I think we'll have to be writing more frequently, as a lot of you folks may be losing your shirts without our wise guidance in these treacherous markets.

The market is staying on its downward bias, as shown by an update of our Sept. 8 article:

Clearly, aside from the Hi-Tech's in the Nasdaq, a lot of gas was shared by the other indices. It looks like Alan Greenspan did a good job of reining back the increase in stock market wealth. I guess since he owns no stock, this is good for America. Well, since his wife owns stock, she may think of a way to retaliate. Give 'em hell, Mrs. Greenspan.

Readers will recall that on September 8, we were beating the drums for the Biotech/Genomic stocks. Let's see what they did:

All these stocks had a pretty good run from Aug. 27, and were probably entitled to a breather. Even with that, 4 of the 9 are up. By the way, I own Affymetrix, Isis, and Ligand, and have owned Millennium and Protein Design Labs several times. I would like to buy the last two again, if the price gets more reasonable. Our next article will feature another stock in this group, that I believe has GREAT promise. I better think so, as I'm loaded in it.

In the meantime, I probably don't have to tell you again to be careful, as you're probably wounded already. In these choppy markets, you protect yourself by taking profits where you think the stock is overpriced, and taking losses where you aren't very hopeful about near-term prospects. If that seems too drastic, remember that in that case we always recommend selling one-half, and keeping one-half. Restrict any buying to stocks that you believe have something very special going for them, and the timing of any buy looks right. And don't overpay. As with real estate, a lot of the profit in stocks is in buying right. If you're really concerned, buy nothing and sit tight, accumulating cash. Because we're at that time again where CASH IS KING! Stay tuned.

The Market Pro - September 22, 1999