Stocks drop in the USA

January 4, 2008

Dear friends,

The US stock market has been in a funk since Christmas. Today, it has

dropped over 175 points, around 1.35%. The good news, at this point,

is that the Dow at 12885 is still above the lows set in mid October,

12724. That said, it is now well below the 13780 highs of December.

The analysts suggest the market is unhappy about new employment data,

adding to the body of data showing that the economy may be headed for

a recession.

It could also be that the markets are not overly enthused about the

leading position of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in the primaries

so far.

Whatever, the case may be, the drop in the stock markets is in line

with the prediction by .

Best wishes,

Thor

U.S. Stocks Fall After Job Growth Misses Forecast; Intel Drops

By Elizabeth Stanton

Jan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. stock market is off to the worst start

since 2000 after government reports on jobs and manufacturing added

to concern the economy will sink into recession.

General Motors Corp., Home Depot Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. led the

Dow Jones Industrial Average to its third retreat in four days. Intel

Corp., the largest chipmaker, declined the most in a year after

JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock. YRC Worldwide Inc., the

biggest U.S. trucking company, dropped to a seven-year low after

Fitch Ratings lowered its debt to junk.

``The one thing that people have pinned their hopes on about avoiding

a recession was that the labor market continued to be pretty

strong,'' said Daniel Manion, manager of the $1.4 billion Sentinel

Common Stock Fund in Montpelier, Vermont. ``This number really starts

to cast some doubt on that.''

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 25.99, or 1.8 percent, to

1,421.17 as of 11:18 a.m. in New York, bringing its three-day loss to

3.2 percent, the most since falling 4.6 percent to start 2000. The

Dow average decreased 194.6, or 1.5 percent, to 12,862.12. The Nasdaq

Composite Index fell 75.51, or 2.9 percent, to 2,527.17. About nine

shares declined for every one that rose on the New York Stock

Exchange.

Computer-related shares and retailers posted the steepest drops as

investors speculated consumer spending will slow. An index of chain

stores and discounters lost 3.4 percent, its seventh straight

retreat.

Dell, Bed Bath

Dell Inc., the world's second-biggest personal-computer maker, lost

$1.43 to $22.28, its fourth-straight drop. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc.,

the largest U.S. home furnishings retailer, retreated the most since

2005.

U.S. payrolls grew by 18,000 last month, about one-quarter the rate

forecast by economists, and unemployment jumped to a two-year high of

5 percent. The report, following the steepest drop in manufacturing

in five years, spurred speculation the economy will shrink in 2008.

Two-year Treasury note yields dropped to the lowest since September

2004 on speculation the Federal Reserve will cut borrowing costs. The

dollar slipped to a one-month low against the euro.

GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, declined 82 cents to $23.10. Home

Depot, the largest home-improvement retailer, fell 76 cents to

$25.06. Hewlett-Packard, the No. 1 PC maker, slipped $1.32 to $48.33.

Intel, the world's largest semiconductor maker, was downgraded to

``neutral'' from ``overweight'' by JPMorgan. The shares lost $1.65 to

$23.02. A slowdown in order rates from the personal-computer market

may result in ``downside to estimates'' in the first half of 2008,

analysts including Christopher Danely wrote in a note today.

Retailers Decline

Bed Bath & Beyond dropped $2.38 to $25.02. Quarterly profit fell for

the first time in at least 15 years as customers grappled with

declining home values and higher energy costs.

Talbots Inc. fell $1.13 to $9.55. The clothing retailer that lost

half its market value last year said it plans to exit its children's

and men's clothing units, close 78 stores and eliminate 800 jobs.

``I would expect consumer stocks to take the brunt of this sell-off,

continuing the trend,'' said Daniel McMahon, head of equity trading

at CIBC World Markets Corp. in New York.

Shares of retailers, homebuilders and automakers in the S & P 500 fell

3.2 percent in the first two trading days of 2008, the worst

performance among 10 industry groups in the S & P 500. The group, which

slipped another 2.9 percent today, lost 14 percent last year,

trailing only financial companies, which plunged 21 percent.

Regions Financial Corp. declined $2.23 to $21.05. Alabama's biggest

bank will quadruple its reserve for loan losses to $360 million for

the fourth quarter because of slowing real estate markets in Florida

and Georgia

January 8, 2008

Dear friends,

US stocks have fallen below the prior lows of October 2007. The DJIA is now at 12589, after tumbling 1.9% today. It reached 11722 in January 2001 before a long period of decline set in, driving it down to 7,280 in October 2002. A rally began in Spring 2003 which peaked at 14023 in October 2007. The market then declined as the conjunction of Saturn and Ketu in Leo took its toll.

By comparison, today the Nasdaq fell 2.4%, to 2440. We could recall that it was above 5000 at the peak of the internet bubble, which burst in early 2000. Unlike the Dow, the Nasdaq high tech market has not managed to recover and bypass earlier highs. Far from it, actually.

The volatility in financial markets at this time is in line with the prediction by Professor Chouhdry on January 1 about the transit affliction of Rahu to Mars. Rahu is now at 4° 15' Aquarius and Mars at 3° 18' Gemini.

In the US chart, Rahu is in the 8th house and Mars in the 12th house. As both the 8th and 12th houses are malefic the impact is relatively more. Add to this the fact that Mars is in infancy in Gemini, its strength is less. The impact is thus greater even if the aspect orb is gradually increasing after being exact on January 3, 2008.

In other news:* AT & T Falls Most in Five Years as CEO Cites `Softness' in Consumer Business * U.S. Stocks Tumble, Led by Phone Shares, on Concerns Over Slower Spending * Countrywide Drops Most Since '87; Mortgage Lender Denies Bankruptcy Plans * Gold Climbs to Record; Oil, Grains, Metals Rise as Hedge Against Inflation * Ambac, MBIA Tumble After Morgan Stanley Cuts Estimates, Countrywide Drops

Then there are many CEOs being replaced these days, which is also linked to this transit as Mars rules captains of industry.

Best wishes,

Thor

cosmologer <cosmologerSAMVA Sent: Friday, January 4, 2008 4:55:11 PM Stocks drop in the USADear friends,The US stock market has been in a funk since Christmas. Today, it has dropped over 175 points, around 1.35%. The good news, at this point, is that the Dow at 12885 is still above the lows set in mid October, 12724. That said, it is now well below the 13780 highs of December.The analysts suggest the market is unhappy about new employment data, adding to the body of data showing that the economy may be headed for a recession.It could also be that the markets are not overly enthused about the leading position of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee in the primaries so far.Whatever, the case may be, the drop in the

stock markets is in line with the prediction by .Best wishes,ThorU.S. Stocks Fall After Job Growth Misses Forecast; Intel Drops By Elizabeth StantonJan. 4 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. stock market is off to the worst start since 2000 after government reports on jobs and manufacturing added to concern the economy will sink into recession. General Motors Corp., Home Depot Inc. and Hewlett-Packard Co. led the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its third retreat in four days. Intel Corp., the largest chipmaker, declined the most in a year after JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded the stock. YRC Worldwide Inc., the biggest U.S. trucking company, dropped to a seven-year low after Fitch Ratings lowered its debt to junk. ``The one thing that people have pinned their hopes on about avoiding a recession was that the labor market continued to be pretty

strong,'' said Daniel Manion, manager of the $1.4 billion Sentinel Common Stock Fund in Montpelier, Vermont. ``This number really starts to cast some doubt on that.'' The Standard & Poor's 500 Index slipped 25.99, or 1.8 percent, to 1,421.17 as of 11:18 a.m. in New York, bringing its three-day loss to 3.2 percent, the most since falling 4.6 percent to start 2000. The Dow average decreased 194.6, or 1.5 percent, to 12,862.12. The Nasdaq Composite Index fell 75.51, or 2.9 percent, to 2,527.17. About nine shares declined for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Computer-related shares and retailers posted the steepest drops as investors speculated consumer spending will slow. An index of chain stores and discounters lost 3.4 percent, its seventh straight retreat. Dell, Bed Bath Dell Inc., the world's second-biggest personal-computer maker, lost $1.43 to

$22.28, its fourth-straight drop. Bed Bath & Beyond Inc., the largest U.S. home furnishings retailer, retreated the most since 2005. U.S. payrolls grew by 18,000 last month, about one-quarter the rate forecast by economists, and unemployment jumped to a two-year high of 5 percent. The report, following the steepest drop in manufacturing in five years, spurred speculation the economy will shrink in 2008. Two-year Treasury note yields dropped to the lowest since September 2004 on speculation the Federal Reserve will cut borrowing costs. The dollar slipped to a one-month low against the euro. GM, the biggest U.S. automaker, declined 82 cents to $23.10. Home Depot, the largest home-improvement retailer, fell 76 cents to $25.06. Hewlett-Packard, the No. 1 PC maker, slipped $1.32 to $48.33. Intel, the world's largest semiconductor maker, was downgraded to ``neutral'' from

``overweight'' by JPMorgan. The shares lost $1.65 to $23.02. A slowdown in order rates from the personal-computer market may result in ``downside to estimates'' in the first half of 2008, analysts including Christopher Danely wrote in a note today. Retailers Decline Bed Bath & Beyond dropped $2.38 to $25.02. Quarterly profit fell for the first time in at least 15 years as customers grappled with declining home values and higher energy costs. Talbots Inc. fell $1.13 to $9.55. The clothing retailer that lost half its market value last year said it plans to exit its children's and men's clothing units, close 78 stores and eliminate 800 jobs. ``I would expect consumer stocks to take the brunt of this sell-off, continuing the trend,'' said Daniel McMahon, head of equity trading at CIBC World Markets Corp. in New York. Shares of retailers, homebuilders and automakers in the

S & P 500 fell 3.2 percent in the first two trading days of 2008, the worst performance among 10 industry groups in the S & P 500. The group, which slipped another 2.9 percent today, lost 14 percent last year, trailing only financial companies, which plunged 21 percent. Regions Financial Corp. declined $2.23 to $21.05. Alabama's biggest bank will quadruple its reserve for loan losses to $360 million for the fourth quarter because of slowing real estate markets in Florida and Georgia