The Data Dilemma

by Jim Stevens ([email protected])

Burlington, VT. (Oct. 26, 1998) -- Alas, another week when our trusty Workshop couldn't pull the trigger on the Current Rankings and Database on Friday. We're back to that old drawback of relying on others' data to generate our screen results: if the "others" don't deliver, we don't deliver. Since we now use the electronic Value Line to do the screens, Murphy's Law is bound to impact this high-tech wonderment on occasion.

I hope this didn't send to many Fools into a trading tailspin. Hopefully, before you read this, Bogey will have received the blessed data from Value Line and updated the screens, rankings, and database. In the beginning, when it was pronounced, "Let there be Foolish Stock Screens," computers and the Internet were handy prior to trading but not required. I guess as we push the envelope and come up with new and trickier ways to screen for winning stocks, it's inevitable that the trusty newsprint and pencil be left behind.

Last week was another positive one for the major indices. As of Friday 10/23, for the week the Dow was the laggard, up less than 0.5%. The Standard & Poor's 500 was up 1.3%, and on the Nasdaq, the small caps are staging a comeback, tacking almost 4.5% on to the composite index. Geez, I never heard of an October effect.

While I'm on the subject of data, a little tidbit about historical data. I noticed that Yahoo added a table-formatted historical quotes feature to their historical charting capability, like America Online has had for a long while. Dataheads enjoy! I also found a fairly inexpensive CD that was advertised to contain daily price information for all stocks on the three major US exchanges back to 1968. I find myself itching to try some backtesting, so I ordered one.

Have a great week!

Check out the latest file updates for the Workshop:
New Rankings | 1998 Returns | New Database