Long Term Perspective

The PSE Technology 100 Index is a price-weighted measure of 100 listed and over-the-counter stocks from 15 different industries. These include computer hardware and software development, semiconductors, networking, communications and data storage and processing. This index rose 7.4 percent in 2005, outperforming many market indexes. The 10-year average growth in this index surpasses all other major indexes at 21.7 percent in 2005 despite three yearly declines from 2000 - 2002.

Short Term Perspective

Considering that the PSE (Pacific Stock Exchange) Index was up 152.7 percent at its highest point in early 2000, it is amazing that the index fell only 50 percent in September 2001 from year earlier levels! Many of the companies included in this index are household names - AOL, Yahoo, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Lucent, Intel, and Amgen.

In August 2006, the PSE 100 was 5.4 percent higher than the same month a year ago. This was the third positive gain in a row after declining in July and August. The PSE was 5.4 percent higher than at year-end 2005.

The PSE 100 was up 2.8 percent in November after jumping 3.4 percent in the previous month. Fed tightening along with inflation worries had dampened this market segment more than most. While high tech production has moderated from the go-go years of the late 1990s and 2000, there is no question that production in this sector has remained stronger than other sectors of the economy.