Our 4-Hour Workweek

In today's "Wall Street Journal", Mark Gongloff reports: "After weeks of wallowing in gloom, Wall Street is suddenly full of optimists."

Wow! How fast the naysayers change!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average enjoyed a 4.4% gain this week - the best weekly performance since March 2003. The markets shook off more bad news during the week - a negative jobs report, bond insurers taking massive losses, and President Bush's comments about the weakening economy in his state of the Union address.

For the week:

• The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 4.4% (-3.9% year to date) to 12,743.19.
• The NASDAQ rose 3.7% (-9.0% year to date) to 2,413.36.
• The S&P 500 Index rose 4.9% (-5.0% year to date) to 1395.42.
• The Power Women 50 Index rose 4.1% (-4.3% year to date) to $90,331.42 (details).
• The Magic Formula Index rose 5.5% (-5.0% year to date) to $93,027.26. (details).
• The Dogs of the Dow rose 7.1% (+3.2% year to date) to $103,163.09 (details).
• Our 4-Hour Workweek basket of stocks and cash rose 2.2% (-8.5 year to date) to $22,107.51.
• Pierre's 401K group of mutual funds rose 6.1% (-6.8% year to date) to $63,488.13.

I like the results of last week. There will be more good weeks ahead, but patience is in order. Don't panic. Stay the course. Keep investing. I did, contributing $1,043.30 last week to my 401K, and I won't stop investing. Count on me to invest $1,043.30 every two weeks. I have to be disciplined, regardless of the ups and downs of the market.

I am on a long journey. I may encounter detours and uphill climbs, but I know where I'm going. Remember, my strategy to reach my destination is two-fold - investments and owning businesses.

Pierre Cutler
Our 4-Hour Workweek