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So ends a very weird week. It seems like there’s no middle ground anymore. The S&P Value index was up 0.41%, while the Growth Index lost -0.11%. The Small- and Mid-Cap Indexes were both up, but the S&P 100 was down.

Today was led by telecom tech and energy, while health care and industrials lost ground. Caterpillar’s (CAT) earnings held back the Dow, but the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished in the black. Pfizer (PFE) continued to bleed and Merck (MRK) isn’t far behind. Pfizer’s low today was lower than its high price from July 3, 1997. Merck is below where it was on January 3, 1992. The company reports on Monday.

So what’s doing well? Google. Today the stock jumped $36 making the search engine worth close to $100 billion. The company is now worth more than Coca-Cola (KO) and Wells Fargo (WFC). According to Bloomberg, Google is currently followed by 34 analysts; 25 rate the stock a “buy,” eight say “hold,” and only one, Philip Remek of Guzman & Co., says “sell.” In other news, Philip Remek disappears from Internet.

The best news for us was the rebound in Frontier Airlines (FRNT). After yesterday’s debacle, the stock closed up about 6%, although it was weak in the afternoon. Our Buy List was up 0.38% today, compared with the S&P 500’s 0.15%. Nineteen of our stocks were up, and six were down.

Among the losers, Fiserv (FISV) got dinged today. The earnings were fine by me, but David Trossman at Wachovia downgraded the stock. I’m not sure how a stock can beat estimates, give an upbeat outlook and get downgraded, but there you go.

Brown & Brown (BRO) reached another new high today. On Monday, AFLAC (AFL) will report earnings. The insurance stocks have been doing very well. The consensus estimate is for 64 cents a share.

And lastly, Business Week interviews Simon Ramo (the R of TRW) on why meetings stink.

Do you have any tips for chairing meetings more efficiently?

The most important thing is to be prepared, to know the subject and purpose of the meeting, and what you hope it will achieve. If you can't find the time to prepare for meetings then you should stop calling so many. Another is to know the people who are invited. Think ahead as to which individuals are most likely to make the greatest contribution, and anticipate others who you'll have to, as tactfully and gently as possible, interrupt to move the discussion along. Finally, keep the objective of the meeting constantly in your mind so you'll keep moving toward the goal. But if the goal changes during or because of the meeting, be prepared to invent Plan B.

Posted by edelfenbein at October 21, 2005 5:22 PM