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The Daily Dow LEXINGTON, KY. (December 9) -- "Pardon me, must have been the hot mustard on that Greenspan sandwich!" That was pretty much the market reaction to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan's vague comments about "irrational exuberance" last week. The market plunged early Friday, then regained more than half the early losses. Then today, the Dow gained all of Friday's losses and added another 30 points for good measure. Now I don't pretend to be a quick thinker (or even a quick mover anymore since I started working at home... anyone got an ab blaster to spare?), but I'll bet even the most nimble and caffeine-hyped traders had a hard time the last two sessions working these market swings. I'm sure someone out there made money timing the market Friday and today, but I'll bet the two guys on either side of you (and probably two more next to them) are crying in their beer after getting boomeranged. And think of the damage to your arteries? Or maybe the adrenaline rush keeps them clear (no medical school for me, either)? Most of us mere mortals can have fun trading the market with split-second timing, but only about as effectively as we bet at the track. So what happened to the Foolish Four during the market brouhaha? Nothing overly dramatic. Today, in fact, 3M's nice gain was the only real mover in the bunch. Oh well, boring market out-performance for decades... what can you say? (yawn) As we approach the end of the year, more and more readers are wondering about updates and starting new portfolios, so let me cover a few Frequently Asked Questions. First, our own model Foolish Four portfolio will be updated using the rankings that are current on January 1, 1997 (a market holiday). But that's no reason that you should or need to wait if you're looking to start a new portfolio. Mark Pankin, a frequent visitor to our AOL forum has tested the approach with different monthly starting dates, and there is evidence to suggest that starting a portfolio in the last two months of the year may well be the best time. That said, his research also supports our contention that the approach does work very well at any time, so don't feel you have to switch an established portfolio to a different rollover date. I don't see the Gardners rushing to switch their August anniversary in the Fool Portfolio. And finally, be careful which list of stocks you check if you are buying now. The Model Portfolio holdings are almost a year old now and the current list of stocks is somewhat different. Always choose from the current list on the front page of our Dow Dividend Approach area. Fool on! Today's Dow Numbers Stock Change Bid ------------------- DD + 1/8 95.75 CHV --- 64.38 MMM +1 3/4 83.38 EK + 1/8 80.25 IMN + 7/8 32.13
Day Month Year History
FOOL-4 +0.48% 2.37% 29.50% 29.50%
DJIA +1.28% 7.21% 26.32% 26.32%
S&P 500 +1.37% 6.31% 21.73% 21.73%
NASDAQ +2.22% 7.76% 25.10% 25.10%
Rec'd # Security In At Now Change
1/2/96 142 DuPont 69.88 95.75 37.03%
1/2/96 149 3M 63.76 83.38 30.77%
1/2/96 380 Chevron 52.38 64.38 22.91%
7/16/96 14 Imation 26.16 32.13 22.81%
1/2/96 148 E. Kodak 67.00 80.25 19.78%
Rec'd # Security In At Value Change
1/2/96 380 Chevron 19902.50 24462.50 $4560.00
1/2/96 142 DuPont 9922.25 13596.50 $3674.25
1/2/96 149 3M 9500.09 12422.88 $2922.79
1/2/96 148 E. Kodak 9916.00 11877.00 $1961.00
7/16/96 14 Imation 366.21 449.75 $83.54
CASH $1942.85
TOTAL $64751.48
Transmitted: 12/9/96
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