What's my sign? It's complicated

NEW YORK (Profile Facts) - Contrary to what you may have seen trending on your Facebook page, your zodiac sign is not changing. And the idea is nothing new.

"Nothing's going to be happening," said Susan Miller, a famous New York-based astrologist. "Everything's going to be just fine."

See also: Babylonian zodiac ,Chinese zodiac , New zodiac sign

Reporter Bill Ward caused quite a storm when his "Star Tribune" article went viral, alleging that everyone's zodiac signs were off by about one month.

In part, Ward is right. But the change is nothing more than cosmetic.

Miller doesn't think you went to sleep last night as a Taurus and woke up an Aries.

"Remember this: Every sign is ruled by a planet," Miller said. "And that planet takes care of you and gives you all of your loveable characteristics."

Ward quoted astronomer Parke Kunkle, a board member of the Minnesota Planetarium Society, who spoke of Earth's "wobble." Over time, the earth's axis shifts.

So, as Kunkle pointed out to the Star Tribune, "When [astrologers] say that the sun is in Pisces, it's really not in Pisces" anymore.

Calls placed to Kunkle were not returned Friday. But Miller believes his quotes were taken out of context.

"I know the scientist ... was shocked," she said.

Since the time of the ancient Greeks, Miller said, the human race has known about this phenomenon. Around 125 BC, Hippachus discovered Earth's top-like "wobble." So, astronomers have known this was coming for thousands of years.

It's important to remember that astronomy and astrology are two very different sciences. Miller said just because the constellations move, doesn't mean your sign moves, too. They are simply a measuring device.

Think of it like wearing a belt, Miller said. You buckle your belt on the front of your waist, and by the end of the day, it may have shifted to your left side, after wobbling from your stride.

"Your hips didn't move," Miller said. "You're still the same person."

Or, think of it like wearing a dress.

"That's like saying my dress gives me my personality," Miller said. "No. It doesn't."

Millers advice: Do not start reading the wrong sign. You'll be getting the wrong readings.

"People who read the wrong sign will never believe in astrology again," Miller said.

The tape measure has moved - in this case 23 degrees - but the essence of your sign hasn't changed.

Earth rotates in a 360-degree circle, so you would rotate 23 degrees backward to get your new sign. That's a change of about one month. So if you were a Taurus, you'd most likely be an Aires under the new system proposed by Ward.

The best solution: Ignore this new information.

"What you should be concentrating on is finding your rising sign," Miller said.

If you are a Taurus, but you feel like you may also be a Gemini or a Virgo, you might not be too far off. You aren't looking at your whole chart if you are only looking at your birthday sign.

This is accomplished by finding your date and time of birth, as close to the actual minute as possible. This will help you identify your sun sign, which is the constellation rising on the eastern horizon at the time you were born.

For example, if you were a Taurus born on April 21 at 12:30 a.m., you are a second-degree Taurus with a Capricorn rising.

Astrologists like Miller can put together the complex formulas for you. It's when you read your Taurus with your Capricorn that things start to make sense. Before, you only had half the information.

So if you're like this writer, there's no need to swap your Taurus horns for that Aries bow and arrow. Rather, you should see what the big bull and the small goat can learn from one another.

(source:wtol.com)

Zero trends back in Japan

TOKYO — Japan's central bank cut its key interest rate to virtually zero in a surprise move Tuesday and is looking to set up a $60 billion fund to buy government bonds and other assets as it tries to inject life into a faltering economy.

The Bank of Japan's nine-member policy board voted unanimously to set its overnight call rate target to a range of zero to 0.1 percent, returning to zero rates for the first time in more than four years.

The decision underscores growing worries about the Japanese economy, which is being battered by a strong yen and persistently falling prices. The central bank had left rates untouched since December 2008 when it lowered the target to 0.1 percent.

It also suggests Japan is taking a page from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's playbook. The move closely resembles a move by the Fed to cut its key interest rate to near zero and then turn to other unconventional methods, such as buying securities, to juice up economic growth.

.

In Japan, recent economic indicators point toward deteriorating exports, industrial production and corporate sentiment. Authorities intervened in currency markets last month to weaken the yen, but the impact was short-lived. Lawmakers repeatedly called on the Bank of Japan for more help.

"Although Japan's economy still shows signs of a moderate recovery, the pace of recovery is slowing down partly due to the slowdown in overseas economies and the effects of the yen's appreciation on business sentiment," the central bank said in its statement.

The rate cut is the first step of a three-pronged approach outlined by the central bank to answer critics who had disparaged previous efforts as inadequate. It did nothing at its last meeting in early September, which followed an emergency meeting in late August when it expanded a low-interest credit program.

"It's a good move," said Kyohei Morita, chief economist at Barclays Capital Japan. "All that they announced today is something that is beyond my expectations."

Other analysts agreed. Junko Nishioka, chief economist at RBS Securities Japan, said the central bank "made major progress" Tuesday.

In the U.S., Bernanke sent a stronger signal on Monday that the Fed is readying another program to buy government debt, which is formally known as quantitative easing.

The Fed's key rate has been sitting at a record low near zero since December 2008. After that, the Fed started buying mortgages securities and government debt to force down rates on a variety of consumer and business loans. It also rolled out a series of other programs to make loans more available and cheaper. Those aid programs were shut down after the crisis.

With the U.S. economy losing momentum, the Fed appears poised to launch a new round of debt purchases. An announcement could come at the Fed's next meeting Nov. 2-3.

"Bernanke wants the Fed to stay focused and ahead of the curve," says Randall Kroszner, a former Fed governor who served under Bernanke. "He doesn't want the United States to turn into another Japan."

The Fed is weighing buying more government debt in a bid to drive down interest rates further on mortgages and other loans. If that spurs Americans to buy more, the economy would grow stronger. And, that helps combat deflationary forces.

The Fed is grappling with how much in additional securities it should buy.

One option is to start off with a modest amount — perhaps $100 billion or less. After than, the Fed would decide on a meeting-by-meeting basis, how much more — if any_ should be bought depending on how the economy is performing. That approach gives the Fed more leeway to adjust policy. In contrast, during the recession, the Fed announced a massive, trillion-dollar-plus program to buy mortgage securities and government debt.

In Japan, part two of what the BOJ describes as a "comprehensive monetary easing policy" is a pledge to maintain the zero rate policy until prices start rising again. That will probably take three or four years, which means rock-bottom rates are here to stay for a while, Morita said.

Japan's last period of zero rates lasted for five years starting March 2001. Through its quantitative easing policy to boost the economy, the central bank flooded markets with excess liquidity to hold short-term interest rates near zero.

The final piece of the central bank's strategy is the creation of a temporary 5-trillion-yen ($60 billion) fund to purchase financial assets such as government securities, commercial paper and corporate bonds in an attempt to stimulate the economy by lowering longer-term interest rates and risk premiums. About 70 percent of the fund will be used to buy long-term government bonds and treasury discount bills.

The central bank will offer another 30 trillion yen ($359 billion) through its loan program.

The rate cut gave an immediate boost to the stock market, with the Nikkei 225 index jumping 1.5 percent to 9,518.76 after spending much of the day in the red.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengogku said he welcomed the central bank's announcement. The decision stands "in concert with the government's efforts to overcome deflation," he told reporters, according to Kyodo news agency.

In addition to a 915 billion yen stimulus package announced last month, Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to unveil new spending through a supplementary budget that could be as big as 5 trillion yen.

The central bank's government bond purchases will help fund Kan's extra budget, which could spur some growth, said Christian Carrillo, head of Asia-Pacific interest rate strategy at Societe Generale. But it's unclear whether the Bank of Japan's steps will have a meaningful impact on the overall economy.

"I wouldn't say it's something that will strongly stimulate the economy," Carrillo said.

Slowing growth in the U.S. is just one of the headaches facing Japan, which has relied on overseas demand to fuel its recovery. Figures last week showed that core consumer prices in August fell for the 18th straight month as a strong yen pushed import prices south.

While lower prices may boost individual purchasing power, deflation hamstrings an economy. It plagued Japan during its "Lost Decade" in the 1990s, curtailing growth by dragging company profits, sparking wage cuts and causing consumers to postpone purchases. It also can increase debt burdens.

AP Economics Writer Jeannine Aversa contributed in Washington to this article.

(source:associated Press)