WTS,
The list that I have, and present regularly, is lacking many names such as ACLS. When I started keeping track of a group of semi-equips, back in June of 1997, I arbitrarily chose a list of 40 stocks that I felt was representative of the semi-equip sector. In hindsight, I perhaps could have made a better choice in some cases, but that is "water under the bridge" now. Since I started the list in 97, many of the stocks have "disappeared" due to merger's primarily, and now the number of stocks included is 31. Even with this shrinkage of the list, I still see the group as being "representative" of the semi-equips, but certainly not a complete listing.
In terms of adding or subtracting names from the list, a lot of work is involved. The longer time goes on, the harder the task becomes because the data is stored in "spreadsheet" format, not in a database format and it continues to grow as time progresses. The manipulation is easy when the list stays the same. When a stock must be subtracted from the list, a fair amount of work has to be done to adjust the spreadsheet data for the deletion. This task is difficult, but some "shortcuts" can be taken to make the job manageable. To add a stock at this point, however, would be very difficult. It is much harder to add a stock as opposed to subtracting a stock.
I know several people would like to see other stocks added to the table, perhaps none more so than myself. However, I think the best way to proceed at this point is to use the list primarily as a "good sample" of the semi-equip sector. Note I did not say "great" sample.<gg> When stocks disappear due to mergers, etc, I will continue to remove them as I have in the past. At some point in the future, the list will need a complete overhaul - I dread to think of what that would entail - at least from the point of view of maintaining a history of the stocks that have been in the list since its inception, and creating a history for those stocks that are being added to the list.
I keep thinking about the issue of a new list. One of these days, I may get a burst of energy and do something about it!<gg>
Best Regards,
Don W. |
