Harriet Harman, new leader of the Labour Party?/Credit: Getty
Part V: *Updated*
Greece, Europe, Chicago, Wall Street Drama, Precious Metals & England's New Prime Minister?
By Theodore White; judicial Astrolog.S
Θεόδωρος
People continue to ask me if what they see, feel, and hear in the world will get worse, or better.
I have been forecasting this for some time, if anyone has cared to listen to one astrologer. I pray for the world as I read the transits of the skies day and night that tell me all I know about the future. This is my solitary life as a mundane astrologer while I continue to warn about the signs of the times.
There is hope. Just look in a mirror and you may see what I see. You are that hope. You are that change.
You are that future.
Along with the rest of us ~ the little people.
An Italian astrologer I know reminded me of where I grew up, which was in an Italian/Greek & Irish neighborhood, and I know how we are here, and, wherever people of culture are from.
The hedge fund guys and the bad bankers (there are good bankers, so let's not throw them all in one nasty pile) ~ I'm talking about the bad guys who caused that 1,000-point drop last week. They are like guys with no proper manners. Not at all.
The weekend has many people confused, angry, wanting to know the truth of what happened on Thursday. Many mock the "fat finger" farce pushing out by the networks and want to know what is truly happening.
It's been a weird week. People have commented to me that they have never quite seen a week of world news this important since September 11, 2001.
The day of May 6th, saw Wall Street witness one of its most stressful days, according to reports. In 30 minutes, the Dow Jones dived nearly 1,000 points on fears that Greece's debt problems could slam on the brakes towards a much needed global economic recovery.
The German chancellor spoke earlier to U.S. President Barack Obama, who called for a "strong policy response," involving the wider international community.
The May 9th announcement followed agreement May 7-8th among EU leaders for a €110bn (£95bn) EU-International Monetary Fund rescue package for Greece to prevent its debt crisis from spreading.
Meanwhile, finance ministers from 27 Eurozone nations met in session May 10th, said ready to work on the details of their "anti-speculation plan" with the European Central Bank in attendance. This would be a one trillion monetary bailout of the Eurozone.
The effects on world markets, while positive in the short-term, is still very dangerous says global economic analyst Reggie Middleton who outlines initial reaction to the Pan-European Bailout.
Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the Euro Group of EU finance ministers, said: "We are talking about a global attack against the Euro, and the Eurozone must react as one."
The Cardinal T-Square transits show while some may prefer David Cameron to become the new prime minister there are serious doubts within the Conservative Party as to the direction they should take the country.
"Nick Clegg and I are both political leaders who want to put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest," Cameron said.
A coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, whose transits show they are not yet prepared to govern; will throw the coalition government into disarray this year with the onset of the powerful cardinal transits.
It will become obvious that both parties will be unable to walk hand in hand policy-wise, and ideologically, with Cameron struggling with the right in his party; while Clegg struggles with the left in his party. The coalition government will ultimately lead to another British election.
The true problems are generational and playing out in various stages worldwide. It simply is one of those times in history where this happens. Mundane astrologers have seen it for ages.
The old establishment must give way to the new. How each generation is remembered depends on the outgoing establishment of the time; its common sense and class, or lack thereof, if you will....
Still, the "old" versus the "new," is depicted by this fourth Saturn/Uranus opposition, and, the coming Jupiter/Saturn opposition that begins mid-May 2010. This is yet another sign that times are changing. There's more to come ~ a lot more, in the months, and years ahead.
I like the British. I always have. Ever since I was kid. I took Ben Franklin's perspective, and remain with it these days as well. That Ben, oh, he was a very wise man.
Plus, some of the greatest astrologers in the world ~ with the exception of France's Nostradamus ~ other than him ~ have come from England.
The English are a very practical people. We Americans have learned from them despite our youth, our common differences, and shared language.
Still, the British people know BS when they see it. And the fact is that they are just as pissed off about the economy as the Americans.
So, the thing is this ~
If the British people do not show confidence in who is going to be at 10 Downing then the thing is to have the British people pick who will live there.
That's practical, isn't it?
These results clearly show either the British public stayed home on May 6th, or that the election was badly organized. I'm going with the latter. Follow the math:
Stories of closed polls, and frustrated voters are all signs of attempts to influence the outcome, but overall, this was a case of Mercury retrograde: poor planning, a lack of energy, and a pissed off British electorate whom did not find the candidate they want to represent them.
A coalition British government under a weak leader does not bode well with the cardinal transits. In fact, it is my forecast another general election will have to be called to straighten out the mess to declare a clear winner to reside at 10 Downing Street. That will do it right there.
People can disagree with Ms. Thatcher all they want (and often did) but, there's one thing everyone can agree on when it came to her as prime minister ~ she was always clear, and straight-forward, right? She did not like, nor, approve of: BS. Ever.
I say, the astrological transits of Harriet Harman show promise.
Being a woman, the challenge is not being like the other guys, since any woman has no problem with that.
The real challenge is just being yourself, isn't it? Fancy that in a politician. Reminds me of another woman who once sat in 10 Downing Street when Saturn last entered Libra, where it is exalted.
What England needs is a leader. That's what the British people really said in the last general election, if anyone has bothered to understand the results of May 6th.
Any nation, in order to succeed, must believe in its leaders. And the leader must have true heart. Nothing has changed over the centuries in this regard.
Does she want it? Well, that's the question only she can answer. The future is a very funny thing because it's always in motion.
Labour party staff were informed May 11th that former deputy leader Harriet Harman would become interim Labour Leader until a formal leadership race takes place to select a permanent successor to Brown.
It's a tough call, for sure, with the state of the British, and European economy, much less the global economy, anyone who becomes prime minister, at this particular moment in history, will have to be unique; possessing not merely "brains," but also, heart.
Brains are strategic and expected moot for any leader, but to face challenges, and win the battles ~ only heart can accomplish those feats. Thatcher had heart; disagree some may over ideology, but when Britain needed her ~ she was there.
Whomever it will be, male or female, England will need a leader with bucket and scrubs in hand. Steely-eyes, keen on dirt, with ammonia ready to wipe down everything and bring order and cleanliness to the house, so to speak.
Clean enough so one could eat off the floor if one chooses.
Politics? Sure. Ideology? Okay. Yet, the facts are:
In these global times, the next prime minister is going to have to be real ~ have a good soft heart; be smart as a whip; wiser than she or he already is; tough, fair-minded, straight-forward ~ and must daily administer that truly British gift to the world ~ practicality.
The distribution of seats throughout the UK among Tories, Labour, and Liberal Democrats means the next prime minister will have to contend with the most diverse, but surprisingly balanced Parliament seen for some time in England. If everyone is smart about this, and works together, then there's hope.
If this is to work, with the cardinal transits between now (2010) and say 2015, then, all parties are going to have to put aside most of their stringent ideologies and get united towards the primary mission to getting England back to work.
Playing out this unneeded and time-wasting generational "drama" will only put England in more harm, go deeper into the red, and really is quite boring when you come to think of it.
Remember, the British are a practical people. Ideology, as wonderful as all the blustering about must appear on the tube, well, it doesn't get people back to work and women shopping ~ and that is exactly what you want to see in the global markets. Isn't it?
"It appears that the markets are in for some action next week. The EU leaders have pledged to put a package of measures on the table for the market to absorb by Sunday evening.
There are no details of what may be coming as of yet. This is happening so fast that I doubt they actually have a plan. What plans they will come up with are all going to be short term fixes for the excessive volatility we have seen.
European Double Dip?
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners, said there were a number of negative comments Thursday about the Greek crisis expanding beyond Europe, including a remark, he said, by James B. Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Mr. Bullard said debt problems in Greece and other European countries posed a risk to the United States economic outlook.
“What really happened here," Cardillo said, was that "gold was going through the roof, and the Euro went down to $1.25. There was a lot of panic selling that came in and the market fell apart.”
I keep forecasting that under these building cardinal crisis inclinations it is best to avoid impulse and haste. Still, there were reports out of Wall Street that a "technical glitch hastened the selling" which sent shock waves through the market.
This would have been the reaction to events in Greece, and fears of the emerging European sovereign debt contagion.
One trader emailed me with such emotion that I had to decipher his words because it looked as if he rushed so much and could not wait to send it to me.
Yes, emotions are running a bit high, but, these are world transits, and I continue to maintain, as I have for over a year now, for people to slow down.
Apparently, traders in all world markets are very concerned Greece's economic problems will hurt other European countries and ultimately, the American recovery.
On May 6th, Greek lawmakers voted 172-121 to approve the highly unpopular austerity measures worth about €30 billion Euros through 2012. The cutbacks will slash pensions and civil servants' pay and further hike consumer taxes.
Other European governments rushed to get parliamentary approval for Greece's loans with leaders meeting Friday, May 7th in Brussels. The EU emergency meeting the weekend of May 8-9 signaled to the markets opening May 10 that a $1 trillion bailout for the monetary union was in place, admittedly hurried.
Back in Greece, things could not be worse. Right after the parliament approved the austerity conditions the opposition party torn into the government for imposing measures they say are much too harsh for the population to endure.
"The dose of the medicine you are administering is in danger of killing the patient," said conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras.
Angry, Samaras then expelled a dissenting lawmaker, former Foreign Minister Dora Bakovannis, which then left his conservative party share of parliamentary seats at 90.
Right after the vote in Athens, another round of fresh clashes broke out with tens of thousands of people battling police outside parliament. Though the violence was briefly contained by riot police firing tear gas at the protesters, protesters continued to pelt police with stones, oranges, and Molotov cocktails.
Demonstrators banging drums and shouting anti-government slogans through bullhorns, unfurled a giant black banner outside parliament earlier Thursday.
Protester Thodoris Mougiakos said he was angry the IMF would control Greek finances. "It's blackmail," he said. "There is money, but they spend it on things like armaments and businesses. The church has money too. If we had been drawing money from all these sources, we wouldn't be in this situation now."
Under the coming global transits, I am forecasting Greece will experience a revolution and that the European sovereign crisis will worsen. Though the media would like to think that the worst is past, I am forecasting that the worst is yet to come. It makes me very sad.
I wish I had better news for everyone, but it is my policy as a mundane astrologer to tell it like it is. We are all grown-ups here.
On Friday, May 7th, the transiting Moon will be in the early degrees of Pisces, and stocks should rebound slightly, but with continued high tensions due to the European debt crisis.
A quirky & tense Friday is in store for the stock market with lots of jitterbugging all around. All eyes will be not only on Greece, but on Germany, and, Europe as a whole, so the Plunge Protection Team should remain on duty in case emotions get out of hand again.
After a weekend of devouring the research analyst blogs, and going over the European bond yield numbers, especially in Germany, expect Monday, May 10th to continue the fever pitch with a last quarter Moon in Aries in square aspect to Pluto in Capricorn. Unfavorable.
Aries is another money sign, and with the Moon in this cardinal position, the aspects are still quite tense. A lot of money is moving into German assets for protection, and with the Euro currency falling against the Dollar, anyone watching this weekend will want to keep count of how much is flowing into Germany.
Mercury does not station direct until Wednesday, May 12, and the Moon will still be in a last quarter phase until it reaches new moon phase on Friday, May 14 when money can be made again.
On Friday, May 14, there's more so-called "good news," but with the Taurus Moon square to Neptune in Aquarius next Friday, stay away from the tech stocks, and stick with biotechnology stocks, pharmaceutical, and good ole bricks and mortar companies.
Other than that, May 14 is basically the best day from now to then. So, there's another week to go. All in all, expect next week to continue the wild up and down roller coaster market ride on fears of the contagion spread of European sovereign debt through Friday, May 14th.
As Europe shudders in the wake of the Greek Crisis, global markets continue to see the Euro currency sink against the dollar as the world awaits more bad market news about the exploding Sovereign Debts of European nations.
Θεόδωρος
People continue to ask me if what they see, feel, and hear in the world will get worse, or better.
I wish I could be more positive, but from the global transits ahead, I have to continue to forecast things will get worse until major changes are made to the way business has been done over the last 18 years ~ especially at this time in history.
This quote was suggested by our Anonymous Monetarist who just happens to be in the city I feature in my forecast today ~ the great city by the lake, Chicago.
~ Ecclesiastes 1:18, 7:3-4, 12:14 ~
This quote was suggested by our Anonymous Monetarist who just happens to be in the city I feature in my forecast today ~ the great city by the lake, Chicago.
'For in much wisdom is much grief: and he that increases knowledge increases sorrow. Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of the fools is in the house of mirth.
For Wisdom is a defense, and money is a defense, but the excellency of Knowledge is, that wisdom gives life to them that have it.
For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.'
~ Ecclesiastes 1:18, 7:3-4, 12:14 ~
I have been forecasting this for some time, if anyone has cared to listen to one astrologer. I pray for the world as I read the transits of the skies day and night that tell me all I know about the future. This is my solitary life as a mundane astrologer while I continue to warn about the signs of the times.
There is hope. Just look in a mirror and you may see what I see. You are that hope. You are that change.
You are that future.
Along with the rest of us ~ the little people.
An Italian astrologer I know reminded me of where I grew up, which was in an Italian/Greek & Irish neighborhood, and I know how we are here, and, wherever people of culture are from.
The hedge fund guys and the bad bankers (there are good bankers, so let's not throw them all in one nasty pile) ~ I'm talking about the bad guys who caused that 1,000-point drop last week. They are like guys with no proper manners. Not at all.
~ Updated version ~
Part IV: The Cardinal T-Square Crisis
The weekend has many people confused, angry, wanting to know the truth of what happened on Thursday. Many mock the "fat finger" farce pushing out by the networks and want to know what is truly happening.
Here's the latest forecast:
"Chicago, Chicago, the Windy City."Cesar Says:
Century 3, Q.1
Much prefers London's weights of the Moon's metal and men of gold.
Washington looks northward to you. Europe west. Both: very displeased.It's been a weird week. People have commented to me that they have never quite seen a week of world news this important since September 11, 2001.
On Friday, nearly everyone was talking about the near-1,000 point "crash" of the Dow Jones May 6th.
There were a lot of ticked off traders ~ tens of thousands in fact ~ who say they lost all their trades, and money invested during the mysterious 30 minute "crash" - then, rebounded enough to lose 350 points. The Dow lost nearly 140 points on Friday, May 7th, to close at 10,380.
There were a lot of ticked off traders ~ tens of thousands in fact ~ who say they lost all their trades, and money invested during the mysterious 30 minute "crash" - then, rebounded enough to lose 350 points. The Dow lost nearly 140 points on Friday, May 7th, to close at 10,380.
The day of May 6th, saw Wall Street witness one of its most stressful days, according to reports. In 30 minutes, the Dow Jones dived nearly 1,000 points on fears that Greece's debt problems could slam on the brakes towards a much needed global economic recovery.
Wall Street did manage to recover about two-thirds of its losses, but closed down 347 points at 10,520. It seems the Plunge Protection Team got its first workout under the Obama Administration and did the right thing to stop the sudden slide.
So, what happened?
Here's what economics expert Max Keiser says happened:
As the [personal] inventor of the continuous double-action, market-making technology (VST tech. US pat. no. 5950176) that is referenced 132 times by program trading and HFT patents since 1996, I can tell you that Goldman, JP Morgan and the "gang" simply pulled the "buys" from their computer trading programs and manufactured a crash.
And when the coast was clear, and it was clear the politicians were not going to vote for anything that would break up the "too big to fail" banks; all the "sells" were pulled from the computers and the market roared back.
This is a Manchurian Candidate market where program trading bots start the ball rolling in whatever direction Wall Street wants the market to go ~ and then hundreds of thousands of day traders watching Cramer on CNBC jump on the momentum bandwagon and commit the crime for the Wall St. financial terrorists, who then say, "It wasn't us, it was 'the market!'"
Sovereign Debt Woes, like those of Greece, has spread to the U.S. and Asia.
So, what happened?
Here's what economics expert Max Keiser says happened:
"May 6th was an unequivocal act of domestic financial terrorism in America
As the [personal] inventor of the continuous double-action, market-making technology (VST tech. US pat. no. 5950176) that is referenced 132 times by program trading and HFT patents since 1996, I can tell you that Goldman, JP Morgan and the "gang" simply pulled the "buys" from their computer trading programs and manufactured a crash.
And when the coast was clear, and it was clear the politicians were not going to vote for anything that would break up the "too big to fail" banks; all the "sells" were pulled from the computers and the market roared back.
This is a Manchurian Candidate market where program trading bots start the ball rolling in whatever direction Wall Street wants the market to go ~ and then hundreds of thousands of day traders watching Cramer on CNBC jump on the momentum bandwagon and commit the crime for the Wall St. financial terrorists, who then say, "It wasn't us, it was 'the market!'"
Sovereign Debt Woes, like those of Greece, has spread to the U.S. and Asia.
Many people will be trying to digest what went down at the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday, May 6th, as many still are in shock and befuddled as to exactly what happened.
Here is a look at the extraordinary events on Wall Street on May 6th:
Here is a look at the extraordinary events on Wall Street on May 6th:
- The Dow hit an Intraday high of 10879.76 May 6, up 11.64 points, or 0.11%
- Then it hit an Intraday low of 9869.62 today, down 998.50 points, or 9.19%
- Its Biggest Intraday POINT drop in its history.
- A high-low swing of 1,010.14 points
These are the inclinations of the global transits on the bad guys
This was the third day of sharp market declines. The Dow Jones had already dropped 284 points on Tuesday, May 4th and Wednesday, May 5th.
“I think three days makes a pattern, and we as investors grew complacent that every time we had a bad day we had a good day,” Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management, said. “This is a terrible, terrible day.
Just what blow out from Chicago that started severe colds in New York?
Then, we hear this ~
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said it will cancel all trades of stocks at prices that were 60 percent above or below the last price at 2:40 p.m. or immediately prior.
The exchange operator said in a statement it will cancel all trades "greater than or less than 60 percent away from the consolidated last print in that security at 14:40:00 or immediately prior."
"Nasdaq said it coordinated the decision with all other exchanges. Let me ask you this, why should you be playing in a market where if you make a winning trade they can take it away from you?
Pure gambling, the criminals are in charge, there is no rule of law. These actions will destroy confidence, not build it and the people running the markets will eventually get what’s coming to them.
The media is absolutely shell shocked looking for any excuse plausible why the selling was not for real. It was for real, the market was saved by intervention, but the media can’t admit the crash much less the intervention. Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt, that’s for sure…"
Another group of people who "get it" are those at Zerohedge.com ~
Check out what else they had to say about the so-called "fat finger blip" and what Zerohedge warned about High-Frequency Trading (HFT) back in 2009.
"The banks and others who have argued for innovation have just proved once again that their brand of "innovation" means that the average investor gets bent over the table. You cannot, as an investor, be in the market until these outrageous practices are permanently barred from the exchanges.
I was on the right side of the destruction today, but I could have very easily been on the wrong side and gotten badly hurt. As it stands I'm quite certain there were tens of thousands of individual traders who went so far into negative equity in the futures market and got immediately liquidated that we will be hearing of blown up accounts and bankrupted traders for weeks if not months."
There are going to be a lot of very pissed off traders about Friday, May 7th. See Denninger's advice & warnings here in: Mr. President: Unplug the F*ing Computers!
Oh, and let's not forget who we really need to hear from:
How About the Regular Joe American. What does He think about all this?
Credit: Henny Ray Abrams/Associated Press
This was the third day of sharp market declines. The Dow Jones had already dropped 284 points on Tuesday, May 4th and Wednesday, May 5th.
“I think three days makes a pattern, and we as investors grew complacent that every time we had a bad day we had a good day,” Jake Dollarhide, chief executive of Longbow Asset Management, said. “This is a terrible, terrible day.
Just what blow out from Chicago that started severe colds in New York?
Then, we hear this ~
May 6 (Bloomberg) -- Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. said it will cancel all trades of stocks at prices that were 60 percent above or below the last price at 2:40 p.m. or immediately prior.
The exchange operator said in a statement it will cancel all trades "greater than or less than 60 percent away from the consolidated last print in that security at 14:40:00 or immediately prior."
Nathan Martin, of Nathan's Economic Edge, who gets it ~ asks a very good question:
Pure gambling, the criminals are in charge, there is no rule of law. These actions will destroy confidence, not build it and the people running the markets will eventually get what’s coming to them.
The media is absolutely shell shocked looking for any excuse plausible why the selling was not for real. It was for real, the market was saved by intervention, but the media can’t admit the crash much less the intervention. Denial isn’t just a river in Egypt, that’s for sure…"
Another group of people who "get it" are those at Zerohedge.com ~
"What happened today was no fat finger, it was no panic selling by one major account: it was simply the impact of everyone in the HFT community going from port to starboard on the boat, at precisely the same time."
Check out what else they had to say about the so-called "fat finger blip" and what Zerohedge warned about High-Frequency Trading (HFT) back in 2009.
Karl Denninger of The Market Ticker says:
"The banks and others who have argued for innovation have just proved once again that their brand of "innovation" means that the average investor gets bent over the table. You cannot, as an investor, be in the market until these outrageous practices are permanently barred from the exchanges.
I was on the right side of the destruction today, but I could have very easily been on the wrong side and gotten badly hurt. As it stands I'm quite certain there were tens of thousands of individual traders who went so far into negative equity in the futures market and got immediately liquidated that we will be hearing of blown up accounts and bankrupted traders for weeks if not months."
There are going to be a lot of very pissed off traders about Friday, May 7th. See Denninger's advice & warnings here in: Mr. President: Unplug the F*ing Computers!
Oh, and let's not forget who we really need to hear from:
How About the Regular Joe American. What does He think about all this?
All major indexes lost three-percent May 6; which reminded many traders of the near chaos the American stock market experienced back in the gloomy autumn of 2008.
Latest on The Euro
Credit: Michel Euler/AP
French President Nicolas Sarkozy addresses a press conference May 9th at the close of an extraordinary meeting of EU leaders in Brussels who met in emergency session on the implications of Greece's financial crisis.
Announcing a €70 billion "stability plan" to protect the Euro, Sarkozy said: "The Euro is an essential element of Europe. We cannot leave it to speculators. We will not let others undo what generations have created."
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said the mechanism would send a "very clear signal" to market speculators to back off.
Credit: Tobias Schwarz/REUTERS
The German chancellor spoke earlier to U.S. President Barack Obama, who called for a "strong policy response," involving the wider international community.
The May 9th announcement followed agreement May 7-8th among EU leaders for a €110bn (£95bn) EU-International Monetary Fund rescue package for Greece to prevent its debt crisis from spreading.
Meanwhile, finance ministers from 27 Eurozone nations met in session May 10th, said ready to work on the details of their "anti-speculation plan" with the European Central Bank in attendance. This would be a one trillion monetary bailout of the Eurozone.
The effects on world markets, while positive in the short-term, is still very dangerous says global economic analyst Reggie Middleton who outlines initial reaction to the Pan-European Bailout.
Jean-Claude Juncker, who heads the Euro Group of EU finance ministers, said: "We are talking about a global attack against the Euro, and the Eurozone must react as one."
According to European economic analyst Dr. Berninger, "financial Armageddon" was hours away on May 10, 2010 ~
"Yet another crash in the financial system was delayed only by the decisive action of European politicians and European central banks.
With the decision to print money at an accelerated speed, they tried to at least close the leaks in European and especially French banks.
The French banking system was on the brink of collapse by Sunday night and only the decisive action saved the banks and French state from collapse.
We already noticed the concerted action against France in the CDS market quite some weeks ago. Last weekend France became illiquid. This was a logical reaction to the silly idea that Governments and states would be able to manage financial markets.
The opposite is the case. States have to borrow from these markets, but not to tell them what to do. The last attempt to rescue Greece diverted the attraction of Speculators onto the Euro-zone as a whole.
Short positions on the Euro threatened a capital flight from governmental and private securities. There was no other way to act as the promise of printing money at faster rate than it was withdrawn from European capital markets.
With the decision to print money, the Eurozone has engaged in a last stand poker game bluff. Nobody really believes it, but at least the banks are saved for the moment of time.
How long this moment will last depends on the fact if speculators now will focus their energy on Britain as the next potential victim, before they again attack Europe.
[The] news that the rating agencies will revalue the ratings for Portugal and other European member states show that they will eventually will do both at the same time. There is no way out, only a new currency."
England in Doubt
The general election of May 6th followed global transits with a hung English Parliament and no clear winner from the election.
However, the demise of Prime Minister Gordon Brown is certain. I expect Brown to step down as British prime minister anytime this week of May 9-15.
On May 11, during a last quarter Moon phase, and with Mercury retrograde, Conservative Party Leader David Cameron was announced as the new British Prime Minister.
U.S. President Barack Obama was among the first of world leaders to call Cameron after the Tory leader entered Downing Street.
In a statement, Obama said he is looking forward to meeting Cameron: "As I told the prime minister, the United States has no closer friend and ally than the United Kingdom, and I reiterated my deep and personal commitment to the special relationship between our two countries."
This goes to prove again that those at the highest levels either do not know how to read transits ~ even their own ~ or don't care. But these things, important decisions, are, well important, and should be done with favorable influences.
Choosing a new prime minister with the transits over London at this particular time clearly shows that the expected coalition government may not last in my view.
"We have some deep and pressing problems, said Cameron. "A huge deficit, deep social problems, a political system in need of reform. For those reasons, I aim to form a proper and full coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats."
Cameron and the Tories are not stupid. They know what's up; which is surprising to see them cast Cameron into what is obviously a mess on many fronts. While recriminations have emerged between Clegg's Liberal Democrats and Labour.
The Guardian quotes Lord Adonis, the cabinet member most supportive of a deal with the Liberal Democrats who was said to have launched into a blistering attack on Clegg: "It is clear from their conduct in recent days that the Lib Dem leadership was dead set on a coalition with the Tories," he said.
"They should have been straight about this fact rather than playing silly games with myself, Gordon Brown and others. Nick Clegg's deal with the Conservatives is a matter of choice not necessity."
In a short time, this "choice" may be less important than the time of the choice. I continue to say that doing all of this, so hurriedly, under unfavorable transits, is unsound, and given to many errors to come unfortunately.
Some say the majority of conservatives and liberals are stuck in the past, and unless they see through their own clouds, they will surely make more mistakes, and come off being blamed for it all in the first place ~ trying to dump it all on Brown, Cameron, and Clegg. But it won't work, the transits are unfavorable, and for some time.
That will not make the systemic problems go away. World transits are quite clear on this.
It is my contention that the primary causes are outdated & outworn ideological conflicts & biases ~ that is generational more so than it is ideological.
Saturn oppositions to planets such as Uranus in mundane history are typical of these kinds of large inclinations affecting groups and associations of people who allow themselves to be so inclined.
This particular opposition on the Pisces/Aries axis is old against new with outworn ideologies fading against the rise of a new generation. It's as old as Mother's Milk. We call it history.
We've been in a Saturn/Uranus opposition phase since autumn 2008. Its peak arrives in summer 2010 as part of the Cardinal T-square transits.
The world is much changed from the younger days of the most storied conservative, moderate, or liberal, for that matter. This is not the 20th century.
We are transitioning into another generational era.
We are in the transition of this era now, as I have been forecasting for some time. How the elderly generation faces its own mortality is always for future historians to reckon; however, from the looks of things, this older generational establishment is not taking it too well at all...
Times are changing.
Despite ongoing private conferences, and promises of power sharing between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives ~ with high political drama in the wake of England's inconclusive general election ~ I expect another British national election will have to be called in the near future.
It is nearly certain the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives will not be able to share power due to their ideological differences.
Moreover, under these global transits it is not wise to count Labour out. The problems are not merely Party driven, but ideological & generational. Simply put: it is time for a change, and that's just what England is going to get.
However, the demise of Prime Minister Gordon Brown is certain. I expect Brown to step down as British prime minister anytime this week of May 9-15.
On May 11, during a last quarter Moon phase, and with Mercury retrograde, Conservative Party Leader David Cameron was announced as the new British Prime Minister.
U.S. President Barack Obama was among the first of world leaders to call Cameron after the Tory leader entered Downing Street.
In a statement, Obama said he is looking forward to meeting Cameron: "As I told the prime minister, the United States has no closer friend and ally than the United Kingdom, and I reiterated my deep and personal commitment to the special relationship between our two countries."
This goes to prove again that those at the highest levels either do not know how to read transits ~ even their own ~ or don't care. But these things, important decisions, are, well important, and should be done with favorable influences.
Choosing a new prime minister with the transits over London at this particular time clearly shows that the expected coalition government may not last in my view.
The transits are simply unfavorable. They were rushed since May 6th, and over the weekend with Mercury retrograde, and, as global transits build to the cardinal t-square inclinations.
Just next week, and through the month of May and into June, most people who once agreed will want to redo all sorts of agreements ~ all this under Mercury retrograde. That includes the Greek bailout package, done, under these same unfavorable transits.
Jupiter's conjunction to Uranus, coming soon in June, is another confirmation of what is taking place. The seemingly expansive (Jupiter) and unexpected sudden (Uranus) odd pairing of the Tories and Liberal Democrats.
The conjunction does not last, is opposed by Saturn, and both squared by Pluto in tropical Capricorn: forming the world cardinal t-square. Correlating events on Earth occur. We observed the last cardinal Saturn/Uranus/Pluto T-Square during the early 1930s.
"We have some deep and pressing problems, said Cameron. "A huge deficit, deep social problems, a political system in need of reform. For those reasons, I aim to form a proper and full coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats."
Cameron and the Tories are not stupid. They know what's up; which is surprising to see them cast Cameron into what is obviously a mess on many fronts. While recriminations have emerged between Clegg's Liberal Democrats and Labour.
The Guardian quotes Lord Adonis, the cabinet member most supportive of a deal with the Liberal Democrats who was said to have launched into a blistering attack on Clegg: "It is clear from their conduct in recent days that the Lib Dem leadership was dead set on a coalition with the Tories," he said.
"They should have been straight about this fact rather than playing silly games with myself, Gordon Brown and others. Nick Clegg's deal with the Conservatives is a matter of choice not necessity."
In a short time, this "choice" may be less important than the time of the choice. I continue to say that doing all of this, so hurriedly, under unfavorable transits, is unsound, and given to many errors to come unfortunately.
Some say the majority of conservatives and liberals are stuck in the past, and unless they see through their own clouds, they will surely make more mistakes, and come off being blamed for it all in the first place ~ trying to dump it all on Brown, Cameron, and Clegg. But it won't work, the transits are unfavorable, and for some time.
That will not make the systemic problems go away. World transits are quite clear on this.
It is my contention that the primary causes are outdated & outworn ideological conflicts & biases ~ that is generational more so than it is ideological.
Saturn oppositions to planets such as Uranus in mundane history are typical of these kinds of large inclinations affecting groups and associations of people who allow themselves to be so inclined.
This particular opposition on the Pisces/Aries axis is old against new with outworn ideologies fading against the rise of a new generation. It's as old as Mother's Milk. We call it history.
We've been in a Saturn/Uranus opposition phase since autumn 2008. Its peak arrives in summer 2010 as part of the Cardinal T-square transits.
The world is much changed from the younger days of the most storied conservative, moderate, or liberal, for that matter. This is not the 20th century.
We are transitioning into another generational era.
So, the idea is to realize that this new generation is becoming the new establishment. They think asymmetrically and detest ideological mindsets as the sole lens for viewing the world.
We see this is Cameron and Clegg for instance. How they will be able to communicate the emerging times to their respective parties and to the British public remains to be seen; however, again, these are changing times.
We are in the transition of this era now, as I have been forecasting for some time. How the elderly generation faces its own mortality is always for future historians to reckon; however, from the looks of things, this older generational establishment is not taking it too well at all...
Times are changing.
Despite ongoing private conferences, and promises of power sharing between Liberal Democrats and Conservatives ~ with high political drama in the wake of England's inconclusive general election ~ I expect another British national election will have to be called in the near future.
It is nearly certain the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives will not be able to share power due to their ideological differences.
Moreover, under these global transits it is not wise to count Labour out. The problems are not merely Party driven, but ideological & generational. Simply put: it is time for a change, and that's just what England is going to get.
The Cardinal T-Square transits show while some may prefer David Cameron to become the new prime minister there are serious doubts within the Conservative Party as to the direction they should take the country.
"Nick Clegg and I are both political leaders who want to put aside party differences and work hard for the common good and for the national interest," Cameron said.
A coalition government with the Liberal Democrats, whose transits show they are not yet prepared to govern; will throw the coalition government into disarray this year with the onset of the powerful cardinal transits.
It will become obvious that both parties will be unable to walk hand in hand policy-wise, and ideologically, with Cameron struggling with the right in his party; while Clegg struggles with the left in his party. The coalition government will ultimately lead to another British election.
The true problems are generational and playing out in various stages worldwide. It simply is one of those times in history where this happens. Mundane astrologers have seen it for ages.
The old establishment must give way to the new. How each generation is remembered depends on the outgoing establishment of the time; its common sense and class, or lack thereof, if you will....
Still, the "old" versus the "new," is depicted by this fourth Saturn/Uranus opposition, and, the coming Jupiter/Saturn opposition that begins mid-May 2010. This is yet another sign that times are changing. There's more to come ~ a lot more, in the months, and years ahead.
I like the British. I always have. Ever since I was kid. I took Ben Franklin's perspective, and remain with it these days as well. That Ben, oh, he was a very wise man.
Plus, some of the greatest astrologers in the world ~ with the exception of France's Nostradamus ~ other than him ~ have come from England.
The English are a very practical people. We Americans have learned from them despite our youth, our common differences, and shared language.
Still, the British people know BS when they see it. And the fact is that they are just as pissed off about the economy as the Americans.
So, the thing is this ~
If the British people do not show confidence in who is going to be at 10 Downing then the thing is to have the British people pick who will live there.
That's practical, isn't it?
All the talking, and positioning isn't going to fix the system, and people need practical leaders with vision to clean up the mess, and clear the room for the banquet, yes?
So, get to work. Sorry to be so Capricorn about it all, but the talking and chatting and positioning with more positioning isn't going to get the dirty banks any cleaner now, is it? What are you waiting for?
So, get to work. Sorry to be so Capricorn about it all, but the talking and chatting and positioning with more positioning isn't going to get the dirty banks any cleaner now, is it? What are you waiting for?
That means another general election, and you are going to get one.
Meanwhile, as Cameron strives to shore up support within his own Party, and with the British public; the same can be said for Nick Clegg, whose Liberal Democrats hold the balance of power in the new Parliament.
Still, a challenge for the Liberal Democrats is to either get Clegg able to perform well on the global stage, or, to find another leader who is able to do so.
The Liberal Democrats have a more complex process, and have to hold meetings of about 200-300 grass roots members to formally ratify a coalition with Conservatives. Their joint government needs to be in place in time to draft a legislative program to be announced in Parliament on May 25.
Still, the results of the Britain's May 6th general election show that all the parties have weak support of the British voting public ~
The Liberal Democrats have a more complex process, and have to hold meetings of about 200-300 grass roots members to formally ratify a coalition with Conservatives. Their joint government needs to be in place in time to draft a legislative program to be announced in Parliament on May 25.
Still, the results of the Britain's May 6th general election show that all the parties have weak support of the British voting public ~
| Party | share of votes cast | share of total electorate |
| Conservatives | 36.1% | 23.5% |
| Labour | 29.0% | 18.9% |
| Liberal Democrats | 23.0% | 15.0% |
| Major parties | 88.1% | 57.4% |
All the major parties managed to convince about 57% of Brits to vote for them.
Stories of closed polls, and frustrated voters are all signs of attempts to influence the outcome, but overall, this was a case of Mercury retrograde: poor planning, a lack of energy, and a pissed off British electorate whom did not find the candidate they want to represent them.
This is a case of generational change, and of inspired leadership the British people clearly want.
"America has their Obama. Where's Ours?"
I think that's what he British people are asking.
Inspire them. Talk to their hearts, but know the British people are practical, as I said.
"America has their Obama. Where's Ours?"
I think that's what he British people are asking.
Inspire them. Talk to their hearts, but know the British people are practical, as I said.
They just don't want more bullshit.
How could you not agree with them in these times?
A coalition British government under a weak leader does not bode well with the cardinal transits. In fact, it is my forecast another general election will have to be called to straighten out the mess to declare a clear winner to reside at 10 Downing Street. That will do it right there.
Cameron and Clegg. What is at hand now is the X-factor; which will play out in the weeks and months to come. That is another British leader emerging as a front runner, much in the same way Margaret Thatcher came to power.
The conditions are similar to the party mess of the late 1970s. Transiting Saturn was in the same place it is right now. What goes around, comes around...
The conditions are similar to the party mess of the late 1970s. Transiting Saturn was in the same place it is right now. What goes around, comes around...
To lead England at this time in history, it's not a guy you're looking for ~ it's a gal.
People can disagree with Ms. Thatcher all they want (and often did) but, there's one thing everyone can agree on when it came to her as prime minister ~ she was always clear, and straight-forward, right? She did not like, nor, approve of: BS. Ever.
In these times? With all that is going on in the world? You need a lady like that. Yes, gentlemen, squaring off to perhaps, maybe, possibly, lead.
To clean up the economic mud you gentlemen have carelessly brought into the house; you are going to need a no-nonsense cleaning lady who doesn't approve of mud.
One who disapproves of dirty fingernails, waffling sideways when there's work to be done with unclean kitchens along with a messy household budget in the red to boot?
So, whomever is the best cleaning lady in the room ~ wins.
This election, as has been the atmosphere, has been ideological, but that is what the problem has been all along; especially when it came to the economy.
Biases, and gender differences aside, ask, who has the best nativity to help lead England out of this mess?
These are the children of that era. They are grown up now, and parents themselves. It is now time for them to lead.
An ideological shift from Labor to Tory or to Liberal Democrat is not the answer. Not at this time in history. Old, tired arguments and political posturing is a waste of valuable time, and continues the same "old" versus "new" inclinations of Saturn/Uranus.
Perhaps, with the world transits in light, and those of the near future. Just perhaps, a "Thatcher" blast from the past? This time, but from Labour? Did not Margaret Thatcher also alienate men, as they like to say in the male-dominated British media who all have their own mothers?
My own mother sometimes "alienated" me when I was a boy. So what? I took it like a man. I'm no girly man, mind you, no momma boy ~ you can bet on that.
But I know this: to be a man one must first respect women.
That is the test of all good gentlemen and potential prime ministers, is it not?
Plus, mom was able to manage a budget and run a clean, proper British household, and I'm American for heavens sake.
Do you have to wear pants to do that?
And, those guys who do wear the proverbial "pants" these days have been piss poor stewards of the public & private tills I might add. More than half of them, as all of us have witnessed, have led the world economy into considerable jeopardy. Couldn't manage a bowl of soup either. Sad stuff guys, very poor showing. Poor indeed.
So, if any woman alienates you:
What woman, I ask, does not?
To clean up the economic mud you gentlemen have carelessly brought into the house; you are going to need a no-nonsense cleaning lady who doesn't approve of mud.
One who disapproves of dirty fingernails, waffling sideways when there's work to be done with unclean kitchens along with a messy household budget in the red to boot?
So, whomever is the best cleaning lady in the room ~ wins.
This election, as has been the atmosphere, has been ideological, but that is what the problem has been all along; especially when it came to the economy.
Biases, and gender differences aside, ask, who has the best nativity to help lead England out of this mess?
These are the children of that era. They are grown up now, and parents themselves. It is now time for them to lead.
An ideological shift from Labor to Tory or to Liberal Democrat is not the answer. Not at this time in history. Old, tired arguments and political posturing is a waste of valuable time, and continues the same "old" versus "new" inclinations of Saturn/Uranus.
Perhaps, with the world transits in light, and those of the near future. Just perhaps, a "Thatcher" blast from the past? This time, but from Labour? Did not Margaret Thatcher also alienate men, as they like to say in the male-dominated British media who all have their own mothers?
My own mother sometimes "alienated" me when I was a boy. So what? I took it like a man. I'm no girly man, mind you, no momma boy ~ you can bet on that.
But I know this: to be a man one must first respect women.
That is the test of all good gentlemen and potential prime ministers, is it not?
Plus, mom was able to manage a budget and run a clean, proper British household, and I'm American for heavens sake.
Do you have to wear pants to do that?
And, those guys who do wear the proverbial "pants" these days have been piss poor stewards of the public & private tills I might add. More than half of them, as all of us have witnessed, have led the world economy into considerable jeopardy. Couldn't manage a bowl of soup either. Sad stuff guys, very poor showing. Poor indeed.
So, if any woman alienates you:
What woman, I ask, does not?
I say, the astrological transits of Harriet Harman show promise.
Being a woman, the challenge is not being like the other guys, since any woman has no problem with that.
The real challenge is just being yourself, isn't it? Fancy that in a politician. Reminds me of another woman who once sat in 10 Downing Street when Saturn last entered Libra, where it is exalted.
What England needs is a leader. That's what the British people really said in the last general election, if anyone has bothered to understand the results of May 6th.
Any nation, in order to succeed, must believe in its leaders. And the leader must have true heart. Nothing has changed over the centuries in this regard.
Does she want it? Well, that's the question only she can answer. The future is a very funny thing because it's always in motion.
Labour party staff were informed May 11th that former deputy leader Harriet Harman would become interim Labour Leader until a formal leadership race takes place to select a permanent successor to Brown.
It's a tough call, for sure, with the state of the British, and European economy, much less the global economy, anyone who becomes prime minister, at this particular moment in history, will have to be unique; possessing not merely "brains," but also, heart.
Brains are strategic and expected moot for any leader, but to face challenges, and win the battles ~ only heart can accomplish those feats. Thatcher had heart; disagree some may over ideology, but when Britain needed her ~ she was there.
Whomever it will be, male or female, England will need a leader with bucket and scrubs in hand. Steely-eyes, keen on dirt, with ammonia ready to wipe down everything and bring order and cleanliness to the house, so to speak.
Clean enough so one could eat off the floor if one chooses.
Politics? Sure. Ideology? Okay. Yet, the facts are:
In these global times, the next prime minister is going to have to be real ~ have a good soft heart; be smart as a whip; wiser than she or he already is; tough, fair-minded, straight-forward ~ and must daily administer that truly British gift to the world ~ practicality.
The distribution of seats throughout the UK among Tories, Labour, and Liberal Democrats means the next prime minister will have to contend with the most diverse, but surprisingly balanced Parliament seen for some time in England. If everyone is smart about this, and works together, then there's hope.
If this is to work, with the cardinal transits between now (2010) and say 2015, then, all parties are going to have to put aside most of their stringent ideologies and get united towards the primary mission to getting England back to work.
Playing out this unneeded and time-wasting generational "drama" will only put England in more harm, go deeper into the red, and really is quite boring when you come to think of it.
The aged establishment must step aside and allow wise and fresh intellects to take over the reins. Dragging this out just means more economic pain for all. You get the young men and women to work, and the economy booms again.
Put a little life back into the party, shall we?
Remember, the British are a practical people. Ideology, as wonderful as all the blustering about must appear on the tube, well, it doesn't get people back to work and women shopping ~ and that is exactly what you want to see in the global markets. Isn't it?
But, the British economy continues to suffer, so whomever emerges as the clear favorite will have to contend with the dire economic situation for the United Kingdom and world economy; with the threat of becoming highly unpopular with British constituents no matter who resides at 10 Downing Street.
So who is going to "man" or "woman up" and earn the job?
As such, I expect another general election to be called for in England to straighten things out.
Ideologies aside, the whole point of success to climb out of a deep economic mess is to work united. That means every man, woman, and working age adult needs to lend a hand. This is not the time for all-party ideology talk.
Grownups have to put immature schoolboy biases and behavior aside and get back to the business of trade. People have to get their kids to dentists for lack of money these days. You guys are really ticking a lot of people off... parents too. That's the electorate.
That's how economies are driven; that's how they work.
If women are not shopping, and men are not building ~ then the economy is totally sunk. You economists got that simple math?
My mother taught me this. So, any economist who says otherwise has been drinking way too much of his own sauce ~ if you know what I mean...
So who is going to "man" or "woman up" and earn the job?
As such, I expect another general election to be called for in England to straighten things out.
Ideologies aside, the whole point of success to climb out of a deep economic mess is to work united. That means every man, woman, and working age adult needs to lend a hand. This is not the time for all-party ideology talk.
Grownups have to put immature schoolboy biases and behavior aside and get back to the business of trade. People have to get their kids to dentists for lack of money these days. You guys are really ticking a lot of people off... parents too. That's the electorate.
That's how economies are driven; that's how they work.
If women are not shopping, and men are not building ~ then the economy is totally sunk. You economists got that simple math?
My mother taught me this. So, any economist who says otherwise has been drinking way too much of his own sauce ~ if you know what I mean...
Bruce Krasting says this week of May 9-15 should be interesting in Europe ~
"It appears that the markets are in for some action next week. The EU leaders have pledged to put a package of measures on the table for the market to absorb by Sunday evening.
There are no details of what may be coming as of yet. This is happening so fast that I doubt they actually have a plan. What plans they will come up with are all going to be short term fixes for the excessive volatility we have seen.
Others are now saying what I've been forecasting for over a year now about the second phase of the global economic crisis, and the "double dip" few forecasters stuck to in 2009, during the height of the Aquarius illusion, knowing that 2010 was around the corner.
Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners, said there were a number of negative comments Thursday about the Greek crisis expanding beyond Europe, including a remark, he said, by James B. Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.
Mr. Bullard said debt problems in Greece and other European countries posed a risk to the United States economic outlook.
“What really happened here," Cardillo said, was that "gold was going through the roof, and the Euro went down to $1.25. There was a lot of panic selling that came in and the market fell apart.”
I keep forecasting that under these building cardinal crisis inclinations it is best to avoid impulse and haste. Still, there were reports out of Wall Street that a "technical glitch hastened the selling" which sent shock waves through the market.
This would have been the reaction to events in Greece, and fears of the emerging European sovereign debt contagion.
One trader emailed me with such emotion that I had to decipher his words because it looked as if he rushed so much and could not wait to send it to me.
Yes, emotions are running a bit high, but, these are world transits, and I continue to maintain, as I have for over a year now, for people to slow down.
Apparently, traders in all world markets are very concerned Greece's economic problems will hurt other European countries and ultimately, the American recovery.
On May 6th, Greek lawmakers voted 172-121 to approve the highly unpopular austerity measures worth about €30 billion Euros through 2012. The cutbacks will slash pensions and civil servants' pay and further hike consumer taxes.
Other European governments rushed to get parliamentary approval for Greece's loans with leaders meeting Friday, May 7th in Brussels. The EU emergency meeting the weekend of May 8-9 signaled to the markets opening May 10 that a $1 trillion bailout for the monetary union was in place, admittedly hurried.
Back in Greece, things could not be worse. Right after the parliament approved the austerity conditions the opposition party torn into the government for imposing measures they say are much too harsh for the population to endure.
"The dose of the medicine you are administering is in danger of killing the patient," said conservative opposition leader Antonis Samaras.
Angry, Samaras then expelled a dissenting lawmaker, former Foreign Minister Dora Bakovannis, which then left his conservative party share of parliamentary seats at 90.
Right after the vote in Athens, another round of fresh clashes broke out with tens of thousands of people battling police outside parliament. Though the violence was briefly contained by riot police firing tear gas at the protesters, protesters continued to pelt police with stones, oranges, and Molotov cocktails.
Demonstrators banging drums and shouting anti-government slogans through bullhorns, unfurled a giant black banner outside parliament earlier Thursday.
More than 30,000 demonstrators filled the downtown streets of Athens chanting: "They declared war! Now fight back!"
Meanwhile, Prime Minister George Papendreou threw out three of his Socialist deputies who dissented in his party's austerity vote. That reduced Papendreou's number of seats to 157 in the Greek 300-member parliament.
"We have done what was necessary, not what was easy," Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said after the vote. "Without these measures, we'd be thrown into the deepest recession this country has ever known."
"We have done what was necessary, not what was easy," Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said after the vote. "Without these measures, we'd be thrown into the deepest recession this country has ever known."
Protester Thodoris Mougiakos said he was angry the IMF would control Greek finances. "It's blackmail," he said. "There is money, but they spend it on things like armaments and businesses. The church has money too. If we had been drawing money from all these sources, we wouldn't be in this situation now."
Under the coming global transits, I am forecasting Greece will experience a revolution and that the European sovereign crisis will worsen. Though the media would like to think that the worst is past, I am forecasting that the worst is yet to come. It makes me very sad.
I wish I had better news for everyone, but it is my policy as a mundane astrologer to tell it like it is. We are all grown-ups here.
Back to the Markets -
On Friday, May 7th, the transiting Moon will be in the early degrees of Pisces, and stocks should rebound slightly, but with continued high tensions due to the European debt crisis.
A quirky & tense Friday is in store for the stock market with lots of jitterbugging all around. All eyes will be not only on Greece, but on Germany, and, Europe as a whole, so the Plunge Protection Team should remain on duty in case emotions get out of hand again.
After a weekend of devouring the research analyst blogs, and going over the European bond yield numbers, especially in Germany, expect Monday, May 10th to continue the fever pitch with a last quarter Moon in Aries in square aspect to Pluto in Capricorn. Unfavorable.
Aries is another money sign, and with the Moon in this cardinal position, the aspects are still quite tense. A lot of money is moving into German assets for protection, and with the Euro currency falling against the Dollar, anyone watching this weekend will want to keep count of how much is flowing into Germany.
Mercury does not station direct until Wednesday, May 12, and the Moon will still be in a last quarter phase until it reaches new moon phase on Friday, May 14 when money can be made again.
On Friday, May 14, there's more so-called "good news," but with the Taurus Moon square to Neptune in Aquarius next Friday, stay away from the tech stocks, and stick with biotechnology stocks, pharmaceutical, and good ole bricks and mortar companies.
Other than that, May 14 is basically the best day from now to then. So, there's another week to go. All in all, expect next week to continue the wild up and down roller coaster market ride on fears of the contagion spread of European sovereign debt through Friday, May 14th.
These fears are based on the realities of global transits. These will continue to intensify through late spring and into the summer months. I'm not the only one saying this.
So, this is just the start of a new, deeper, and deadlier phase of the ongoing global economic crisis in my astrological estimation.
Right now, here in early May 2010, we are less than a month away from the start of a powerful series of Cardinal inclinations involving the outer planets which will take place during the months of June, July, and August 2010, and continue through into the mid-2010s before easing off.
However, between 2010 and say, 2014, the cardinal transits inclining the Earth will feature rebellions, revolts and revolutions directly associated with the massive levels of financial fraud and corruption over the last decade.
So, this is just the start of a new, deeper, and deadlier phase of the ongoing global economic crisis in my astrological estimation.
Right now, here in early May 2010, we are less than a month away from the start of a powerful series of Cardinal inclinations involving the outer planets which will take place during the months of June, July, and August 2010, and continue through into the mid-2010s before easing off.
However, between 2010 and say, 2014, the cardinal transits inclining the Earth will feature rebellions, revolts and revolutions directly associated with the massive levels of financial fraud and corruption over the last decade.
The consequences on the lives of many millions of Americans from what Max Keiser calls "financial terrorists" is significant ~
- Fifty (50) million Americans now live in poverty. The highest rate in the industrialized world.
- Thirty (30) million Americans are in need of work.
- Five (5) million American families foreclosed on. With 15 million more foreclosures by 2014.
- 50-percent of U.S. children will now use a food stamp during their childhoods.Soaring state budget deficits across the country with a record high national debt.
- Record-breaking profits & bonuses for banks, Goldman Sachs, hedge funds, Speculator groups, etc.
Until the root problems are dealt with ~ straight up ~ with justice and common sense being applied and practiced in the real world, say, with the return of Glass-Steagall, and hunting down our bad guys, i.e., speculator groups, Morgan, Goldman Sachs, John Paulson & Co., ~ things will only get worse.
I've got my front seat and popcorn ready when you are fried for what all of you have done. This week's "market action" and what is happening in Greece is yet another example why I absolutely despise you losers.
You run from a fight rather than face it like men. You Armani suit-wearing liars, cheats, and sickos. In the city of Brotherly Love, in Philadelphia, we fight with everything we've got ~ with our bare hands, with heart and true intent. During the Revolutionary war, they invaded New York and stayed for six years. They invaded Philadelphia and evacuated after one month.
Thus, our great country called the United States of America was born.
All the money in the world will not save you from what you've got coming. Believe it. I cannot wait. The global transits that will take you down ~ and out for the count ~ are nearly here.
See the power of Mundane Astrology. There are many very good people in American government. They are with the people because We Are The People.
Do not count America out just yet; you traitors. Have your aspirin & ice buckets handy ~ you guys are going to need lots.
Welcome to Rocky town, pals.
And, we don't drink "tea" you corrupt jerks ~ we drink coffee ~ we're always awake, ready and willing. I hate you Armani-loving cheats right down to your very guts. Cowards.
You run from a fight rather than face it like men. You Armani suit-wearing liars, cheats, and sickos. In the city of Brotherly Love, in Philadelphia, we fight with everything we've got ~ with our bare hands, with heart and true intent. During the Revolutionary war, they invaded New York and stayed for six years. They invaded Philadelphia and evacuated after one month.
Thus, our great country called the United States of America was born.
All the money in the world will not save you from what you've got coming. Believe it. I cannot wait. The global transits that will take you down ~ and out for the count ~ are nearly here.
See the power of Mundane Astrology. There are many very good people in American government. They are with the people because We Are The People.
Do not count America out just yet; you traitors. Have your aspirin & ice buckets handy ~ you guys are going to need lots.
Welcome to Rocky town, pals.
And, we don't drink "tea" you corrupt jerks ~ we drink coffee ~ we're always awake, ready and willing. I hate you Armani-loving cheats right down to your very guts. Cowards.
I keep saying the same thing. The rats must not be allowed to stay in the kitchen, and the foxes can no longer be allowed to guard the hen house. And, before they are expelled - check out their bulging Goldman sacks of billions. That is where you will find all the stolen money, honey.
Europe In Crisis
As Europe shudders in the wake of the Greek Crisis, global markets continue to see the Euro currency sink against the dollar as the world awaits more bad market news about the exploding Sovereign Debts of European nations.
We see this now in Greece, and I continue to sadly forecast that it will be the same in other nations as well until healthy, common sense changes are made.
All this comes in the prelude to the coming conjunction of Jupiter & Uranus into Aries playing significant roles in the Cardinal T-Square between Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto.
All this comes in the prelude to the coming conjunction of Jupiter & Uranus into Aries playing significant roles in the Cardinal T-Square between Saturn, Uranus, and Pluto.
This T-square was last seen by mundane astrologers in the early 1930s, and features global crisis bordering on a worldwide economic depression.
It has been my forecast for years that the beginning of the decade of the 2010s will result in major economic collapse of nations from the direct causes of widespread financial corruption that has now thrown whole European nations into severe recessions.
On May 6th, the streets of Athens turned into pre-revolutionary chaos with other Greek cities reporting tens of thousands of protesters on the streets.
This comes a day before the Greek Parliament is expected to vote and pass a strict International Monetary Fund/European Union bailout that is highly unpopular with Greek citizens.
The problems of Greece continue to show that a much wider crisis of Sovereign debt in Europe has many investors spooked about the true stability of the Euro Monetary Union.
In Europe, there exists the strong potential that Spain, a country with a very weak economy that dwarfs Greece, will come under pressure as well.
Andrew Garthwaite, a strategist at Credit Suisse, said in recent report that European banks held up to $1.3 trillion of Greek, Spanish and Portuguese debt at high risk of default.
Should this happen, and I am forecasting it will because of global transits, then Europe will face a severe banking crisis similar to events that occurred immediately after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2008.
On May 6, it has been reported by European officials that, "The gap between the yield on longer-term debt of Greece, Portugal, and other weakened countries, and that of comparable German debt also widened.
The yield on the benchmark Greek government bond reached 10 percent, while yields on comparable Portuguese debt increased to 5.8 percent.
Spanish & Irish bond yields also rose. Spain remains the biggest concern. Despite the political factors, the IMF, and the European Union were able to raise funds to support Greece's bailout.
With the violent clashes in Greece, and grave announcements from German politicians, the Euro slumped below $1.29 May 6th against the U.S. dollar for the first time since April 2009.
Stocks were sold across European bourses as nervous investors sent prices, for what they see as the safest assets, like German government bonds, to a record high. The Greek government needs $11.6 billion by Wednesday, May 19 to cover its debt payments.
Experts say a resolution of Greece's problems is considered only a temporary fix and that similar issues are looming for Spain and Portugal, both countries who've had their debt ratings downgraded earlier this week.
According to an analysis by Barclays Capital, for Greece to meet the proposed target of a budget deficit of 4 to 6 percent of economic output by 2014, the government has to find savings of about 13.5 percent of its total output.
Axel Weber, the powerful German central banker said, "there is a grave threat of contagion effects for other member states in the monetary union and increasing negative feedback loop effects."
Talking about contagion: Spain is next.
It's bailout may cost as much as $600 billion, according to U.S. Representative Mark Steven Kirk, a republican from Illinois, who serves on the committee overseeing American financing to the IMF. "That is far more than the monetary fund has available to lend," he said.
According to sources, the monetary fund only has $268 billion on hand ~ a shortfall of $332 billion. Quite a number indeed.
Still, some economists are calling for a kind of American-type bailout that took place in October 2008 in suggesting that the European Central Bank (ECB) buy billions of Euros of the Greek, Portuguese and Spanish debt investors have shunned with the IMF potentially offering to bailout Spain next.
This would be well over the $700 billion the U.S. Congress approved in their TARP bailout of the big banks in 2008, that saved the American economy from collapse.
The problem is that for the most part, the pairing of the ECB and the IMF is a strange partnership to witness for many economists, who say they do not expect the Europeans to show the courage and flexibility needed for such large bailouts of entire nations in the euro zone.
The Greek bailout agreement of May 1, 2010 took place under a Mercury retrograde in Taurus. A bad time to formulate such heady agreements like huge financial bailouts of whole countries.
The expected passage of the bailout by EU member nations is by Friday, May 7th. The Greek Parliament has already passed the measure May 6th.
All this, with Mercury retrograde. It's amazing. It really is just, well, amazing...
Now, European officials continue to make serious errors saying the bailout plan for Greece is sufficient and there that is simply no need for a broader aid proposal , or, for a formal debt restructuring in any of the other afflicted countries.
For one, it is obvious that investors continue to push down the Euro, which fell to $1.28 on May 5. Then, today, on May 6th, a global decline in stock values. These are sure signs investor confidence is eroding ~ especially in Europe.
Second, and most important ~ the world transits on this situation are clear, and so is my advice on this matter:
It is my forecast that the Greek EU-IMF bailout agreement will have to be revised, with major alterations, and changed after Mercury stations direct at 2-Taurus on May 11th.
My astrological advice would be to immediately slow down, stop, and then review, revise, and redo the bailout agreement with a focus to cut back the severe austerity measures on the Greek people, and then ~ come up with a better plan to relieve the Greek economy before all hell breaks loose.
And believe, me, it is closer than you may think.
There still is time to bring some calmer heads to this situation should the players and their staffs pull back and look seriously at revising the conditions being forced on Greece. Slow down. Do not rush under these cardinal inclinations or you all will make things worse.
The Germans would be an immense help here, and would improve their status by stepping in to give Greece help without pulling itself into the fray politically.
Germany is only protecting itself, and rightly so.
Caution is well advised here, and the Germans have been practicing it despite pressures from the EU, and others, those who continue to make serious errors by rushing things through haste, and impulse.
Another Big no no under the cardinal inclinations.
Those Germans reading this already know what I know about the coming new Deutsche Mark. If this decision has already been made, then there is simply no reason to pretend as if it is not going to happen, yes?
There is no need to pretend that Germany is not the sovereign nation that it truly is anyhow. Moreover, it is well-known that Germany was forced into accepting EU conditions despite its own concerns about the Euro, and integration of weaker European nations into the monetary union.
So, why pretend when much is at stake at this point? The Germans cannot be faulted for being very skeptical of the bailout plans given the history of Germany's concern about the monetary union over several decades.
Germany is being asked, again, to do something it does not want to do, and for very good reasons. What is happening is Germany is going to go its own way - fiscally, and through its own currency - since Brussels cannot seem to balance its own checkbooks.
A positive move for Greece would be to extend the provisions beyond three years, which is very shortsighted and over-optimistic in my view; considering the extent to which the world economy will need to recover for Europe to absorb the cutbacks in spending that is surely coming.
All this will do is to spread violent social rebellions in the years to come with possible overthrows of several governments in the process. This is very expensive as it is, and surely there are better and positive ways to handle this situation, yes?
I say there is.
In the short-term again: Review, Revise & Redo.
A proper time to review the changes to the Greek bailout agreement would be after the May 14 New Moon in Taurus, then, to enact the revised changes between May 28 through June 12th.
This would ease pressure on the Euro, and give investors more time to build up some market confidence. It would also give the Germans more time to think, and allow things to calm down on the streets of Athens with people knowing that the severe cutbacks are being re-thought.
It also allows the Greek government more time to ease into the conditions beyond the ridiculously short three months given to Prime Minister George Papandreou to begin the terms of the austerity package.
This will not only calm things down in Europe, but will save many lives in the process. This is most important.
I would give Greece the rest of 2010 to make adjustments in these draconian austerity measures, and allow the changes to take place gradually, not beginning until late August 2011. This will calm things down substantially.
World transits clearly show that forcing all this to take place, under these powerful cardinal transits, at this time, and through the summer and autumn months simply adds up to economic suicide ~ on a European-wide scale.
It does not allow for more favorable transits to arrive in time before such severe measures are forced on a country, with impacts outside of Greece, and affecting the entire global economy ~ especially in Europe.
But, then again, that's just me. I'm only a mundane astrolog, yes? So what do I know?
Meanwhile, Europe is holding its collective breath.
“It is not really about money,” says Timothy Congdon, an economist and Euro skeptic who said he foresees a wide exodus of savings in banks sitting on Europe’s periphery to flow into Germany because of serious doubts about some of the nations in the monetary union.
This is another matter that is very serious.
People tend to forget what the "weather" was like back in June 1997, when the move towards the Euro was cemented at the European Council Meeting in Amsterdam. More on that below.
German public opinion was always wary of giving up their beloved Deutsche mark, so the German government insisted on tough conditions for countries like Greece that wanted to join the monetary union back in 1981, when it entered the then-European Community.
The European monetary union rule was that the budget deficits of all member nations were supposed to be below three-percent of gross domestic product and that debt was not to exceed 60 percent of G.D.P. while inflation could not top three-percent.
Greece is not alone, and is not the only Eurozone nation under stress that has to withstand severe spending cuts while at the same time holding to the monetary unions' fixed regimen.
Central European countries like Latvia, which is now taking part in an IMF bailout program; and Lithuania, surviving on its own ~ have shrunk by more than 10 percent as a result of deep cutbacks in government spending.
No one expected the economic crisis of 2007-08, and now, ten years into the birth of the Euro, we find just that.
See ~ TREATY OF AMSTERDAM AMENDING THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION, THE TREATIES ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND RELATED ACTS.
I clearly remember the scene in Amsterdam when in June 1997 when the designs for the Euro were agreed upon. What I saw from the skies was a series of swirling dark clouds that descended over the very building leaders gathered to meet. It was an strange sight for sure, and, an ominous warning to an astrologer.
It was the first time that newly-elected British Prime Minister Tony Blair was introduced to the other European leaders. Heady days. Everyone was all smiles, but the day began with those swirling dark clouds, as if sent by God Himself to make a point about the future of the European Union, and the Euro.
Those dark clouds, I knew, were a warning. What also took place in Amsterdam on June 16-18, 1997 was a resolution on something called ERM2 ~ an an exchange rate mechanism between the Euro and the currencies of the other EU countries was been designed.
Basic Information on the Amsterdam Treaty.
On the basis of this document, the European Council adopted a Resolution on the ERM2 at its meeting in Amsterdam in June 1997.
"The main operational features of ERM 2 may be summarised under four (4) points:
First, for each participating non-euro area currency, a central rate vis-à-vis the euro will be defined. Unlike the present ERM, there will no longer be a "parity grid."
The new so-called "hub-and-spokes" approach puts the euro at the centre of the system. Around the euro central rates, a standard fluctuation band of +/- 15% will be established.
This rather wide band reflects the good experience with the operation of the current ERM. It avoids offering "one-way bets" in periods of speculative pressure.
It also allows temporary deviations from the central rates to accommodate minor asymmetric economic disturbances.
The recent experience in the ERM has shown that central rates exert a strong magnetic force for exchange rates, thus contributing to avoiding misalignments.
In practice, exchange rate fluctuations have, for most currencies, proved to be even more limited than in the former 2.25% narrow band of the ERM.
This effect has been reinforced after the decision taken at the Mondorf Informal ECOFIN in mid-September to announce bilateral conversion rates in May 1998.
In summary, ERM2 is an asymmetric system, centered around the Euro.
There have been in the past many discussions concerning the asymmetric nature of the current exchange rate mechanism, and the desirability of this asymmetry.
I think that there can be no doubt that ERM2 will have to be asymmetric, given the Euro area's size and the stability-oriented policies that will be pursued in the euro area, in particular by the European System of Central Banks.
A second feature is that central rates and the standard wide band will be set by mutual agreement between all parties.
These parties are the Euro-area Finance Ministers, the ECB, and the Finance Ministers and central bank Governors of the non-euro area Member States participating in ERM2.
The European Commission will, as today, be involved in the procedure. All parties to the agreement, including the ECB, will have the right to initiate a procedure for reconsidering central rates.
This will ensure that any adjustment of central rates will be conducted in a timely fashion.
A third feature is that, as today, there will be automatic and unlimited foreign exchange intervention and financing when exchange rates reach the fluctuation margins.
The central banks participating in the agreement will retain the possibility of coordinated intra-marginal intervention, to be decided by mutual agreement in parallel with other appropriate policy responses.
Finally, there is the possibility to have closer links between non-Euro area NCBs and the ECB.
A non-Euro area Member State that has reached an advanced degree of convergence with the Euro area may request closer exchange rate co-operation. This may take various forms.
Okay, now we are getting somewhere.
It appears that my suspicions, by reviewing the world transits of the late 1990s, were correct. I remember that morning of June 16, with the Moon in Libra square to Neptune at 29-Capricorn, watching those dark clouds gathering ~ literally ~ over the very spot where the European Council was meeting.
At the time, the transiting Lunar Nodes were on the Pisces/Virgo axis, with the South Lunar Node at 23-Pisces in June 1997. This is exactly where transiting Jupiter is at now, with Uranus within orb, and at this time we see the Euro under stress.
In addition, looking at the June 16, 1997 transits for Amsterdam, we can see that Mars in Virgo then, is now being conjoined by transiting Saturn in Virgo, and, in opposition to transiting Jupiter in Pisces.
The progressed transits for this time to May show a Progressed Moon in Aries opposed to Chiron in Libra ~ this feature monetary stress, which is what the Euro zone is now encountering. By January 2013, the Progressed Moon of this time opposes Pluto, with more stresses on the Euro.
By April of 2014, during the month of the worldwide Cardinal Grand Cross, the Progressed Mercury of the June 1997 European Council Chart is square to its Progressed Saturn in Aries. At this time in 2014, the Euro will be 15-years old.
Should the sovereign debt crisis continue to get out of hand, it is my forecast that the Euro will be greatly weakened, thus increasing chances Germany may indeed return to their own currency, and issue a new Deutsche Mark ~ staying within the European Union, but effectively leaving the monetary union.
The Greek crisis has sparked an age-old clash between the EU's two biggest nations: France, and Germany. France, a republican countries that has a tradition of interventions, and a casual attitude towards public debt contrasts that of Germany, with it strict attachment to rules and frugality that comes from its own currency traumas.
This is understandable, since Germany, a nation that lost their savings twice in the 20th century ~ once to hyperinflation in 1923 with Uranus in Pisces, and again, to currency reform after the Second World War ~ holds tight to its principles of central bank independence and budgetary discipline. The very core of the German financial psyche.
“Germans fear going bankrupt themselves,” said John C. Kornblum, a former United States ambassador to Germany. "Paris and Berlin have had many disagreements in the postwar world, but few are as deep-rooted as those on economic governance."
In fact, my mundane view show that quiet talks have been already underway in Germany to do just that - return to the Deutsche Mark. If this occurs, then the Euro, as we know it today, is doomed.
Meanwhile, Congdon said economic figures prove even after deflationary stresses on Spain and Ireland, for instance, and the much wider effect of the Greek crisis on credit-starved banks in Europe, that there actually has been no growth in the European Central Bank’s money supply.
On May 23, Jupiter will oppose Saturn for the first time in 20 years on the Pisces/Virgo axis. This comes less than a month since the fourth Saturn/Uranus opposition of April 26th.
Then, by June 8, 2010, transiting Jupiter & Uranus will meet in conjunction at tropical 00-Aries ~ the seasonal point which is very sensitive to transits of the outer planets. Saturn is forming an opposition to both planets and Pluto in tropical Capricorn squares them all.
This is a "preview" conjunction which forms over the months of June, July, and August 2010, before both Jupiter and Uranus return back into the late degrees of tropical Pisces for their conjunction over the fall months, and into winter 2011.
In my February 2010 and subsequent forecasts, I warned about the inclinations and influences of the Cardinal Crisis transits.
These planetary configurations began to build right after the arrival of the new astrological year that occurred March 20, 2010, when the Sun entered Aries, and the Earth reached the vernal equinox.
What will be most notable about the build-up towards the Cardinal inclinations in 2010 are the frustrations, temper tantrums, hotheads, and impulsive behaviors amongst supposed adults that stem from within those who are immature to their very core.
The Cardinal Climax transits feature energies that will incline reactionaries to react badly.
One will observe that pettiness, impulsive acts and ignorance flowing from people who have what I call toxic personalities. Avoid them like the plague if you want to be happy, wealthy and wise.
I continue to state, as I have for years, that the decade of the 2010s will be akin to the Great Depression years of the 1930s, and will, in the long-run, lead to geopolitical tensions that will change the tone and character of the early 21st century.
Most of this will come about because people were not prepared, and did not make adjustments to meet the coming inclinations.
It also has occurred because policymakers, international bankers, speculators and those in industries like residential and commercial real estate allowed themselves to believe their own fantasies - with devastating consequences for tens of millions of people worldwide.
As I've written before, the strongest months of those of July, August, and September 2010 with August being the most powerful month under these powerful cardinal inclinations.
Travel is unfavorable. There are dangerous transits during the summer vacation season in the northern hemisphere. Accidents in and around bodies of water are highlighted, from the air, and on the high seas ~ perilous conditions exist that will lead to violent interactions, and in some cases, deaths involving large groups of people.
Stay close to home, and use the rest of 2010 to relax, and observe the cardinal transits in action through the world news.
Meanwhile, I would ask that everyone pray for the countries of the world now suffering under the crushing weight of the economic crisis, and that those responsible be brought to justice for causing what will amount to the Second Great Depression ~ the first one of the 21st century.
Some people may think that all of this is, rather, well, "melodramatic;" however, I continue to remind people that my outlook is that of a mundane astrologer, and that I maintain that these times, when looked back on years from now ~ will be seen as nothing less than historic.
So, I warn those taking events of the present times a bit too lightly that they are making a serious mistake in doing so. Again, foretold is forewarned.
It is not wise to shut one's eyes to what is taking place in the hope that it will go away. It will not go away. In fact, things are going to change evermore so in the weeks, months, and years ahead.
This comes a day before the Greek Parliament is expected to vote and pass a strict International Monetary Fund/European Union bailout that is highly unpopular with Greek citizens.
The austerity measures Greece must now live under have been called "draconian" even by IMF standards, and has caused a mass uprising of Greeks just as the Greek Parliament is set to approve the bailout agreement.
The violent clashes in Athens against the austerity package Greek prime minister George Papandreou accepted in return for a €110 billion bailout has fear gripping world markets that other heavily indebted Euro countries will also require massive bailouts.
The problems of Greece continue to show that a much wider crisis of Sovereign debt in Europe has many investors spooked about the true stability of the Euro Monetary Union.
In Europe, there exists the strong potential that Spain, a country with a very weak economy that dwarfs Greece, will come under pressure as well.
Andrew Garthwaite, a strategist at Credit Suisse, said in recent report that European banks held up to $1.3 trillion of Greek, Spanish and Portuguese debt at high risk of default.
Should this happen, and I am forecasting it will because of global transits, then Europe will face a severe banking crisis similar to events that occurred immediately after the collapse of Lehman Brothers in the fall of 2008.
On May 6, it has been reported by European officials that, "The gap between the yield on longer-term debt of Greece, Portugal, and other weakened countries, and that of comparable German debt also widened.
The yield on the benchmark Greek government bond reached 10 percent, while yields on comparable Portuguese debt increased to 5.8 percent.
Spanish & Irish bond yields also rose. Spain remains the biggest concern. Despite the political factors, the IMF, and the European Union were able to raise funds to support Greece's bailout.
With the violent clashes in Greece, and grave announcements from German politicians, the Euro slumped below $1.29 May 6th against the U.S. dollar for the first time since April 2009.
Stocks were sold across European bourses as nervous investors sent prices, for what they see as the safest assets, like German government bonds, to a record high. The Greek government needs $11.6 billion by Wednesday, May 19 to cover its debt payments.
Experts say a resolution of Greece's problems is considered only a temporary fix and that similar issues are looming for Spain and Portugal, both countries who've had their debt ratings downgraded earlier this week.
According to an analysis by Barclays Capital, for Greece to meet the proposed target of a budget deficit of 4 to 6 percent of economic output by 2014, the government has to find savings of about 13.5 percent of its total output.
This kind of rapid turnaround in about three years has very little past precedent in Western Europe. Moreover, Barclay's says it will be "all the more difficult given the depth of the [global] recession and the inability of Greece to devalue."
May 5th ~ the day before today's major sell-off, showed signs of things to come:
- The Euro tumbled below $1.29 for the first time since April 2009
- Stock markets in Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain & Portugal all fell
- The yield on Germany's 10-year bond reached a record low
Axel Weber, the powerful German central banker said, "there is a grave threat of contagion effects for other member states in the monetary union and increasing negative feedback loop effects."
Talking about contagion: Spain is next.
It's bailout may cost as much as $600 billion, according to U.S. Representative Mark Steven Kirk, a republican from Illinois, who serves on the committee overseeing American financing to the IMF. "That is far more than the monetary fund has available to lend," he said.
According to sources, the monetary fund only has $268 billion on hand ~ a shortfall of $332 billion. Quite a number indeed.
Still, some economists are calling for a kind of American-type bailout that took place in October 2008 in suggesting that the European Central Bank (ECB) buy billions of Euros of the Greek, Portuguese and Spanish debt investors have shunned with the IMF potentially offering to bailout Spain next.
This would be well over the $700 billion the U.S. Congress approved in their TARP bailout of the big banks in 2008, that saved the American economy from collapse.
The problem is that for the most part, the pairing of the ECB and the IMF is a strange partnership to witness for many economists, who say they do not expect the Europeans to show the courage and flexibility needed for such large bailouts of entire nations in the euro zone.
Mercury Retrograde & The Greek Bailout Agreement
My Astrological Advice: Review, Revise & Redo
Man Under Enormous Stress: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou
The Greek bailout agreement of May 1, 2010 took place under a Mercury retrograde in Taurus. A bad time to formulate such heady agreements like huge financial bailouts of whole countries.
The expected passage of the bailout by EU member nations is by Friday, May 7th. The Greek Parliament has already passed the measure May 6th.
All this, with Mercury retrograde. It's amazing. It really is just, well, amazing...
Now, European officials continue to make serious errors saying the bailout plan for Greece is sufficient and there that is simply no need for a broader aid proposal , or, for a formal debt restructuring in any of the other afflicted countries.
I say they are wrong. Very wrong.
For one, it is obvious that investors continue to push down the Euro, which fell to $1.28 on May 5. Then, today, on May 6th, a global decline in stock values. These are sure signs investor confidence is eroding ~ especially in Europe.
Second, and most important ~ the world transits on this situation are clear, and so is my advice on this matter:
It is time to review, revise, and redo.
It is my forecast that the Greek EU-IMF bailout agreement will have to be revised, with major alterations, and changed after Mercury stations direct at 2-Taurus on May 11th.
Do not the ECB, IMF and Greek government know that signing such important fiscal agreements ~ and then voting to pass the austerity measures ~ during a Mercury Retrograde, particularly in a money sign like Taurus ~ is a BIG NO NO?
My astrological advice would be to immediately slow down, stop, and then review, revise, and redo the bailout agreement with a focus to cut back the severe austerity measures on the Greek people, and then ~ come up with a better plan to relieve the Greek economy before all hell breaks loose.
And believe, me, it is closer than you may think.
There still is time to bring some calmer heads to this situation should the players and their staffs pull back and look seriously at revising the conditions being forced on Greece. Slow down. Do not rush under these cardinal inclinations or you all will make things worse.
The Germans would be an immense help here, and would improve their status by stepping in to give Greece help without pulling itself into the fray politically.
Germany is only protecting itself, and rightly so.
Caution is well advised here, and the Germans have been practicing it despite pressures from the EU, and others, those who continue to make serious errors by rushing things through haste, and impulse.
Another Big no no under the cardinal inclinations.
Those Germans reading this already know what I know about the coming new Deutsche Mark. If this decision has already been made, then there is simply no reason to pretend as if it is not going to happen, yes?
There is no need to pretend that Germany is not the sovereign nation that it truly is anyhow. Moreover, it is well-known that Germany was forced into accepting EU conditions despite its own concerns about the Euro, and integration of weaker European nations into the monetary union.
So, why pretend when much is at stake at this point? The Germans cannot be faulted for being very skeptical of the bailout plans given the history of Germany's concern about the monetary union over several decades.
Germany is being asked, again, to do something it does not want to do, and for very good reasons. What is happening is Germany is going to go its own way - fiscally, and through its own currency - since Brussels cannot seem to balance its own checkbooks.
A positive move for Greece would be to extend the provisions beyond three years, which is very shortsighted and over-optimistic in my view; considering the extent to which the world economy will need to recover for Europe to absorb the cutbacks in spending that is surely coming.
All this will do is to spread violent social rebellions in the years to come with possible overthrows of several governments in the process. This is very expensive as it is, and surely there are better and positive ways to handle this situation, yes?
I say there is.
In the short-term again: Review, Revise & Redo.
A proper time to review the changes to the Greek bailout agreement would be after the May 14 New Moon in Taurus, then, to enact the revised changes between May 28 through June 12th.
This would ease pressure on the Euro, and give investors more time to build up some market confidence. It would also give the Germans more time to think, and allow things to calm down on the streets of Athens with people knowing that the severe cutbacks are being re-thought.
It also allows the Greek government more time to ease into the conditions beyond the ridiculously short three months given to Prime Minister George Papandreou to begin the terms of the austerity package.
This will not only calm things down in Europe, but will save many lives in the process. This is most important.
I would give Greece the rest of 2010 to make adjustments in these draconian austerity measures, and allow the changes to take place gradually, not beginning until late August 2011. This will calm things down substantially.
World transits clearly show that forcing all this to take place, under these powerful cardinal transits, at this time, and through the summer and autumn months simply adds up to economic suicide ~ on a European-wide scale.
It does not allow for more favorable transits to arrive in time before such severe measures are forced on a country, with impacts outside of Greece, and affecting the entire global economy ~ especially in Europe.
But, then again, that's just me. I'm only a mundane astrolog, yes? So what do I know?
Meanwhile, Europe is holding its collective breath.
“It is not really about money,” says Timothy Congdon, an economist and Euro skeptic who said he foresees a wide exodus of savings in banks sitting on Europe’s periphery to flow into Germany because of serious doubts about some of the nations in the monetary union.
This is another matter that is very serious.
People tend to forget what the "weather" was like back in June 1997, when the move towards the Euro was cemented at the European Council Meeting in Amsterdam. More on that below.
German public opinion was always wary of giving up their beloved Deutsche mark, so the German government insisted on tough conditions for countries like Greece that wanted to join the monetary union back in 1981, when it entered the then-European Community.
Even as late as the June 1997 European Council Meeting in Amsterdam; Germans were still wary of what was happening ~
"At Amsterdam, sensitivities about sovereignty regarding EMU within Kohl's coalition and the impact of Article 23 in the German Basic Law, meant that the Chancellor could not override domestic opposition in the name of European federalist ideology. The German interest is grounded in the legal and political realities determined by shared power in a federal system of government."
"Not a year goes by without some fresh blueprint being drawn up and fed into the continuing debate. Each succeeding blueprint can be likened to the way in which some artists go over their work again and again, gradually building up a deep richness to the emerging picture.
"Old paint on canvas, as it ages, sometimes becomes transparent. When that happens it is possible, in some pictures, to see the original lines: a tree will show through a woman's dress, a child makes way for a dog, a large boat is no longer on an open sea.
That is called 'pentimento' because the painter 'repented,' changed his mind. Perhaps it would be as well to say that the old conception, replaced by a later choice, is a way of seeing and then seeing again."
The European monetary union rule was that the budget deficits of all member nations were supposed to be below three-percent of gross domestic product and that debt was not to exceed 60 percent of G.D.P. while inflation could not top three-percent.
Greece is not alone, and is not the only Eurozone nation under stress that has to withstand severe spending cuts while at the same time holding to the monetary unions' fixed regimen.
Central European countries like Latvia, which is now taking part in an IMF bailout program; and Lithuania, surviving on its own ~ have shrunk by more than 10 percent as a result of deep cutbacks in government spending.
No one expected the economic crisis of 2007-08, and now, ten years into the birth of the Euro, we find just that.
See ~ TREATY OF AMSTERDAM AMENDING THE TREATY ON EUROPEAN UNION, THE TREATIES ESTABLISHING THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES AND RELATED ACTS.
I clearly remember the scene in Amsterdam when in June 1997 when the designs for the Euro were agreed upon. What I saw from the skies was a series of swirling dark clouds that descended over the very building leaders gathered to meet. It was an strange sight for sure, and, an ominous warning to an astrologer.
It was the first time that newly-elected British Prime Minister Tony Blair was introduced to the other European leaders. Heady days. Everyone was all smiles, but the day began with those swirling dark clouds, as if sent by God Himself to make a point about the future of the European Union, and the Euro.
Those dark clouds, I knew, were a warning. What also took place in Amsterdam on June 16-18, 1997 was a resolution on something called ERM2 ~ an an exchange rate mechanism between the Euro and the currencies of the other EU countries was been designed.
Basic Information on the Amsterdam Treaty.
On the basis of this document, the European Council adopted a Resolution on the ERM2 at its meeting in Amsterdam in June 1997.
Let's take a closer look at this:
A speech given by Wim Duisenberg, President of the European Monetary Institute, at the conference "The Euro & the European Innovative Industry" in Toulouse, France, on October 17, 1997 ~ titled "1999 - A New European Monetary System."
"The main operational features of ERM 2 may be summarised under four (4) points:
First, for each participating non-euro area currency, a central rate vis-à-vis the euro will be defined. Unlike the present ERM, there will no longer be a "parity grid."
The new so-called "hub-and-spokes" approach puts the euro at the centre of the system. Around the euro central rates, a standard fluctuation band of +/- 15% will be established.
This rather wide band reflects the good experience with the operation of the current ERM. It avoids offering "one-way bets" in periods of speculative pressure.
It also allows temporary deviations from the central rates to accommodate minor asymmetric economic disturbances.
The recent experience in the ERM has shown that central rates exert a strong magnetic force for exchange rates, thus contributing to avoiding misalignments.
In practice, exchange rate fluctuations have, for most currencies, proved to be even more limited than in the former 2.25% narrow band of the ERM.
This effect has been reinforced after the decision taken at the Mondorf Informal ECOFIN in mid-September to announce bilateral conversion rates in May 1998.
In summary, ERM2 is an asymmetric system, centered around the Euro.
There have been in the past many discussions concerning the asymmetric nature of the current exchange rate mechanism, and the desirability of this asymmetry.
I think that there can be no doubt that ERM2 will have to be asymmetric, given the Euro area's size and the stability-oriented policies that will be pursued in the euro area, in particular by the European System of Central Banks.
A second feature is that central rates and the standard wide band will be set by mutual agreement between all parties.
These parties are the Euro-area Finance Ministers, the ECB, and the Finance Ministers and central bank Governors of the non-euro area Member States participating in ERM2.
The European Commission will, as today, be involved in the procedure. All parties to the agreement, including the ECB, will have the right to initiate a procedure for reconsidering central rates.
This will ensure that any adjustment of central rates will be conducted in a timely fashion.
A third feature is that, as today, there will be automatic and unlimited foreign exchange intervention and financing when exchange rates reach the fluctuation margins.
As a general principle, it is understood that intervention will have to be used to support - not replace - other policy measures, including appropriate fiscal and monetary policies.
Furthermore, an explicit safeguard clause has been introduced, and this is new, by which both the ECB and the participating non-euro area NCBs are allowed to suspend intervention and financing if these were to impinge on their price stability objective.
The central banks participating in the agreement will retain the possibility of coordinated intra-marginal intervention, to be decided by mutual agreement in parallel with other appropriate policy responses.
Finally, there is the possibility to have closer links between non-Euro area NCBs and the ECB.
A non-Euro area Member State that has reached an advanced degree of convergence with the Euro area may request closer exchange rate co-operation. This may take various forms.
It can entail participation in formal narrower bands, to be agreed upon in a procedure analogous to that for central rate decisions. Alternatively, informal arrangements can be made, for instance target ranges, which might not be made public."
"Overall, ERM2 is equipped with the necessary instruments to ensure exchange rate stability and to avoid that the move to the Euro creates tensions and segregation in the European Union."
[Here is where Duisenberg's "academic" speech is more or less prophetic ~ considering what is now happening in Greece & Europe in 2010.]
"I am fully aware that what I have been talking about until now may sound a bit theoretical. I do not want to shy away from the real question that you want to be tackled, which I believe is:
How can it be avoided that a country not entering the euro area from the start is "left out in the cold", to use the expression of an academic, with the consequence of severe exchange rate tensions, depreciation, competitive distortions that are a detriment not only to the country itself but also to the economies of the Euro area?
I am fully aware that ERM2 provides only part of the answer. It represents a framework for monetary and foreign exchange policy co-operation; it does not ensure by itself that the right policies are in the end implemented, in particular in the countries outside the euro area.
ERM2 is a necessary condition, it is not sufficient. But I believe that the creation of the Euro will represent an additional impulse for further economic integration in Europe.
In other words, I believe that the Euro need not be a factor of division of Europe but rather will have the potential of becoming an instrument for accelerating its integration."
Okay, now we are getting somewhere.
It appears that my suspicions, by reviewing the world transits of the late 1990s, were correct. I remember that morning of June 16, with the Moon in Libra square to Neptune at 29-Capricorn, watching those dark clouds gathering ~ literally ~ over the very spot where the European Council was meeting.
At the time, the transiting Lunar Nodes were on the Pisces/Virgo axis, with the South Lunar Node at 23-Pisces in June 1997. This is exactly where transiting Jupiter is at now, with Uranus within orb, and at this time we see the Euro under stress.
In addition, looking at the June 16, 1997 transits for Amsterdam, we can see that Mars in Virgo then, is now being conjoined by transiting Saturn in Virgo, and, in opposition to transiting Jupiter in Pisces.
The progressed transits for this time to May show a Progressed Moon in Aries opposed to Chiron in Libra ~ this feature monetary stress, which is what the Euro zone is now encountering. By January 2013, the Progressed Moon of this time opposes Pluto, with more stresses on the Euro.
By April of 2014, during the month of the worldwide Cardinal Grand Cross, the Progressed Mercury of the June 1997 European Council Chart is square to its Progressed Saturn in Aries. At this time in 2014, the Euro will be 15-years old.
Should the sovereign debt crisis continue to get out of hand, it is my forecast that the Euro will be greatly weakened, thus increasing chances Germany may indeed return to their own currency, and issue a new Deutsche Mark ~ staying within the European Union, but effectively leaving the monetary union.
The Greek crisis has sparked an age-old clash between the EU's two biggest nations: France, and Germany. France, a republican countries that has a tradition of interventions, and a casual attitude towards public debt contrasts that of Germany, with it strict attachment to rules and frugality that comes from its own currency traumas.
This is understandable, since Germany, a nation that lost their savings twice in the 20th century ~ once to hyperinflation in 1923 with Uranus in Pisces, and again, to currency reform after the Second World War ~ holds tight to its principles of central bank independence and budgetary discipline. The very core of the German financial psyche.
“Germans fear going bankrupt themselves,” said John C. Kornblum, a former United States ambassador to Germany. "Paris and Berlin have had many disagreements in the postwar world, but few are as deep-rooted as those on economic governance."
In fact, my mundane view show that quiet talks have been already underway in Germany to do just that - return to the Deutsche Mark. If this occurs, then the Euro, as we know it today, is doomed.
Meanwhile, Congdon said economic figures prove even after deflationary stresses on Spain and Ireland, for instance, and the much wider effect of the Greek crisis on credit-starved banks in Europe, that there actually has been no growth in the European Central Bank’s money supply.
So, “it's about how much pain the people in periphery can stand in order to keep this thing going. Once the confidence is gone, and Greeks and Spaniards move their deposits to Frankfurt ~ it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the whole thing implodes."
Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus & Pluto
Preview of The Cardinal T-Square Crisis
On May 23, Jupiter will oppose Saturn for the first time in 20 years on the Pisces/Virgo axis. This comes less than a month since the fourth Saturn/Uranus opposition of April 26th.
Then, by June 8, 2010, transiting Jupiter & Uranus will meet in conjunction at tropical 00-Aries ~ the seasonal point which is very sensitive to transits of the outer planets. Saturn is forming an opposition to both planets and Pluto in tropical Capricorn squares them all.
This is a "preview" conjunction which forms over the months of June, July, and August 2010, before both Jupiter and Uranus return back into the late degrees of tropical Pisces for their conjunction over the fall months, and into winter 2011.
In my February 2010 and subsequent forecasts, I warned about the inclinations and influences of the Cardinal Crisis transits.
These planetary configurations began to build right after the arrival of the new astrological year that occurred March 20, 2010, when the Sun entered Aries, and the Earth reached the vernal equinox.
What will be most notable about the build-up towards the Cardinal inclinations in 2010 are the frustrations, temper tantrums, hotheads, and impulsive behaviors amongst supposed adults that stem from within those who are immature to their very core.
The Cardinal Climax transits feature energies that will incline reactionaries to react badly.
One will observe that pettiness, impulsive acts and ignorance flowing from people who have what I call toxic personalities. Avoid them like the plague if you want to be happy, wealthy and wise.
What follows are the significant planetary aspects from April to October 2010 -
- April 6-7 - Pluto stations retrograde at 5-Capricorn
- April 7, 2010 - Saturn re-enters tropical Virgo
- April 26, 2010 - Saturn opposes Uranus (4th opposition)
- May 23, 2010 - Jupiter opposes Saturn (first time since 1990-91)
- May 27-28, 2010 - Uranus enters tropical Aries
- May 30th, 2010 - Saturn stations direct motion
- June 5-6, 2010 - Jupiter enters tropical Aries
- June 6-7, 2010 - Mars enters tropical Virgo
- June 8, 2010 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus
- July 5, 2010 - Uranus stations retrograde at 0-Aries
- July 8, 2010 - Jupiter turns North in declination
- July 11, 2010 - New Moon total eclipse at 19-Cancer (not seen in N. America)
- July 21, 2010 - Saturn re-enters tropical Libra for good
- July 23, 2010 - Jupiter stations retrograde
- July 25, 2010 - Jupiter Squares Pluto
- July 26, 2010 - Fifth Saturn/Uranus opposition
- July 31, 2010 - Mars & Jupiter turn S in Declination
- August 3, 2010 - Jupiter, retrograde, Squares Pluto again
- August 6, 2010 - Venus turns South in Declination
- August 13-14, 2010 - Uranus re-enters tropical Pisces
- August 16, 2010 - Jupiter Opposes Saturn
- August 20, 2010 - Mercury retrogrades in Virgo
- August 21, 2010 - Saturn Squares Pluto
- September 8, 2010 - Saturn turns South in declination
- September 8, 2010 - New Moon at 15-Virgo
- September 8, 2010 - Venus enters Scorpio
- September 8-9, 2010 - Jupiter re-enters tropical Pisces
- September 12, 2010 - Mercury stations direct
- September 14, 2010 - Pluto stations direct
- September 14, 2010 - Mars enters Scorpio
- September 19, 2010 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus in Pisces
- October 8, 2010 - Venus stations retrograde in Scorpio
- October 18, 2010 - Jupiter conjoins Uranus in Pisces
I continue to state, as I have for years, that the decade of the 2010s will be akin to the Great Depression years of the 1930s, and will, in the long-run, lead to geopolitical tensions that will change the tone and character of the early 21st century.
Most of this will come about because people were not prepared, and did not make adjustments to meet the coming inclinations.
It also has occurred because policymakers, international bankers, speculators and those in industries like residential and commercial real estate allowed themselves to believe their own fantasies - with devastating consequences for tens of millions of people worldwide.
As I've written before, the strongest months of those of July, August, and September 2010 with August being the most powerful month under these powerful cardinal inclinations.
Travel is unfavorable. There are dangerous transits during the summer vacation season in the northern hemisphere. Accidents in and around bodies of water are highlighted, from the air, and on the high seas ~ perilous conditions exist that will lead to violent interactions, and in some cases, deaths involving large groups of people.
I continue to advise against taking chances during the months from July through September 2010 - especially in the northern hemispheric summer season.
Stay close to home, and use the rest of 2010 to relax, and observe the cardinal transits in action through the world news.
Meanwhile, I would ask that everyone pray for the countries of the world now suffering under the crushing weight of the economic crisis, and that those responsible be brought to justice for causing what will amount to the Second Great Depression ~ the first one of the 21st century.
Some people may think that all of this is, rather, well, "melodramatic;" however, I continue to remind people that my outlook is that of a mundane astrologer, and that I maintain that these times, when looked back on years from now ~ will be seen as nothing less than historic.
So, I warn those taking events of the present times a bit too lightly that they are making a serious mistake in doing so. Again, foretold is forewarned.
It is not wise to shut one's eyes to what is taking place in the hope that it will go away. It will not go away. In fact, things are going to change evermore so in the weeks, months, and years ahead.
Challenging and changing times require bold leaders who are skilled tacticians and visionaries. Those who failed to foresee and prepare for what is now taking place must be relieved of their positions and let go, or they will simply make things worse than they are now by their very presence.
We are all living and experiencing the start of an historic age.
Times are changing according to global transits, and will continue to change. I end this post as I began it. You are that hope. You are that change. Those who can accept this, and see the truth of what is happening may also be able to envision a better future as I do when I look to the transits of the skies and the Signs of the Times as we begin the new decade of the 2010s.
Stay safe out there ~ and never give up. America and the world is worth fighting for and it ain't for sale either. Remember that.
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