The stock market forecast for 2007 was right on the money. The market rose but a sharp correction occurred late in the year. Prospects for 2008 are grim. Only one out of five planetary indicators points to an up market, and this for only the first half of the year! The Saturn-Uranus aspect of late 2008-2010 warns of a financial crisis. The Jupiter-Neptune cycle is primarily an inflation indicator but 4 out of the last 5 conjunctions led to a financial crisis. The next conjunction will take place in 2009. The major market indicator of Mars-Jupiter-Saturn aspects (see my book EARTH CHANGES) indicated the correction near August 2007 and another low period centering around December 2007. The expected sharp run-up in values due a month before December 17, 2007 and lasting a couple of weeks later has been partially fulfilled, although the Mars-Jupiter-Saturn aspect dulled its full impact.

Although 2008 shows signs of a recession, I expect the market to make modest gains until sunspots first rise above 50 per month. This is expected to take place in 2008 but the NOAA data on sunspots only shows that a low in sunspot numbers was being reached by the end of October 2007. Sunspots will probably rise above 50 later in 2008. The next Mars-Jupiter-Saturn aspect is in January 2009. We are, therefore, very near to or just beginning the next recession. I suggest being ultra-conservative this year in terms of investing and spending habits. Be mindful that a sharp drop or a series of declines in stock value is extremely likely. Dry weather is also an indication of a bear market. 2007 was the third year of drier weather (see Data link). 2007, in fact, turned out to be drier than the average precipitation - a dire warning of recession.

You can read more about the near and far-term economic forecast under Articles: "Inflation Warning and the War in Iraq."

Footnote: The U.S. economy has been in a "superboom" since 1982. The stock market has suffered only two recessions, in 1990-91 and in 2001, with the total months for these downturns being 16 months. In the previous 25 years, the economy experienced six downturns for a painful total of 67 months. The key for continued economic growth is (1) keep competition high, (2) keep taxes low, and (3) deep inflation under control. At a mere 2.5% yearly growth rate, the U.S. economy would reach $23 trillion over the next twenty-five years. The 12% inflation of 1980 has fallen to 2.2% today. Recessions put the bite on inflation but the government also has a role in keeping inflation tamed. Inflation, however, poses a real threat as I have detailed in the article mentioned above. The economy will likely grow for several more years in spite of painful recessions. It will greatly surpass the high of 2007. Inflation in the next five to ten years will put increased pressure on the economy though. A growing demand for scarce resources driven by the rise of emerging nations will surely raise prices. The inflationary pressure on products caused by oil price hikes is just one example. Commodities of all kinds - like wheat, rice, and corn - rocketed in 2007.

The cheap labor in emerging Asia and China will not last forever. In the next five to ten years it may stabilize. Globalization is keeping economic engines going. A growing middle class in emerging nations like China, India, Russia, and South America is gobbling up raw commodities and foodstuffs helping to stoke the pressures for world-wide inflation. The growth of relatively backward industrial nations like Russia, and the new emerging ones like China, guarantee further economic expansion. But troubles will eventually develop like the banking crisis that paralyzed Japan and sent the world financial markets reeling. Or it may be corporate greed similar to the U.S. mortgage credit crisis, or a severe 1970s-style oil shock, a major war, or a terrible terrorist nuclear blast, a series of natural disasters as never before, or poor weather conditions and degraded crop yields, or some other economic blunder the worldover that sets-off the great sell-off. So the world economic boom will last a bit longer after the current recession ends. When the current crisis is over the world markets will climb to unprecidented heights - then the "Baby-boom" generation will retire en masse and the labor pool in Asia will dry up and the expansion bubble will burst - inflation will soar. How soon? Sooner than you may want to think. I will keep you informed of major cycles indicating the coming downfall.

The Winter of 2007-2008

Extreme weather is to be expected ranging from mild to large, windy and destructive storms with very cold to freezing air. Several fierce storms will form early in the season.

Spring

Strong spring storms are predicted. Cold and windy conditions will give way to cool and moist, then mild and moist conditions. There will be warm and dry extremes in parts of the country. There is a supermoon on June 3 that will bring heavy rains and flooding to the news.

Summer

More extremes! It will be warm, cold, dry, wet - nasty to nice throughout most of the country. The August 1 solar eclipse indicates disasterous weather to hit China, East Asia, and Russia. Fall

Cold and dry windy storms are expected. These will form early and linger in areas of their development. Extreme weather is predicted again but punctuated with plenty of moderate conditions. Winds will prevail mostly. There is a supermoon December 12 that will bring heavy snow storms to cold regions and flooding to warmer areas.

The Winter of 2008-2009

Temperate weather forms early; very cold freezes follow. Strong, freaky storms that are rare for the region strike unexpectedly. There will be rain, then snow and ice storms, and sudden, unusual thaws. Very extreme conditions overall.

We are rapidly approaching a critical stage in U.S. history that will escalate in 2009. Please read "Decline: The Fall of America?" and "Inflation Warning and the War in Iraq." under articles for more information regarding the economy, the war in Iraq and elsewhere, the coming oil peak, and the consequences of the war on terrorism. This is a must read for those who want to be in-the-know for the real reasons for the U.S. led war on terrorism. The future of our nation for the next two decades is outlined in this important article.

The most difficult time in terms of world events will begin near July 10 when Mars is in conjunction with Saturn in the heavens. Planets in aspect (an angular relationship) in the heavens are often referred to as ambient or zodiacal aspects. They in turn transit individual horoscopes and the charts of nations. This conjunction and the Mars opposition Uranus of August 6 will trigger the Saturn opposition Uranus of November 4. This aspect is the primary one of the year. It indicates a breakdown of authority, rebellions, and the need for new solutions to old problems. Unfortunately, there will be resistance to change creating world turmoil. Expect the period right after this opposition to be very fierce because ambient Mars will square Uranus on December 12 and square Saturn on December 15. There will be two additional Saturn opposition Uranus aspects in 2009 with three Jupiter and Neptune aspects, and a Saturn and Pluto aspect. 2009 is a crucial year leading up to calamitous 2010.

Saturn-Uranus aspects have been historically very significant. The 1917-1920 opposition correlated with the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia, the restructuring of Europe after World War I and the rise of new countries. The 1941-1943 conjunction witnessed the Nazi blitzkrieg, unusual worldwide alliances and, like WWI, a fight for global control. The opposition in the mid 1960s was a time of protests, riots, and revolution too. The Berlin Wall was strengthened, several African nations gained their independence, Mao's revolution in China peaked, the counterculture revolution in the U.S. was in full swing, the civil rights movement took off, and anti-war riots broke out in several major cities. The last conjunction in the late 1980s ended the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc, the Berlin Wall was torn down, and apartheid unexpectedly ended in southern Africa. The end of the Cold War brought a sudden shift of power to Europe and America.

Already we are witnessing a popular rise of discontent across the world. Opposition groups are demanding fair elections: Pakistan, Kenya, and Georgia for instance. The U.S. election will be unusual with unexpected results. The two front runners are apt to present radical new political ideas to resolve our problems, or the country will turn against the establishment. Radical, progressive programs must be initiated to address global warming, the economy, social security, the regressive tax system, health care, and other important pending social issues. Social and political structures the world-over will break apart. There will be a breakdown of law and order in many nations. This unsettling atmosphere will provoke sudden turns in events. New technologies like space-based weapons, non-lethal crowd control, and surveillance will increasingly be used. The winning, stronger, side in a conflict may suddenly find itself on the losing end - the U.S. in Iraq? Unusual alliances will take place in the Middle East further dividing Muslim and Christian nations. Two thirds of people recently polled in four Muslim nations, for instance, say they support the idea of unifying all Muslim countries in the old Islamic caliphate, the system of political-religious leadership that originated with the first successor to the prophet Muhammad. Divisions between religions, generations, races, cultural attitudes, and political ideologies will make for an uncertain future. A major realignment of nations will take place due to the peak of oil, the spreading war on terrorism, and a conflict over the merging globalization of the economy. A "peoples revolution" in much of the world, including the U.S., will begin. The old order will give way to the new. Let us hope that the new directions taken are not despotic.