FinancialCyclesWeekly.com #0429 – July 18-24, 2004 with Tim Bost

COMMENT: Last week we noted that “Thursday’s Sun/Chiron opposition and Friday’s face-off between Mars and Neptune both promise drastically lower prices for the broad market as well as the market bellwethers” and said that “our expectation is for any blue-chip strength that reveals itself early in the week to have vanished by the time Friday rolls around.”
That certainly proved to be the case. The blood-letting began right on schedule in mid-week after the Dow had managed to tack about 35 points onto its closing level from the previous week during two fairly lackluster trading sessions. By Friday the blue chips had sagged south of their 200-day moving averages and the NASDAQ was finishing up another disastrous week.

MAKING SENSE OF THE MARKETS
So what happened? In some respects, the week left many conventional market analysts and forecasters a bit baffled. The economic news was anything but devastating, with the University of Michigan reporting growth in Consumer Confidence, preliminary regional numbers showing strong improvements in factory activity in July, and Consumer Prices showing only small increases while Producer Prices dropped. Even the week’s corporate earnings reports brought some good news, with Dell raising its profit estimates as its new CEO took over, Apple bringing in a very solid report, and IBM posting a report that was better than expected while saying that future earnings looked good, too.
Of course there were a few wrinkles along the way. The June Retail Sales report showed the biggest drop in 16 months, so the economic recovery, which is also suffering from nagging weakness on the job-creation front, may not be going quite as well as hoped for. Kevin Rollins, the new CEO at Dell, commented that the demand for its products is growing faster overseas than it is in the U.S., suggesting that more offshore outsourcing is on the way. And oil prices went back up above $40 a barrel while prices at the gas pump crept back upward as well, all without much comment or protest.
In other words, the good news/bad news outlook brought a fresh wave of uncertainty to the markets, and uncertainty is always something the markets don’t like. It was more of the mixed message, contradictory command motif that has increasingly become the norm not only in the markets, but in social and political arenas as well.

LITTLE RELIEF IN SIGHT
As usual, the atmosphere of contradiction has found little relief in the realm of politics. Speaking this past week about the international threat of nuclear war, President Bush remarked that “We are leading a steady, confident, systematic campaign against the dangers of our time. Today, because America has acted and because America has led, the forces of terror and tyranny have suffered defeat after defeat, and America and the world are safer.”
Yet while good progress has certainly been made in multilateral efforts to police nuclear trafficking through the Proliferation Security Initiative, the U.S. currently has no plans at all on the books to encourage a coordinated international effort toward nonproliferation. And in spite of progress with Libya, it’s certainly hard to believe that the world is safer while Iran’s nuclear program has moved ahead unimpeded, and while bungled diplomacy has allowed North Korea to emerge as a nuclear state capable of mass producing atomic weapons. It’s an atmosphere that offers lots of fresh opportunities for market uncertainty.

MEANWHILE, ON CAPITOL HILL
Congress has been doing its part to relieve contradiction by rewriting history as it happens. When Florida Congresswoman Corrine Brown chastised the House of Representatives for refusing to allow the United Nations to monitor the 2004 presidential elections, saying that a coup d'tat had taken place in 2000, the House leadership not only shouted her down and accused her of being “out of order,” it voted to have her remarks completely stricken from the Congressional Record. The whole attempt at free speech was simply erased.
Although the congresswoman’s speech now never officially happened, if you act fast you may still be able to view her offending comments in an archived news report on the web at www.firstcoastnews.com/video/player.aspx?aid=27805&sid=&bw=hi.

SO LIGHTEN UP
Fortunately, the whole realm of contradiction and uncertainty is not without its potential for laughter and entertainment value. While you’re on the web, take a look at Mark Fiore’s cartoon on the “Ministry of Fear” at http://www.villagevoice.com/fiore/. Or go to drake.folkdude.com and listen to the new song from Ervin Drake, the 85-year-old Songwriters Hall of Fame composer who penned “It Was a Very Good Year” and other hits for Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Barbra Streisand.

MAINTAINING PERSPECTIVE
As usual, though, the astrological dynamics behind the scenes do a better job of focusing on what’s really going on than the efforts of the economists, media analysts, or political pundits. Are we now stronger and more vital than ever before, or are we struggling to heal a wounded national psyche and an injured international reputation? That’s a symbolic question the Sun/Chiron opposition poses. Are we in fact acting boldly and decisively to create a better world, or are we responding to delusional fantasies and imagined threats? We’ll refer that debate to Mars and Neptune.
The Mars/Neptune opposition gets an additional spin this week as a contraparallel on Thursday, so we may continue to struggle with illusion at one level or another. We’ll also have a Mars/Pluto trine in play throughout the week (in right ascension on Tuesday and geocentrically next weekend), so there will be a tendency to put a lot of extra energy into all our endeavors, with generally positive results. The main astrological emphasis for the week comes from Poseidon, which makes a direct station on Wednesday. It offers us an excellent opportunity to awaken to new values within ourselves as we work to create greater material abundance, more fulfilling spiritual attunement, and kinder expressions of wisdom in our lives.
Have a great week!

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THE WEEK AHEAD

This week marks the peak of the earnings season, with roughly 35% of the companies in the S&P 500 reporting. Some of the most noteworthy earnings reports will be coming from 3M (MMM), Boston Scientific (BSX), Allstate Corporation (ALL), Altria Group (MO), Ford Motor (F), Wells Fargo (WFC), Texas Instruments (TXN), Motorola (MOT), Pfizer (PFE), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM), Fannie Mae (FNM), Merck (MRK), General Motors (GM), NEXTEL Communications (NXTL), United Technologies (UTX), Honeywell International (HON), Cendant (CD), eBay Inc. (EBAY), Microsoft (MSFT), Qualcomm (QCOM), SBC Communications (SBC), Coca Cola (KO), Wyeth (WYE), United Parcel Service (UPS), Amgen (AMGN), Eli Lilly & Company (LLY), Caterpillar (CAT), MBNA Corporation (KRB), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), and McDonald’s (MCD).
The economic calendar for the week is quite light. Most of the attention will be focused on the reports of June Housing Starts and the June Leading Indicators, along with the Investor Confidence Index from State Street. Alan Greenspan will bring his semiannual monetary policy report to Congress, talking to the Senate on Tuesday and the House of Representatives on Wednesday. The week will also bring public remarks from Philadelphia Fed President Anthony Santomero and Chicago Fed President Michael Moskow.
With Wednesday’s Poseidon station in a tight square to Uranus in the horoscope for the Federal Reserve, we may see Mr. Greenspan’s comments include fresh revelations which generate some surprising ideas about the future direction of monetary policy. Our research continues to show that Poseidon plays a key role in market dynamics, so we’ll be watching as well for possible ramifications in equities and currencies during the coming weeks.
Speaking of fresh ideas, there’s likely to be a strong push toward innovative formulations in the markets on Monday, powered by a heliocentric Venus/Zeus sesquiquadrate and a Mars trigger of an eclipse point. This could create some interesting setups for day traders, but we’ll need to be cautious in the afternoon, since the Moon goes void-of-course about an hour before the closing bell. Tuesday’s Venus/Jupiter square could mark a short-term market bottom, but our guess is that stocks will have a tough time mounting a rally so the bottoming action could get a bit extended. Thursday’s trading begins under a void-of-course Moon, so extra caution is advised, at least until that afternoon. We’ll be paying closing attention to the market action on Thursday and Friday as we lead into the Venus/Pluto opposition next weekend; if this week ends with a sell-off there could be a good opportunity to go long as July’s final week unfolds.

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SPIRITUAL FOCUS FOR THE WEEK

The greatest traders of all time have understood that emotional balance is the key to successful trading. Through Practical Spiritual Astrology we can align ourselves to the kind of inner harmony that enhances emotional balance.

Our thoughts and insights may not seem entirely clear this week, and may even lack more coherence than we realize. Nevertheless, if we trust ourselves sufficiently those thoughts will help us create dynamic new possibilities for abundance in our lives.

"Nothing will ever be attempted, if all possible objections must first be overcome." –Samuel Johnson

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GLOBAL EQUITIES MARKETS LAST WEEK

Sell-offs hit stock markets around the world last week, with U.S. equities leading the way down. The NASDAQ posted a second consecutive week of heavy losses, while the Dow Industrials, the S&P 500, and the Russell 2000 all broke below their 200-day moving averages, as did the DAX in Frankfurt. Weakness was also evident in other European markets as well as in much of the Pacific. In Japan, the Nikkei recovered some of the ground it lost during the previous week, but still tested new 6-week lows and had a hard time staying above its 50-day moving average.

Dow Jones Industrial Average – down 0.72%
Dow Jones Transportation Average – up 0.01%
Dow Jones Utilities Average – up 2.18%
S&P 500 – down 1.03%
NASDAQ Composite Index – down 3.25%
Russell 2000 – down 1.46%
London FTSE-100 – down 1.23%
Paris CAC-40 – down 1.58%
Frankfurt DAX – down 2.00%
Sydney All Ordinaries – down 0.71%
Tokyo Nikkei – up 0.11%
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index – down 1.17%
Singapore Straits Times Index – up 0.51%

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FINANCIAL CYCLES MODEL PORTFOLIO


POSITIONS CLOSED DURING THE PREVIOUS WEEK: VLCCF, SRDX, ADVNB, LOJN, DAKT.

We closed five Model Portfolio positions during the past week, with 3 winners and 2 losers producing a net profit of $8,215.00.

On July 12 we sold 500 shares of Knightsbridge Tankers (VLCCF) at 29.98, taking a profit of $5,645.00 (a 60.41% gain in 38 trading days).

On July 12 we sold 400 shares of SurModics Inc. (SRDX) at 22.90, taking a loss of $640.00 (a 6.53% loss in 7 trading days).

On July 13 we sold 600 shares of Advanta Corporation Class B (ADVNB) at 22.10, taking a profit of $3,150.00 (a 31.16% gain in 22 trading days).

On July 13 we sold 1,000 shares of Lo-Jack Corporation (LOJN) at 8.75, taking a loss of $280.00 (a 3.10% loss in 3 trading days).

On July 14 we sold 400 shares of Daktronics Inc. (DAKT) at 24.35, taking a profit of $340.00 (a 3.62% profit in 18 trading days).

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POSITIONS ADDED TO THE PORTFOLIO DURING THE PREVIOUS WEEK: BUD, USNA, MNTG, RESP, CRDN.

We added four long positions and one short position to the Model Portfolio during the previous week.

We bought 200 shares of Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (BUD) at 53.75 on 07/12/04, setting our initial stop at 52.25.

We bought 400 shares of USANA Health Science (USNA) at 27.50 on 07/12/04, setting our initial stop at 25.48.

We sold short 1,000 shares of MTR Gaming Group (MNTG) at 11.00 on 07/13/04, setting our initial buy stop at 11.30.

We bought 200 shares of Respironics Inc. (RESP) at 55.75 on 07/13/04, setting our initial stop at 53.80.

We bought 200 shares of Ceradyne Inc. (CRDN) at 35.80 on 07/15/04, setting our initial stop at 34.99.

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YEAR-IN-REVIEW MODEL PORTFOLIO ACTIVITY

So far in 2004 we have had a total of 113 completed trades, with 54 winners and 59 losers bringing us a total net profit of $22,775.50. The largest profit for a single trade has been $5,645.00; the largest single-trade loss has been $750.00; the average profit per trade has been $201.55. The mean duration of our trades has been 9.8 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.

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CURRENT POSITIONS IN THE MODEL PORTFOLIO

Anheuser-Busch Companies, Inc. (BUD) – bought 200 shares at 53.75 on 07/12/04; currently 53.65. Raise stop to 53.49.

Ceradyne Inc. (CRDN) – bought 200 shares at 35.80 on 07/15/04; currently 36.36. Stop set at 34.99.

Dawson Geophysical Company (DWSN) – sold short 400 shares at 24.50 on 07/08/04; currently 21.90. Lower buy stop to 23.07.

Landstar System Inc. (LSTR) – bought 200 shares at 50.75 on 07/08/04; currently 52.19. Raise stop to 51.50.

MTR Gaming Group (MNTG) – sold short 1,000 shares at 11.00 on 07/13/04; currently 10.54. Lower buy stop to 11.06.

Respironics Inc. (RESP) – bought 200 shares at 55.75 on 07/13/04; currently 56.49. Raise stop to 55.50.

USANA Health Science (USNA) – bought 400 shares at 27.50 on 07/12/04; currently 27.90. Raise stop to 26.85.

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STRONGEST MARKET SECTORS LAST WEEK

Steel & Iron; Health Care Plans; Oil & Gas Equipment & Services; Oil & Gas Drilling & Exploration; Mortgage Investment.

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WEAKEST MARKET SECTORS LAST WEEK

Major Airlines; Semiconductor Equipment & Materials; Music & Video Stores; Catalog & Mail Order Houses; Auto Parts Stores.

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KEY ASTROLOGICAL EVENTS DURING THE COMING WEEK

July 18
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Mars 03:16 EDT
Heliocentric Venus sextile Heliocentric Pluto 03:53 EDT
Heliocentric Earth parallel Heliocentric Cupido 05:35 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Pluto 10:40 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Chiron 11:04 EDT
Chiron contraparallel True Lunar Node 11:45 EDT
True Lunar Node contraparallel Chiron in right ascension 13:41 EDT
Mercury semisquare Zeus 16:54 EDT
Mercury semisextile Vulcanus in right ascension 17:00 EDT
Chiron trine Admetos 20:31 EDT
Mercury contraparallel Pluto in right ascension 22:36 EDT
Heliocentric Venus square Heliocentric Admetos 22:37 EDT
Mercury contraparallel Pluto 22:38 EDT
Mercury sextile Apollon 23:49 EDT

July 19
Markets closed in Japan for Marine Day holiday
Heliocentric Mercury square Heliocentric Neptune 03:33 EDT
Heliocentric Venus quincunx Heliocentric Vulcanus 04:56 EDT
Sun contraparallel Cupido 05:11 EDT
Mercury semisextile Vulcanus 05:18 EDT
Sun contraparallel Cupido in right ascension 06:54 EDT
Mercury contraparallel Chiron in right ascension 07:02 EDT
Mercury contraparallel Chiron 07:05 EDT
Mercury quincunx Chiron 09:10 EDT
Mercury parallel True Lunar Node in right ascension 09:41 EDT
Heliocentric Venus sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Zeus 09:41 EDT
Mercury square Admetos 09:49 EDT
Mercury parallel True Lunar Node 10:05 EDT
Heliocentric Chiron square Heliocentric Apollon 10:24 EDT
Mars square 11/09/2003 Lunar Eclipse Point 10:37 EDT
Heliocentric Venus trine Heliocentric Hades 11:04 EDT
Heliocentric Venus parallel Heliocentric Neptune 11:25 EDT
Heliocentric Venus trine Heliocentric Apollon 13:46 EDT
Heliocentric Venus semisextile Heliocentric Chiron 13:48 EDT
Void-of-Course Moon begins 14:50 EDT
Mars semisextile Jupiter 16:00 EDT
Saturn quincunx Pluto in right ascension 18:48 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Kronos 22:06 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Venus 23:22 EDT
Mars semisquare Kronos 23:46 EDT

July 20
Mercury sextile Hades 00:07 EDT
Void-of-Course Moon ends 03:44 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Neptune 04:20 EDT
Venus square Jupiter 04:50 EDT
Heliocentric Earth quincunx Heliocentric Mars 06:40 EDT
Heliocentric Venus quincunx Heliocentric Jupiter 07:04 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury trine Heliocentric Saturn 07:07 EDT
Venus in 24th harmonic to Kronos 09:32 EDT
Mars trine Pluto in right ascension 14:03 EDT
Mercury contraparallel Poseidon 14:10 EDT
Mercury contraparallel Poseidon in right ascension 14:31 EDT
Mars semisextile Saturn in right ascension 20:15 EDT
Mercury square 5/16/2003 Lunar Eclipse Point 20:42 EDT

July 21
Heliocentric Earth in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Neptune 04:02 EDT
Jupiter semisquare Poseidon in right ascension 09:34 EDT
Poseidon direct station 10:53 EDT
True Lunar Node quincunx Zeus 11:04 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury semisextile Heliocentric Pluto 15:05 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Admetos 15:07 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Poseidon 15:07 EDT
Void-of-Course Moon begins 17:48 EDT
Sun semisextile Kronos in right ascension 21:10 EDT
Venus trine Neptune in right ascension 22:03 EDT

July 22
Heliocentric Mercury opposition Heliocentric Admetos 01:16 EDT
Mars square Admetos in right ascension 02:03 EDT
Mars contraparallel Neptune 02:59 EDT
Mars contraparallel Neptune in right ascension 03:00 EDT
Heliocentric Mars contraparallel Heliocentric Poseidon 03:32 EDT
Chiron opposition Vulcanus 04:22 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury trine Heliocentric Vulcanus 04:45 EDT
Heliocentric Pluto semisquare Heliocentric Poseidon 04:52 EDT
Venus semisquare Sun in right ascension 05:55 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury semisquare Heliocentric Zeus 07:23 EDT
Heliocentric Pluto parallel Heliocentric Chiron 07:50 EDT
Heliocentric Earth enters Aquarius 07:50 EDT
Sun enters Leo 07:50 EDT
Mars sextile Apollon in right ascension 07:59 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury quincunx Heliocentric Hades 08:10 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury semisextile Heliocentric Apollon 09:37 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury sextile Heliocentric Chiron 10:05 EDT
Void-of-Course Moon ends 12:39 EDT
Chiron quincunx Hades in right ascension 18:02 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Cupido 18:33 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury sextile Heliocentric Jupiter 20:50 EDT

July 23
Heliocentric Venus in 24th harmonic to Heliocentric Neptune 01:46 EDT
Heliocentric Earth parallel Heliocentric Mercury 03:39 EDT
Sun square Poseidon in right ascension 07:38 EDT
Heliocentric Venus opposition Heliocentric Mars 09:20 EDT
Mars semisextile Saturn 11:32 EDT
Mars semisquare Zeus in right ascension 13:19 EDT
Heliocentric Earth quincunx Heliocentric Kronos 13:25 EDT
Heliocentric Venus parallel Heliocentric Pluto 14:06 EDT
Heliocentric Venus parallel Heliocentric Chiron 14:25 EDT
Sun semisquare Jupiter in right ascension 16:44 EDT
Heliocentric Venus enters Pisces 18:21 EDT
Venus sesquiquadrate Poseidon in right ascension 19:17 EDT
Venus semisextile Saturn 21:59 EDT

July 24
Sun semisextile Kronos 00:35 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury parallel Heliocentric Cupido 02:46 EDT
Heliocentric Jupiter contraparallel Heliocentric Zeus 04:29 EDT
Heliocentric Venus trine Heliocentric Kronos 12:13 EDT
Venus square Jupiter in right ascension 12:47 EDT
Sun semisquare Jupiter 16:13 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Vulcanus 17:45 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury square Heliocentric Mars 17:52 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury enters Sagittarius 17:53 EDT
Void-of-Course Moon 17:54 – 19:08 EDT
Heliocentric Mars enters Virgo 18:01 EDT
Sun sesquiquadrate Pluto in right ascension 20:17 EDT
Sun square True Lunar Node in right ascension 21:01 EDT
Pluto sesquiquadrate True Lunar Node in right ascension 22:10 EDT

July 25
Heliocentric Mercury quincunx Heliocentric Kronos 04:01 EDT
Mars trine Pluto 05:51 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Saturn 07:04 EDT
Heliocentric Venus sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Saturn 07:39 EDT
Neptune sesquiquadrate Kronos in right ascension 07:48 EDT
Mercury enters Virgo 10:00 EDT
Mercury sextile Kronos in right ascension 10:17 EDT
Venus opposition Pluto 10:59 EDT
Heliocentric Venus parallel Heliocentric Poseidon 11:17 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury contraparallel Heliocentric Hades 12:44 EDT
Mercury conjunct 4/19/2004 Solar Eclipse Antiscion 14:20 EDT
Heliocentric Mercury sesquiquadrate Heliocentric Saturn 15:08 EDT
Venus parallel Admetos in right ascension 18:31 EDT
Venus opposition Pluto in right ascension 21:12 EDT
Venus parallel Admetos 21:50 EDT
Venus semisquare True Lunar Node in right ascension 22:24 EDT
Heliocentric Earth semisextile Heliocentric Venus 22:45 EDT



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STOCKS TO WATCH: ABFS, CRHCY, CUNO, VCBI, WMT.


Arkansas Best Corporation (ABFS)
NASDAQ; Optionable
First Trade Date: 05/13/1992; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: With Saturn currently transiting the ABFS First-Trade Ascendant, we might ordinarily expect to see this stock consolidating a bit as it gets ready for another upward leg on the price graph. ABFS did dip a bit during the past couple of weeks’ trading, but that move could hardly be called consolidation, even though the trading volume was strong on the down days. The stock just bounced off its 200-day moving average and continued its upward move. We suspect that move is a fake-out, however, since Saturn’s passage over the First-Trade Ascendant isn’t the only thing that’s going on. Transiting Admetos is conjoining the ABFS First-Trade Sun, so we have every reason to think this stock will hit a brick wall as it tries to break through resistance at 33.00. Our plan is thus to sell ABFS short this week; we’ll be setting our initial buy stop at 33.25.


CRH PLC ADR (CRHCY)
NASDAQ
First Trade Date: 07/10/1989; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: Cement has become a very hot commodity lately, and here’s a cement company with Saturn conjoining its First-Trade Sun! CRHCY is also experiencing a Mars return right now, and transiting Uranus has just crossed its First-Trade Descendant. Once a little bit of the current volatility has settled down, we suspect that the Saturn transit will create a buying opportunity—most likely in early August. In the meantime, we’ll be watching and waiting; if CRHCY gets two consecutive daily closes below 22.00, we’ll be ready to put on a long position. When we do, our initial stop will be set at 21.40.


Cuno, Inc. (CUNO)
NASDAQ
First Trade Date: 09/09/1996; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: Saturn will be hitting the CUNO First-Trade Midheaven in September, which should bring some sobriety to the trading in this stock. In the meantime, however, we’re viewing it as a short-term momentum play, thanks to the Sun crossing the First-Trade Midheaven and transiting Jupiter conjoining the First-Trade Sun. Our plan is to enter a long position toward the end of this week, setting our initial stop at 48.75.


Virginia Commerce Bancorp (VCBI)
NASDAQ
First Trade Date: 09/02/1997; 09:30 a.m.
Trading Strategy: With Saturn transiting the VCBI First-Trade Midheaven, this stock’s rally has gotten stalled recently. Even so, the Saturn transit is a quick passage, and transiting Jupiter is currently offering the possibility of a more solid price recovery as it conjoins the First-Trade Moon. VCBI seems to be holding steady at its 200-day moving average, so we’ll add a long position to the Model Portfolio this week, setting our initial stop at 21.50.


Wal-mart Stores (WMT)
NYSE; Optionable
First Trade Date: 08/25/1972; 10:00 a.m.
Trading Strategy: Transiting Saturn was conjoining the WMT First-Trade Venus recently when the word got out about a big sex-discrimination lawsuit against the company. That was followed with news of weaker sales last month than a year ago, so it’s not surprising to see that the stock has dropped by more than 10% since early June. Saturn is currently crossing the WMT First-Trade Midheaven, however, so we could see a solid support zone getting set up for another upward price move. We believe that’s currently forming at the price levels set at the first of the year, so we’re ready to add a long position in this stock to the Model Portfolio this week. We’ll set our initial stop at 50.45.

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FINANCIAL CYCLES WEEKLY (ISSN 1055-8527) is published by Taylor-Bost Consulting and edited by Tim Bost at 2132 Beneva Road, Sarasota, FL 34232 USA. Phone: 941-921-2588. Fax: 941-927-5798. Web: http://www.TimBost.com. Entire contents copyright 2004 Timothy L. Bost. No portion of Financial Cycles Weekly may be reproduced without the publisher's written permission. Subscriptions to FINANCIAL CYCLES WEEKLY are $39.00 per month for weekly issues sent 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; to subscribe go to http://www.TimBost.com/newsletter/subscribe.html.

By providing a source of independent market analysis, the purpose of FINANCIAL CYCLES WEEKLY 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 WEEKLY 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 WEEKLY 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 WEEKLY 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 @ 7/18/2004 02:10:27 AM