost almost 2% closing at 17,213 while the Nifty ended the week at 5227.

This mixed result was not unexpected as I had been fairly neutral about last week.  The nasty Mars-Ketu aspect in the early week did produce some significant downside, especially on US and European markets.  I thought we would see some kind of recovery starting midweek around the Mercury-Venus aspect.  As it happened, this finally arrived on Friday but made up for the preceding days' losses.   Read more...

Bad US jobs report links Obama to "zombie economy"

(Posted 7 July 2012)  No matter how skilled a politician he may be, this week's poor jobs report has forced President Obama back on his heels.  Friday's weak US employment report showed only 80,000 new jobs were created in June, far below the +200K from earlier in the year.  The unemployment rate remained unchanged at a stubbornly high 8.2%.   The disappointing performance gave more ammunition to Republican Mitt Romney as a sign that Obama's interventionist Keynesian-style policies aren't working.  Things are getting so bad that some US media outlets are now started to refer to the "zombie economy" which is effectively dead.  If that term gains traction, it would be very difficult for Obama to overcome the label and win in November.  While I am fairly pessimistic about the prospects for the economy, I do think Obama will prevail in the election.  That suggests there may be other factors involved in his victory over Romney.

There was more bad economic news as we had no less than three different attempts to stimulate the flagging global economy as central banks in China and Europe both cut their interest rates, while the Bank of England undertook a new round of quantitative easing.  Read more...


Obamacare upheld in surprise Supreme Court ruling

(Posted 2 July 2012)  President Barack Obama scored an important and somewhat surprising victory last Thursday as the US Supreme Court upheld his controversial health care bill.  Although most pundits were expecting Obamacare to be struck down, the court ruled the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was constitutional on the grounds that it was a tax.  At least that was the ruling by Chief Justice John Roberts who cast the deciding vote in the 5-4 decision.  It was a huge win by Obama and has boosted his re-election chances ahead of November's election.  However, there are several ironies and complexities in this decision.  It was a conservative judge, John Roberts, who cast the deciding vote in favor of Obamacare. And he did so by arguing it was a tax and therefore within the rights of the government, despite the fact that Obama had claimed that his health care plan was not a tax during his campaign for it. Many observers believe that Roberts, who has strong Republican affiliations, voted in favor of the Democratic bill in order to preserve the legitimacy of the Supreme Court as a non-partisan institution. 

It is fascinating to see how this unexpected and somewhat ironic achievement is reflected in Obama's horoscope. Both Jupiter and Ketu (the south lunar node) were closely conjunct Obama's Moon within one degree.  It is useful to think about the relative influence of each planet here in the unfolding of this event.    Read more...

Merkel blinks at EU summit

(Posted 30 June 2012)  Europe backed away from the abyss yet again as Friday's EU summit produced another bailout to solve its ongoing debt crisis.  Germany's Angela Merkel is widely seen as the loser in this struggle between southern debtors and northern creditors as Germany accepted the demands of Italy, Spain and France to share their debt burden.  Now the European Central Bank will be able to buy Spanish and Italian bonds as a mean to keep a lid of interest rates.  The ECB will also oversee an EU-wide banking regulatory agency in order to stem the banking crisis.  Spain's teetering banks will receive an injection of €120 Billion directly from the European Stabilization Mechanism (ESM), which is the latest incarnation of the EU's bailout fund.

Global markets cheered the news as the US stocks rose sharply and posted a 2% gain on the week.  After a mostly negative week, the Dow closed at 12,880 while the S&P 500 finished at 1362.  Indian stocks also shook off the doldrums as the Sensex climbed more than 2% closing at 17,429.  The Nifty broke above resistance and ended the week at 5278.  From an astrological perspective, the summit deal was a very appropriate reflection of the Uranus-Pluto aspect.  While I thought we might have seen a little more disruption and uncertainty in the run up to the deal, I did expect some kind of resolution to the crisis last week.  The twin stations of Venus and Saturn are often associated with market reversals so we did see an interim bottom in US and European markets.   Read more....

US Presidential Election 2012: Obama vs. Romney

(Posted 4 June 2012)  With Mitt Romney sealing the Republican nomination in Texas last week, the race for the White House has entered a more intense phase.  US President Barack Obama is facing an uphill battle as he seeks re-election in November against a backdrop of a flagging economy.  Recent polls are showing Obama in a virtual statistical tie with Romney as the economy weighs on Obama's popularity.  In a classic example of political schadenfreude, Romney's fortunes got a major boost from Friday's disappointing jobs report as more commentators are openly considering the possibility that Obama may be a one-term president.

For the past couple of years, I have thought that Obama's chances for re-election were fairly good.  In an article I posted in the run-up to the mid-term elections in 2010, I briefly noted how the favourable placement of Jupiter and Rahu in November 2012 suggested that he stood a good chance for winning.  Other factors also suggested that Obama had a good chance for a second term but a lot would depend on the horoscope of his opponent.  I wanted to revisit this question now that we know that Romney will be the challenger on November 6.   Read more...

Aung San Suu Kyi wins historic election in Myanmar

(Posted April 2, 2012)  The Burmese democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi has won an historic victory in by-elections in Myanmar.  As the long-persecuted leader of Myanmar's democratic movement, Suu Kyi has spent twenty years under house arrest since the military government refused to acknowledge her original election victory in 1990.  It is believed that this election result will be allowed to stand by the military as Myanmar slowly opens up to the outside world.   While these by-elections only give her NLD party a small foothold in parliament, this victory may well represent a major turning point in the history of this often troubled and isolated former British colony. 

This election victory and emotional vindication of her lifelong struggle can be seen in her horoscope.  While we do not know her birth time, we do know that she was born on 19 June 1945 in Rangoon. The resulting chart suggests a highly intellectual person: a Moon in sidereal Virgo with the Sun conjunct Mercury in Gemini alongside Saturn and Rahu.  Since Virgo and Gemini are both ruled by Mercury, the planet of intelligence, we can see why Suu Kyi excelled in her education at British universities before returning home to assume the role as unofficial leader of her people.  If we use the Moon as the ascendant, then all of her Gemini planets are in the 10th house of leadership and status -- a nice fit.  As the dispositor of the Moon, Mercury is also appropriately placed in the 10th house with the Sun, the planetary significator of status and power. 
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