RULE MAKER PORTFOLIO

<THE RULE MAKER PORTFOLIO>

The Senate Listens

By Matt Richey (TMF Verve)

ALEXANDRIA, VA (March 22, 1999) -- Today, Tom Gardner had the privilege of speaking before a U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the topic of securities fraud on the Internet. From the pitfall of penny stocks to the nightmare of day trading, the problem is ignorance and the answer is education. Here's the full text of Tom's written testimony.

Moving on, after carefully counting and re-counting, it appears that last week's Question of the Week (Pfizer vs. Schering-Plough) generated, um, four responses. Apparently, the question was so deep, so perplexing that many of you are still thinking about it. That's fine -- just take your time. Meanwhile, I must go ahead and announce a winner. To my chagrin, I am declaring myself this week's winner and loser. In my winning answer to a losing question, I wrote about how Pfizer's short-term debt sneakily undermines both its cash-to-debt ratio and its Flowie. (Next week, Phil Weiss (MrShihTzu) will take a closer look at these important issues.)

Let's try something a little more amusing for this week's question -- advertising. Last night's Oscars were heavily sponsored by several of our companies, including Gap, American Express, and Schering-Plough. I enjoyed the advertising so much that I found myself taking bathroom and snack breaks during the acceptance speeches rather than the commercials! So...

"Which of our Rule Makers has the best advertising campaign and why?"

Tell us what you think is the best ad or series of ads. They can be print, radio, television, or Internet. Just identify the campaign and tell us why you love it. For the best response, we'll award a copy of Industry Focus 1999. Bring your ideas to the Strategy board, subject "Best Ad."

As always, if you're new to Rule Maker investing, c'mon over to the Rule Maker Beginners board and get your questions answered.

Fool on!

Matt

03/22/99 Close
Stock  Change    Bid
AXP   -  1/4   122.88
CHV   +  7/8   88.38
CSCO  -1 3/4   102.75
KO    +  3/16  67.69
GPS   -1 1/16  66.38
EK    -  1/2   66.25
XON   +  11/16 73.75
GM    +  1/2   90.25
INTC  -3 7/8   115.13
MSFT  +1 5/8   172.81
PFE   +2 5/8   143.06
SGP   -  1/2   57.88
TROW  -  3/4   36.00
YHOO  -5       165.00


                   Day   Month    Year  History
        R-MAKER  -0.65%   7.32%  11.87%  41.56%
        S&P:     -0.18%   4.74%   5.83%  30.95%
        NASDAQ:  -1.06%   4.72%   9.27%  44.95%

Rule Maker Stocks

    Rec'd    #  Security     In At       Now    Change
    2/3/98   24 Microsoft     78.27    172.81   120.79%
    5/1/98   55 Gap Inc.      34.37     66.38    93.12%
   6/23/98   34 Cisco Syst    58.41    102.75    75.91%
    2/3/98   22 Pfizer        82.30    143.06    73.83%
   2/13/98   22 Intel         84.67    115.13    35.96%
   2/17/99   16 Yahoo Inc.   126.31    165.00    30.63%
   8/21/98   44 Schering-P    47.99     57.88    20.59%
   5/26/98   18 AmExpress    104.07    122.88    18.07%
    2/6/98   56 T. Rowe Pr    33.67     36.00     6.91%
   2/27/98   27 Coca-Cola     69.11     67.69    -2.05%

Foolish Four Stocks

    Rec'd    #  Security     In At     Value    Change
   3/12/98   17 General Mo    72.41     90.25    24.65%
   3/12/98   20 Exxon         64.34     73.75    14.63%
   3/12/98   15 Chevron       83.34     88.38     6.04%
   3/12/98   20 Eastman Ko    63.15     66.25     4.91%

Rule Maker Stocks

    Rec'd    #  Security     In At     Value    Change
    2/3/98   24 Microsoft   1878.45   4147.50  $2269.05
    5/1/98   55 Gap Inc.    1890.33   3650.63  $1760.30
   6/23/98   34 Cisco Syst  1985.95   3493.50  $1507.55
    2/3/98   22 Pfizer      1810.58   3147.38  $1336.80
   2/13/98   22 Intel       1862.83   2532.75   $669.92
   2/17/99   16 Yahoo Inc.  2020.95   2640.00   $619.05
   8/21/98   44 Schering-P   2111.7   2546.50   $434.80
   5/26/98   18 AmExpress   1873.20   2211.75   $338.55
    2/6/98   56 T. Rowe Pr  1885.70   2016.00   $130.30
   2/27/98   27 Coca-Cola   1865.89   1827.56   -$38.33

Foolish Four Stocks

    Rec'd    #  Security     In At     Value    Change
   3/12/98   17 General Mo  1230.89   1534.25   $303.36
   3/12/98   20 Exxon       1286.70   1475.00   $188.30
   3/12/98   15 Chevron     1250.14   1325.63    $75.48
   3/12/98   20 Eastman Ko  1262.95   1325.00    $62.05

                              CASH    $185.03
                             TOTAL  $34058.47

Note: The Rule Maker Portfolio began with $20,000 on February 2, 1998, and it adds $2,000 in cash (which is soon invested in stocks) every six months.

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