A Week, A Year, A Life
The Week in Review

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By Jerry Thomas (TMF Cheeze)
December 8, 2000

Greetings, Fools.

This is supposed to be "The Week in Review," but never mind that. Bill Mann (TMF Otter) is bringing you a whole year with his review of the performance of the companies that appeared in the Fool's Industry Focus 2000. The article is a highly instructive examination of a year that has ended up like nobody expected it would. And I'm not just talking about Tallahassee, Fools.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average first traded above 10,000 in March of 1999. At the same moment, the Nasdaq was skittering around 2500 points, give or take. Today both indexes are in essentially the same place, meaning that we've been marching in place for something like 20 months now. Well, except for the fact that The Nazz decided to take a side trip above 5000 for a couple of weeks or so.

The lesson? Perhaps it is that if any of us felt entitled to uninterrupted aggressive growth in the stock market, especially of the sort we've grown accustomed to over the past few years, it's time to rethink our understanding of the order of the universe.

The Markets -- December 8, 2000
	12/1 Close	12/8 Close	Change	%Change
FOOL 50	1,701.45	1,764.25	+62.80	+3.69
DJIA	10,373.54	10,712.91	+339.37	+3.27
S&P 500	1,315.18	1,369.89	+54.71	+4.16
Nasdaq	2,645.29	2,917.43	+272.14	+10.29
Numbers as of 5:00 p.m. ET

If there is an antidote for whatever impatience comes while waiting for stocks to perform, I'm not sure what it is. But I would argue that improving your knowledge of the companies and industries in which you have invested can at least relieve the symptoms. That's what makes the Fool's Stock Research area such a helpful resource, and why the article by John Del Vecchio (TMF Fuz) on The Sizzling Storage Industry such an enlightening read. Keep in mind that we're talking about data storage here, not warehouses and silos. This is one industry that has been bucking the trend that has troubled so many other technology companies of late.

Then there's the retail industry. Market analysts are always thinking retail this time of year; we are living in a material world, and, as always, we're having a material Christmas. Given the economic importance of a strong fourth quarter, when consumers (that would be "us") are so predisposed toward spending, it is only natural that so much is expected this time of year. Bob Fredeen (TMF Bobdog) takes a look at two important companies in this sector, Target Group (NYSE: TGT) and Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). When pundits indicate that we are slouching toward recession, should investors in retail be grabbing their money and heading for the bomb shelter? Not necessarily, says Bob.

I try to avoid making predictions, especially in the short term. Recession? Well, yes, sooner or later. Tomorrow? What, do I look like a Magic Eight Ball here? Is there a more useful question we can ask, one that will turn our attention to more useful matters, those that are in our control?

The Motley Fool has launched a new Home Center this week. Here you'll find all sorts of answers to the often overwhelming questions that confront you when you consider buying a home. How much can you afford? Exactly what is a mortgage? How can you find the loan that will work best for you? These are pertinent, constructive questions, the sort that, by answering, you reach understandings that actually help you live your life better. We all live at ground level, and while the world wants to insist that we turn our attention to the malaise du jour, it's usually more constructive to look more to matters that are truly useful to us.

This Week's Top News Stories

Questions Left for Ask Jeeves to Answer -- 12/8 Bank of America Tightens Credit -- 12/7 Circuit City Short-Circuits Again -- 12/6 Greenspan Speaks, Stocks Rocket -- 12/5 Pepsi Finally Wins Quaker -- 12/4

Life is a whole lot easier when your realize you have your whole lifetime to make it work.

I found much of interest in Thursday's Foolish 8 article by Brian Graney (TMF Panic). Brian speaks of similar issues, in drawing our attention to the difference between growth companies and growth stocks, and how in the clouding of these issues we sometimes forget to keep our minds on the real work of the investor, and that is in the discovery and acquisition of value. It's not always an easy thing to do. The more I study investing, the more I understand that it is a mental exercise, a discipline where it is always most helpful to focus on what is real. The successful investor will be the one who manages to avoid the seemingly endless human capacity for self-delusion.

Our annual Foolanthropy Charity Drive is still running strong. Please take a few minutes this weekend to think about the charities we have featured this year. This is yet another place where you can make a difference.

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