Wall Street Weather Forecast For Week Of March 30, 2009

Summary Of Last Week’s Influences:
Fridays are ruled by Venus (banking and finance). Last Friday 15 of the nation’s TARPed bank chief executives were summoned to meet with President Obama at the White House to get their support for the Administration’s new public-private toxic assets plan.

Humans cannot survive without water; water is cleansing. The water element represents feelings and the ability to empathize with other people’s circumstances and situations. Whether or not the Administration was trying to send a subtle message, the bankers were offered nothing more than a glass of water at the meeting.

Since Venus in fast-acting Aries turned retrograde* March 6, many of the banks who received TARP money began announcing they would pay back the government as soon as next month. After the meeting, the CEOs began backtracking from their earlier estimates. Other CEOs such as JPMorgan’s (JPM) Jamie Dimon and Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis also admitted that March has not been as profitable for the banks as January and February; one of the drivers behind the recent spike in financial stocks.

Venus retrograde in Aries is bringing back many of the financial issues and plans that were started or attempted six months ago when Mercury was retrograde in Venus-ruled Libra, the zodiacal sign opposite Aries. Pluto rules debt and what is toxic and kept hidden. Capricorn represents government. Last week with the Sun and Venus in take charge Aries challenging Pluto in Capricorn, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced a plan to offer generous government incentives for hedge funds and private investors to buy toxic assets from banks. The government would take on most of the financial risk, in essence moving the shadow banking system from Wall St. to Washington.

And now Treasury Secretary Geithner and Fed Chairman Bernanke want “powers” to take over any institution they deem too much of a systemic risk to fail. Because they didn’t have these “powers,” they claimed they weren’t able to negotiate collateral payments with AIG’s counterparties, nor were they able to save Lehman Brothers from bankruptcy.

Bernanke said at a hearing on AIG last week: “We simply weren’t prepared for a crisis of this magnitude.” So why should we:

1. Give additional “powers” to the very people like Bernanke who not only enabled the crisis by carrying on Greenspan’s monetary policy, but his and Geithner’s mega fumbles in engineering the response to the crisis since Bear Stearns collapsed?

2. With a remark like that and Bernanke’s track record we’re supposed to take his word that he’ll shrink the money supply fast enough when inflation picks up speed? Sure.

The negative side of Pluto in Capricorn until 2024 is the government uses a crisis as a power grab.

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
Last week was another positive week for the major indices. More volatility begins to set in this week as Pluto’s energies are even more pronounced as it is stationary and will turn retrograde at the end of the week. When Pluto turned retrograde on April 2 last year, Bernanke told the Joint Economic Committee that “A recession is possible.” ;-)

Secrets, especially relating to financial matters, get revealed. Expect even more Pluto themes in the news such as bankruptcy, debt, insurance, taxes, wills/legacies, death/rebirth, spying, black holes and nuclear issues.

North Korea is preparing to launch a rocket carrying a satellite as early as April 4, the day Pluto turns retrograde! Japan has ordered the deployment of missile interceptors to shoot down the rocket which they suspect is a long-range missile. (North Korea will continue to be prominent in the news through the spring and also July-September.)

Venus is gearing up this week to exactly challenge Pluto Friday morning. This reflects the conflicting financial agenda between the US and UK versus other member nations of the G20 which begins in London Wednesday evening. The US and UK want member nations to pump more stimulus spending into their economies to revive global growth, while other countries want to focus the summit on regulatory reform. Hopefully wiser viewpoints, such as German chancellor Angela Merkel’s will prevail. In an interview with the FT, Merkel said: “This crisis did not come about because we issued too little money but because we created economic growth with too much money, and it was not sustainable growth. If we want to learn from that, the answer is not to repeat the mistakes of the past.” Merkel seems to have grasped the message of Saturn in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces (2008-2010).

The Administration will announce its plans for General Motors (GM) and Chrysler on Monday. It’s just been announced that GM CEO Rick Wagoner will resign at the request of the Administration.

Monday, March 30, 2009
Negative trend bias.

Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Negative sentiment gives way to improving conditions in the final two hours.

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Choppy/mixed to positive trend bias.

Thursday, April 2, 2009
Choppy/mixed to moderately positive bias. Weakens and closes moderately down.
The First Quarter Moon in Cancer occurs at 10:34 AM EST. The world news is dominated by fast moving events in the US and the UK.

Friday, April 3, 2009
The Venus/Pluto alignment exact today could reflect revisions to the previous employment reports and/or the numbers released today will be end up being revised next month. Venus/Pluto covers up all the unemployed workers who are not counted because they are not eligible for benefits. In short, we're not getting the real picture.

The Venus/Pluto alignment last occurred on February 5/6 when both planets were direct. With Mars opposing Saturn now, caution rather than the bullishness of their last alignment could set in as the market fears more harsh actions by governmental authorities in the financial system.

*Planets do not really move backwards, but appear to from Earth’s vantage point.

No disclosures.

Wall Street Weather Forecast For Week Of March 23, 2009

Washington continues to wield its power over Wall Street. Unsure whether to duck for cover or carry on with the rally, the stock market ended slightly up for the week.

As I wrote in last week’s Forecast, “Mars in Pisces (March 14-April 22) can shift from hope and euphoria to hype and hysteria.” House Financial Services Committee member Gary Ackerman’s* “tidal wave of rage” over AIG bonuses is an excellent description of Mars (anger) in Pisces (ocean). Washington’s latest made for TV movie is an attempt to cover up Congress and the current and former Administration’s ineptitude at cleaning up the financial mess. And their trash talking and overly punitive actions against financial institutions who have received government assistance are not going to put these institutions back on the road to recovery anytime soon.

Imagine if Warren Buffett gave interviews to every major media outlet saying how horrid the companies he invests in are and so are the people who work for them! This is exactly what the government is doing to the “taxpayers’” investments in the financials and automakers. If “taxpayers” ever hope to see even a fraction of the money returned to the government, the hysteria needs to simmer down. (Mars is fire and Pisces is water which together equals steam.) The only upside to all this is that now banks and hedge funds are becoming reluctant to take more government money and participate in government lending programs for fear the rules will change later in the game.

I don’t know why the Fed’s actions last Wednesday to purchase up to $300 billion of longer term Treasury securities over the next six months elicited a surprise since I had written the Fed would probably announce the purchases at their January meeting. The Fed’s balance sheet is pushing towards $4 trillion or almost a third the size of the US economy. And here’s the part of the FOMC statement had to have been written by the ever expansive minded Jupiter-ruled Chairman himself: “In light of increasing economic slack here and abroad, the Committee expects that inflation will remain subdued. Moreover, the Committee sees some risk that inflation could persist for a time below rates that best foster economic growth and price stability in the longer term.”

Commodities moved higher and the US$ index fell 4%, its worst performance for the week since 1985. Inflation is back in the news again. Oh excuse me, now it’s called "reflation" (even Microsoft Word is perplexed). Last December I wrote that Jupiter (expansion) conjoining Neptune (credit, interest rates) on the USA’s natal Moon (consumers; food/shelter) this spring would increase inflation. The Golden One (GS) is now Neutral, believing for now that the latest upswing is a reaction to the Fed rather than fundamentals. Jupiter and Neptune in air element Aquarius means the Fed is taking inflation on a giant hot air balloon ride up up and away, and definitely not as pleasant as listening to the Fifth Dimension. Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, the planetary energy of sharp, sudden, and surprising moves in either direction. Uranus in Neptune-ruled Pisces (2003-2011) can cause commodities to take a rollercoaster ride.

After the FOMC announcement, the yield on the 10 year note dropped about 50bp to 2.533%, a very short term reaction. I believe Bernanke wouldn’t be buying Treasuries unless there is developing a lack of foreign demand. If that’s true, interest rates will start rising faster than Bernanke can blink.

Bernanke and Treasury Secretary Geithner are scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee Tuesday at 10:00 AM EDT for another hearing about AIG. Geithner is scheduled to unveil his three-pronged public/private plan on Monday to buy up the toxic assets that are at the heart of the financial crisis. On Thursday he’ll testify at 10:00 AM on regulatory reform.

The FT calls Geithner “The Treasury fire-fighter.” This describes Geithner’s Sun conjoining Uranus and Mercury in fiery Leo. Leo rules the stock market and I’ve already described how the energy of Uranus operates on market forces. So it’s appropriate that the FT begins the article by observing that “the Dow Jones shot up by 6.5 percent - its largest daily gain in weeks” after he was nominated Treasury Secretary on November 21. Fast forward: “Now, it seems, every time Mr. Geithner opens his mouth the Dow heads in the opposite direction. Worse perhaps, Mr. Obama has got into the habit of expressing his confidence in Mr. Geithner, a sure sign in more normal times that a public figure’s days are numbered.” Now he’s become known as “Tiny Tim.” Neptune opposing his natal Sun describes Geithner’s problems stem from a lack of complete transparency. First it was tax fraud, then his lack of details about the financial stability plan, and now his handling of AIG. And now with Mars in Pisces opposing his Pluto (precisely on Tuesday), the calls for Geithner to resign are growing. And even if he’s able to hold back the opposition now, they are likely to flare up again in the late spring and summer.

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
Power plays are front and center this week as the Sun in Aries challenges Pluto in Capricorn Monday. Leaders like to wield their nu-clear power. Pluto is debt, taxes, insurance, and all those private and unregulated transactions that are clogging up Wall St’s pipes, and Capricorn is government. So this can describe Geithner’s plan (outline) ;-) Another manifestation of this alignment could be more merger announcements, particularly hostile takeovers. Mercury (communications) challenging Pluto Friday is a similar influence that can uncover secret information. Strong Venus energies then somewhat soften this intense energy.

The New Moon in Aries Thursday at 12:06 PM means that these energies will be strong over the next month. This is the time to focus on your relationship with yourself first. Regardless of what’s going on in Washington and on Wall St., you’re in charge of your own well being and how you choose to view your life in relationship to the global situation.

The indices look to have an overall positive bias this week. Volatility increases at midweek.

Monday, March 23, 2009
Positive trend bias.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Choppy/mixed to positive trend bias. Could be strongest in late morning.

Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Volatility picks up. Negative early, then choppy/mixed to positive by early afternoon.
Mercury moves into Aries this afternoon until April 9. This energy tends to act before thinking.

Thursday, March 26, 2009
Sharp price swings. Choppy/mixed, then moves higher in afternoon; could weaken into the close.

Friday, March 27, 2009
Lowest at open. Starts to improve quickly, and stays positive.

*Gary Ackerman: November 19, 1942 Brooklyn, NY. Pisces is part of the water (feeling) element (the other signs are Cancer and Scorpio). Ackerman wears a white carnation boutonniere each day, one way of expressing that his Sun (self-identity) conjoins Venus (banking/values/flowers). In addition to The Sun and Venus, the Congressman also has Mercury (communication/contracts), and Mars (action/energy/anger) in Pluto-ruled Scorpio. When in DC, Ackerman lives on a houseboat named the Unsinkable II. With all that Scorpio energy and his Mars challenging Pluto in Leo, Ackerman would be good at unraveling the shadow banking system, but he seems to prefer to express these energies engaged in political theatre. Jupiter and Neptune challenging his Scorpio Sun this spring raise the potential for a tidal wave of confusion crashing his boat. Whether the unsinkable happens depends upon whether he has been truthful and transparent in his own conduct as a Congressman.

No disclosures.

AIG Bonuses Camouflage The Government’s Destruction

The zodiacal sign Pisces is symbolized by two fish swimming in opposite directions. This is an appropriate description of the government’s actions regarding American International Group (AIG).

The politicians have got the media focused on a fish swimming in “a tidal wave of rage,”* stoked by the President and members of Congress over retention bonuses paid to AIG employees. At this rapid rate it won’t be long until the waters turned toxic from hatred kill the fish’s food supply. Meanwhile the other fish is frantically trying to swim as fast as it can in the opposite direction, pushing hard to escape from the political cesspool so it can regain its strength to free itself from the government’s 79.9% ownership.

Pisces and its planetary ruler Neptune describe things that are not what they seem, making it difficult to penetrate through the veil of illusion. A simple story is devised to distract the public’s attention from a tangled web of lies, deceit, and incompetence.

According to the Administration, the origins of the anger and outrage over $165 million in retention bonuses paid to employees in AIG’s financial products unit began on the March 10 Full Moon after the Federal Reserve Bank of New York sent a list of payments to the Treasury Department due to be paid by March 15. These retention bonuses had been publicly disclosed by AIG in an SEC filing on May 8, 2008. In a March 14 letter to Treasury Secretary Geithner, AIG’s government-appointed CEO Edward Liddy explained that AIG and its legal counsel came to the “distasteful” conclusion that the best outcome for AIG was to pay the employees under contract for successful completion of winding down their part of the $1.6 trillion remaining in the unit’s esoteric derivatives book.

Mars moved into Pisces shortly before midnight on March14, increasing the anger and aggressiveness government officials and members of Congress were ready to unleash over the bonus payments. At a lower level of expression, Pisces and Neptune energy is about suffering and sacrifice, and with Mars in Pisces, someone or something usually ends up becoming the collective scapegoat. With the Moon (emotions) in secretive Scorpio** the weekend of March14-15, Liddy had already had enough of the government’s sideshow. With his Mercury conjoining the USA’s natal Pluto, Liddy revealed the information Fed Chairman Bernanke and other government officials claimed was private. AIG’s press release shows the government funneled over $50 billion through AIG to domestic and foreign banks to make these counterparty CDS holders whole on the value of their underlying CDOs. The largest recipient was Goldman Sachs (GS) at approximately $13 billion, followed by Societe Generale, Deutsche Bank (DB), and Barclays Bank (BCS).

As a way of deflecting the government’s secret actions and to extract revenge on AIG, Administration officials and certain members of Congress were determined to vent their outrage. Political hypocrisy and hysteria reached epic proportions with the Moon in Sagittarius Monday through Wednesday. Senator Grassley said AIG’s top managers should "resign or commit suicide" (a Pisces/Neptune act).

At the House Financial Services Subcommittee hearing, Representatives seemed more interested in conducting a witch hunt than asking Liddy why AIG and the government failed to negotiate haircuts on the collateral payouts made to Goldman, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), etc. They should have asked Liddy to elaborate on AIG’s plans to pay back the government. And Liddy should have been joined at the witness table by Fed Chairman Bernanke and Geithner who with former Treasury Secretary Paulson were the engineers of the bailout. Then maybe we could learn why these individuals sought to impose the 79.9% solution on AIG. It would have also been helpful to have Harvard economics professor Martin Feldstein as a witness. Dr. Feldstein has been a director of AIG since 1987 and serves on President Obama’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.

At the hearing Liddy made it clear that “Everything we do, we do in partnership with the Federal Reserve,” commenting that the Fed knew of the bonuses for months. After watching most of the hearing the only thing I learned about AIG is that even though $173.3 billion has been approved by the government for AIG, AIG actually owes the government around $80 billion in TARP and Fed loans outstanding. AIG will pay back the Federal Reserve first to strengthen its credit rating.

As part of the theme of the two fish swimming in opposite directions, James Lockhart, director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and the Conservator of the government’s 79.9% takeover of Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE), announced his approval of retention bonuses for the GSEs. In a March 18 statement, Lockhart cited the bonuses as “critical” to retain employees and “it would have been catastrophic to lose the next layers down and other highly experienced employees.” While Fannie’s retention bonuses will be between $470,000-$611,000 (Freddie hasn’t announced their bonuses yet), the justification in retaining these employees is no different than AIG except it’s been sanctioned by a government regulator. The Treasury has committed to provide Fannie and Freddie with up to $200 billion each, but if you factor in the Fed’s commitment to purchase $1.25 trillion in GSE MBS and $200 billion in GSE debt, AIG’s $173.3 billion pales in comparison with the GSEs $1.85 trillion government commitment.

On Monday as Venus (values) challenged the USA’s Sun (the leader), President Obama spoke of his “anger” despite being told by officials that nothing could be done about the AIG bonuses. The President said the bonus issue is about “our fundamental values” and the need for an equal playing field between Main St., Wall St. and Washington.

Venus represents fairness, the key element in successful alliances and partnerships. From the beginning, the government’s handling of the financial crisis has been anything but fair and totally ad hoc. Now that Pluto in Capricorn is opposing the USA’s and President Obama’s natal Venus in Cancer for the next two years, the government (Capricorn) is trying to cover up (Pluto) its costly mistakes by getting aggressive about taxing (Pluto) compensation at certain TARPed financial institutions (Venus). Venus in Aries retrograde now reflects that the compensation tax bill approved by the House yesterday is retroactive.

Pluto in Capricorn represents the transformation of government structure and regulation that must occur in order to overhaul the nation’s financial system. Pluto represents debt, which runs deeper and in ways not envisioned. Part of the overhaul must involve the regulation of financial entities such as hedge funds, along with the regulation of derivative products. Pluto in Capricorn opposing the USA Venus and challenging Venus in Aries reflects that “taxpayers” will pay dearly for Washington’s political gamesmanship.

The President’s “anger” over AIG bonuses erupted on the six month anniversary of the government taking a 79.9% stake in the conglomerate. It also marked the one year anniversary of the fall of Bear Stearns. These events occurred at times when the USA’s challenging alignment between Mars in Gemini and Neptune in Virgo was activated by the Moon and other transiting planetary energies impacting these placements in the USA chart. This is explained in a post I wrote on 9/16/08 on “AIG, Lehman, and Merrill under a Harvest Moon: Parallels to the Panic of 1907” and my follow up post, “After AIG, Paulson’s Moral Hazard Ends at the Golden Door.” And since the March 10 Full Moon in Virgo reactivated the energies of September, I thought the government would be taking further action relating to the financial institutions that tumbled last September.

Yesterday President Obama said: “I don’t want to quell anger. I want us to channel anger in a constructive way.” President Obama’s natal Mars in Virgo exactly impacts the USA’s Mars/Neptune alignment. With his Mars harmonizing with Saturn retrograde in Capricorn, the President can channel his anger into rebuilding a sound, secure and fair financial system. Or he can continue to play political games that attempt to cover up and perpetuate the problems, ensuring the financial health of the entire nation remains a dream (Neptune).

*Rep. Gary Ackerman, member of the House Financial Services Committee.

** Scorpio was ruled by Mars prior to Pluto’s discovery in 1930.

Edward M. Liddy: January 28, 1946 Brunswick, New Jersey

No disclosures.

Wall Street Weather Forecast for Week of March 16, 2009

Summary Of Last Week’s Influences:
Less than two weeks ago, the cry for bank nationalization was deafening. Then last Monday Citigroup CEO Pandit (C) told employees in an internal memo that Citi was profitable the first two months of 2009. Two days later JPMorgan (JPM) CEO Dimon announced his bank was too. The momentum is growing to oust Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis, but on Thursday he declared BAC had made money too. And guess what, General Motors (GM) doesn’t need $2 billion from the government to keep operating this month. (Apparently no one bothered to ask if they’ll still need the $2.6 billion they requested for April.)

So when do they plan to return the money they borrowed from the government? ;-) I wrote last week that “strong Uranus energies this week can bring the potential opportunity for a sudden, sharp, and short rally.” Uranus energies can go from talk that all the banks are “insolvent” to declaring a profit. Last week began with a reverse merger, so I suppose with Venus, the planetary ruler of banking and finance retrograde (March 6 to April 17), being on the bridge of insolvency can reverse to profitability for at least the time being.

The Full Moon conjoining Saturn in Virgo, and the Sun conjoining Uranus in Pisces, along with Mars conjoining Neptune in Aquarius last week brought back the healthcare sector as a defensive play, boosted by drug (Neptune/Pisces) company mergers between Merck (MRK) and Schering-Plough (SGP), to Gilead Sciences (GILD) and CV Therapeutics (CVTX), and the finally completed bid by Roche for Genentech (DNA).

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
Since Venus is retrograde in Aries (a sign ruled by Mars), it will be interesting to see if last week’s reversal of fortune in the financial sector continues or weakens as Mars has now shifted from Uranus-ruled Aquarius to Neptune-ruled Pisces until April 22. Mars in Pisces can shift from hope and euphoria to hype and hysteria. The course of action taken depends upon how this energy feels at any given moment. Consumers could come marching to the mall to buy new shoes. (Pisces rules the feet.)

Choppy/mixed conditions could be the theme this week as the market for the most part appears not to be ready to continue last week’s rocket ride but not quite ready to dump shares en masse either. Any large point moves this week are most likely to occur intraday and not be reflected in the closing prices.

Wednesday’s FOMC Announcement could be geared to quell the concerns raised by the Chinese about the sustained value of their $1T+ treasury investment. If the FOMC announcement doesn’t shift from “prepared to purchase longer-term Treasury securities” to actually doing so, then the FOMC probably won’t. With Jupiter about to conjoin Neptune in May, we will soon be entering a long-term inflationary cycle, and the Fed will have little choice but capitulate.

Spring arrives at 7:44 AM EDT Friday when the Sun enters Aries. Lots of financial secrets are going to come to the surface over the next three months. (More on the Vernal Equinox in a separate post.)

Monday, March 16, 2009
Market likely to be strongest early, then turn choppy/mixed to negative bias by late morning.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Mostly positive trend but weakens to choppy/mixed mid-morning. Improving conditions in early afternoon. Could weaken into the close.

Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Positive early, then weakens to choppy/mixed. Shows improvement in early afternoon.

Thursday, March 19, 2009
Choppy/mixed to moderately up early likely turns negative by afternoon.

Friday, March 20, 2009
Quadruple Options expiration. Negative early; improves to choppy/mixed, then positive; rapidly losing momentum at the close.

No disclosures.

Project Solar: Merck & Schering-Plough’s Reverse Merger

Sundays resonate to the energy of the Sun, and on March 8, 2009 Project Solar was born. With the Moon in Leo, the sign of the Sun, the two chief executives behind the project were ready to emerge into the spotlight.

The Sun in Pisces opposed Saturn that day, representing that for technical purposes, Saturn and its subsidiary Blue would be acquiring Mercury and its subsidiary, Purple. Mercury had just moved into Pisces which was convenient since Pisces and its planetary ruler Neptune rule drugs and chemicals. And Mars conjoined Neptune to ensure the drug deal got done now while the atmosphere is still shrouded in the heavy cloud cover of euphoric delusion.

According to an SEC filing, Project Solar is the code name dubbed by bankers for the merger between Saturn (Schering-Plough/SGP) and Mercury (Merck/MRK). Pisces/Neptune energies excel at the art of illusion. The magician bankers optimistically believe that because Jupiter is conjoining Neptune this year, now is the time for big (Jupiter) pharma (Neptune) consolidation. Jupiter conjoining Neptune represents the blockbuster drug stars of the pharmaceutical industry, most of which relate to cardiovascular (Sun/Leo) health. With Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius, it was time to come up with something out of the blue to maintain market share. Aquarius and its planetary ruler Uranus relate to trend reversals; hence the idea of a reverse big pharma merger was born.

The problem is that you can’t create reality (Saturn) from illusion (Neptune/Pisces). To approve the deal requires a suspension of disbelief by both companies’ shareholders and government regulators that Schering-Plough is acquiring Merck when Merck will finance the $41.1 billion acquisition, paying Schering shareholders $23.61 per share ($10.50 cash per share and 0.5767 of Merck shares). The merged company will be called Merck, operate out of Merck’s New Jersey headquarters, and consist of a Merck majority Board of Directors. Merck CEO Richard Clark will run the company while Schering CEO Fred Hassan could end up with an exit package worth up to $60 million.

All this extreme engineering was concocted by Merck and Schering in order to avoid triggering a change-of-control provision in Schering’s partnership agreement with Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) that would revert the entire rights for Remicade and another anti-inflammatory drug (golimumab) in the pipeline back to J&J. (Schering owns most of Remicade’s international rights which in 2008 generated $2.1 billion in sales.) Arthritic conditions are ruled by Saturn (bones/joints). No doubt Merck is counting on Saturn (Schering) to provide a pipeline to profit from an aging global population. As Jupiter and Neptune conjoin the Remicade agreement chart’s Venus in late May, it’s hard to imagine that no legal issues will rise over J&J and Schering’s revenue sharing arrangement. Mercury (the planet, not Merck) was retrograde* at the time of the 1998 agreement, increasing the potential for revisions or breaking the contract altogether. Venus in Aries will transit over the agreement chart’s Sun and Mercury retrograde in May, which could represent new financial arrangements or settlements.

Merck and Schering already collaborate on Vytorin, a cholesterol drug combining Merck’s Zocor (simvastatin) and Schering’s Zetia. Sales for Vytorin ($2.4 billion last year) began to decline in early 2008 after the Enhance study revealed Vytorin lowered LDL cholesterol no more than Zocor (available as a generic) did alone. There were even indications that Vytorin might potentially increase arterial plaque. And in multiple study trials comparing Vytorin, the number of cancer deaths was one third higher among participants taking Vytorin.

Transiting Jupiter exactly conjoined Neptune in the chart for Vytorin the day of the Merck/Schering merger agreement, indicating that expanding Vytorin sales while reducing expenses is a big objective of the merger. It also indicates that court challenges could await. Transiting Saturn continues to challenge a key planetary alignment in Vytorin’s chart through the summer. Revenues from Vytorin are likely to continue to decrease and face increased political pressure. As the call for healthcare reform increases, the government is likely to balk at paying for expensive drugs that not only fail to demonstrate a meaningful benefit over cheaper ones, but could also potentially do more harm than good.

Pharmaceutical mega mergers can be a manifestation of the overly optimistic and high expectations of Jupiter conjoining Neptune. Big pharma is going to get extremely imaginative in coming up with grandiose legal maneuvers to extend the patent protection of their blockbuster drugs, even though strategies such as creating combo pills and extended release formulations have failed to generate a big splash.

At the same time that Jupiter and Neptune conjoin in Aquarius, Saturn in Virgo (healthcare) is opposing Uranus (Aquarius’s planetary ruler) in Pisces through mid-2010. Healthcare as a defensive sector play is on the wane as evidence has already surfaced that these big pharma blockbuster drugs to a large degree fall under the category of consumer discretionary spending. Uranus ends its stay in Pisces in 2011. This is the same time when many of big pharma’s blockbuster drugs, such as Lipitor (PFE), Plavix (BMY) and Zyprexa (LLY) lose patent protection. Uranus in Aries (2011-2018) will bring innovation (Uranus) through more mechanical and pioneering methods (Aries). Uranus in Aries will challenge transformational Pluto in Capricorn (2008-2024), creating medical devices so small they can be precisely targeted where treatment is needed.

A far more accurate codename for the Merck-Schering merger would be Project Banker. Banking and finance is ruled by Venus which turned retrograde two days before the March 8 merger agreement. Venus retrograde can indicate that Merck is paying too much to acquire Schering. But that matters little to the banks who view big pharma as one of the few cash cows able to do M&A in the current financial climate. Goldman Sachs (GS), JPMorgan (JPM), and Morgan Stanley (MS) will split up to $146 million in fees for advising Merck and Schering on the merger.

Far from using their TARP money to expand lending and credit to consumers, banks are advising and providing financing for pharmaceutical company mergers. This has a negative economic effect as it contracts research and development thereby reducing innovation, increases unemployment, hurts the biotech sector by reducing their distribution channels, raises drug costs to consumers, and dilutes shareholders earnings and dividends.

In the end all the cost savings and other wonderful things touted by the companies, their bankers, and Wall Street analysts are likely to amount to one giant fairy tale.

*Planets do not really move backwards but appear to from Earth’s vantage point.

No disclosures.

Full Moon Fever: WSJ Editorial on Healthcare “Mergers and Inquisitions”

Hospital workers, law enforcement, and talk radio hosts will often remark how the Full Moon tends to charge the atmosphere with an increased level of lunacy.* Tonight’s Full Moon in Virgo seems to have really riled up the members of The Wall Street Journal editorial board to a new level of paranoia over healthcare reform.

Today’s Journal editorial (“Mergers and Inquisitions”) blames the specter of healthcare reform as the number one culprit causing “wealth destruction” of health stocks “for investors and the economy.” (In the minds of the editorial board, wealth destruction and nationalization should only apply to the financial sector.) The editorial board does not want to admit that defending the status quo is a prescription for disaster that threatens the long term financial viability of big pharma and the health insurers.

The editorial applauds big pharma consolidation, yet admits these deals only provide a “short-term” benefit “for shareholders of the target companies.” The era of blockbuster drugs such as Lipitor is coming to a close as big pharma loses patent protection on its biggest cash cows in 2011. As blockbuster drugs lose patent protection, consumers switch to inexpensive generic formulations. Evidence that economic conditions have necessitated consumers cut out or cut back taking medications surfaced long before President Obama took office, along with the steady decline in private health insurer membership.

“The U.S. is the last major pharmaceutical market without universal price controls,” laments the editorial, fearing drug price controls will end the nation’s reign as “the world’s main financier of new drug discoveries.” Economic reality -not partisan politics- necessitates the end of U.S. consumers financially subsidizing drugs for the rest of the world. The editorial board has always sought to perpetuate the myth that U.S. consumers must pay more than their counterparts in other countries for medications in order to fund drug industry “innovation.” Innovation comes from research and development, but mergers cut into R&D budgets and limit the competitive drive for innovation.

The Journal’s circular argument fails to take into consideration that big pharma’s blockbuster model is flawed. The industry is totally focused on the life cycle management of its existing products, rather than innovating in a way that creates affordable products that consumers want to buy. This is where they really do need a dose of free market capitalism instead of relying on subsidies from US consumers.

What the editorial is most paranoid about is “the coming era of government-run health care,” despite admitting that “few people love their health insurer.” It’s not as if “government-run healthcare” is an unknown species in America. People 65 and older receive their healthcare from the government through Medicare, the poor through Medicaid, and members of Congress are insured through the federal government by “the taxpayers.” As more people find they are underinsured, lose their employer-based coverage, and find even the most minor ailment is grounds for being rejected for an individual health insurance policy, “government-run health care” becomes better than no healthcare at all. Contrary to popular belief, the ER is not a place of last resort for healthcare. Yes, they will stabilize your condition if you are unable to pay but once stabilized, the hospital will escort you through the exit door.

So where does the editorial board’s defense of the status quo leave private health insurers? The insurers’ first reaction is to derail any government attempt at a public insurance option such as “Medicare for All.” Healthcare insurers would like nothing better than for the government to pay them to provide health insurance to all Americans. This would allow the insurers to maintain the status quo and boost their membership through government subsidies. Dream on! The more likely scenario would be for private insurers to subcontract administrative services for the federal government, as well as sell supplemental policies to consumers and businesses. It is likely that the government will establish minimum coverage standards for both the private and public insurance options, which would be adopted by most businesses. This would open a huge market for supplemental insurance policies. Employers would offer supplemental policies to attract and retain prized workers, and consumers would purchase them to mitigate their out of pocket healthcare expenses.

*From the Latin luna (Moon).

Wall Street Weather Forecast for Week of March 9, 2009

Summary of Last Week’s Influences:
It takes about 12 years for Jupiter to make a complete cycle around the Sun. Closing at 6,626.94 last Friday, the DJIA returned to levels not seen since April 1997 - the last time Jupiter was in Aquarius.

In previous Weekly Forecasts I’ve written about how the planetary transits of Saturn opposite Uranus, and now Venus/Pluto at this time would cause further stress on the financial system, reigniting the energies surrounding the September 15, 2008 Full Moon when Lehman Brothers collapsed and American International Group (AIG) nearly followed it into bankruptcy.

The events influencing last week’s market drop certainly reflected these planetary energies, from more turmoil at AIG to unemployment levels not seen since the early 1980s. Wednesday marked the only up day for the indices based on the hope that China was going to announce an increase in stimulus spending. After Mercury (news/gossip) had exactly conjoined Neptune (hope/illusion/rumors) early Thursday morning, the indices opened sharply down after a speech by China’s premier had made no mention of the anticipated additional stimulus spending.

General Motors (GM) met with the Auto Task Force Thursday which is led by Treasury Secretary Geithner and NEC Director Summers. After receiving $13.4B from the government and seeking another $16.6B, GM is starting to come around to the realization that bankruptcy might be its only option to restructure. Detroit automakers are not the only ones witnessing the steep decline in motor vehicle sales; Toyota (TM) is scheduled to meet with the Task Force this week.

Saturn in Virgo (Sep 2007-July 2010) represents contraction in the workforce. Friday’s employment report showed the only sectors with an increase in jobs created were government (Saturn), healthcare (Virgo), and education (Mercury-ruled Virgo would represent education to retrain for a specific type of job). As unemployment continues to rise, why would people go out and buy a new car if they didn’t have to? More and more Americans are cutting out and cutting back in fear of losing their job. Saturn in Virgo opposing Uranus in Pisces is a wakeup call to cut the excessive use of credit. People are learning Saturn’s lesson that it’s essential to rebuild their balance sheet, as Virgo is the bookkeeper.

Banking and finance is ruled by Venus. Venus energies were pronounced Friday as the planet appeared to turn retrograde from Earth’s vantage point. Venus themes are particularly accentuated in the USA now as Pluto in Capricorn is opposing the USA’s natal Venus in Cancer for the first time in history. This reflects the government’s growing desire to become more deeply involved in controlling the banking system. Venus/Pluto indicates that bankruptcy filings will accelerate, coming from companies that once exerted a powerful influence on the nation’s economy.

Pluto is debt and taxes and Capricorn the government. Friday the IRS discontinued a two year old program that used private contractors to collect tax debts, as the agency found their in-house program was more cost effective. Because of all the increased government spending, the IRS will hire 1,000 new collection personnel this year to collect outstanding debt. The IRS’s aggressive beef up on collections was no doubt behind Friday’s announcement by the Swiss government that a panel will have two weeks to decide if Switzerland should keep its bank secrecy laws as is, abolish them, or adapt them as the situation requires. As explained in a post on “UBS, the IRS and Swiss Banking Secrecy,” I think the Swiss government will make some revisions to their existing law.

Pluto in Capricorn represents transforming infrastructures. Its interaction now with Venus in Aries reflects the need for new and bold solutions to fix the global financial infrastructure. This is exactly what Lord Malloch-Brown, the UK’s top envoy for the April 2 G-20 summit in London called for Friday. I wrote about the strong Venus/Pluto energies surrounding the summit, and Malloch-Brown predicted Friday that “the markets on April 3 will be something of a disaster zone” if nothing productive results from the gathering.

Venus rules copper. March copper futures rose 10% last week to $1.6890 a pound on reports of Chinese replenishment and declines in LME inventory that brought short covering.

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
All the planetary influences that I’ve described in previous forecasts are converging midweek during the Virgo Full Moon. The September 15, 2008 Full Moon conjoined Uranus in Pisces, sending shockwaves through the credit markets. The Full Moon in Virgo conjoins Saturn, reflecting the high level of fear and contraction taking place in the economy and the stock market. However, strong Uranus energies this week can bring the potential opportunity for a sudden, sharp, and short rally. The motto for Uranus is “expect the unexpected,” and in the stock market that tends to translate to going higher or lower than anticipated because this energy is about shock value. The energies of Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto that are particularly dominant now will reunite in similar fashion during September, anchored by the Virgo New Moon on September 18, 2009.

Monday, March 9, 2009
Negative trend bias, but see intervals of choppy/mixed conditions. Could see improving conditions going into the close. Uranus in Pisces opposing the USA’s natal Neptune now could shake up some misconstrued beliefs and illusions.

Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Choppy/mixed to positive trend bias.

Wednesday, March 11, 2009
In addition to the influences of the Full Moon, Venus interacting with Jupiter could increase the size of the market moves which could go in either or both directions.

Thursday, March 12, 2009
Negative trend bias.

Friday, March 13, 2009
Negative trending, but could see improving conditions that could flip to positive later this morning based on news or comments emanating from the Administration.

No disclosures.

Surprise! Your Other Brain Needs Cholesterol Too!

Women have always known that the male mind is located below the belt. Today’s USA Today (“Study: Cholesterol drugs may dampen sex life”), reports that in a six month government-funded study of over 1,000 adults, men who took Merck’s (MRK) Zocor (simvastatin) experienced a 50% drop in sexual pleasure. Bristol Myers’ (BMY) Pravachol (Pravastatin) was also tested against a placebo, and found to have a less detrimental effect because there was not as great a reduction of LDL levels.

What’s truly ridiculous is that the study participants had high LDL “bad” cholesterol but “no heart disease.” Evidence arose from the study that statins might reduce Coenzyme Q10, “a nutrient that helps cells convert oxygen, blood and glucose into energy,” causing the shriveling of sexual pleasure. More importantly, Coenzyme Q10 is a nutrient needed for healthy cardiovascular function in the first place! Once again it appears that many of these lifestyle drugs are having a more detrimental than positive impact on the very ailments they claim to be targeting.

In “Surprise! Your Brain Needs Cholesterol,” I wrote about a study that showed how statins can lower cholesterol to the point of adversely affecting thought and memory similar to Alzheimer’s patients. And since sexual arousal for men and women begins in the mind, it gives further credence to the earlier study of cholesterol’s role in optimal brain function. As I wrote in a post on Vytorin, the planetary alignment of Uranus (innovation) in Aries (brain) challenging Saturn (conventional treatment) and Pluto (transformation) beginning in mid 2010 will cause competitive difficulties for big pharma. During the transit of Uranus in Aries (2010; 2011-2018) medical innovation will center on the brain as the source for medical treatment. Healthcare will shift from taking drugs to an easy and painless way to stimulate specific areas of the brain to achieve healing without surgically opening up the head.

Big pharma has already realized the Sun is starting to set on statins. That’s why the industry is desperate to merge. As for statin’s sexual side effect, big pharma has already advertised they’ve got pills to treat your other brain (Cialis, Viagra). Perhaps the best medicine of all is if men and women free their minds of these meds and instead make it a priority to take the time to engage in activities that feel good. People who regularly make love are usually healthier and happier in a way that no pill can provide. And that’s the real key to having a healthy heart and mind(s).

No disclosures.

Housing Trends: The Green, the Small, and the Homes with Chinese Drywall

NOTE: Today begins a new periodic feature where I will link to and briefly comment about articles I found interesting and think readers might as well. This feature is called “Article Links” under the Directory.

Real estate is ruled by the Moon, and with the Moon in its “home” sign Cancer today and tomorrow, it’s most appropriate that today’s Wall Street Journal in “This Old House, Better Than New” examines ways to “green and future proof” older homes. (The article also provides a list of resources.) According to a recent McGraw-Hill study, one third of home buyers are willing to pay a premium of $20,000+ for a green home. This is a sea change from listening to a Toll Brothers (TOL) conference call a couple years ago when CEO Bob Toll commented that buyers were willing to pay more for crown moldings and other cosmetic touches than for energy efficient features.

Saturn in Virgo (2007-2010) is behind the trend toward scaling back the glitz in favor of more green, healthy and energy efficient homes. Pluto’s movement from Jupiter-ruled Sagittarius (1995-2008) when bigger was better, to Saturn-ruled Pluto in Capricorn (2008-2024) which puts the focus on a home’s structural elements and living in smaller spaces. As part of the earth element,* Virgo and Capricorn emphasize use of natural materials and recycled components to greatly reduce or eliminate the toxicity (Pluto) in homes. Pluto represents extremes, and it’s hard to go more extreme than the 140 ft sq ft home described in “Small but perfectly formed” (Financial Times), part of an article about the “small house movement.”

Back in January I wrote a post (“Toxic Fallout From The Homebuilding Boom”) about the problems that drywall from China was causing in homes mostly built in Florida during the latter part of the housing boom. According to an article in the Herald Tribune, homes in Arizona, the Carolinas, Colorado, Georgia, Louisiana, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Texas, and Virginia, have also been found to have been constructed with Chinese drywall. Thomas Martin, president of DC-based consumer advocacy group America’s Watchdog, thinks Chinese manufactured drywall “could literally turn out to be the worst case of sick houses in U.S. history." The Tribune reports that “shipping records show at least 550 million pounds of Chinese drywall has been offloaded in US ports since 2006 -- enough to build 60,000 average-size homes.” Publicly traded homebuilders who have either admitted to or are believed to have used Chinese drywall are Lennar (LEN), London-based Taylor Wimpey through their Taylor Morrison unit (TW.L), Meritage Homes (MTH), Ryland Homes (RYL), Standard Pacific Homes (SPF), and WCI Communities (WCIMQ.PK). The Consumer Product Safety Commission has no safety standards for drywall, but is now investigating complaints, prompted by a request from Senator Bill Nelson. The Palm Beach Post noted that Coldwell Banker added a seller disclosure form for Chinese drywall in January.

*Taurus, Virgo, and Capricorn represent the earth element.
No disclosures.

Bernanke’s Fake Anger Over AIG

Media outlets are already fixated on Fed Chairman Bernanke’s outburst at this morning’s Senate Budget Committee hearing when he said: “If there’s a single episode in this entire 18 months that has made me more angry, I can’t think of one other than AIG. AIG exploited a huge gap in the regulatory system. There was no oversight of the financial products division. This was a hedge fund, basically, that was attached to a large and stable insurance company, made huge numbers of irresponsible bets, took huge losses. There was no regulatory oversight because there was a gap in the system.”

With transiting Mercury, Mars, and Neptune in Aquarius opposing his natal Pluto in Leo at this time it wasn’t surprising that the Fed Chairman became a bit testy (Mars) and evasive (Neptune) at times in response to questions (Mercury) about the Federal Reserve’s loans to insurance giant AIG.

Pluto rules insurance, loans, and secrets. Citing their “right to privacy,” Bernanke refused to reveal who AIG’s counterparties were who benefitted from the government’s financial rescue of the insurance giant. For all the so-called “anger” expressed by the politicians over the scope and size of the amount of government assistance to AIG, the question is never asked why the government did not negotiate with AIG’s counterparties like the monoline insurers did.

Financial collapses and opaque financial products are also part of Pluto’s domain. If Bernanke’s anger was truly genuine he would be recommending that Congress prohibit the purchase of credit default swaps unless the buyer of the CDS owns the underlying insured security. Despite the contracting energies of Saturn and the wakeup call of Uranus to his Sagittarius Sun and Jupiter in Gemini, Bernanke refuses to do anything that would limit the enthusiasm for financial “innovation” on Wall Street.

Just as we have painfully learned that the majority of consumers with adjustable rate mortgages were unable to handle them, AIG failed to manage its risk of collateral calls triggered by credit downgrades. By choosing not to limit either of these exposures, Bernanke is being disingenuous.

No disclosure.

UBS, the IRS and Swiss Banking Secrecy

Today Attorney General Eric Holder was scheduled to meet with his Swiss counterpart, Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf. Their final topic of discussion was to be the Justice Department’s February 19 lawsuit ordering UBS AG to disclose the identities of all 52,000 US customers with Swiss bank accounts to the IRS.

The US government’s move to obtain the Swiss bank’s entire US account holder records came a day after UBS had reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Department of Justice, admitting it broke US tax laws. In a move that marked the first time the Swiss government allowed one of its banks to reveal the identification of account holders, UBS turned over the files of 250 American clients suspected of committing tax fraud to the Justice Department and agreed to cease its cross-border business that solicited new US clients through events such as Art Basel in Miami Beach and the Sony Ericsson tennis tournament in Key Biscayne. Additionally, UBS agreed to pay a $780 million fine to the US government. $400 million of the fine represented taxes the bank failed to report on US clients offshore investment income as part of an agreement UBS had voluntarily entered into with the IRS after it purchased Paine Webber in 2000.

UBS AG was founded on June 29, 1998 after the merger between the Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) and Swiss Bank Corporation (SBC). As a remnant from the original banks, UBS is headquartered in Basel and Zurich. UBS’s three keys logo represents “confidence, security, and discretion.”* Dualistic Mercury presides over UBS’s Zurich headquarters**, a caduceus flanking each side of his head for harmony and balance. Mercury is the messenger and the traveling salesman, the planetary patron of commerce as well as liars and thieves. UBS AG came into being with its Mercury opposite Neptune, bestowing the potential to engage in deceitful practices in order to solicit business. A few of the private bankers based in Geneva, Lugano, and Zurich would travel to the US with the instructions to tell US Customs they were here for vacation. Venus rules money and all items of value such as jewelry and artwork. UBS’s natal Venus opposite Pluto describes how Bradley Birkenfeld, the former Geneva-based banker who the US indicted in May 2008 and is now cooperating with the Justice Department, said he squeezed diamonds (Venus) into tubes of toothpaste to help a client transfer assets without detection (Pluto). Venus opposite Pluto reflects the ability for UBS to attract high net worth clients and could also reflect the potential that a lot of their client work is related to trusts, wills and estates. Venus opposite Pluto in UBS AG’s chart also describes tax troubles.

Taxes as well as secrets are ruled by Pluto, and Capricorn represents governments. With Pluto in Capricorn from 2008-2024, governments will be working overtime to bring in additional tax revenue to offset mountainous deficits. With Pluto in Capricorn now opposing the USA’s natal Venus, the US government will be particularly aggressive in going after wealthy individuals and the bankers and financial advisors who assist them in hiding taxable assets.

UBS’s Mercury in Cancer exactly opposes the USA’s natal Pluto in Capricorn, indicating tax disputes arising over the company’s motives and methods of transacting business. The IRS operates under the assumption individuals and corporations are guilty until proven innocent. This is in stark contrast to Article 47 of the Swiss Federal Bank Act of November 8, 1934 where a banker can face criminal charges for breaching client confidentiality:

“Any violation of bank client confidentiality, whether through negligence or intentionally, is punishable by a prison sentence (maximum 6 months) or by a fine of up to CHF 50,000 (CHF 30,000 in case of negligence). Violating bank client confidentiality remains a punishable offence even after the relationship with the client has come to an end or the banker has ceased his/her professional activity.”

The Act’s Sun conjoining Venus in Pluto-ruled Scorpio reflects Switzerland is the heart of private banking. The financial industry generates over 10% of the country’s economic output and employs 5% of the workforce. Mercury retrograde*** conjoins Jupiter in Scorpio, indicating the law can be subject to slight revisions from time to time, but the philosophy of trust in protecting bank client information from inquisitive foreign governments will be upheld unless evidence of tax fraud has been committed. A Swiss financial oversight court has ordered UBS not to fulfill the US government’s demand for all 52,000 US client records. The Act’s Pluto opposing the USA’s Pluto reflects the disagreement between the US and Switzerland regarding law enforcement and financial privacy.

*The three keys logo originated from SBC.
**UBS was located in this building for many years prior to their 1998 merger with SBC.
***Planets do not really move backwards, but appear to from Earth’s vantage point.

Most of the background material for this post came from articles in the Financial Times.

USA: July 4, 1776 5:10 PM Philadelphia, PA
No Disclosures.

Weekly Forecast: March 2 – 8, 2009

Summary Of Last Week’s Influences:
It was inevitable that the cycle of oppositions between Saturn in Virgo and Uranus in Pisces would create conditions that question the overall health and ability to withstand toxic conditions. As the faster moving planets interact with them, market volatility tends to increase to the downside.

The Sun represents physical vitality, confidence, and the stock market, and in Pisces from February 18 to March 20 the immune system can be weakened if not given adequate time for rest. Right now the stock market is suffering what CNBC last Thursday diagnosed as “Washington Fatigue”, as Wall Street reacts to the almost daily pronouncements from the President and other key players in the Administration.

Another characteristic of Pisces and its planetary ruler Neptune is confusion. First the government defined “healthy banks” as those who took TARP. Having a strong Tier 1 Capital ratio was considered another indicator. Last week we learned the government’s new definition of a “healthy bank” is a TCE (tangible common equity) ratio above 3%. Citigroup (C) passed the stress test Friday after the government announced it will convert up to $25 billion of its $45 billion preferreds into common stock at $3.25 a share. Now the “taxpayers” will be Citi’s biggest shareholder, with the government of Singapore coming in second. The government got more bang for its buck and avoided nationalization, but once again common equity holders got diluted. (Citi closed at $1.50 Friday, down 96 cents.) So far the only new concession the government is pressuring Citi is for a Board shakeup, and Vikram Pandit will remain as CEO. In what could be a karmic test for Pandit, one of the people being considered for the Board is short term ex-Wachovia CEO Robert Steel. Maybe all the out of work ex-bank CEOs will end up on Citi’s Board. As yesterday’s Wall Street Journal editorial observed, “The taxpayer never sleeps when it comes to Citigroup.”

With one down and 19 more banks to fail the stress test, this is what has Wall Street losing sleep. Because once the government has completed testing, it looks like Ken Lewis will be available to serve on Citi’s Board. Once the stress tests are completed in April, the government’s political agenda for the banks will probably get into full swing. This is when Jupiter will be getting ready to conjoin Neptune in Aquarius on the USA’s natal Moon in May which could see a big push to expand (Jupiter) credit (Neptune) to consumers (Moon). Jupiter and Neptune together can create a dangerous financial combination as they are the main ingredients for economic bubbles and inflation, and being in Aquarius can rapidly spin out of control.

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
Banks are ruled by Venus, and on Friday (the day of the week ruled by Venus), Venus energies will be more pronounced as the planet turns retrograde* in Aries. (Read all about it in “Aspects Further Stressing the Banking System”.) Venus will be retrograde March 6 to April 17, a good time to reassess personal finances and values. Alliances and relationships can potentially come under strain as each individual in the relationship seeks to assert their needs and desires.

The transit of Venus in Aries is particularly a good time to barter. As far as I'm concerned, bartering is the real gold. If there was ever a financial cataclysm on the level some of these alarmists like to describe (which I refuse to buy into), how do you buy the equivalent of $50 worth of goods or services using a $1,000 troy ounce gold bar? People who purchased gold coins and bullion when it was much cheaper have profited, but there’s always the underlying (and costly) issue of how to safely store yet have easy access to your stash. If times ever became that desperate, some people would probably be desperate enough to eliminate you to get your gold.

Monday, March 2, 2009
Market could show its strongest performance early in session, then give way to choppy/mixed conditions to negative by early afternoon.

The Moon in Venus-ruled Taurus today needs to feel financially secure.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Choppy/mixed conditions; indices likely to be strongest in the morning.

The Moon in Gemini today and tomorrow brings information overload and a tendency toward nervous and scattered energies.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Improving conditions in late morning. (Perhaps British PM Brown has some inspiring words for the market when he addresses a joint session of Congress scheduled for 10:45 AM.)

The First Quarter Moon occurs at 2:46 AM EST. For the USA, economic conditions continue to deteriorate. There could be more news about individuals or entities committing financial fraud. The financial rumor mill could be working overtime.

Thursday, March 5, 2009
Choppy/mixed to negative trend bias.

The Moon in Cancer puts the focus on housing and consumer-related financial issues. Mercury conjoins Neptune: is it real or is it rumor? It’s a good day to let your imagination run free rather than think analytically or make important commitments.

Friday, March 6, 2009
Negative; could see improving conditions in early afternoon.

*Planets do not really move backwards, but appear to from Earth’s vantage point.

USA: July 4, 1776 5:10 PM Philadelphia, PA

No Disclosures.