FINANCIAL CYCLES WEEKLY UPDATE #0410 – March 7-13, 2004 with TIM BOST

COMMENT: It’s been an event-filled week: the U.S. government’s removal of President Aristide from Haiti and the ensuing violence; the lopsided numbers in the “Super Tuesday” Democratic primaries that virtually locked up the nomination for Senator John Kerry (a member, like President Bush, of the Skull and Bones secret society); and the conviction of Martha Stewart for conspiracy, obstruction of justice, and making false statements. The most significant news from the market’s perspective, however, was the staggering disappointment in February’s creation of new jobs—the government had forecast 125,000 new jobs for the month, but it turned out to be just 21,000 instead, and wage gains hit a 17-year low.
Everybody wants to know how to make money in the stock market, especially with the economy suffering and the job outlook getting increasingly grim. But a far more important concern is how to avoid losing money in the market. After all, avoiding a loss was what Martha Stewart was up to when she sold her shares of IMClone stock. Her recent trial examined her claim that she had had an agreement with her broker to sell the stock if it dropped below $60 a share. Of course the best way for Stewart to have avoided losses would have been to tell the truth about her insider trading, or even to have by-passed the temptation to trade on inside information by having an actual stop-loss order in place with her broker in advance, instead of just an imaginary one invented after the fact.
The stop-loss order, or simply the “stop” for short, is certainly the most important tool in the successful trader’s arsenal. It was no doubt that realization that led our subscriber Max Lenc of Colorado to contact us this week with a question about trailing stops. “What do you think of them?” she wanted to know. Both through these pages and through our website at www.TimBost.com, we have been encouraging our readers to send us their questions and concerns, so we were delighted to hear from Max!
Her question is especially important for several reasons. First of all, stops are an essential component of effective money management when you are trading. Secondly, your experience with using stops and your basic attitude about accepting losses as a trader are often the key ingredients in developing the kind of winning psychology that is essential for profitable trading. Third, there are no immutable rules for setting and using stops. They essentially must be reinvented by every new trader, and creating stops is ultimately more of an art form than a science. In our own experience, learning to set and use stops appropriately has been one of the greatest challenges to becoming effective traders, and one of the most rewarding ones as well!
There are many approaches to creating stops, but the basic notion is always the same: a stop sets a pre-determined level at which a stock will be sold, avoiding the possibility of further losses. In the case of a long position, the stop is placed beneath the current trading price. When a short position is involved, the reverse holds true, with the stop placed at a price above the current trading price.
Trailing stops are used in coordination with the changing prices of a trending stock. As the price increases in a long position, the trailing stop does likewise, with the opposite being true in a short position. The trailing stop can be set at a specific dollar level below the current trading price (say at $2 below the previous day’s close), or it can be calculated at a fixed percentage rate relative to the changes in the trading price of the stock. Trailing stops are especially appropriate when a stock is moving up fast, but when a stock starts to trade sideways or dips slightly below its recent trading range, a trailing stop can sometimes take you out of a trade when you would perhaps rather stay in for a longer haul.
Other approaches to setting stops employ different parameters. You can derive stop-loss levels from Fibonacci retracements or from Bollinger bands. At times we have found that an easy way to work with stops is simply to take a look at the stock’s recent trading history on a technical chart—for example, you might choose to set a stop that is just below the low of the previous week’s trading.
With the Financial Cycles Model Portfolio we adjust our stops weekly—you’ll find information about how we are changing them in the Current Positions section of each week’s newsletter. Be sure to check this section weekly so you can keep your stops current in your own trading account. Because we are astro-traders, we are particularly interested in stop-setting techniques that are connected to the cosmos. One of the best approaches that we’ve found is to base our stops on planetary price lines—you’ll typically find these mentioned in the description of next week’s “Stocks To Watch.” No matter which technique we employ for setting our stops, however, there is one firm stop-loss rule that we believe should always be followed: never enter a trade without having a stop in place!


THE IMPACT OF PLANETARY FACTORS

In last week’s newsletter we correctly forecast that the Dow would have a positive week due to a combination of astrological factors that tend to move the market up. Because this was an unusual group of astrological configurations, we decided to provide some background details about the varying degrees to which each of the planetary aspects had made previous impacts on the Dow, based on roughly 90 years of market history. Our comments provoked an insightful query from one of our readers, Bjørn Hedberg of Norway. He noted that according to Sy Harding, the markets “are up on an average 66% of the time. And the strong days in the month are the last trading day of the month and the first 4 days of the month in which the market are up on an average on 75%,” while we had mentioned planetary combinations that work to bring the Dow up 67%, 61%, 57%, and 59% of the time. So, Bjørn wanted to know, “Your numbers should therefore lower the market or not?”
The answer to this question lies in the different time frames employed by various market analysis and forecasting methodologies. While it may be accurate to note that the market is up 66% of the time when seen from a long-range perspective, our concern as short-term swing traders is whether or not the market will go up in the immediate future, when we have a specific trade in play. Just knowing a long-term average trend is not enough for our purposes; we want to know whether or not the specific equities we are trading will be supported by a rising tide in the broader market during the duration of our trade. An examination of the long-term market trends will readily reveal that the general upward bias over an extended period of time includes many deviations from that norm, with some extended shorter-term periods of unrelenting bearish downtrends and some periods of frenzied buying that punctuate the long-term mean direction with more energetic rallies and peaks.
That’s one of the reasons we look at astrological factors in the first place as we do our market analysis. The planetary cycles and astrological dynamics present an ever-changing kaleidoscope, but the individual factors at work can be measured and then used as tools in forecasting—with some fairly specific implications about the strength and duration of their influence. When we add them to the mix in our market analysis, we do so with a background understanding of the overall direction and long-term temperament of the market as a whole. In other words, the astrological factors that impact the markets have a cumulative effect, with their weight and influence added to the overall expectations of long-range market trends.
The market has a general positive bias, but very powerful combinations of planetary factors can combine in certain ways that might lead us to expect a short-term downward move in the market action. On the other hand, if we get a group of planetary factors that all suggest an imminent upward market move, their influences can still be felt, even though they may not individually have enough strength to dominate the overall market trend. They each provide an incremental amplification of the prevailing market tendencies, giving us a higher level of confidence in forecasting a positive market run in the short term.
By the way, we’ll be adding the questions from Max and Bjørn to the FAQ section of our website at www.TimBost.com this week. Be sure to check it out—you’ll find lots of answers to your questions about trading and astrology, and we’re adding more information on a regular basis!


THE WEEK AHEAD

For the second week in a row, we have a comparatively slow earnings calendar ahead of us, with fewer than 400 companies expected to release earnings reports. The top names in the group are Albertson’s (ABS), Kroger (KR), Inerpublic Group (IPG), Echostar (DISH), National Semiconductor (NSM), Apollo Group (APOL), and Oracle (ORCL).
It’s also a lightweight week for economic reports. We’ll get the January Trade Balance and Wholesale Inventories reports, February Retail Sales, the February Budget Statement from the Treasury, January Business Inventories, and the preliminary figures on Consumer Confidence from the University of Michigan.
A Saturn direct station and a Mars/Admetos conjunction kick off the astrological picture for the week, bringing some restrictive energy which may inhibit market action and create a downward bias. Thursday’s lunar perigee could trigger a short-term trend reversal on Friday, but a Void-of-Course Moon throughout the trading day on Tuesday gives traders a reason to be extremely cautious if they don’t opt out of trading altogether. The week also features a heliocentric Venus/Chiron opposition and a heliocentric Venus/Vulcanus conjunction, a geocentric Venus/Poseidon opposition, a Cupido retrograde station, and a Kronos direct station. The full impact of all these factors has yet to be understood completely through astro-trading research. However, they do have an influence on share prices, so we are likely to see the overall momentum likely to flatten out this week as the market looks for opportunities to give back some of its recent gains
Have a great week!

*****


GLOBAL EQUITIES MARKETS LAST WEEK

Most of the world’s stock exchanges posted gains last week, with Hong Kong being the most notable exception. London, Frankfurt, and Tokyo all showed significant strength.

Dow Jones Industrial Average – up 0.11%
Dow Jones Transportation Average – down 0.31%
Dow Jones Utilities Average – up 1.10%
S& P 500 – up 1.04%
NASDAQ Composite Index – up 0.88%
Russell 2000 – up 2.39%
London FTSE-100 – up 1.22%
Paris CAC-40 – up 0.96%
Frankfurt DAX – up 2.69%
Sydney All Ordinaries – up 1.30%
Tokyo Nikkei – up 4.49%
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index – down 3.25%
Singapore Straits Times Index – up 0.23%


FINANCIAL CYCLES MODEL PORTFOLIO


POSITIONS CLOSED DURING THE PREVIOUS WEEK: TKTX, WSFS, MERQ, ANF.

We closed four portfolio positions during the previous week, with four winners producing a net profit of $607.00.

On March 1 we bought to cover 500 shares of Transkaryotic Therapies (TKTX) at 12.15, taking a profit of $25.00 (a 0.41% gain in 4 trading days).

On March 1 we bought to cover 200 shares of W S F S Financial Corporation (WSFS) at 48.79, taking a profit of $12.00 (a 0.12% gain in 4 trading days).

On March 2 we sold 200 shares of Mercury Interactive Corporation (MERQ) at 47.25, taking a profit of $10.00 (a 0.11% gain in 5 trading days).

On March 4 we sold 400 shares of Abercrombie and Fitch Company (ANF) at 30.65, taking a profit of $560.00 (a 4.79% gain in 8 trading days).

*****


POSITIONS ADDED TO THE PORTFOLIO DURING THE PREVIOUS WEEK: ADI, GLK, PETM, AMTD.

We added three long positions and one short position during the previous week.

We bought 200 shares of Analog Devices (ADI) at 49.75 on 03/01/04, setting our initial stop at 47.20.

We bought 400 shares of Great Lakes Chemical (GLK) at 25.65 on 03/02/04, setting our initial stop at 24.07.

We bought 400 shares of Petsmart (PETM) at 25.60 on 03/02/04, setting our initial stop at 24.99

We sold short 500 shares of Ameritrade Holding Corporation (AMTD) at 17.00 on 03/04/04, setting our initial buy stop at 17.28.

*****


YEAR-IN-REVIEW MODEL PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

Based on the Model Portfolio’s composition at the beginning of 2004, featuring positions with an acquisition cost basis of $53,947.50 ($66,022.50 in long positions less short liabilities of $12,075.00), we reduced our cash holdings in the Model Portfolio to $46,052.50 on January 1. This returned the total portfolio value to $100.000.00 as we began trading in 2004.

So far this year we have had a total of 36 completed trades, with 14 winners and 22 losers bringing us a total net loss of $326.50. The largest profit for a single trade has been $1,522.50; the largest single-trade loss has been $504.00; the average profit per trade has been $9.07. The mean duration of our trades has been 8.8 trading days.

During 2003 we had a total of 176 completed trades, with 99 winners and 77 losers bringing us a total net profit of $51,717.00. The largest profit for a single trade was $9,240.00; the largest single-trade loss was $1,170.00; the average profit per trade was $293.85. The mean duration of our trades was 10.1 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.

*****


CURRENT POSITIONS IN THE MODEL PORTFOLIO

Akamai Technologies, Inc. (AKAM) – bought 600 shares at 14.10 on 02/24/04; currently 15.72. Raise stop to 15.02.

Ameritrade Holding Corporation (AMTD) – sold short 500 shares at 17.00 on 03/04/04; currently 16.67. Lower buy stop to 17.05.

Analog Devices (ADI) – bought 200 shares at 49.75 on 03/01/04; currently 50.79. Raise stop to 49.25.

Centex Corporation (CTX) – bought 100 shares at 94.50 on 02/05/04; currently 115.50. Raise stop to 108.25.

Great Lakes Chemical (GLK) – bought 400 shares at 25.65 on 03/02/04; currently 25.95. Raise stop to 24.60.

Inter Parfums Inc. (IPAR) – bought 300 shares at 27.20 on 02/11/04; currently 30.16. Raise stop to 28.75.

Linens N Things Inc. (LIN) – bought 300 shares at 33.35 on 02/18/04; currently 36.15. Raise stop to 34.25.

Maxtor Corporation (MXO) – bought 1,000 shares at 9.30 on 02/24/03; currently 10.21. Raise stop to 9.99.

Petsmart (PETM) – bought 400 shares at 25.60 on 03/02/04; currently 27.80. Raise stop to 25.55.

*****


STRONGEST MARKET SECTORS LAST WEEK

Manufactured Housing; Gaming Activities; Internet Information Providers; Diversified Investments; Resorts & Casinos.

*****


WEAKEST MARKET SECTORS LAST WEEK

Cement; Catalog & Mail Order Houses; Major Airlines; Farm products; Networking & Communications Devices.

*****


KEY ASTROLOGICAL EVENTS THIS WEEK

March 7
Heliocentric Mercury semisquare Heliocentric Neptune 00:49 EST
Void-of-Course Moon 03:49 – 17:31 EST
Heliocentric Venus sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Uranus 04:11 EST
Mercury quincunx Apollon in right ascension 08:42 EST
Sun parallel Mercury 10:04 EST
Sun parallel Mercury in right ascension 10:06 EST
Saturn direct station in right ascension 10:21 EST
Heliocentric Mercury at 0° latitude 10:33 EST
Heliocentric Mercury enters Aries 10:39 EST
Mercury square Pluto in right ascension 10:39 EST
Saturn direct station 11:52 EST
Mars semisquare Saturn 12:18 EST
Heliocentric Mercury square Heliocentric Kronos 15:12 EST
Venus contraparallel Poseidon in right ascension 16:20 EST
Venus contraparallel Poseidon 16:46 EST
Mars conjunct Admetos 18:39 EST
Mercury sextile Admetos 20:00 EST
Mercury sesquiquadrate Poseidon 20:23 EST
Mercury sextile Mars 20:40 EST
Sun sextile Mars in right ascension 21:12 EST
Mercury square Hades 23:00 EST

March 8
Venus enters Taurus in right ascension 00:34 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisextile Heliocentric Uranus 01:19 EST
Venus sextile Kronos in right ascension 02:09 EST
Mercury trine Vulcanus 02:24 EST
Sun sextile Admetos in right ascension 02:40 EST
Mars semisextile Hades 03:45 EST
Mercury square Pluto 04:51 EST
Mars conjunct Admetos in right ascension 04:59 EST
Moon at 0° south declination 05:28 EST
Sun sesquiquadrate Poseidon in right ascension 05:54 EST
Venus sesquiquadrate Jupiter in right ascension 06:39 EST
Mercury trine Vulcanus in right ascension 10:32 EST
Mars sextile Vulcanus 13:58 EST
Heliocentric Venus quincunx Heliocentric Pluto 15:12 EST
Heliocentric Mercury quincunx Heliocentric Poseidon 16:10 EST
Sun in 24th harmonic to Uranus 17:28 EST
Heliocentric Venus opposition Heliocentric Chiron 19:38 EST
Venus sextile Uranus 21:38 EST
Mars quincunx Pluto 21:45 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisquare Heliocentric Admetos 21:50 EST
Mercury quincunx Apollon 22:25 EST

March 9
Heliocentric Mercury opposition Heliocentric Zeus 00:57 EST
Mercury semisquare True Lunar Node in right ascension 03:18 EST
Mercury sextile Chiron in right ascension 04:13 EST
Heliocentric Mercury trine Heliocentric Cupido 06:17 EST
Mercury sextile Chiron 07:16 EST
Void-of-Course Moon 07:43 - 21:03 EST
Venus contraparallel Pluto 09:33 EST
Mercury parallel Zeus 09:52 EST
Mercury parallel Zeus in right ascension 10:53 EST
Heliocentric Venus sextile Heliocentric Admetos 18:29 EST
Heliocentric Mercury square Heliocentric Saturn 22:28 EST

March 10
Heliocentric Mars in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Saturn 00:23 EST
Heliocentric Venus conjunct Heliocentric Vulcanus 00:52 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sextile Heliocentric Neptune 01:58 EST
Venus contraparallel Chiron 02:03 EST
Heliocentric Venus semisextile Heliocentric Hades 04:23 EST
Venus square 05/16/03 Lunar Eclipse Antiscion 04:41 EST
Cupido retrograde station in right ascension 05:58 EST
Sun square Hades in right ascension 06:53 EST
Heliocentric Mercury quincunx Heliocentric Jupiter 08:16 EST
Mars sesquiquadrate Zeus 08:25 EST
Heliocentric Earth square Heliocentric Pluto 08:38 EST
Heliocentric Venus square Heliocentric Apollon 09:04 EST
Cupido retrograde station 10:48 EST
Sun semisquare Venus 14:53 EST
Heliocentric Earth trine Heliocentric Chiron 16:31 EST
True Lunar Node direct station 19:46 EST
Heliocentric Venus sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Cupido 20:35 EST
Mercury semisquare True Lunar Node 20:38 EST

March 11
Heliocentric Earth semisquare Heliocentric Poseidon 00:24 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisquare Heliocentric Uranus 00:25 EST
Mars quincunx Apollon 02:12 EST
Sun quincunx Apollon in right ascension 03:22 EST
Mars semisextile Hades in right ascension 06:29 EST
Venus sextile Saturn 06:44 EST
Sun square Pluto in right ascension 08:53 EST
Venus opposition Poseidon 10:20 EST
Venus in 24th harmonic to Admetos 10:47 EST
Heliocentric Mercury trine Heliocentric Pluto 11:02 EST
Sun sesquiquadrate Poseidon 12:05 EST
Heliocentric Mercury square Heliocentric Chiron 12:33 EST
Sun sextile Admetos 12:36 EST
Heliocentric Mars sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Neptune 13:06 EST
Venus semisquare Hades 15:41 EST
Heliocentric Earth quincunx Heliocentric Mercury 16:57 EST
Sun square Hades 17:55 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisextile Heliocentric Admetos 19:07 EST
Mercury semisquare Neptune 19:36 EST
Venus parallel True Lunar Node in right ascension 20:42 EST
Heliocentric Mercury square Heliocentric Vulcanus 21:01 EST
Venus parallel True Lunar Node 21:24 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sextile Heliocentric Hades 22:04 EST
Lunar perigee 22:38 EST
Sun parallel Zeus 22:51 EST
Sun parallel Zeus in right ascension 23:11 EST
Void-of-Course Moon 23:11 – 23:57 EST
Heliocentric Mercury opposition Heliocentric Apollon 23:27 EST
Sun trine Vulcanus 23:52 EST

March 12
Venus opposition Poseidon in right ascension 00:22 EST
Mercury enters Aries in right ascension 00:41 EST
Mercury square Kronos in right ascension 01:34 EST
Venus sesquiquadrate Pluto 02:44 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Cupido 02:54 EST
Mercury enters Aries 04:44 EST
Heliocentric Earth trine Heliocentric Admetos 04:48 EST
Mercury square Kronos 05:23 EST
Sun square Pluto 05:57 EST
Mars quincunx Apollon in right ascension 10:36 EST
Mars semisquare Saturn in right ascension 11:52 EST
Mars trine Chiron 13:41 EST
Heliocentric Earth sextile Heliocentric Vulcanus 15:11 EST
Heliocentric Mercury square Heliocentric Venus 15:35 EST
Mars quincunx Pluto in right ascension 19:07 EST
Heliocentric Earth in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Zeus 20:32 EST
Heliocentric Earth square Heliocentric Hades 20:59 EST
Venus quincunx Zeus 21:55 EST
Mercury at 0° north declination 22:13 EST

March 13
Heliocentric Mercury sextile Heliocentric Mars 00:10 EST
Heliocentric Venus in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Saturn 00:58 EST
Mercury semisquare Neptune in right ascension 01:12 EST
Mars opposition 05/16/03 Lunar Eclipse Point 03:01 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Jupiter 03:45 EST
Heliocentric Earth semisextile Heliocentric Apollon 04:31 EST
Sun trine Vulcanus in right ascension 04:42 EST
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Venus 04:45 EST
Heliocentric Mercury enters Taurus 05:13 EST
Heliocentric Mars parallel Heliocentric Jupiter 05:14 EST
Mars sesquiquadrate Zeus in right ascension 08:15 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sextile Heliocentric Kronos 09:10 EST
Sun quincunx Apollon 14:24 EST
True Lunar Node retrograde station 15:29 EST
Void-of-Course Moon begins 16:01 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sextile Heliocentric Uranus 18:00 EST
Kronos direct station in right ascension 18:26 EST
Venus semisquare Hades in right ascension 20:46 EST
Venus sextile Uranus in right ascension 22:57 EST

March 14
Kronos direct station 01:07 EST
Void-of-Course Moon ends 02:51 EST
Heliocentric Mercury sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Pluto 03:45 EST
Mercury semisextile Uranus 05:49 EST
Heliocentric Venus semisextile Heliocentric Mars 06:19 EST
Heliocentric Mercury opposition Heliocentric Poseidon 06:24 EST
Venus contraparallel Neptune 06:32 EST
Mercury semisquare Admetos in right ascension 09:28 EST
Mercury quincunx Poseidon in right ascension 09:55 EST
Sun semisquare True Lunar Node in right ascension 10:59 EST
Heliocentric Venus semisquare Heliocentric Jupiter 10:59 EST
Heliocentric Mercury in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Admetos 11:21 EST
Heliocentric Mercury quincunx Heliocentric Zeus 14:02 EST
Heliocentric Mercury semisquare Heliocentric Hades 14:07 EST
Moon at maximum south declination 14:18 EST
Heliocentric Venus enters Leo 14:32 EST
Venus sextile Saturn in right ascension 15:55 EST
Sun sextile Chiron 16:55 EST
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Mars 17:21 EST
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Jupiter 17:56 EST
Heliocentric Mercury quincunx Heliocentric Cupido 18:36 EST
Venus sesquiquadrate Pluto in right ascension 20:13 EST
Heliocentric Earth sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Mercury 22:31 EST
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Hades 23:06 EST
Venus quincunx Cupido 23:20 EST


*****


STOCKS TO WATCH: CNMD, GTK, MDCI, FLSH, SHRP.

ConMed Corporation (CNMD)
NASDAQ; Optionable
First Trade Date: 07/23/1987; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: Transiting Jupiter is not only currently crossing the CNMD First-Trade Ascendant; it’s also forming a sesquiquadrate to First-Trade Jupiter. This is a very positive indicator for further price appreciation in this stock, especially with transiting Cupido conjoining the First-Trade IC and transiting Vulcanus conjunct the First-Trade solar arc directed Jupiter/Ascendant midpoint. We’re ready to add a long position in CNMD to the Model Portfolio this week. We’ll use geocentric planetary lines for Hades at 6.69 and Saturn at 25.51 to guide our stop loss levels, setting our initial stop at 27.58.

Gtech Holdings Corporation (GTK)
NYSE; Optionable
First Trade Date: 07/22/1992; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: GTK has been enjoying a surge to new price highs as Jupiter has moved over its First-Trade Ascendant and as the entire industry group of gaming and lottery-related businesses has pushed to the forefront recently, but its First-Trade Cupido is now picking up an opposition from transiting Admetos and a sesquiquadrate from transiting Saturn. This suggests that GTK may be in for a bit of a price pull-back this week, especially with transiting Hades in the background conjoining the solar-arc Midheaven and the solar-arc Mars/Kronos midpoint—are there potential regulatory problems that aren’t being talked about by the company? Nevertheless, we’re not ready to write this one off, especially with a Mars return coming up soon. That particular transit has had a great record at driving the price of GTK up, so our plan is to take advantage of any price pull-back that occurs this week as a buying opportunity and add a long position on Thursday or Friday. We’re using the intersection of geocentric planetary lines for Jupiter at 16.33 and Hades at 7.19 to set our stop-loss levels; our initial stop will either be at 60.67 or at 59.23, depending on how much of a retracement we get before buying this stock.

Medical Action Industries, Inc. (MDCI)
NASDAQ
First Trade Date: 07/22/1986; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: Jupiter on the First-Trade Ascendant for this stock is also conjoining the MDCI First-Trade Venus; Jupiter will soon retrograde into a square to the First-Trade Midheaven as well, and the First-Trade meridian axis is picking up extra strength from transiting Cupido. MDCI experienced a nice price break-out in last week’s trading, and we see no reason that the positive trend shouldn’t continue. We plan to add a long position in MDCI to the Model Portfolio this week, setting our initial stop on the geocentric 79.11 Kronos line, at a price of 16.91.

M-Systems Flash Disk Pioneers (FLSH)
NASDAQ; Optionable
First Trade Date: 03/04/1993; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: We added FLSH to our watch list last week, and then on Thursday and
Friday last week we saw it put in two consecutive closes above 20.09, which was the signal we were looking for to confirm a buy. Our plan is thus to add a long position in FLSH to the Model Portfolio on Monday, setting our initial stop at 18.25.

Sharper Image Corporation (SHRP)
NASDAQ; Optionable
First Trade Date: 04/28/1987; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: Transiting Saturn and Admetos have been impacting the SHRP First-Trade Ascendant and First-Trade Venus recently, which probably accounts for the failure of this stock’s break-out attempt in early February. Jupiter is about to conjoin the First-Trade IC, however, so we could see another price run-up worth trading. A geocentric Chiron line at 78.31 is providing dramatic support for this stock, we’ll use it as guidance if further price advances confirm a long position in SHRP for us late this week—we’ll set our initial stop at 37.20.



FINANCIAL CYCLES (ISSN 1055-8527) is published by Taylor-Bost Consulting and edited by Tim Bost at 2831 Ringling Boulevard, Suite B-108, Sarasota, FL 34237 USA. Phone: 941-953-3545. Fax: 941-953-3732. Web: http://www.TimBost.com. Entire contents copyright 2004 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, 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. PayPal is also accepted for online orders; send payment to PayPal@TimBost.com.

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.

*****

posted by Tim Bost @ 3/07/2004 06:02:22 PM