The Daily Workshop Report
by Robert Sheard (TMF Sheard)

LEXINGTON, KY. (June 05, 1997)

Unbelievable! Long before I ever believed it could happen, today it came true. The New York Stock Exchange voted to make the move (gradually) toward decimal pricing and join the 20th Century (as we get ready to start the 21st).

This may not be cheery news for the brokerage industry, but it's good for the retail investor (that means us, Fool). By quoting the prices in decimals rather than eighths, not only is the system more user-friendly, but it's also a way of shrinking the spread. Projections suggest that such a move will save individual investors billions each year.

I know, I know, you just memorized all the fractional equivalents and you can convert from thirty-seconds to pennies in a heartbeat. And base eight is of course no different from base ten... if you're missing two fingers. But for the rest of us, we could use the more relevant system and tighter spreads. Strike up the victory for individual investors.

Just a reminder! Tomorrow ends our May accounting period and the closing results tomorrow evening form the basis for the opening values for June. I'll have the new database posted on the AOL site sometime before midnight on Saturday (eastern time). Remain unWise!

Monthly Growth Screens
(Jan. 3 to present)
30.55%  Relative Strength  
14.04%  Low Price/Sales  
12.75%  S&P 500 Index  
-2.59%  YPEG Potential  
-3.56%  Investing for Growth  
-6.39%  Unemotional Growth  
-13.32%  EPS Plus RS  
-21.93%  Formula 90  

Annual Value Screens
(Jan. 1 to present)
14.99%  Dogs of the Dow  
13.29%  Dow Jones Ind Avg  
8.31%  Beating the S&P  
7.15%  Dow Combo  
6.88%  Unemotional Value  
6.88%  Beating the Dow  
-0.47%  Foolish Four