Touchstone Friday
...a myriad of Drip Port topics
by Jeff Fischer ([email protected])

Chicago, IL (August 28, 1998) --The volatile week has drawn to a close, and we're hardly the worse for it. Though our stocks didn't rise, they continue to represent market-leading companies, and their value is backed by rising assets and growing businesses -- by new drugs from Johnson & Johnson, new chips from Intel, and new acquisitions at Campbell Soup.

A stock price is never just a number, devoid of a "soul" -- for lack of a better description. Every ticker symbol represents a company that, in the case with our three investments, employs tens of thousands of people, all of them working to make a living and to help their company grow.

The past week we addressed a myriad of topics for the Drip Port. On Monday, we announced that we're sending $200 to buy more Campbell Soup (NYSE: CPB) and we explained why. We also discussed possible actions to take with our future dividend payments from Campbell, if we choose not to reinvest them due to fees. On Tuesday, we talked about the importance of dividends and how, decades from now, a company that grows its dividend could be paying you, for example, a 48% annual yield on your initial investment in dividends alone. Math can go a long way in explaining why stocks beat other investment options over the long term. The column was called "Livin' on Dividends."

On Wednesday, we returned to our banking decision, reviewing U.S. Bancorp's (NYSE: USB) biz and our past columns on the company. USB is a strong finalist, alongside Mellon Bank (NYSE: MEL) and Norwest. We'll review Norwest (NYSE: NOB) next week. It's our last finalist to review.

On Thursday, we took a detour and discussed the sharply declining stock market. The column was titled "Time to Surrender."

If you have questions or comments on the week, or comments for next week (or on anything), please visit the Drip message boards linked in the top right of this page.

Until Monday, have a Foolish weekend!

FoolWatch -- It's what's going on at the Fool today.

8/28 Close 

 
 Stock    Close      Change 
 CPB     $52 9/16   +   1/16 
 INTC    $77        -2  3/4 
 JNJ     $74 3/16   +   1/4
 
             Day      Month     Year    History 
 Drip      (1.43%)   (5.31%)    6.40%   (9.39%) 
 S&P 500   (1.53%)   (8.35%)    5.84%    7.97%  
 Nasdaq    (2.77%)  (12.43%)    4.41%    2.88%  
  
  
 Last Rec'd  Total #  Security    In At    Current 
  08/03/98    4.125     CPB      $54.395   $52.563 
  07/01/98    9.724     INTC     $80.239   $77.000 
  08/07/98    6.543     JNJ      $70.138   $74.188 
  
  
 Last Rec'd Total # Security  In At    Value   Change 
  08/03/98   4.125    CPB    $224.38  $216.82  ($7.56) 
  07/01/98   9.724    INTC   $780.21  $748.71 ($31.50) 
  08/07/98   6.543    JNJ    $458.92  $485.41  $26.49  
  
  
 Base:  $1800.00 
 Cash:   $286.03** 
 Total: $1736.97 
  
   
 
  
 The Drip Portfolio has been divided into 76.682 shares with an average purchase price of $23.474 per share. 
  
  
 
 The portfolio began with $500 on July 28, 1997, adds $100 on the 1st of every month, and the goal is to have $150,000 in stock by August of the year 2017.  
  
 
  
 **Transactions in progress:
 
 8/24/98: sent $200 to buy more CPB.