Well, I think individual investors are going to have some challenges navigating these choppy waters, because the swings are so violent. It probably is best for them to have a basket of stocks or be prepared to hold some shares for a longer period of time if they really believe in the company. Investors today are investing earlier in companies, without profitability. In 1995, the typical company that went public was over six years old and, most likely, had several quarters of profitability. Today, it's more likely that the company is less than three years old.
Investors see the movie trailer rather than the whole film.
I think the investments that work best for individuals are the ones that they understand. If you ask those questions and the answer is Yes, probably that company is doing well. If you're a corporate customer of an Ariba , or an Extensity , which develops employee productivity applications on the Internet, and you are getting value from those apps, and you hear all the other people around you in the corporation and other corporations talking about the value of these apps, it means that market momentum is on their side. Those are the types of companies likely to break away from the pack. You can judge a company's prospects most easily if you yourself are a customer, be it in the business environment or the consumer environment.