The Daily Dow FOOL GLOBAL WIRE by Robert Sheard LEXINGTON, KY. (Apr. 11, 1997) -- It feels like an old Batman episode: Bam! Boffo! Kabloom!!! No one likes drops in the market like we saw today (unless you're short or on the sidelines snickering), but getting one on Friday will make for a long weekend for the worriers among us. Why did we drop even further today? Basically, more conflicting economic news made an already jittery market even more convinced the Fed's only begun to raise interest rates with the March move. Wholesale inflation was higher than expected (for the core rate, anyway), which sparked an almost immediate drop when the market opened. As the day progressed, it got worse and worse. Days like today firmly convince me that short-term trading would buy a first-class ticket to a padded cell for me. But I got lucky today in that I wasn't home for much of the day and didn't see the carnage trade by trade. I got home from the library (where there's no television) in time to turn on the news and see how ugly today was, and you know what? It's a whole lot easier to take this way. I'm generally a worrier by nature, but not having to watch it somehow helps keep the emotions out of it for me, probably for most people. So, I saw the results, said "yuck," and then turned the channel to find some results from the Masters! Don't take this the wrong way. I'm not trying to make light of a market correction, only that since we can't do anything about it, and I believe it's futile to try to predict such a drop, you might as well find a strategy that works for you in coping with it. For me, it's simply not paying attention to the intraday noise. For someone else, checking in only once a week or once a month might be plenty. (With the Dow Approach, a little ignorance between your updates just might be bliss, after all.) Hang in there, Fools. It may well get uglier before it gets better again. That's the way market cycles work. Keep focused on the long haul and don't do something based on emotion and panic. Enjoy the weekend. p.s. Don't panic about PHILIP MORRIS <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE: MO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE: MO)") end if %> showing up as number two on the current rankings. As expected, it split 3-for-1 today. (c) Copyright 1997, The Motley Fool. All rights reserved. This material is for personal use only. Republication and redissemination, including posting to news groups, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of The Motley Fool. ________________________________

The Current BTD 10 AT&T <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:T)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:T)") end if %> *Philip Morris <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:MO)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:MO)") end if %> *Intl. Paper <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:IP)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:IP)") end if %> *General Motors <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:GM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:GM)") end if %> *Chevron <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:CHV)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:CHV)") end if %> Eastman Kodak <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:EK)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:EK)") end if %> Minnesota Mining <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:MMM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:MMM)") end if %> Exxon <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:XON)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:XON)") end if %> DuPont <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:DD)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:DD)") end if %> J.P. Morgan <% if gsSubBrand = "aolsnapshot" then Response.Write("(NYSE:JPM)") else Response.Write("(NYSE:JPM)") end if %> NOTE: Foolish four stocks are preceded by an asterisk. Updated Daily

1997 Foolish Four Model Stock Change Last -------------------- T - 7/8 33.63 GM -1 1/2 53.00 CHV -2 1/4 62.25 MMM -2 1/8 81.25 Day Month Year FOOL-4 -2.76% -5.34% -9.40% DJIA -2.27% -2.91% -0.88% S&P 500 -2.73% -2.57% -0.42% NASDAQ -2.34% -1.21% -6.52% Rec'd # Security In At Now Change 1/2/97 120 3M 83.00 81.25 -2.11% 1/2/97 153 Chevron 65.00 62.25 -4.23% 1/2/97 179 Gen. Motor 55.75 53.00 -4.93% 1/2/97 479 AT&T 41.75 33.63 -19.46% Rec'd # Security In At Value Change 1/2/97 120 3M 9960.00 9750.00 -$210.00 1/2/97 153 Chevron 9945.00 9524.25 -$420.75 1/2/97 179 Gen. Motor 9979.25 9487.00 -$492.25 1/2/97 479 AT&T 19998.25 16106.38 -$3891.88

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