Saturn and Pluto Uncloak the Fed’s Secret Financial Arrangements

Published by WallStreetWeather.net

Remember Ben Bernanke’s fake anger over the government’s bailout of AIG and the government-induced hysteria that erupted in mid-March over bonus payouts at AIG that were approved by the Fed and Treasury?

In “New York Fed’s Secret Choice to Pay for Swaps Hits Taxpayers,” Bloomberg reports that prior to the government taking 79.9% control of the company, the CFO of AIG’s Financial Products Division was in the process of negotiating with the banks who bought credit default swaps on CDOs from AIG to agree to accept payouts of around 40 cents on the dollar.

But once the government took majority control of AIG, Timothy Geithner who was then president of the New York Fed, along with Bernanke and then Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, took over the negotiations. According to Bloomberg, people who saw a draft of the term sheet said that part of a sentence containing a blank space intended to show the amount of the haircut the banks would have taken was crossed out.

By making an almost bankrupt company pay counterparties at par (100%), the Federal Reserve has cost taxpayers at least $13 billion. This was unnecessary since a precedent had already been established by bond insurers such as Ambac (ABK) who got banks to agree to take a haircut on CDS commutations. Beyond the fact that the government paid far more than necessary, these banks probably had hedges against the insured CDOs or had already taken writedowns on their value.

Goldman Sachs (GS) received $13 billion - the largest beneficiary of the government’s payout. The moment the government took control of AIG on September 16, 2008 Paulson replaced AIG’s recently hired chief executive with Edward Liddy,* a Goldman Sachs director. After the Fed rescued Goldman from potential collapse by allowing it to become a bank, Stephen Friedman, then Chairman of the Board of Directors of the New York Fed and a Goldman director, received a special waiver January 21 from Fed Vice Chairman Donald Kohn that had been requested by Timothy Geithner so Friedman wouldn’t have to sell his Goldman shares or resign from Goldman’s board to comply with Fed policy prohibiting a “class C” director from serving on a bank board and owning bank shares.

As I noted in a post about Timothy Geithner, Friedman was selected by the Fed Board of Governors to represent the public on the New York Fed’s Board. The former Chairman of Goldman Sachs bought 52,600 Goldman shares – after the Fed forced AIG to pay Goldman and the other banks at par and before receiving the special waiver from the Fed on his original holdings of Goldman stock.

Pluto rules secrecy. With transiting Pluto conjoining Friedman’s Sagittarius Sun then, he must have believed his stock purchases would remain secret. Sagittarius and its ruler Jupiter represent ethical issues. With his natal Jupiter in Aquarius opposing Pluto in Cancer, Friedman would have the tendency to view his situation as unique and that his conduct might be stretching the law but not technically in violation of it. Reports about Friedman’s stock purchases in The Wall Street Journal caused Friedman to resign from the New York Fed on May 7.

Despite Bernanke’s public claims to increase Federal Reserve transparency, behind the scenes Fed officials were urging AIG executives to keep the transactions secret. One top AIG executive told Bloomberg he was pressured by the New York Fed not to file SEC documents divulging details of the payments to the banks. It was only a few days before the hearing about AIG bonuses that AIG publicly revealed who the counterparties were and the amounts they received.

In “Federal Reserve Protects Its Turf For Fear Of Getting Eclipsed,” I wrote that the Fed had hired its first lobbyist, Linda Robertson, who ran Enron’s DC lobbying office. While some media outlets were fixated on Democratic Rep. Alan Grayson’s** remark about her, it obscures the real issue which is why does the Fed have its own lobbyist in the first place?!

Capricorn and its planetary ruler Saturn represent government. Pluto entering Capricorn in 2008 brought the greatest level of government intervention in the financial system since the 1930s when Pluto was in Cancer, Capricorn’s opposite sign. Saturn entering Libra and challenging Pluto now represents a time to create fairness and transparency in the relationship between the government and the financial system.

Saturn challenging Pluto will be influential for the next several months, especially now through February 2010 as many of the actions taken by the government since the financial crisis erupted last year are found to be inadequate and nothing more than a band-aid. You cannot protect the status quo with Saturn challenging Pluto as this is definitely not a “business as usual” type of energy. Saturn/Pluto requires major structural changes to transform a financial system that is out of balance. This represents the death of outmoded structures that must occur in order to lay the foundation for implementing new reforms that will begin in the May 2010 when Uranus moves into Aries and opposes Saturn and challenges Pluto.

As I have written for quite some time on this blog, no government entity will be affected by these intense energies more than the Federal Reserve.

*Edward Liddy resigned from AIG on May 21, 2009. He was replaced by Robert Benmosche, the retired CEO and Chairman of Met Life (MET).

**For something more mature, here’s a You Tube video of Rep. Grayson questioning Scott Alvarez, the Fed’s general counsel, at a September 25, 2009 House Financial Services Committee hearing on legislation to audit the Fed.

Stephen Friedman: December 21, 1937 time unknown Brooklyn, NY

No disclosures.

WallStreetWeather.net Forecast For Week Of October 25, 2009

Summary Of Last Week’s Influences:
Is it 1999 or 2009? On Friday shares of Amazon.com (AMZN) jumped $25.04 to a record closing high of $118.49, surpassing its 1999 high during the dot.com craze. Shares of Apple (AAPL) also hit a new high last week.

This is the stock market’s way of rewarding the few companies that beat earnings expectations through strong quarterly profits and growth projections. Beyond that, the stocks reflect the 36.6% rise of the NASDAQ this year attributed to Jupiter (expansion; optimism) in Aquarius (tech) forming mostly favorable aspects to the NASDAQ chart. Amazon went public went in 1997, the last time Jupiter was in Aquarius, and is experiencing its first Jupiter return now.

Jupiter combining with Neptune for most of the year reflects the decoupling of financial markets from the rest of the economy. Neptune rules oil which closed above $80 a barrel this week despite the fact that demand is weak and supplies are plentiful. Chalk it up to asset inflation supported by ultra loose monetary policy.

While most of the media was focused on the pay czar’s compensation rulings, along with Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke’s announcement that the Fed will “examine” pay practices at the “28 largest and most complex banks,” there are larger issues that need to be addressed that would in turn take care of the plutocrats’ payouts.

Obama Administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg won’t need to move to Pluto since he’s kept something far more important to these companies in place: the channels connecting the plutocrats on Wall Street with the plutocrats on K Street and the plutocrats in Congress who are eager to receive their largesse in private while publicly chastising their behavior in front of Main Street.

With the newfound euphoria on Wall Street, banks have returned to heavy lobbying and political donations. The Wall Street Journal reports Bank of America (BAC) donated $30,500 to Republicans and $13,500 to Democrats in September. The Federal Reserve saved Goldman Sachs (GS) and Morgan Stanley (MS) from last fall’s carnage on Wall St. by allowing them to become “banks.” Morgan Stanley’s PAC doled out $110,000 in political donations in October, and Goldman’s PAC gave $37,500 mostly to Democrats, in September. Currently the only companies prohibited from lobbying the government are Fannie Mae (FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE).

Even if Feinberg prohibited the seven companies from lobbying and donating to members of Congress, why should the restriction end there? Goldman, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and other companies that have paid back the TARP are still receiving the biggest benefit of all as they have been deemed too big to fail by the government. That brings these companies more business in an environment with fewer competitors and more favorable borrowing terms. If the Administration is going to set pay rules on the seven companies that have received "exceptional assistance," other companies continuing to benefit from government assistance should be forced to abide by them as well. And that should extend to the health insurance companies who are allowed to reject applicants and rescind policies while at the same time collecting government subsidies for Medicare Advantage.

Part of the Obama Administration’s financial regulatory reform overhaul would make the Federal Reserve the Chief Systemic Risk regulator over financial institutions deemed systemically important to the financial system. In what might be considered writing your own job description, on Tuesday the Fed appointed Patrick Parkinson to head bank supervision and regulation at the Fed after he did a brief stint at the Treasury working on the very plan that would give this new power to the Fed/himself! (There is a chance that the Fed will not be given these powers as it must be approved by Congress.)

On Thursday the House Financial Services Committee voted 39-29 to create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency. Two Democrats – Walt Minnick of Idaho and Travis Childers of Mississippi had the nerve to vote against it; Mike Castle of Delaware was the lone Republican voting for it. Banks and other lenders are heavily lobbying to stop this, trying to convince consumers that their “freedom” to make financial choices will be taken away if the new agency is created. Oh yes, let’s choose to have credit cards with a 30% interest rate, adjustable rate mortgages, and “pick-a-pay” negative amortization mortgages so we can have more people drowning in debt! Already the House Financial Services Committee bowed to lobbyists by voting to exempt automobile dealers; hopefully this will be changed in the final bill.

Even though September existing home sales were better than expected Friday, the Sun moving into Scorpio (taxes) reflected that the market attributed the increase to the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit which is set to expire November 30 unless Congress votes to extend it.

How hypocritical that the most ardent supporters of extending and expanding the credit to $15,000 for all homebuyers earning up to $300,000 year for married couples, are the “free marketers” who are most vehemently against healthcare reform over concerns about increasing the deficit! According to congressional estimates, extending the cost of the current homebuyer tax credit would cost about $1 billion a month. On Wednesday the House and Senate judiciary voted to overturn a 1945 law exempting health insurance companies from federal antitrust violations that every other industry in America has to abide by.

The IRS and the Justice Department are investigating more than 100 suspicious schemes involving the current homebuyer tax credit. The Treasury Department states at least 19,000 filers who didn’t even buy a home claimed $139 million in tax credits that were reimbursed by the government. And over 500 people under 18, including a 4 year old child have claimed the credit by parents who did not qualify!

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
A major societal shift is underway as Saturn enters Libra early Thursday afternoon, providing a six month preview of the structural changes underway that will transform the financial system.

To give you a sense of what this means, Pluto entered Capricorn on January 25, 2008 and provided a six month preview of what was to come once Pluto returned to Capricorn November 26, 2008 until 2024. From a $7+ billion loss from a “rogue trader,” the UK government takeover of Northern Rock, to the collapse of Bear Stearns, financial markets were unraveling from the excess risks taken during the years of Pluto in the global sign of Sagittarius (1995-2008). These years marked the apex of financial “innovation” that was outsourced around the world. Pluto rules debt, and suddenly all that debt went from something you could make money on to a mountain of toxic trash when Pluto entered Capricorn.

Sagittarius is ruled by Jupiter which explains not only why everything physically expanded (SUVs, McMansions, people), along with the overly optimistic, instant gratification attitude of borrow and spend now and we’ll deal with any consequences at some future date.

Jupiter and Sagittarius describe our philosophical and religious outlook. When the Bush Administration’s religion of moral hazard got freaked out after Lehman Brothers collapsed, Hank Paulson, Timothy Geithner, and Mr. Sagittarius Ben Bernanke, got inspired from across the pond and in true this is the last roundup of Pluto in Sagittarius fashion decided to make the banks that they were afraid were too big to fail even bigger!

Now after JPMorgan Chase has swallowed Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual and Bank of America took on Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch, it would be an extremely difficult process to break them apart into pieces. This is what Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England would like to do with UK banks if the Financial Services Authority approved it. Last week former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, Chairman of the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board, advocated the separation of commercial and investment banking that existed prior to the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act.

Saturn in Libra is forming a challenging alignment to Pluto (exact November 15). Saturn and Capricorn rule government, which has pulled out all the stops for these banks to profit through investment banking. But the challenging alignment of Saturn and Pluto means the limo rides don’t come free unless you get permission from the pay czar. The banks are super big, but they will be also be super regulated to the point where they eventually are run like utilities.

Virgo is the bookkeeper, and Saturn will re-enter Virgo just in time for banks to report first quarter 2010 earnings when FASB requires that banks bring back certain off balance sheet securitizations back onto their books.

It’s not just banks that will be feeling the pressure. As soon as Saturn enters Libra it will challenge the Federal Reserve’s natal Pluto in Cancer. Cancer is ruled by the Moon (consumers). The government will create the Consumer Financial Protection Agency that will remove the Fed’s power to control consumer finance.

Saturn challenging Pluto also represents the gradual contraction of the Fed’s liquidity and lending programs. Friday is the deadline for the Fed to complete its $300 billion purchase of Treasury securities, during a week that will see a record $123 billion of U.S. debt issuance.

Mercury enters Scorpio Wednesday morning until November 15. The combination of Mercury entering Scorpio, Saturn entering Libra, and Saturn challenging the Fed’s Pluto, could at least bring a quick shift in currency and bond price fluctuations. Scorpio is ruled by Pluto. With Mercury making a favorable aspect to Pluto Wednesday, this is a good day for doing research, especially with the Moon in Pisces. Scorpio/Pluto rules secrets, debt, taxes, insurance, and nuclear issues – all themes that will be prominently featured in the news during the next few weeks.

The indices reached new 2009 intraday highs last Wednesday around the time Mercury in Libra harmonized with Jupiter in Aquarius. Venus in Libra will harmonize with Jupiter midweek, attempting to make another new high to tone down the much more cautious influence of Saturn entering Libra and challenging Pluto.

The pleasant vibes of Venus and Jupiter quickly give way to the Sun in Scorpio challenging Mars in Leo late Wednesday/Thursday which could spark a selloff. There could be more news about insider trading and/or new revelations about hedge or pension fund fraud.

Financial markets will begin to make larger and more volatile moves this week.

Monday, October 26, 2009
Positive trend bias; likely strongest early in session.

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Negative, but could improve in mid-afternoon.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Big moves in either or both directions; positive bias.

Thursday, October 29, 2009
Early enthusiasm wanes and sparks a sell off.

Friday, October 30, 2009
Big moves in either or both directions; negative bias.

No disclosures.

Saturn in Libra: Time to Balance the Scales (October 29, 2009 – October 5, 2012*)

Published by WallStreetWeather.net

“Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law. Love is the law, love under will. There is no law beyond Do what thou wilt.” - Aleister Crowley, The Book of the Law

Saturn represents time, structures, boundaries, and foundations. On October 29, 2009 Saturn enters Libra. Libra is symbolized by the scales representing balance, fairness and equal justice under the law. The cycle of Saturn in Libra is about bringing what is out of balance into equilibrium by taking responsibility for the choices we make.

Saturn operates well in Libra as Saturn’s principle of karma (action) combines with Libra’s need for balance and justice. Saturn’s law of karma is commonly understood by the expression, “as you sow so shall you reap.” Libra is ruled by Venus (money/banking). Positive actions are like a bank deposit or credit to our account, and negative actions act like a bank withdrawal or debit.

During Saturn in Libra we learn valuable life lessons through relationships. Libra rules partnerships, from romantic/marriage partners to business partnerships and alliances. Libra also represents people and nations considered to be our enemies, as we project onto our allies and our enemies what we have difficulty understanding and expressing in ourselves. Libra prefers to seek a diplomatic solution to waging war in the hope that enemies could eventually become allies.

As part of the air element, Libra likes to communicate and socialize, particularly one on one in person. We must take responsibility for what we communicate as this can be just as harmful as using weapons. Saturn in Libra values old-fashioned manners and appropriate social conduct. It takes time and a sincere effort to establish and build meaningful business and personal relationships. Relationships that are not an equal give and take will end during this cycle, particularly around late July/early August 2010 when Jupiter and Uranus in Aries oppose Mars and Saturn in Libra. During Saturn in Libra we are at our best when we create beauty and harmony within ourselves and in our surroundings.

Previous Cycles of Saturn in Libra:
Saturn takes about 29 years to make a complete cycle around the Sun. The last three cycles of Saturn in Libra were:
September 21, 1980 – August 24, 1983
November 20, 1950 – October 22, 1953
October 7, 1921 – September 13, 1924

Saturn rules history and examining the events of the prior cycles reveals a few common themes that will be important in this cycle as well. The prior cycles saw advances in communications, media, and entertainment, from the first commercial screening of sound on film motion pictures, to color TV, MTV, and PCs. The internet increased the function and uses of the PC. During this cycle of Saturn in Libra computers and hand held devices will become fully integrated throughout homes and businesses. Saturn’s opposition to Jupiter and Uranus in Aries will bring new ways of communicating and innovation in engineering. New inventions will be inspired by or based upon historical discoveries. Many inventions being used by the military will be transformed for civilian use.

The last two cycles of Saturn in Libra required strong intervention and independence by the Federal Reserve to control inflation. The most recent cycle saw the highest rate of unemployment since the Great Depression, peaking at 10.8% in November/December 1982. Inflation will gradually rise, making a sharp and sudden spike by the middle of 2010. Saturn in Libra, along with Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto will profoundly affect the Federal Reserve, transforming its scope and purpose as the Fed faces its biggest challenges since its founding in 1913.

All three cycles involved high volatility in tax policy and rates. The issue of taxation goes back to America’s founding in 1776 when Saturn was in Libra and Pluto in Capricorn, reflecting the Colonists desire to break free from British rule in what began as the unfairness of taxation without representation. Saturn rules government, and the first two paragraphs of the Declaration of Independence reflect the principles of Saturn in Libra at work in establishing a new nation.

Pluto in Capricorn reflects that the U.S. has been a debtor nation since its inception. Saturn in Libra challenging Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto requires tough choices to be made to get a grip on the deficit. Societal attitudes will have to shift from tax policies that benefit special interests to a return to what truly benefits all citizens similar to Supreme Court interpretations prior to FDR’s New Deal.

Economic/Financial:
Business alliances, collaborative endeavors, and forming partnerships just for specific projects will tend to work out better than formal mergers.

The goal of Saturn in Libra is to create an economy that seeks to balance saving and borrowing.
Saturn in Libra accompanied by the transits of Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto will fundamentally change the relationship between government and the financial system. In fact all companies that have greatly benefited from government assistance and subsidies at the expense of the overall economic good of the nation will face restrictions and societal obligations.

The era of the consumer-based economy is over; it is corporate America’s responsibility to lead the nation out of recession. Saturn in Libra along with Jupiter, Uranus and Pluto mark the beginning of a new cycle of business innovation and invention.

It is appropriate that Saturn enters Libra during the time of the year the Sun is in Pluto-ruled Scorpio since the first planetary aspect Saturn in Libra makes will be to Pluto in Capricorn on November 15, 2009.** The Saturn/Pluto alignment exposes secret financial arrangements of corporations and governments. This challenging alignment tends to dampen sentiment as people fully realize responsibility must be taken at the individual and collective level for paying off the debts of the past.

Reality sinks in that the economic quick fixes of excess stimulus and overly accommodative monetary policy give the illusion of working. Libra and Capricorn are cardinal signs that initiate new policies that require a painful adjustment in the short term in order to create a sustainable economy for the long term.

Libra rules bridges and connections. The stressful Saturn/Pluto alignment along with Jupiter and Uranus in Aries will likely see bridge collapses and other preventable disasters resulting from our long neglected decaying infrastructure.

Humans express either love or fear. If through our free will we choose to live our life with love rather than fear, then love is the law and there is no law beyond do what thou wilt. This is the highest expression of Saturn in Libra.

NOTE: Future posts discussing Saturn in Libra and its alignments with Jupiter, Uranus, and Pluto will be linked to this post as an addendum.

*Saturn will temporarily move back into Virgo from April 7- July 21, 2010. Saturn will next transit Libra September 5, 2039 – July 14, 2042.

**Saturn will again challenge Pluto on January 31 and August 21, 2010.

Picture of the Adjustment card from the Thoth tarot deck by Aleister Crowley; illustrated by Lady Frieda Harris.

WallStreetWeather.net Forecast For Week Of October 18, 2009

Summary Of Last Week’s Influences:
Jupiter represents the global marketplace. As this expansive and optimistic planetary energy turned direct last week, most major global indices made new 52 week highs. Crude oil closed at $78.53, a new high for the year, up 120% from its March low. Gold reached a record high in dollar terms Tuesday, and topped $1,070 intraday Wednesday. Both of these commodities were driven higher as the dollar continued to decline.

Baseball caps with “Dow 10,000 2.0” were donned by floor traders on the NYSE when the magic moment occurred Wednesday. With Jupiter in technologically oriented Aquarius, the “2.0” was the right fit. Another way to view it is that the Dow has had a “lost decade” since its 1.0 break through the 10,000 level occurred on March 29, 1999. While Wall St. has viewed the last seven months as nothing but a rocket ride fueled by the Fed and the U.S. Treasury, as a New York Times editorial observed, no champagne corks were being popped on Main St.

Jupiter began moving forward Thursday. The indices reached new highs even though the parallel universes of Wall St. and Main St. began to converge as consumer-related credit losses impacted third quarter earnings from Bank of America (BAC) and Citigroup (C). Despite Wednesday’s stellar earnings from JPMorgan Chase (JPM), the consumer banking side showed disappointment with an additional $2 billion being added to reserves.

The Dow closed at 9,995.91 Friday, affected by disappointing earnings reports and a lower than expected reading in the October Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. Jupiter conjoining hopeful Neptune for most of this year reflects consumers are more confident about current than future conditions. Jupiter expands and Neptune rules inflation. Consumer inflation expectations are higher than the Fed and most of Wall St. Saturn moving into Libra October 29 and challenging Pluto in Capricorn (exact November 15), reflects consumers underlying concerns about balancing their finances and their debt load.

That a hedge fund masquerading in Halloween costume as a bank fails to grasp why the public and some politicians are not ecstatic about their projected record compensation payouts shows how out of balance the financial system has once again become. With Goldman Sachs (GS) earning 80% of its profits from trading, there’s no pretense of any commercial or consumer banking activities.

Of course Goldman should be raking it in since their gains have largely come courtesy of the Federal Reserve and U.S. taxpayers. With Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers gone, less competition equals higher profits for the remaining Wall St. banks. Zero interest rates, FDIC guaranteed loans, and “too big to fail status” have resulted in higher earnings.

Wall St, the Fed, and the government have failed to grasp the fact that you cannot solve a problem by recreating what got you into the mess in the first place! Saturn in Libra challenging Pluto in Capricorn over the next several months is about adjusting the scales back toward equilibrium before they break from being so strongly tilted to one side. If the financial system is as strong as the markets reflect, then Wall St. should welcome the Fed and government turning off the corporate welfare spigot.

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
The week begins with the Libra New Moon that occurred at 1:33 AM EDT today. In the USA the emphasis is on all forms of communication, contractual agreements, and domestic travel and transportation. There’s a lot of chatter and movement within the local environment. Media outlets are working overtime to be the first to break major stories about each other as there could be new alliances and media M&A. Topics of media focus will be news about the military strategies the Administration is currently working on behind the scenes, as well as disclosures of previously secret military information.

All of these things are Mercury’s domain. Mercury in Libra harmonizes with Jupiter Tuesday and Neptune Saturday. With Mercury in Venus ruled Libra, earnings and economic news could be favorable enough to justify the market moving higher. However, Saturn in the area of the economy challenging Pluto in the area of the chart representing the stock market will start wielding its influence over the next month, as new information is reported on the government’s action regarding Wall St’s trading practices and entanglements.

The more sobering reality of Saturn and Pluto could force Wall St. to recognize that a glass half full is also a glass half empty and overly optimistic expectations need to be tempered by fundamental facts. The Dow climbing almost 55% from the March low back up to 10,000 was the easy part. Retracing the journey back up to “Dow 14,164.53 2.0” will be much, much harder.

Monday, October 19, 2009
Improving conditions in late morning to early afternoon; could weaken again in the last hour.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Strongest in the morning, then weakens in early afternoon; improves into the close.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Negative.

Thursday, October 22, 2009
Improving conditions as day progresses but predominantly mixed to negative conditions.

Friday, October 23, 2009
Negative trend bias.

The Drawn Out Drama of Mars in Leo: October 16, 2009 – June 8, 2010

Published by WallStreetWeather.net
General Influences:
Mars is the energy that motivates us to get moving and take action to achieve the life we desire. Mars in Leo can provide a shot of self confidence and the courage to act on creative ideas. Actively engaging in physical and leisure activities you find enjoyable supports the immune system and gets creative juices flowing. Leo rules the heart, as well as matters of the heart. Attention and energy tend to be drawn to romance, children, speculation, entertainment and recreational activities during this cycle.

Mars was last in Leo May 9 to July 1, 2008. During Mars in Leo there’s a tendency to be melodramatic as a quick way to attract attention. With Saturn in Libra (October 29, 2009 to April 7, 2010) challenging Pluto in Capricorn during most of the transit, we can find more support for ourselves by being genuinely interested in others. Social interactions can foster creative collaborations that lead to recognition.

Mars Retrograde: December 20, 2009 – March 10, 2010
About every two years and two months, Mars appears to move backwards from Earth’s vantage point. Mars was last retrograde November 15, 2007 to January 30, 2008, but has not been retrograde in Leo since January 2 to March 24, 1995.*

Since Mars is all about action and moving forward, the Mars retrograde period can be frustrating as Mars energy likes to be on the fast track. Efforts tend to stall out and progress slower than normal when Mars is retrograde. Understanding this can help prevent anger and impatience erupting into an accident. Relationships can be challenging yet rewarding when Venus and the Sun oppose Mars January 27-29. Breakthroughs can occur if both sides are willing to swallow their pride.

Take action on major endeavors before December 20 or put them on hold until after March 10. It is especially important not to start something new at the same time that Mercury will be retrograde (December 26, 2009 to January 15, 2010). This time period is best for doing things that combine Mercury and Mars energies. Cleaning out and reorganizing your home and office or taking up a hobby/recreational activity you used to enjoy or never fully developed, are a couple of examples of working with the retrograde energies. If you’ve wanted to practice meditation or other relaxation techniques but find it difficult to mentally and physically be still to go within, this would be a good time to start.

Economic/Financial:
Leo rules all forms of speculation. Mars in Leo together with Saturn in Libra challenging Pluto in Capricorn, will see the government becoming more aggressive enacting and enforcing regulatory actions to reign in all types of speculation on Wall St. On the first day of Mars in Leo, the FBI charged billionaire hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and five other executives at blue chip firms with insider trading. The case was the first time the FBI used wiretaps to pursue insider trading. Mars in Leo puts the spotlight on all chief executives, particularly those on Wall St. as well as the leaders of casinos and other gambling companies.

During the previous five cycles of Mars in Leo, the stock market’s performance has been lackluster to negative. Unless the stock market has continued its upward momentum unabated prior to Mars retrograde, the stock market could improve after early December and top out around the time Mars turns retrograde, particularly as optimistic Jupiter and hopeful Neptune will conjoin for the final time on December 21. The influences of Mercury retrograde and Saturn challenging Pluto (exact January 31) could erase any gains made prior to retrograde, and at a minimum the market could be choppy and go nowhere. Planetary stations tend to reverse current trading patterns, at least temporarily. Mars retrograde in Leo could slow down trading activity.

In the USA, attention and action will focus on all types of debt-related issues and efforts to help consumers cope with their debt burden. Interest rates and taxes will rise.

Geopolitical:
Mars in Leo puts the spotlight on actions taken by world leaders, especially concerning military endeavors. As a solar Leo, President Obama will be particularly impacted during Mars in Leo. President Obama will likely increase military actions in Afghanistan as he will be more confident to take risks. However, it takes greater courage to know when it’s time to retreat which is a good thing to do when Mars is retrograde.

Besides Afghanistan, countries that will likely be featured during Mars in Leo are: China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, North Korea, Pakistan, and Syria.

For those who like to plan ahead, Mars will be retrograde in Virgo from January 24 to August 14, 2012.

*Mars began the 1995 retrograde in Virgo, moving back into Leo. The last time Mars was fully retrograde in Leo as it will be during this cycle was from October 12, 1962 to March 16, 1963.

WallStreetWeather.net Forecast For Week Of October 11, 2009

Summary Of Last Week’s Influences:
Friday marked the two year anniversary of the Dow (14,164.53) and the S&P500 (1,565.15) closing at record highs. The Dow celebrated by closing at a fresh 2009 high (9,864.94), but at 1,071.49, the S&P stopped short of beating its September 22 close. Both indices were slightly shy of surpassing their September 23 intraday highs. It also marked the first time since June 2007 that so many stocks (1,069) closed at 52 week highs.

The fact that financial markets have defied fundamentals reflects that once again the Federal Reserve has enabled asset inflation. Venus rules currencies, and Mercury represents exchanging one currency for another and the news traders react to. The euro and other currencies gained Monday after G7 finance ministers meeting over the weekend expressed no concern about the weaker dollar.

For all the talk about the dollar, the dollar is still above its closing low against the euro ($1.5981) set on April 22, 2008. On that day, Mars in Cancer harmonized with Uranus in Pisces; October 4 marked the first time Mars in Cancer harmonized with Uranus since then.

The dollar hit a fresh 2009 low against several currencies Thursday as Mercury conjoined Saturn which prompted the central banks of Thailand, S. Korea, Taiwan, and the Philippines to intervene to stem the appreciation of their currencies against the dollar. Uranus has a tendency to reverse direction, and the dollar slightly strengthened after Fed Chairman Bernanke said in a Thursday night speech that the Fed will have to tighten monetary policy “at some point.”

Mercury conjoining Saturn in Virgo represents news about healthcare. Health insurance company stocks rose when these two planets first conjoined August 17 on the belief the public option would be scrapped. On Thursday’s third alignment, these stocks fell over concerns that health overhaul will pass Congress. Mercury conjoining Saturn can represent somber news and in Virgo this can mean a contraction in the number of jobs available. The Labor Department reported that the number of job openings declined in August to 2.4 million from 4.65 million in August 2008, as job separation outpaced new hires.

As Venus (diplomacy) opposed Uranus (surprises; outer space) Friday (a day ruled by Venus), America woke up to the unexpected news that President Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize. And with the Moon in Gemini, the sign of the twins, NASA was smashing two spacecraft four minutes apart into the south pole of the Moon early Friday morning as if we were at war with our lunar neighbor (Gemini). The purpose of NASA’s LCROSS mission is to find water on the Moon that would support future human missions to the Moon and Mars. With the Moon exactly conjoining the USA Mars at the time of Friday morning’s impact, this is a military mission.

After the President gave a speech Friday about winning the peace prize, he met with his war council for three hours to discuss Gen. McChrystal’s request to double the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan.

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
From Monday through Wednesday Jupiter appears to be motionless from Earth’s vantage point, making its energies more pronounced. Jupiter expands and tends to exaggerate current sentiment, creating the potential for large market moves (in either or both directions).

Jupiter turned retrograde on June 15. Commodities dropped and the dollar strengthened that day. Stocks dropped June 15-16 in the market’s first weekly decline in five weeks. For the most part, Jupiter energy is optimistic and has high expectations. Jupiter turning retrograde reversed the bullish sentiment. The June 15 cover of Barron’s proclaimed the market had gone “Too Far, Too Fast.” (See the June 22 Weekly Forecast for additional economic events connected to Jupiter turning retrograde.)

Jupiter retrograde proved to be a very minor and very temporary pullback, as stocks have continued their upward trajectory since then to reach new highs for the year while the dollar made a new low for 2009. Jupiter in Aquarius turning direct could bring some unexpected developments in the areas of foreign relations and trade, legal rulings, higher education, religion, and politics. People tend to feel more confident now, but it’s best to wait to put plans into action until October 20 after 5 PM EDT through October 22.

During Jupiter retrograde, Republicans revealed that their real agenda is not only to defeat healthcare reform, but make President Obama appear totally ineffective. As Jupiter turns direct on Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee will meet at 10:00 AM to vote on their version of the healthcare reform bill. The Committee was scheduled to vote on the bill last week, but Sen. Olympia Snowe said she needed more time to review the bill. This is despite the fact that a majority of people in Maine want a public option since Anthem Blue Cross dominates the individual market. Venus represents women, Saturn is time, and Virgo is healthcare. Venus conjoining Saturn reflects Sen. Snowe’s stalling strategy. And Venus challenging Pluto could mean that appeasing her might require a high price tag.

Venus represents money, banking, and values. Venus will conjoin Saturn (Tuesday), shift into “home” sign Libra on Wednesday, and challenge Pluto in Capricorn on Thursday. These influences will affect the chart of the Federal Reserve. Several Fed officials will be giving speeches and testimony this week, and on Wednesday the Fed will release the Minutes from the September 23 FOMC meeting. These influences could create more volatility in treasuries and market interest rates.

All of these planetary influences reflect the topics that will be debated at Wednesday’s Congressional hearings. The House Financial Services Committee will hold a markup session on the bill creating the Consumer Financial Protection Agency (CFPA), as well as the bill to reform the OTC derivatives market. Meanwhile the Senate Banking Committee will be “examining the state of the banking industry,” as Chairman Christopher Dodd plans to have a bill ready for the Committee to markup in November to be ready to take to the Senate floor early in 2010. This exactly coincides with the time when Saturn in Libra will be challenging Pluto, placing regulations that restrict financial institutions from continuing past practices in high leverage and opaque instruments.

The market could react cautiously to remarks about the financial system made by government officials as Venus conjoins Saturn Tuesday. (National Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Christina Romer will be speaking Tuesday morning, and there will be speeches by Fed Vice Chairman Kohn and NY FRB president Dudley.) Venus conjoining Saturn in Virgo can raise concerns about consumers’ limited ability to spend on discretionary items, putting stocks under some selling pressure.

Venus enters Libra Wednesday evening until November 7, putting the focus on financial relationships and partnership arrangements. People tend to be more socially focused now, especially with the New Moon in Libra this weekend and Mercury in Libra until October 28.

Venus challenging Pluto in Capricorn Thursday could reveal financial information or arrangements that had been kept secret. There could be speculation about mergers, along with a sharp moves in oil and gold prices.

Mars is action. Mars in Cancer conjoins the degree of the July 21 Solar Eclipse, reactivating the themes highlighted then. The eclipse conjoined the Fed’s natal Neptune (interest rates), the day that Fed Chairman Bernanke wrote a Wall Street Journal op-ed on the Fed’s “exit strategy.” Mars conjoining the eclipse pushes to act faster to adjust monetary policy.

Mars moves into Leo Friday morning until June 7, 2010 (due to Mars being retrograde from December 20 until March 10). I will be writing more about this cycle; here’s a post from the last time Mars was in Leo.

Monday, October 12, 2009
Negative trend bias, but improves as the day progresses.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Potential for big moves/reversals in either or both directions. Venus conjoining Saturn is likely to inject caution, keeping the market in negative territory at least in the morning.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Positive, then weakens to choppy/mixed to negative. Could improve going into the close.

Thursday, October 15, 2009
Weak early, then improves as day progresses. Indices close mixed to positive.

Friday, October 16, 2009
(Options expiration) Choppy/mixed to mostly positive.

Asset Inflation: The Missing Indicator In Economic And Monetary Policy

Published by WallStreetWeather.net
Although statements have been made by some Federal Reserve officials such as Kevin Warsh and Thomas Hoenig that interest rates will have to rise sooner and faster than the market expects, the Fed continues to reiterate that "economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.”

High unemployment and concerns about deflation are holding the Fed back from raising rates from nearly zero percent. Going by the Fed’s favored measurements of inflation that exclude or give less weight to all the products and services consumers need to survive, it will be some time before the Fed acknowledges that inflation exists and must be tamed with tighter monetary policy.

One key indicator of inflation that economists as well as Ben Bernanke and his predecessor Alan Greenspan refused to acknowledge is asset inflation. Nearly zero interest rates “for an extended period” are creating asset inflation as investors seek higher returns from stocks, commodities, and the Treasury market.

Greenspan continues to warn that the government should not over regulate financial markets since a major financial crisis only comes along “once every hundred years.” Beyond the Maestro’s memory lapses (1997 Asian crisis, 1998 LTCM, 2000 tech wreck, and the 2007-08 credit and housing bubbles we’re still mopping up), highlights the importance of factoring asset inflation into monetary policy. Greenspan believes if bank capital requirements included long tail events, the banks would not be profitable enough in good times.

Economists and Fed officials would no doubt claim it is impossible to measure what part of asset prices are truly inflated versus real increased worth. But dissecting asset inflation versus real growth is not that difficult.

Looking at the stock market, if certain individual stocks increase in value while the remaining stocks do not, those individual stocks might be moving higher based on fundamental factors such as sales growth. If the entire market is rising in unison, than either economic fundamentals must be strong (low unemployment, etc.) or a bubble is forming. The latter reflects the presence of inflation in the stock market.

Commodity prices, particularly in precious metals and crude oil, are also exhibiting asset inflation. When you strip out current and short term industrial needs, you are left with inflation. Demand for gold jewelry is way down, yet gold topped $1,055 this week. According to the IEA, OPEC is producing 1.6 million barrels a day above their 24.845 million barrels a day. And oil trading companies, refineries, and banks such as Goldman Sachs (GS) are paying to store vast amounts of crude oil in offshore tankers. While crude prices have dropped from their mid-2008 peak, oil prices hovering in the $65-75 a barrel range does not reflect the utility demand relative to supply. Treasuries are behaving very much like commodities and precious metals; all three are gold alternatives.

It would not have been difficult to calculate the high level of asset inflation present during the housing bubble either. Yet as a member of the Fed Board of Governors at the time, Bernanke believed that improving economic fundamentals were behind the rapid increases in home prices throughout the nation.

If a handful of homes in a neighborhood are selling at higher prices because the sellers have added value in some way, or certain external dynamics (for instance, more employment opportunities in the area) increased the value of an entire neighborhood, then property values are increasing due to fundamental factors. But during the boom years virtually every home, neighborhood, city, state – in essence the entire nation’s house prices - rapidly increased in value. Condition was not even a factor.

If the Fed factored in asset inflation in setting monetary policy, Greenspan could have never kept interest rates at 1% for so long. Nor could he have so slowly raised rates a measly 25 basis points at a time.

The current Fed feels monetary policy can remain overly accommodative until the velocity of money increases because their measure of inflation does not include asset bubbles. But the danger is that money velocity can change far more rapidly than the Fed can withdraw liquidity from the currency supply. The world has already lost confidence in our “strong dollar policy” so that when the export dominated countries realize that our consumer economy will never return to what it was, they will stop supporting our currency. This will reduce consumer spending recycled into treasuries from China and friends leading to the real collapse in the dollar.

Hopefully the world will force our stubborn and arrogant Fed to act responsibly.

No disclosures.

WallStreetWeather.net Forecast For Week Of October 4, 2009: “Baby Bear Is Growing” Edition

Summary Of Last Week’s Influences:
After Monday’s market rallied on the news of almost $30.7 billion in M&A deals, stocks resumed their downward descent that began on the first trading day after the Autumnal Equinox.

Rather than reversing the pessimistic outlook that began during Mercury retrograde, financial markets continued the pattern of the prior week where stocks attempted to rise and then reversed on disappointing economic reports. If the stock market continues to decline after October 14, this will confirm that the bearish trend was not a short term Mercury retrograde phenomenon.

Some market commentators have referred to the market’s recent weakness as a “reality check.” This describes the cautious and contracting nature of Saturn. Saturn opposed Uranus (future projections) for the third time on September 15. I’ve previously written that each time Saturn in Virgo opposed Uranus in Pisces (November 4, 2008 and February 5, 2009), the stock market has been positive on those days, but then loses momentum and turns bearish. (After the first two oppositions, the indices dropped to multi-year lows within four weeks.)

Last week’s economic reports showed that a lack of fundamentals (Saturn) cannot provide the rocket fuel (Uranus) to propel the market into new territory, despite the Fed’s overly accommodative policies. September data for Consumer Confidence dropped as the influence of Jupiter (optimism; growth) conjoining Neptune (hope; illusion) which was strong in the spring and summer,* became overshadowed by Saturn opposing Uranus and Saturn approaching a challenging alignment to Pluto in Capricorn (exact November 15).

Virgo represents the workforce. Virgo is the bookkeeper, striving to be as cost conscious and efficient as possible. Friday’s employment report showed a loss of 263,000 jobs and a 9.8% unemployment rate. The average work week was 33 hours – a record low. This data ties into Thursday’s Chicago PMI report that showed new orders contracting. So much for the bullish case that 3Q earnings which kick off this week will show increased revenue based on inventory restocking. If consumers don’t have a job or they’re concerned they might not have a job or are not working enough hours, why does Wall St. continue to believe they’ll suddenly have the ability to spend as they did in the past? Unlike past recessions, consumers are loaded up with more debt than ever with less access to credit and can no longer use their home as an ATM machine. Most retailers seem to be of the mindset that they would rather run the risk of being out of stock than overstocked. Such is the parallel universe of Wall St. and Main St.

If bulls want to keep the rally going, perhaps they’ll want to project earnings out into space. In 2020, Saturn will conjoin Pluto, followed by Jupiter and Saturn conjoining in Aquarius, ushering in a whole new economic cycle. :-)

*Exact May 27, July 10, and December 21, 2009.

Summary Of This Week’s Influences:
The Harvest Full Moon in Aries occurred at 2:10 AM EDT today; its influence will be felt for the next two weeks. Aries is ruled by fast-acting Mars. In the chart for the USA, much of the action is taking place behind the scenes, especially regarding military matters and foreign relations. Outwardly, the Administration will be focused on financial regulatory reform. There could be some surprising unpleasant news relating to stable credits. The stock market will be volatile and predominantly bearish.

Mercury (thoughts/communication) opposes Uranus (sharp and unexpected movements) today, and then conjoins Saturn on Thursday for the third and final time. Markets made new highs the first time Mercury opposed Uranus on August 21. During the second pass on September 23 when Mercury was retrograde, the indices made fresh 2009 intraday highs before abruptly reversing to negative.

Mercury conjoining Saturn tends to pessimistic thinking. Mercury conjoined Saturn August 17 when the indices declined to their lowest levels since early July. Just as Mercury/Uranus reversed course during Mercury retrograde, the stock market was positive on September 22 when Mercury again conjoined Saturn.

Thursday is when retailers report chain store sales for September which the market anticipates will be better due to the back to school season and cooler weather in the northeast in early September. (From a weather standpoint, Mercury conjoining Saturn indicates cooler temperatures.) Mercury conjoining Saturn compressed retailers’ margins; shoppers were discriminating in purchasing only discounted merchandise. The bait and switch does not work with these planets in cost conscious Virgo.

Health matters are ruled by Virgo, and health insurers were about the only sector that was positive on August 17 as investors thought the public option would be scrapped. Last Tuesday when Mercury turned direct, the Senate Finance Committee (whose members have received millions from health insurers), rejected two amendments that would have called for a public option in some form. This week the Committee is scheduled to vote on the bill. Even if Congress passes healthcare legislation without a public option, health insurers and Wall St. should not view this as a reason to celebrate. As health insurance companies receive an increase in government subsidies to get more Americans covered, the costs will become so high that the government will have to legislate (Mercury) rules that limit (Saturn) premiums and provider reimbursements. Despite the opposition’s rhetoric, not having a public option will be a worse fate for the health insurance companies than having one.

On Friday Venus opposes Uranus and Mercury re-enters Venus-ruled Libra (previously August 25 to September 17) until October 28. Venus is money, banking, and liquid assets. The Libra side** of Venus represents our relationship with money and the components of financial alliances. This includes partnerships, and counterparties that comprise financial markets. When planets are in Libra, the market has to decide what it deems to be “fair value” or pricing which is a balance between fundamentals (Saturn) and future projections (Uranus).

**Venus also rules Taurus.

Monday, October 5, 2009
Negative trend bias, but could improve to choppy/mixed conditions.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Negative, then could see a turnaround approaching midday to choppy/mixed conditions.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Negative, but could see improvement/reversal around midday before declining again.

Thursday, October 8, 2009
Improving conditions as day progresses.

Friday, October 9, 2009
Market choppy and volatile as it swings between negative and positive; likely closes up.

**Venus also rules Taurus.

Picture of Atlanta Zoo giant panda cub Xi Lan.

Ken Lewis Allowed To Retire With Dignity

Published by WallStreetWeather.net

During a 5:00 PM Board meeting yesterday, Bank of America (BAC) CEO Ken Lewis told the Board in a telephone call that he will retire from the bank and from the Board of Directors at the end of the year to allow BofA time to select his successor.

Mercury represents our thought process and how we communicate. Mercury conjoined Saturn in Virgo in mid August, opposing Ken Lewis’ natal Mercury in Pisces. Virgo can be critical as this energy demands accountability. Mercury and Saturn in Virgo, together with Mars in Mercury-ruled Gemini then, indicated that Lewis was feeling the criticism and pressure (Mercury) from governmental authorities (Saturn) to take action (Mars) by leaving gracefully. The Wall Street Journal confirms this, citing a person “close to” Ken Lewis who said Lewis was “fed up with the criticism that haunted him following the takeover of Merrill Lynch.”

Unless contradicted by other factors in the natal chart, people with Mercury in Pisces can tend to do their best thinking when they are engaged in and/or spending time in environments they consider to be an “escape” from the everyday world. For Ken Lewis, ending the summer in the mountains provided “time to reflect.”

The three week period three to four times a year when Mercury is retrograde* provides an opportunity to reflect and review matters that have yet to be completed or fully resolved. Mercury turned retrograde on September 7; the Journal indicates that Lewis “made the decision to quit after Labor Day after returning from vacation.”

Ken Lewis’ resignation comes one day after Mercury turned direct in Virgo exactly opposite his natal Mercury. One year ago when the September 15, 2008 Pisces Full Moon conjoined his natal Mercury, Lewis thought his seven year dream had come true in acquiring Merrill Lynch.

Soon the dream began unraveling into a nightmare for Ken Lewis. As Merrill’s losses accelerated more than anticipated, BofA wanted to find a way out of the mess even though shareholders had just approved the merger. In order to avoid injecting even more systemic risk into already fragile financial markets, BofA received an additional $20 billion and a loss sharing provision to cover $118 billion in assets in a deal engineered by Fed Chairman Bernanke and then Treasury Secretary Paulson, but kept quiet until BofA reported Q408 earnings on January 16, 2009.

Ken Lewis as well as sources quoted in the Journal state that “there was no government pressure” on him to resign. But investigations by the House Oversight Committee, New York Attorney General Cuomo, a lawsuit by Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray on behalf of five pension funds, and a looming February 1 court date with Judge Jed S. Rakoff who refused to approve BofA’s agreement to pay the SEC $33 million for failing to disclose the payment of Merrill bonuses in the merger proxy filing sent to shareholders, have drawn undue attention to BofA and particularly Ken Lewis.

Jupiter (courts) and Neptune (fraud) challenge Lewis’ natal Jupiter in Scorpio, and reflects Lewis hiring his own defense attorney, as it has been reported that Cuomo might be preparing civil fraud charges against him.

In a January post on the BofA/Merrill merger, I predicted that Ken Lewis might announce his retirement at the time of his 62nd birthday April 9. Lewis vowed to stay on, and was stripped of his Chairmanship at BofA’s April 29 annual meeting. By staying on, Lewis can say he was at the helm when the bank’s fortunes turned around during the six month financial bull run.

Ken Lewis is not a hero for buying Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch. And he is not a villain for doing what he believed and the bank’s regulators believed would cause the least amount of systemic risk to the financial system. The Merrill bonus payments should have been disclosed as part of the SEC filing, but the majority held shares owned by institutional shareholders would have approved the merger anyway.

The sad saga behind the BofA/Merrill Lynch merger is that Merrill Lynch could no longer stand on its own, due in large part from the problems brought on by its previous boss, Stanley O’Neal. As Saturn enters Libra October 29 and challenges Pluto in Capricorn over the next year, rather than making one person the sole scapegoat, it is time to learn the lessons of this experience to build a new regulatory framework that would not have allowed Merrill to accumulate vast quantities of high risk assets purported to be safe.

Libra is the sign of balance, and the interesting balance that BofA had to weigh with Merrill Lynch is that if it waited for Merrill to be more stressed to achieve a lower price, retail clients in Merrill’s crown jewel wealth management division would have started bolting. If this was the focus of BofA’s desire than we might not be able to blame Ken Lewis for overpaying to keep Merrill whole. This situation differs greatly from Barclays (BCS) acquiring Lehman Brothers at a bargain because the businesses Barclays acquired were not directly subject to a run on the bank. Perhaps BofA could have gotten Merrill substantially cheaper but at what price to Merrill’s retail client base?

If Ken Lewis was strictly trying to buy an investment bank, there’s no question that BofA overpaid for Merrill. But if he was looking to purchase a retail brokerage with its clientele intact, then it’s more likely he paid a fair price for Merrill.

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

No disclosures.