Energy Funds Up Despite Weak Oil Prices

The first week of December 2007 is unlikely to be remembered for the storms ripping across the nation or the legions of presidential candidates enduring the same in their quest of primary votes.

Instead, what sticks in people's minds will be a video clip of a young chimpanzee who can memorize a string of digits and touch blank boxes representing them in precise numeric sequence on a video screen at a pace that leaves even the most video-game-addicted human far in the dust.

The investment industry could have used the chimp, as it was arguably the only living creature fast enough to keep pace with the changing leadership in the stock markets over the past week. The week ended Dec. 6, in short, was one marked by sector rotation of supersonic velocity. Market leadership during the week changed faster than that of a gaggle of geese on a migration flight.

REITs were replaced by technology, which in turn surrendered to finance, which then allowed Asia a moment of leadership. Small-caps shone briefly and then yielded the floor to telecommunications, which handed the baton to utilities and then the mortgage group, which, in turn, was caught in a dead-cat bounce by homebuilders.

When the dust finally settled and all the drafting and passing ended, it turned out to be a good week across the board for virtually all market sectors.

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