ISBA Newsletter July 2003

Dear ISBA Member -
These are the headlines of the July newsletter
1) Members Corner
2) ISBA Congress
3) Article of the Month - Maarit Laurento
4) Michael Munkasey on Stocks
5) Data Wanted
6) Book Review - Kaye Shinker1) Members Corner
We have no news on the membership front this month - but it really isn't
such a big surprise with Pluto transiting the ISBA Sun.
On a personal basis I find it fascinating that Danish television has wasted
energy persecuting astrologers, who after all are hardly making money on
mafia level. It would be far more interesting to see an examination of the
state-subsidized weather forecasters who get absolutely nothing right..
Best regards fron Hannah
2) ISBA Congress
July 15th is your last chance of registering at the low price for the ISBA
congress in London, November 2003. Visit the web site:
www.businessastrologers.com for a full description of lectures and speakers.
We look forward to hearing from all of you.
3) Article of the Month - Maarit LaurentoAstrology and the Academy Conference in Bath Spa University College,
England
In mid-June we had a historical event in Bath Spa University College
where dozens of researchers and people interested in the subject were
gathered to discuss issues regarding astrology and science. The conference
was superb, both in terms of content and in terms of how it was organized.
The lectures spanned a wide range from historical perspectives to
methodological issues.
Friday started with astrohistorical analyses. Dr. Angela Voss gave a
speech looking at four levels of interpretation where she stressed the need
to
analyse divination and symbolic understanding of astrology. Prof. Ronald
Hutton took us for a ride on paganism and how medieval scholars found a
way of fitting the classical pagan deities back into Christianity
through the medium of planetary magic. Prudence Jones talked about
aspects of deity. Dr. Joanne Pearson focused also on astrology, magic
and the academy. Prof. Jesus Navarro stressed the importance of
a holistic viewpoint when dealing with astrology. In contrast with
separateness and
reductionism of modern science astrology does not only sum up various
issues but states a need for a new paradigm of synthesis. Dr. Maarit
Laurento focused on whether astrology is a science or not and stressed
the importance of independence when a new branch of science emerges.
Astrology cannot simply copy e.g. methodology from let's say statistics but
must use methods suitable exactly for its purposes. Pat Harris told
about her PhD study on fertility and Saturn and Jupiter transits. And
Dr. Liz Greene finished the day with the lecture on the academy as an
archetypal group dynamic, how an academic group as any other group has
its own archetypal tensions.
Saturday started with Geoffrey Cornelius who stressed the importance of
primary and secondary scholarships. If astrology is studied only as a
phenomenon (as in history) it is secondary. He stressed the importance
of studying astrology independently as a primary scholarship. Jean Lall
stressed that to reintegrate astrology into academic life it requires
bringing more objectivity into astrology but also bringing the
implications of the objective psyche fully into the academy where some
"shadow work" is needed. Dr. Jacques Halbronn talked about astrology and
astronomy at the time of the Renaissance and gave examples of how the most
sceptic
thinkers thought that there must be something about astrology, since
intellectual people studied the subject at that time even though it
was banned. Prof. Anne Marie Roos told an interesting story on
coffeehouse newspapers devoted to a "question-and-answer" format between
1690 and 1711. Joanna Komorowska analysed whether Vettius Valens ever
visited Egypt or not and what actually happened. Derek Walters took us
on a ride on the Chinese Zodiac and mentioned that in China the meanings are
earlier than the signs. Ruth Cintra brough interesting news from Brazil.
Astrology is taught in the university of São Paulo. Mike Harding
concluded with a lecture on the importance of astrology as a language and
mutliplicity
of meanings in astrology. He used the Wittgenstein language game to describe
how the astrological language interacts with the world.
The Sophia Centre is situated in a stall inside the Bath Spa University
College
and we literally were in the country although we were inside. Cows grazed
nearby and the sun
was shining. Is there any better place to discuss astrology and
science than that?
Maarit Laurento
4) Michael Mukasey on Stocks
This is Jeff Springer's latest newsletter. Jeff is the person who uses my
company data base to do solar arc and transit searches against. He feels
that the market is headed into a long-term down phase. Please visit our
web site at: www.stock-compass.com --- and tell others about the site
too.
Michael Munkaseywww.Stock-Compass.com
June 29, 2003 Newsletter
Jeff Springer (New Jersey, USA)
Overview:
We were early last month in predicting the crest of the current primary
cycle for stocks that started with the low on March 13th. This cycle has
been unusual in that there has been no meaningful correction in any of the
major indexes since the March 13th low (1). As we said in our last
newsletter we are still looking for the upcoming low to "probably take out
more than 60% of the gain from March 13th, but we're not looking for it to
go lower than the March 13th low."
We think the crest is in: June 16-18 for all three indexes (2). But we
think the markets are still headed lower because:
1. The VIX closed Friday, June 28th at 21.71 suggesting as we said in
the last issue "people are relaxed, bullish and optimistic: they've already
bought and they think others will buy even though they're done buying." The
VIX has been at these low levels for a few weeks.
2. There is inter-market bearish divergence as the DOW and S&P500
closed below their 38% Fibonacci retracement levels (9008 for DOW and
976.80 for S&P500 as measured from the May 19 low and June 16 and 18 crest)
but the NASDAQ has touched this level but closed above it (1606) on Friday
June 28th. In addition, the DOW and S&P500 closed below their 23 day EMA
while the NASDAQ touched that line but closed above it last week.
The average of our five "long" stock picks gained 4% so far in June,
comparing favorably to the S&P500 which gained a little less than 1%. Two
of our four "shorts", CTX and GUC we rated "wait to buy". The other two,
DRS and MAN, gained an average of 7%.
Outlook:
Over the longer term we are strongly bearish heading into 2009. In the
intermediate time frame we are bullish, with the bullish move potentially
lasting into the 2004 presidential elections. One way to look at this is
that we must recover a significant dose of optimism and happiness before
the next big leg down.
The recently passed Saturn opposition to Pluto astrology signature (if
lasted from 8/02 - 2/03) strongly suggests a market bottom. Major Saturn -
Pluto contacts have been present at every significant recent market bottom:
1973, 1982, 1994 and 2002. This supports our intermediate term bullish
view.
All three indexes broke above their reversed head-and-shoulders patterns
(or triple bottom, if you prefer, for the S&P500) which began last summer.
This suggests a continuation of the strong bullish move the markets have
made since last October 9th, once we bottom and begin a new cycle.
There are two upcoming critical dates that may be the bottom we're looking
for. The first is approximately July 8th (3); the second is approximately
August 4th (4).Explanation:
We are now in the 16th week of the primary (12-21 weeks) cycle that started
on March 13th. There is not enough time left for this cycle to correct,
then go to a higher crest and bottom within the time frame (12-21 weeks) of
the vast majority of these cycles. The end of cycles are always the most
bearish period during the cycle; the beginning of cycles are the most
bullish. The end of the cycle represents the lowest point since the cycle
began. (5)Sectors in and out of Favor:
We have mentioned repeatedly the recent transfer of downward pressures from
technology, communications, broadcasting, travel, advertising, and
education onto real-estate, homes and food. The rise in technology,
especially, has been noteworthy since this transfer (Saturn into Cancer)
began on June 5th. NASDAQ, dominated by technology companies went up over
twice as much (2.2%) as did the DOW and S&P500 (1%). The recent dramatic
drop in bond prices suggests weakness in real-estate as mortgage rates have
started to go up off their historic lows.
The leisure industry, including movies, toys, hobbies and gambling
operations and/or equipment continues to do well. Leisure-Movies and
Leisure products both moved up recently in the sector rankings of
Investor's Business Daily and sit within the top 40 of their 200 sector
rankings. Jupiter currently in Leo supports these types of stocks in
addition to gold mentioned above. As we mentioned last week, International
Game Technology (IGT) is a good example of this. It bottomed last July at
49.55 right before Jupiter went into Leo. It has gone up solidly since
then to close yesterday at 101.50 - a gain of 105% and a gain of 17% since
our last issue!
Another sector supported by Jupiter in Leo is high-end apparel and other
products. Gucci (GUC) which we had as a "wait to short" last month
continued to move up. GUC has gained 17% since last October 9th (Jupiter
moved into Leo last August). We must start looking for a top in these
stocks and in gold prior to Jupiter moving out of Leo into Virgo on August
29th.Stock Selections:
Our methodology consists of first using our Stock-Compass.com financial
astrology search tool to select stocks and then filtering that list by
means of technical and fundamental analysis. It's very important to keep
in mind that 75% of all stocks follow the overall trend of the market.
Therefore, it's advisable to "go long" only when it is clear that the
market is going up and, conversely, only "go short" when it is clear that
the market is going down.Our Long Selections:
CF = Charter Financial went up to a 10-month high on 6/18 and then sold off
gradually with the rest of the market over the last few days. But the
23-day EMA has provided support; it touched that line on Thursday 6/27 but
closed above it both Thursday and Friday. There are two bullish astrology
indicators present starting in mid-July. Our suggestion is to put a
stop-loss under the 23-day EMA.
FSH - Fisher Scientific International, Inc. made a 52 week high on June
16th of 33.50 and then sold off gradually over the next several days with
the rest of the market. But on Thursday it gapped higher to close at a new
52 week high of 35.47 - it closed the week at 34.90. There are several
significant bullish astrology indicators present in July. We suggest a
stop-loss at 33.50 - the level of the 6/16 crest.
KMP - Kinder Morgan Energy has been riding on top of its 23-day EMA since
dipping below it in May, suggesting strength in presence of the sell-off of
the last few days. There is a minor astrological indicator suggesting
bearishness on July 5th - going along with one of our critical date periods
for the upcoming low. Starting in mid-July there are two bullish astrology
indicators. We suggest using the 23-day EMA as a stop-loss level.
MTX - Mineral General Corporation closed Friday 6/28 right on top of its
23-day EMA. There is a bullish astrology indicator present in July. We
suggest waiting until MTX closes significantly above the 23-day EMA and
then using the 23-day EMA as a stop-loss level.
STX - Seagate Technology: STX has gained 116% since bottoming 2/14/03 at
8.40. STX has shown strength in the last few days as it reached a 52 week
high on Thursday June 27th and lost only 0.19 on Friday. It has two solid
astrology indications suggestions the bullish trend will continue. We
suggest a stop loss at 17.79 which is the 38% Fibonacci retracement level
from the last leg up starting on 6/10 and ending with the crest of 6/26.
SEE - Sealed Air Corporation: SEE has trended gradually upward for the last
couple of months finding support at the 23-day EMA. It jumped up 9% on
Thursday and only gave back 0.09 on Friday. SEE has a good bullish
astrology indicator present in July. We suggest a stop loss at 45.63 which
is the 38% Fibonacci retracement level from the last leg up starting on
6/23 and ending with the gap up on 6/26.Our Short Selections:
BUD - Anheuser Busch Companies, Inc.: BUD closed Friday just above (50.98)
the 38% Fibonacci retracement level of 50.92 as calculated from the upward
move that began 4/9 and crested 6/16. BUD has several significant bearish
astrology indicators during July. Suggestion is to short BUD when it
closes below 50.92. We suggest using the 38-day EMA as a stop-loss level.
CTX - Centex Corp: CTX peaked on 6/18 and has since gone down to below its
23% Fibonacci level but above its 38% Fibonacci level - 76.21. There are
two primary bearish astrology indications present - one in July and the
next one in August. Suggestion is to short CTX when it closes below 76.21
with a stop-loss above that at about 75. There is significant resistance
at the 62% Fibonacci level of 69.72.
FCN - FTI Consulting has been on a down trend since early May and is now
trading below the 23, 38 and 62 day EMA's. There is a prominent bearish
astrology indicator in early July and a bullish one late in July. We
suggest a stop loss at the 23-day EMA.
FDRY - Foundry Networks, Inc.: Has traded on top of support of the 23-day
EMA. Two strong bearish astrology indicators are centered in mid-July. We
put this in a "wait-to-short" until FDRY breaks through the 23-day EMA. We
would then suggest a stop loss above the 23-day EMA.
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Notes:
(1) The DOW made a 2.6% drop into 5/19, while the S&P500 made a 2.8% drop
into 5/19 but only the NASDAQ made a close-to-meaningful drop into 5/19 of
3.8%.(2) MP Venus conjoined the MC in the chart of the DOW on 6/18 and TR Venus
conjoined the DOW's MC on 6/20. TR Jupiter was precisely opposite the MC
of the QQQ on 6/18 and TR Venus was tightly conjunct the AS!(3) On 7/4 Venus moves into Cancer. On 7/6 Venus trines Uranus. On 7/8
Venus conjoins Saturn. On 7/8 TR Saturn squares Mercury in the chart of
the QQQ. The MP Moon conjoins the Sun of the NYSE chart. The TR Sun
opposes the MC in the chart of the NASDAQ.(4) On 7/29 Mars stations retrograde. The chart of the DOW shows TR Pluto
opposite Saturn, TR Uranus opposite Pluto, and the MP Moon square the AS,
all on 8/4! The chart of the NYSE has SA Jupiter = Uranus/Pluto, TR Jupiter
square Sun, and TR Sun and TP Moon opposite MC - all on 8/5! The chart of
the NASDAQ shows SA Sun = Venus/Mars exact on 7/25, TR Jupiter conjunct the
Node on 7/30 and TR Mars square Mars and MP Moon conjunct the MC on 8/4.(5) See "The Ultimate Book on Stock Market Timing, Volume 1" by Raymond
Merriman for an excellent explanation and research of market cycles.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
These comments are given to serve as guidelines only. Traders and
investors are advised to thoroughly research trades prior to investing. No
guarantees are made for accuracy. Trading involves risks as well as gains
and the reader is solely responsible for any actions taken in the markets.
Neither the author or publisher assume any responsibility whatsoever for
the reader's decisions.
END
5) Data Wanted
We have received the below request from Barb Hindley, USA. If any member can
assist, please send the data to: info@businessastrologers.com
We will then put the information in the members area for all members to
access - and inform Barb directly.
From Barb Hindley:
"Hi there. Do we have the dates for the incorporation of the city of Venice,
Italy, or Rome, Italy? Couldn't find them. Do you know where one would go
for that information???....astrodienst only has country dates and times.
thanks
Barb"
6) Book Review, Kaye Shinker
Book Review: by Kaye Shinker
Gann Simplified by Clif Droke.
Absolutely excellent book for those of you have heard the name W.D. Gann
and have no idea about him other than he was a famous trader who used
astrology, Fibonacci ratios, and market cycles.
The basic fundamentals of Gann theory have been adopted over the years by
today´s technical analysts, but there are some interesting little tidbits
from Gann. Example: ´use round numbers on your stop/loss orders´.
Gann´s work is very complex and difficult to decipher. A few years ago I
struggled through some of his writings. I was able to apply some of his
principles, but at a point everything went to a blur. Gann Simplified
gives you a start and also defines some of Gann´s archaic terms.
Paperback $29.95 US
I read it in an afternoon at the pool with highlighter in hand.
$16 at this site www.traderslibrary.com
Traders´Library P.O. Box 2466
Ellicott City, MD 21041
Kaye Shinker
Best wishes,
Karen & Hannah

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