Federal Reserve

And I’m as big an optimist as anyone so I’d like to believe it.  The Federal Reserve surveyed businesses around the US and “found economic activity stabilizing or improving in most regions.”  However, this growth is dependent upon consumer spending and people can’t spend money when they’re not working.

I have been saying for the past few months that until we see employment numbers rising, the economy will not have turned around.  People without jobs cannot spend money, and as long as the US economy is fueled by spending we will remain in the recession.  Much of the spending that fueled the boom in the Pluto in Sagittarius era (1995 through 2008) came from borrowed money, and that money had dissolved into thin air.

The Fed’s survey found a pickup in the demand for temporary workers, which could presage the hiring of permanent workers. Saturn will enter Libra at the end of October, leaving the sign of Virgo which is the sign that regulates work and the work environment, as well as health and other issues that have been under stress for the past couple of years.  However, Saturn will immediately form a square to Pluto which is rarely a happy combination.  Saturn gives us a reality check and Pluto forces confrontation in any area where things are not working well, so that could be a big wake-up call in areas of the economy that are fueled by speculation and optimism alone.

The Saturn/Pluto square will peak in November and then again in February, making this period a challenging economic one.  However, a sextile from Jupiter (good fortune) to Pluto (transformation) in February will soften the blow and encourage a sense of expansion.  However, February also marks the […]

Evidently the Federal Reserve will disclose the results of the “stress test” on May 7, the day that Mercury turns retrograde.

While bank executives are still muddling through stress-test results, their communication managers are wrestling with the question about how and what to tell the public.
The big day for the unveiling of the results is Thursday, May 7.
Interviews with heads of corporate-communication and public-relations departments at a number of the 19 stress-tested banks revealed an intense struggle to come up with a plan to reassure investors, counterparties and customers. Communications from the banks may be critical even for those whose bill of health is reasonably clean.  Those deemed short of capital face a daunting task to keep their heads above water, PR executives and lawyers said.
Banks are under a gag order from regulators not to disclose anything about the stress test, but the Federal Reserve, which conducts the test, has made clear that it will disclose certain details about the capital position and capital needs of individual banks.

This is a good example of what Mercury Retrograde periods are good for: looking backwards to see what can be done to improve a given situation.  This particular exercise is likely to lead to a certain amount of financial instability, but at least it will be known which banks are in trouble which will help lead to a solution to the bank problems.

Any retrograde turn of a planet can cause reversals in the financial markets  which have been doing pretty well lately (the Dow rose 7% in April).