10 Best, 10 Worst Technology Funds

As the Dow lost 4.40% and the S&P 500 slipped 4.85% this week, the technology-heavy Nasdaq-100 index fared worse, tumbling 7.32% in the four trading days ending Thursday. Technology funds, excluding inverse funds, also shed the same amount on average. So far this year, the group has plummeted 19.33%.

The economic picture is dim. Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that August firings rose 12% to 88,736 compared with 12 months earlier, with job losses expected to continue through the year. More than 3.4 million Americans collecting unemployment benefits are more interested in buying the basics -- food, rent and gasoline -- than the latest computer upgrade or flat-screen TV.

Semiconductor funds, the most economically sensitive of the technology funds, crashed, with the Ultra Semiconductor ProShares(USD Quote), leveraged 200% to the Dow Jones U.S. Semiconductor Index, losing a fifth of its value, or 20.64%. ...