FINANCIAL CYCLES WEEKLY UPDATE #0343 – October 26 – November 1, 2003 with TIM BOST

COMMENT: When we warned our readers in our last letter that the “hot zone” of astrological action “coming up toward the end of the week” would “make a major shift in market direction quite likely,” we were fully expecting a move into lower stock prices, but we weren’t totally prepared for just how dramatic the move would be. Right on schedule, stocks reversed on Wednesday, and the declining prices continued through the end of the week. If you were just watching the Dow or the S&P, however, you might have missed the broader implications of the move.
In Frankfurt, the DAX climbed to within 13 points of its October 15th intraday high on Tuesday, which made its plunge later in the week even more dramatic than its 125-point loss for the week would seem to suggest at first. In Tokyo, the dive was even more severe, with Japanese traders responding to the disappointing earnings news from Wall Street by sending the Nikkei Average down 554 points in a single day’s trading—a loss of more than 5 percent. There were similar drops in Sydney, Shanghai, Taipei, and Singapore, as well as in Seoul, where South Korea’s Kopsi dropped 3.2 percent, and in Hong Kong, where the Hang Seng lost 4.1 percent in a single day.
In the USA, just about everything except utility stocks and precious metals lost ground for the week, but it was the NASDAQ that took the biggest beating. That average gapped down at the open on three successive days after making a run for its October 15th high on Tuesday, and finished the week with a net loss of nearly 2.5 percent. With most mainstream market pundits still unaware of the astrological dynamics at work behind the scenes, they gave much of the credit for the trend reversal to big earnings disappointments. Although most of the corporations reporting earnings did their best to put a bright face on the situation, one thing became abundantly clear by mid-week: even if profitability is currently improving, there simply isn’t solid evidence of the kind of blockbuster growth that will be needed if the struggling economy is going to turn around.
Another factor at work was the increased degree of mistrust and skepticism that are evident in many quarters. As we noted last week, the current astrological energies herald “a time when trust and confidence are quite vulnerable, and it becomes very difficult to maintain an optimistic attitude.”
Something like a lack of trust (or perhaps just a lack of common sense) was at play in Bradenton, Florida on Wednesday, when 8-year-old Scott Montgomery, who was riding his bike with some of his playmates in his neighborhood after school, narrowly escaped injury after a run-in with a 2001 Nissan that was driving by. “I’m doing okay,” Scott said after the accident. “I hit a little bit of his car, but then I just got off my bike and ran away.”
Apparently the police didn’t feel that Scott’s account of the incident was trustworthy, however. When Officer Jeff Beckley came to investigate, he gave Scott an $88 ticket for violating the right-of-way. Police officials later reduced the fine to $34 when they determined that Officer Beckley had made a mistake in his calculations, but that didn’t help placate Scott’s parents, who say they’re not going to pay the ticket. Their trust and confidence in Bradenton law enforcement has been severely eroded.
The Scott Montgomery incident was an appropriate reflection of the energies at play during simultaneous planetary stations by Saturn and Neptune, but it was only a microcosm for what was happening with Treasury Secretary John Snow on a much larger scale. Mr. Snow has had a hard time maintaining his credibility since President Bush appointed him to the post last January, but this week he gave an interview to The Times of London that truly pushed the envelope. In fact, it’s fair to say that with that interview and its aftermath, John Snow set a new personal record for inspiring lack of confidence.
The interviewer wanted to know if Mr. Snow was concerned that rising interest rates might stifle the nation’s struggling attempt at economic recovery. He replied that as Treasury Secretary interest rates weren’t really his business because they are the domain of the Federal Reserve, so he wasn’t going to talk about them. But then he went ahead and talked about interest rates anyway, saying that he expected them to go up because the economic recovery is so strong. He added that he would be “frustrated and concerned if long-term interest rates do not rise.”
The markets reacted immediately, in spite of efforts by staff members at the Treasury Department to explain that Mr. Snow was not really making a prediction about future interest rates at all, but was simply talking in theoretical terms unrelated to current economic realities. But the effort at damage control was doomed as soon as it got started. Like Scott Montgomery, the Treasury Secretary was facing a credibility crisis. In his case, however, it wasn’t the Bradenton Police Department that he had to deal with—it was the market watchers and commentators, along with the traders, bankers and financiers who move the markets in a big way.
They understood, as apparently Mr. Snow does not, that although higher interest rates do sometimes go hand-in-hand with a strong economy, they are not necessarily a desirable thing in the current circumstances. After all, it has been low interest rates that have kept alive the housing market, the one bright spot in an otherwise grim economic picture. If interest rates rise too much, there goes the housing market—and the new vehicle market, and the hopes for increased corporate capital spending for plants and equipment. To say nothing of the impact of rising interest rates on the national debt, which has now climbed to record levels and would reach even more mind-boggling proportions if the cost of borrowing a half-trillion dollars a year were to suddenly get higher.
We should point out that the Treasury Secretary, born on August 2, 1939 in Toledo, Ohio, has a natal Chiron which conjoins the USA natal Sun and the New York Stock Exchange natal Ascendant, suggesting that he may personally provoke a “healing crisis” with the country’s Chief Executive and with the NYSE. What’s most interesting, however, is Snow’s natal retrograde Mercury, which squares his natal Uranus, indicating a tendency toward unexpected verbalizing which doesn’t always have the effect he desires. That natal Mercury has been under particular stress lately, thanks to a semisquare it is receiving from transiting Zeus. This is an aspect that adds an air of overconfidence to his utterances, while emphasizing the degree to which he is out of sync with real and effective communications. He gets a couple of other changes to put his foot in his mouth this week—on Monday at a gathering of finance ministers in Mexico, and then on Thursday when he presents his semi-annual report on foreign exchange activity before the Senate Banking Committee.
But Mr. Snow’s troubles are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the challenges that the Bush administration and President Bush personally are facing. The president was heckled when he spoke to the Australian parliament this week—not just by the anti-war protestors that had gathered at the event, but by some of the members of the Australian parliament as well! Meanwhile, polls in the US continue to show that Mr. Bush’s popularity and his job approval rating are both declining sharply. But the big problems haven’t even fully developed yet. For example, the commission charged with investigating the 9/11 terrorist attacks has grown increasingly frustrated with Mr. Bush’s refusal to give it evidence that documents how much he knew about plans for the 9/11 attacks in the weeks preceding them. The commission’s chairman, Thomas Kean, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, says he will subpoena the White House if Bush doesn’t begin to cooperate.
And then there’s Iraq. Despite the Bush administration’s success in coaxing other nations to contribute a portion of the anticipated cost of rebuilding the war-smashed country, it has become clear that it lacks a coherent plan for the reconstruction. When a memo from Donald Rumsfeld surfaced this week in which he admitted that the war planners had been wildly over-optimistic in their assessments of the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan, it added to Americans’ distress as they confront the costs of military mismanagement—both in dollar terms and in terms of the mounting death toll as the guerilla war intensifies.
There are some interesting parallels between the current crisis in Iraq and a historical situation that took place in the same part of the world about 80 years ago. We’ll save that analysis for next week, however.
We do want to note one bright spot amid the current economic news: a color photograph of Mararishi Mahesh Yogi on page 12 of the October 27 issue of Barron’s. The accompanying article, which notes that researchers “have demonstrated a connection between large numbers of people meditating together and a reduction in the ‘misery index,’ the sum of the inflation and unemployment rates,” cites market astrologer Arch Crawford as saying that “the Maharishi Effect has validity.” This is one matter on which we completely agree with Arch—in fact, we regularly recommend meditation to traders as an effective way to bring enhanced consciousness to the risks of market activity.

THE WEEK AHEAD

With earnings season still very much in play, we’re looking for reports from American Express (AXP), Barrick Gold (ABX), International Paper (IP), Procter & Gamble (PG), Verizon Communications (VZ), Boeing (BA), Duke Energy (DUK), Exxon Mobil (XOM), ChevronTexaco (CVX), and Waste Management (WMI), along with almost 1200 other companies. The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meets on Tuesday and is likely to say that in spite of John Snow and the plunging value of the dollar there’s really no such thing as inflation. We’ll also get a look at September Housing Sales, Q3 GDP, and the October Consumer Confidence numbers from the University of Michigan.
It’s a fairly light week for astrological activity, suggesting that the sell-off in stocks is likely to continue this week. Pluto figures into the picture this week, however—heliocentric Venus will conjoin Pluto on Tuesday morning, and the Sun will form a parallel in declination to Pluto exactly at the market’s closing bell on Friday. These aspects hint that big money is on the move—keep an eye on volume and volatility! We will also be watching the Sun/Poseidon conjunction on Wednesday morning; some of our most recent research shows that Poseidon figures prominently in long-term price movements for the Dow, so it will be interesting to see how the market reacts to this conjunction.
Have a great week!


GLOBAL EQUITIES MARKETS LAST WEEK

Stocks throughout the world reversed to the downside last week, with Tokyo taking the biggest hit—the Nikkei had its biggest single-day decline since the market reaction to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.

Dow Jones Industrial Average – down 1.43%
Dow Jones Transportation Average – down 0.70%
Dow Jones Utilities Average – up 0.25%
S& P 500 – down 1.00%
NASDAQ Composite Index – down 2.45%
Russell 2000 – down 2.68%
London FTSE-100 – down 2.42%
Paris CAC-40 – down 2.61%
Frankfurt DAX – down 3.50%
Sydney All Ordinaries – down 1.07%
Tokyo Nikkei – down 6.36%
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index – down 2.56%
Singapore Straits Times Index – down 2.58%


FINANCIAL CYCLES MODEL PORTFOLIO


POSITIONS CLOSED DURING THE PREVIOUS WEEK: GDYS, EGOV.

We closed two portfolio positions during the previous week, with one winner and one loser producing a net wash.

On October 22 we bought to cover 1,000 shares of Goody’s Family Clothing Inc. (GDYS) at 10.50, taking a loss of $200.00 (a 1.94% loss in 6 trading days).

On October 17 we sold 1,000 shares of N I C Inc. (EGOV) at 4.79, taking a profit of $200.00 (a 4.18% gain 14 trading days).

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POSITIONS ADDED TO THE PORTFOLIO DURING THE PREVIOUS WEEK: CCBI, ROSS.

We bought 600 shares of Commercial Capital Bancorp (CCBI) at 17.15 on 10/20/03, setting our initial stop at 16.32.

We sold short 500 shares of Ross Systems, Inc. (ROSS) at 18.24 on 10/20/03, setting our initial buy stop at 18.68.

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YEAR-IN-REVIEW MODEL PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Since the beginning of the year we have had a total of 136 completed trades, with 78 winners and 58 losers bringing us a total net profit of $43,726.00. The largest profit for a single trade has been $9,240.00; the largest single-trade loss has been $900.00; the average profit per trade has been $321.51. The mean duration of our trades has been 10.5 trading days.

During 2002 we had a total of 195 completed trades, with 119 winners, 74 losers, and 2 break-even trades bringing us a total net profit of $50,956.00. The largest profit for a single trade was $5,100.00; the largest single-trade loss was $1,055.00; the average profit per trade was $261.31. The mean duration of our trades was 12.7 trading days.

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CURRENT POSITIONS IN THE MODEL PORTFOLIO

Commercial Capital Bancorp (CCBI) – bought 600 shares at 17.15 on 10/20/03; currently 17.63. Raise stop to 17.09.

Lifecell Corporation (LIFC) – sold short 1,000 shares at 6.94 on 10/14/03; currently 6.34. Lower buy stop to 6.75.

Qlogic Corporation (QLGC) – bought 200 shares at 51.15 on 10/14/03; currently 52.44. Raise stop to 51.60.

Roslyn Bancorp (RSLN) – bought 500 shares at 23.50 on 09/30/03; currently 25.66. Raise stop to 24.35.

Ross Systems, Inc. (ROSS) – sold short 500 shares at 18.24 on 10/20/03; currently 18.20. Lower buy stop to 18.42.

United PanAm Financial Corporation (UPFC) – sold short 500 shares at 19.25 on 10/06/03; currently 16.55. Lower buy stop to 17.75.

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STRONGEST MARKET SECTORS LAST WEEK

Medical Laboratories & Research; Silver; Gold; Internet Service Providers; Manufactured Housing.

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WEAKEST MARKET SECTORS LAST WEEK

Printed Circuit Boards; Multimedia & Graphics Software; Music & Video Stores; Hospitals; Regional Airlines.

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KEY ASTROLOGICAL EVENTS THIS WEEK

October 26
Eastern Daylight Savings Time ends 02:00 EDT
Venus contraparallel True Lunar Node 02:44 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisquare Heliocentric Pluto 02:49 EST
Heliocentric Mercury conjunct Heliocentric Poseidon 2:59 EST
Mercury semisquare Pluto 03:27 EST
Mercury parallel Mars 03:33 EST
Lunar Perigee 04:29 EST
Venus in 24th harmonic to Poseidon 05:16 EST
Mercury trine Uranus in right ascension 07:58 EST
Mercury trine Kronos in right ascension 10:31 EST
True Lunar Node direct station 13:55 EST
Sun parallel Uranus 18:40 EST
Sun semisquare Pluto 18:44 EST
Heliocentric Mars sextile Heliocentric Neptune 20:30
Mercury parallel Uranus 21:09 EST
Sun parallel Mercury 23:48 EST

October 27
Heliocentric Mercury trine Heliocentric Saturn 00:45 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Hades 01:51 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisextile Heliocentric Zeus 02:19 EST
Void-of-Course Moon 03:15 – 04:55 EST
Heliocentric Mercury in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Apollon 05:25 EST
Mars sesquiquadrate 05/31/2003 Solar Eclipse Antiscion 05:31 EST
Sun trine Uranus in right ascension 05:49 EST
Mercury semisquare Pluto in right ascension 07:57 EST
Heliocentric Venus semisextile Heliocentric Chiron 08:37 EST
Venus contraparallel Admetos 08:51 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisextile Heliocentric Cupido 09:16 EST
Venus opposition Admetos 09:58 EST
Sun trine Kronos in right ascension 09:59 EST
Venus opposition Admetos in right ascension 10:09 EST
Mars trine Poseidon 12:40 EST
Mercury conjunct Poseidon in right ascension 16:19 EST
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Mars 16:27 EST
Heliocentric Earth trine Heliocentric Jupiter 17:25 EST
Mercury conjunct Poseidon 18:06 EST
Venus in 24th harmonic to Cupido 18:28 EST
Mercury trine Mars 19:30 EST
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Jupiter 20:18 EST

October 28
Venus semisquare Zeus 00:20 EST
Venus semisextile Apollon 02:51 EST
Heliocentric Earth sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Pluto 02:57 EST
Venus trine Vulcanus 03:43 EST
Mercury parallel Poseidon 06:15 EST
Venus quincunx Hades 07:22 EST
Heliocentric Venus conjunct Heliocentric Pluto 11:12 EST
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Uranus 15:30 EST
Heliocentric Mercury square Heliocentric Neptune 16:05 EST
Venus semisextile Apollon in right ascension 16:06 EST
Jupiter sextile Saturn in right ascension 17:08 EST
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Saturn 19:13 EST
Sun semisquare Pluto in right ascension 21:43 EST
Mercury semisextile Cupido 21:48 EST

October 29
Heliocentric Earth sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Venus 01:07 EST
Mercury semisextile Zeus 02:09 EST
Heliocentric Mercury quincunx Heliocentric Mars 03:14 EST
Void-of-Course Moon 03:51 – 5:37 EST
Mercury in 24th harmonic to Apollon 04:02 EST
Heliocentric Saturn in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Vulcanus 04:13 EST
Heliocentric Venus semisquare Heliocentric Poseidon 07:06 EST
Mercury sesquiquadrate Hades 07:07 EST
Mercury semisextile Cupido in right ascension 08:19 EST
Mercury parallel Pluto 09:04 EST
Venus semisquare Zeus in right ascension 10:22 EST
Sun conjunct Poseidon 10:28 EST
Sun conjunct Poseidon in right ascension 10:31 EST
Heliocentric Earth opposition Heliocentric Poseidon 10:38 EST
Sun parallel Poseidon 11:05 EST
Venus quincunx Hades in right ascension 18:37 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Kronos 19:15 EST
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Venus 21:31 EST

October 30
Heliocentric Venus quincunx Heliocentric Admetos 00:25 EST
Mercury semisextile Zeus in right ascension 04:05 EST
Heliocentric Venus quincunx Heliocentric Vulcanus 07:10 EST
Heliocentric Venus opposition Heliocentric Hades 08:13 EST
Mercury sesquiquadrate Hades in right ascension 10:31 EST
Sun trine Mars 10:55 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sextile Heliocentric Chiron 12:39 EST
Heliocentric Earth in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Admetos 14:07 EST
Heliocentric Venus sextile Heliocentric Apollon 15:06 EST
Heliocentric Earth parallel Heliocentric Mercury 17:24 EST
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Neptune 18:25 EST
Apollon square Vulcanus 20:32 EST
Heliocentric Venus in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Cupido 22:42 EST

October 31
Heliocentric Earth sextile Heliocentric Saturn 02:29 EST
Heliocentric Earth semisquare Heliocentric Hades 02:30 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisextile Heliocentric Pluto 02:43 EST
Void-of-Course Moon 03:07 – 08:41 EST
Heliocentric Saturn in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Hades 03:18 EST
Heliocentric Mars contraparallel Heliocentric Jupiter 03:39 EST
Heliocentric Earth quincunx Heliocentric Zeus 03:53 EST
Sun semisextile Cupido 08:38 EST
Venus trine Vulcanus in right ascension 12:02 EST
Heliocentric Mercury in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Poseidon 13:29 EST
Sun semisextile Zeus 15:18 EST
Sun parallel Pluto 16:00 EST
Sun in 24th harmonic to Apollon 18:19 EST
Mercury trine Mars in right ascension 20:17 EST
Sun sesquiquadrate Hades 21:41 EST
Mars sesquiquadrate Vulcanus in right ascension 21:52 EST
Heliocentric Mercury opposition Heliocentric Admetos 23:02 EST
True Lunar Node retrograde station 23:23 EST

November 1
Heliocentric Earth quincunx Heliocentric Cupido 01:31 EST
Heliocentric Mercury trine Heliocentric Vulcanus 02:45 EST
Heliocentric Mercury quincunx Heliocentric Hades 03:21 EST
Sun semisextile Cupido in right ascension 03:21 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Saturn 03:39 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisquare Heliocentric Zeus 03:50 EST
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Venus 03:55 EST
Venus sesquiquadrate Saturn 05:58 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisextile Heliocentric Apollon 07:08 EST
Mercury sextile Jupiter 07:48 EST
Mercury trine Saturn 08:16 EST
Heliocentric Mercury in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Cupido 11:21 EST
Jupiter sextile Saturn 12:12 EST
Venus semisquare Chiron 15:00 EST
Mercury sextile Chiron 15:20 EST
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Saturn 16:21 EST
Mercury in 24th harmonic to Venus 16:26 EST
Mercury parallel Chiron 16:44 EST
Heliocentric Saturn square Heliocentric Zeus 18:15 EST
Venus square Uranus 19:43 EST
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Uranus 20:40 EST
Mars square Cupido 22:55 EST

November 2
Heliocentric Venus semisquare Heliocentric Neptune 09:53 EST
Sun semisextile Zeus in right ascension 10:02 EST
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Mars 14:32 EST
Void-of-Course Moon 14:40 – 14:52 EST
Mars quincunx Zeus 15:41 EST
Venus enters Sagittarius 16:42 EST
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Jupiter 17:32 EST
Sun sesquiquadrate Hades in right ascension 18:00 EST
Mercury square Neptune in right ascension 18:16 EST Mars sesquiquadrate Vulcanus 20:06 EST
Heliocentric Mars semisquare Heliocentric Uranus 21:43 EST
Mars sesquiquadrate Apollon 23:20 EST


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STOCKS TO WATCH: NWRE, QDEL, SHRP, STCR.

Neoware Systems, Inc. (NWRE)
First Trade Date: 03/03/1995; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: NWRE could get a lift this week as transiting Jupiter opposes its First-Trade Sun, but that energy won’t hold up for long, especially with First-Trade Saturn next in line to receive the same aspect from Jupiter. Geocentric Saturn at 34.475 is currently providing planetary support and resistance for NWRE; the stock’s low on Friday was exactly on that line. As soon as NWRE trades below last Friday’s low we will short this stock, setting our initial buy stop at 19.25.

Quidel Corporation (QDEL)
First Trade Date: 02/01/1991; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: QDEL zoomed upward in early October, and then smashed into a brick wall of resistance provided by heliocentric Pluto in the 24th harmonic. Cupido is active for this stock, too, it’s currently providing support geocentrically at 23.20. If QDEL breaks below this support at 8.52 or lower, we will short the stock, setting our initial buy stop at 9.15.

Sharper Image Corporation (SHRP)
First Trade Date: 04/28/1987; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: With Jupiter transiting the First-Trade IC, SHRP has seen some added strength lately, with some solid basing activity throughout most of October. Retrograde Saturn is about to conjoin the First-Trade Vulcanus, which should put the brakes on for SHRP as Jupiter moves past the angle in the coming weeks. The price structure for this stock is currently defined by geocentric Neptune at 27.79, geocentric Chiron at 78.25, and geocentric Kronos at 78.5. Chiron and Neptune are currently working together to provide powerful resistance at 28.28; our guess is that resistance will hold, so we will short this stock this week, setting our initial buy stop at 28.75.

Starcraft Corporation (STCR)
First Trade Date: 07/21/1993; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: STCR is a stock with high relative strength and a good bit of trading energy; it is now down about 10% from the 52-week high it set in early September. Jupiter is currently conjunct the First-Trade Ascendant; that would give us reason for caution except for the fact that transiting Zeus is currently conjunct the First-Trade Jupiter and transiting Uranus is conjunct the First-Trade Saturn. These configurations suggest that STCR could see a nice rally during the next couple of weeks, with a possible sell-off starting in mid-November. A geocentric Uranus line at 28.95 is providing planetary support/resistance; when this stock breaks above that line at $35.82 we will add a long position, setting our initial stop at 32.88.



FINANCIAL CYCLES (ISSN 1055-8527) is published by Taylor-Bost Consulting and edited by Tim Bost at Post Office Box 1657, Sarasota, FL 34230-1657 USA. Phone: 941-953-3545. Fax: 941-953-3732. Email: timbost@pipeline.com. Entire contents copyright 2003 Timothy L. Bost. No portion of this Weekly Email Update or its printed version may be reproduced without the publisher's written permission. Subscriptions to FINANCIAL CYCLES are $39.00 per month for weekly updates by email or fax, payable by monthly billing to a major credit card. Advance payment options (by credit card, check, or money order) are $228 for 6 months, $432 for 1 year or $815 for two years. All subscriptions are payable in US funds only— Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club, and Discover/Novus accepted; please make checks or money orders payable to Taylor-Bost.

By providing a source of independent market analysis, the purpose of FINANCIAL CYCLES is to foster the growth of person-centered business and investment astrology; to enhance the development and dissemination of financial literacy and prosperity consciousness; and to explore the use of technical analysis and financial astrology in promoting an esoteric spiritual understanding of economic trends, geocosmic cycles, geopolitical events, and market movements. FINANCIAL CYCLES is a general interest publication which is prepared from astrological information, news reports, cycle projections, and market observations which are believed to be accurate and reliable, but which cannot be guaranteed. Portfolio and trading reports in this publication do not include taxes and transaction fees, which should be taken into consideration by prospective traders and investors. Even with accurate information, past performance is no guarantee of future results. Speculation in securities and commodities involves considerable financial risk, and readers who plan to invest or speculate in securities or commodities mentioned in FINANCIAL CYCLES have the complete responsibility for making themselves fully aware of all the risks involved before they invest. The editor may or may not have positions in the securities and commodities discussed in this newsletter, and the information in FINANCIAL CYCLES should in no way be understood or construed as a solicitation or an offer to buy or sell any products or securities, nor should the material published in this newsletter be considered buy/sell advice.

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posted by Tim Bost @ 10/26/2003 09:54:41 PM