astrology_stocks_000624 Billionaire J.P. Morgan once said, "millionaires do not use astrology, billionaires do."
The American financier, one of the world's top tycoons in the early 1900s, is said to have relied on the
stars to know when to trade stocks.
J.P. Morgan
Now a growing number of financial folks are also
looking skyward -- and thanking their own lucky stars -- in hopes of astronomical payoffs. "People on Wall Street use it, because it works," said Henry Weingarten who runs the Astrologers' Fund, an investment management service using pricing models to deliver above-market returns.
He also publishes Investing By Stars, a New York-based newsletter with 5,000 subscribers.
"Its not a perfect tool but there is no single best tool for forecasting markets," Weingarten said.
From crop planting to crop futures
Financial
astrology can be traced back to ancient times when Babylonian astronomers used sundials to determine the best times to plant crops. That later helped them set agricultural prices, which varied with the weather. 
People on Wall Street use (astrology), because it works.
Today there is a wealth of financial astrology volumes in bookstores around the globe. On the internet, a bevy of financial astrologers stand ready to offer advice on everything from pork-belly projections to currency predictions.
Weingarten has been looking at the stars to predict the ups and downs of the worlds financial markets since 1987.
But before you dismiss him, consider his track record.
A string of successes
Weingarten correctly predicted the U.S. stock market crash known as "Black Monday," which occurred in October 1987.
He also foresaw the multi-year highs of oil prices and also warned two years ahead of time about the Tokyo financial meltdown of 1994.
Financial astrology may still be on the fringes of Wall Street but Weingarten believes there is enough interest out there for him to attract enough backing to create a full-fledged mutual fund using his methodology.
"We have had an agreement with hedge funds and mutual funds," he said. "And if its successfully negotiated they will have a far reach globally.
"Its not what you know, its when you know it," he said. "Thats why astrology is a perfect tool for Wall Street."
Conjunctions and the new moon
Astrologer Robert Hitt, who runs a fee-based online service called AstroEcon, knows the value of timing.
He predicted a stock market rally on June 2 when a new moon appeared. That day, the tech-heavy NASDAQ ended the week up 6.5 percent, its best week in history.
Hitt said he has several "high-profile" Wall Street investors calling on him for advice and has recently been approached by publishers to write a book on the topic.
One client is a former IBM economist and native of India who calls frequently for advice.
"He comes from a culture that uses astrology all the time for such things as market strategy," Hitt said. "Its just another form of knowledge."
Credit Lyonnais lends credibility
The Asian subsidiary of Credit Lyonnais Securities also has retained the services of astrologers.
The company says its annual publishing of
Chinese economic, financial and political predictions has proved surprisingly popular.The bank makes clear the predictions are not its own but compiled from various sources -- although it claims some have proved uncannily accurate.
Neptune and liquids this week
Hitt also pointed out the influence of the moon in the same degree as
Neptune, the planet that rules liquids and gases, this past week.Several key business deals involving liquids took place.
First, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) decided to increase production of oil. For inexplicable reasons, the price of oil went up, not down.
Then two Canadian firms, Huskey and Renaissance Energy, merged in a $2 billion deal that created one of Canadas biggest publicly traded oil companies.
Next, beverage-giant Seagram announced a $34 billion merger with French water supplier Vivendi S.A. and its pay-TV unit Canal Plus.
Watch those eclipses
But Hitt also pointed out that a solar eclipse in June, which influenced events throughout the month, was in the same spot in the sky as the planet Mars. The Red Planet is big in the news after NASA this week announced there appeared to be
evidence of liquid water on the surface. The eclipse will be in the watery zodiac sign of Cancer.The next partial solar eclipse, on July 1, could make investors prone to impulsiveness, increasing market volatility, Hitt said.
And watch out for a
lunar eclipse right after that solar eclipse. That could translate to market declines."Therefore, I am on guard for some sort of low around July 16," he said. "It could be a good place to buy if the correction is strong enough."
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