January 5, 2000

Is the Dow Jones Industrial Average still relevant? Night after night, the Dow results get plastered about, but is it only lip service? This week we launch our NOW 50 Index.

Clearly the NOW 50 stocks represent the real leaders of our global economy. However, does that ensure superior returns in the future? Rick Aristotle Munarriz (TMF Edible) and Paul Larson (TMF Parlay) can't agree. They are Dueling Fools, of course. Will the traditional Dow own the new year or will it belong to the NOW 50?

Read on and decide. When you're done, why not take a six-month step back to check our Duel Flashback segment where accountability is always served up thick.

NOW 50 Argument... As we launch into a new century, The Motley Fool is launching a new index called the NOW 50. To be concise, I think this index will beat the pants off the Dow in the coming year simply because the NOW 50 is made up of companies that are established yet have fundamentally bright prospects for the coming years. Continue »

The Dow Argument... What I can and will argue is that this new year, in terms of performance, will belong to the Dow. Not the NOW 50. After the amazing bull run of the technology-rich NOW 50 last year -- and the many years before that -- I think it is time for the vulture value magnet Dow Jones Industrial Average to step forward and claim some buy orders. Continue »

NOW 50 Argument »

 This Week's Duel