This Week's Battle Plan

TradingMarkets Stock Picking Contest

Just as a reminder, you have until this Wednesday to enter the TradingMarkets Stock Picking contest. The rules can be found in last week's piece. The contest has created some national interest as Bloomberg Radio picked up on it. Have your favorite 5-year-old-or-under send their picks to info@tradingmarkets.com. Who knows? A year from now, not only could they be $1000 richer, they could also be on national TV sitting amongst such Wall Street notables as Joe, Abby...(never mind, we'll make sure they're on TV without the notables).

This Past Week's Battle Plan

In last week's Battle Plan I talked about just how few opportunities there have been recently to make money. This week looked no different than the past few weeks. Very quiet. And, it may remain that way for at least a few days more. But, a big move is near. Why? Because low volatility is always followed by high volatility (see February and March of this year, followed by April-September). And high volatility is always followed by low volatility (see April - September of this year followed by the past few months). Volatility is likely to explode very soon here. And that means the days of opportunities will very much be back.

This Past Year's Battle Plan

I don't like to look back. I rarely re-read books I have written and I rarely re-read old columns. I don't know why. It's just a habit. But, Brice Wightman, who has helped me with this column since inception, suggested I look at this past year's Battle Plans and select the ones I thought helped the members the most. He felt that with this being the last week of the year, it would be great to review some of the concepts and ideas we presented that will hopefully have the biggest impact on your trading for 2003.

With that said, here are the nine Battle Plans I selected. They were originally selected to encourage you to re-read and to take the information and apply to your own trading. But, as I was looking at them, I saw many ways that I can improve in my own trading. There are many real-world situations presented here, that will lead to the path of mastery, a place I'm far from. After trading for 21 years, I know I still have many years (decades?) before I get to the point of mastering this game. But, the following columns are filled with strategies, techniques, methods, and concepts that will hopefully help you (and me) get a little closer to achieving this lofty goal.

The Best Of 2002

Here are what I feel were the best and most helpful columns of the year. I hope they are of great help to you:

The Icky Bug - Price Overrules Opinion,  4/21/02

"Nobody Is Making Any Money in This Market. Just Nobody!" - Three Traits Of Success,  8/18/02

Spring Time in Southern California - Sticking With Your Rules No Matter What You Think The Market Will Do,  4/7/02

Connors Is A Genius - Markets Move Stocks, Not Vice-Versa,  2/18/02

Perfect Execution - A Daily Checklist, 11/17/02

WARNING! THIS COMMENTARY IS BEING BROUGHT TO YOU BY A GUY WHO WENT ON NATIONAL TV ON TUESDAY AND TOLD THE WORLD HE WAS BULLISH. PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!!! - Stops,  6/23/02

The Neurotic Charity Fund - Stevie Cohen, 10/20/02

The Answers - Being Prepared For Anything - Part I, Part II

Obviously Brice and I are biased, but as we were putting this together we commented just how much information is here. We hope you enjoy these columns, and if you need any help on any of these concepts, please feel free to e-mail me at lconnors@tradingmarkets.com.

Finale

Use the next week to re-focus on the things you learned this past year. We're likely going to move in a big way early on and there should be opportunities galore. When you have the exact plan to take advantage of these opportunities, you greatly increase your chances of having a terrific year.

Have a great week trading (and Happy New Year to everyone!).

Larry Connors and Brice Wightman