Now that you have your life and financial goals written out, the how to attain them begins.  There are numerous ways to go about attaining these financial goals.  It would be impossible to list them all, in these short dissertations.  I will talk today of your investment and/or trading plan, which may be but one part of your overall plan.  Other parts might be furthering your education to get a better job, or starting your own business.

If your intention is to trade the markets try and remember; investing/trading is a business, no different than if you were to start any new business, such as opening a store front or other business on your own, to attain those goals.

Write out a Statement of purpose….

• Why do you want to trade and invest in the stock market?
• What do you hope to gain from trading?
• What are your trading goals?
• How do you plan on becoming a better trader?
• How are you going to use your trading plan?
• Clearly define your purpose for trading and investing.
• State your goals and what you hope to gain and achieve through trading.

These questions might contain statements such as: I believe the markets to be the best place to utilize my speculative capital.  I can attain a return on capital that is superior to other forms of investment, i.e. starting a business, investing in a business or just fixed income securities.  I’m sure I can reach my goals sooner utilizing the markets. 

List everything that you can think of at the moment that will help you achieve those financial goals.  Then cull that list after it’s written down.  Take your time, this is not something you should rush, opportunities will always be around.  If you focus your attention you will spot them with more ease than if you ignore these steps. 

I know it sounds like a lot of work and it is, however once completed it will pay enormous dividends over time 

Part IV Tomorrow

Volume will surely contract during the two upcoming holiday weeks. Whether or not this will cause volatility or become just very light flat trading remains to be seen.  Many investors and traders have closed their books on 2008 and are on vacation.

Overseas markets are slightly lower this AM: Nikkei 225 +1.57%, Hang Seng -3.34%, Shanghai Composite 1.52%, DAX -0.57%, and the FTSE 100 -1.04%.

As of about 8 AM the futures were: Dow +40, S&P +2, Naz -Flat, Oil +$0.62, and Gold +$4.50.

Analyzing a candlestick chart gives a good idea of what is going on in the market. Candlestick patterns, resistance or support from price pivots, and the use of trendlines are all excellent technical trading tools. But initiating a trade and deciding when to close it, candle after candle, remains a difficult task. It would be nice to have a visual aid when looking at a candle chart.

In the December 2008 issue of the Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities magazine: "Trading With The Heikin-Ashi Candlestick Oscillator" article Sylvain Vervoort, presents an oscillator derived from transformation of Heikin-Ashi charting technique originally introduced by Dan Valcu back in 2004.  Below is a chart of GE with the Heikin-Ashi binary code with the chart colored green for longs and pink for shorts.

Read the Technical Analysis of Stocks & Commodities article [ HERE! ]

Donating Members wishing the code to create this chart:  E-mail Available for many charting programs.

Have A Wonderful Weekend!