Tonight (Saturday) some 450 people will come together in San Diego to honor Richard Russell, who has been writing the Dow Theory Letter for over 50 years. In that spirit, in today's letter we are going to look deep inside the Dow, back to its very roots. The Dow is a price-weighted index as opposed to a cap-weighted index. Does that make a difference in performance? Specifically, does it affect how the Dow has performed since it was expanded to 30 names in 1928? There are some real surprises we have found, and I think you will find this letter very interesting.

The Dow Industrials was expanded to 30 names from 20 on October 1 of 1928. Today, only nine names of the original 30 remain in the Dow. The committee at Dow Jones has replaced the other names as the companies grew out of favor, were merged into other stocks, were considered too small, or the committee felt that other companies better represented the industrial prowess of the US economy.

For instance, in November of 1999, Goodyear and Chevron were removed in order to allow Microsoft and Intel to join the Dow 30, where the two tech giants proceeded to rise handily the next few quarters. However, it has not been that pretty since the end of 2000, with both stocks down approximately 60% from their entry price, and much further from their peak price. Chevron proceeded to move up some 60% in price after it was removed, at which point Chevron was inserted back into the Dow 30 on February 19, 2008, where it is now down about 15%. Not a good run for the selection committee.

But it is not all bad. If you look at the deletions and additions, you find some interesting timing issues. Some additions were excellent in terms of performance. Some avoided later bankruptcies.

This week Professor Jeremy Siegel (author of Stocks for the Long Run) had an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal showing that stocks are now cheap. I was on Tech Ticker, and Henry Blodgett challenged me about my e-letter last week, where I talked about how expensive stocks are. So which is it? We look at Professor Siegel's work -- and I let you decide.

But first, and quickly, I just wanted to take a moment and remind you to sign up for the Richard Russell Tribute Dinner, all set for Saturday, April 4 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt in San Diego -- if you haven't already. This is sure to be an extraordinary evening honoring a great friend and associate of mine, and yours as well. I do hope that you can join us for a night of memories, laughs, and good fun with fellow admirers and long-time readers of Richard's Dow Theory Letter.

A significant number of my fellow writers and publishers have committed to attend. It is going to be an investment-writer, Richard-reader, star-studded event. If you are a fellow writer, you should make plans to attend or send me a note that I can put in a tribute book we are preparing for Richard. And feel free to mention this event in your letter as well. We want to make this night a special event for Richard and his family of readers and friends. So, if you haven't, go ahead and log on to https://www.johnmauldin.com/russell-tribute.html and sign up today. I wouldn't want any of you to miss out on this tribute. I look forward to sharing the evening with all of you.

There are a lot of new readers to Thoughts from the Frontline, and let me welcome you. For those of you who are not already getting your copy directly, you can get it sent to your email inbox for free, simply by going to www.frontlinethoughts.com and typing in your email address.

What does it mean for Citigroup to be at $3? As it turns out, it distorts the information we think we are getting from the Dow Jones Industrial Index. And more TARP money is surely in our future, and far more than anyone in authority is now suggesting. This week's letter will cover both topics and a little more. I think you will find it interesting.

Before we get into the letter, just two quick housekeeping items. First, I spend most of my week researching and writing. Part of that process is the ability to call friends and esteemed colleagues to discuss our different points of view about the present markets and economy. I have offered, for the first time, exclusive access for my readers to listen in on those conversations. The first "Conversation" will be with Dr. Lacy Hunt and Ed Easterling next Tuesday, and we will have it ready for subscribers to my new service shortly thereafter. This new subscription service will allow you to listen in on Conversations with me and my friends about the most critical financial and economic topics of the day.

If you ever wanted to be "at the table" when I get to have wide-ranging talks with some of the top economists and investment experts (to be determined, based on where the market takes us, week to week) this is the next best thing. You can still subscribe for one more week at the pre-launch half-off price of just $99! This is going to be a very powerful, information-packed 45 minutes to an hour where we will weigh in with lively debate and ideas. You will be able to listen online, download to your iPod, or read a transcript. To learn more, just click on https://www.johnmauldin.com/newsletters2.html, click the Subscribe button, and type in the code "JM33" at the end of the registration process to get your 50% discount. And read about the bonuses we will offer as well! My staff and Tiffani (partner and daughter) have made me promise this offer will not extend past next week. Don't procrastinate.

As long-time readers know, my daughter Tiffani and I are interviewing millionaires for a book we will be writing called Eavesdropping on Millionaires. This has been one of the more personally impacting projects of my life, as the stories we hear are so very provocative. I hope we can transfer to readers of the book at least half of the impact we are personally experiencing. But at the end of each interview, we let the interviewee ask me questions. Often, they are along the line of "Do you really think we will Muddle Through?" Sometimes they ask in need of assurance and sometimes they simply think that my stance is somewhat naive. It is something of an irony that I am called a perma-bear in some circles and a Pollyanna in others. The Muddle Through middle has been lonely of late.

So, this week I take another look at my Muddle Through stance. We look at some of the recent data on unemployment and retail sales, think about the implications of a falling trade deficit and a rising US government deficit, speculate about the potential for a serious stock market rally, and also comment on the potential for a GM bailout. There is a lot to cover, so let's jump right in.

Retail sales and prices of goods imported to the US dropped by the most on record, signaling the economy may be in its worst slump in decades. Purchases fell 2.8 % in October, the fourth straight decline, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. Labor Department figures showed import prices dropped 4.7%, pointing to a rising danger of deflation, and a private report said consumer confidence this month remained near the lowest level since 1980. (Bloomberg)

Are we in a bull, a bear, or a cowardly lion market? As we will see, the answer can make a huge difference in your investment portfolio. This week I am at my Strategic Investment conference in La Jolla. About four times a year I take a break from writing the letter and bring in a guest writer. This week Thoughts from the Frontline will have the very distinguished analyst and author Vitaliy Katsenelson.

In his recent book, Active Value Investing: Making Money in Range-Bound Markets (Wiley, 2007), he exhorted investors to fasten their seat belts and lower expectations for the next decade or so. He also provided a strategy for improving returns in this environment, what he calls range-bound or cowardly lion markets. Long-time readers will recognize some themes consistent with my own research, but Vitaliy adds some very interesting twists that I believe will make you think. In today's letter, Vitaliy runs through his analysis of what will happen and provides an overview of how investors can make money in what will otherwise be an ocean of stagnant returns. Warning: the letter will print long, but that is because there are a lot of great charts.

Where will Treasury rates go? What about inflation/deflation? The dollar? The stock markets? Gold? We cover all this and more in this week's letter.

I normally do an annual forecast at the beginning of each year. In conversations with a number of clients and readers, I've come to realize it might be helpful to do a midyear forecast as well.

In January, I suggested that 2005 would be the year of the See-Saw Economy. So far, with one major exception, my forecast is in the middle of the fairway. I wrote:

Is the US stock market rolling over? What are insider investors telling us? Are there sectors that might run counter to the overall trend? We look at a variety of topics this week, I point some of my hedge fund and institutional managers to an excellent source for information on insider investing and point the rests of my readers to a new book which shows you how to separate the "Vital Few from the Trivial Many." All in all, it should be an informative letter.

But before we delve into the arcane matters of the market, I want to direct your attention to a hot-off-the-press new book by Peter Bernstein entitled "Wedding of the Waters." Peter is the author of the best-selling (and one of my all time favorite books) "Against the Gods: the Amazing Story of Risk" and the fascinating and well-told tale of "The Power of Gold: History of an Obsession." Whenever Peter writes anything, it will be worth your time. His economic advice and research is some of the most keen and insightful anywhere, as attested by his numerous awards and well-deserved honors. But his knowledge of history and the ability to tell a story puts him into league of his own among financial writers. (He and Richard Russell are my heroes. Both are in their early 80's and doing their best work. I hope to be going as strong as they do in 25 years.)

What are the basic premises which determine your investment portfolio? Is there a consistency to your thought, or is your portfolio a blend of ideas which may not agree with one another? How sound do your ideas appear when subjected to critique? This week we start a series on my basic investment premises and then see how those premises should perhaps inform your investment portfolios.

This series comes courtesy of an idea triggered by last week's letter. I was talking about a CIA researcher who was writing about the importance of subjecting the views of an analyst to intense scrutiny. I thought it might prove useful to my readers to review the basic investment themes and models which shape my own strategies, and perhaps offer some of the pros and cons about those ideas. We will let the devil's advocate speak up and see if we can deal with his objections.

This week we address the question of whether the stock market is forming a top, take further looks at Fed policy and the unemployment rate and see if there is a connection. I think there is. The relationship is less subtle than it might appear. At the end of the letter, I ask for some help from those in the media (or who have friends in the media) in arranging reviews (and interviews!) for my upcoming book. And in response to readers, I start the process of putting a gold information site and links on my web site. I ask you to tell me your favorite gold and precious metal information sites. There's a lot to cover, so let's get started.

Last week we looked at change, and this week we turn our attention to balance, or more precisely, the dangers and opportunities of imbalance. Stock markets, currencies, confidence and government will be our target today for what should be an interesting and thoughtful letter.

I have been "saving" this topic for several months, waiting for the arrival of Bill Bonner's new book, Financial Reckoning Day . It has launched at #4 on the Wall Street Journal Best-seller list as well as #8 on the New York Times list. (Jimmy Rogers wrote a great forward.)