8 Days to Spare

Eight more days to Christmas, and I finished my shopping at 1:30 today. Dashing through stores like one of Santa's reindeer, I crossed names off my list with lightning speed. Forget about finding the perfect gift. These days I'm about keeping it simple and stress-free. If they don't like it, they can take it back. Won't hurt my feelings. In fact, I'm thinking of wrapping the receipts with the gifts. Speaking of taking it back, I wish Wall Street would take back the day. The Dow and the S&P 500 slipped, but the NASDAQ fell with a thud. Chip makers were hit hard today, knocking techs down by about 1 1/2% on the day. One of my favorites, Intel, sidestepped the fall and came out with only a minor bruise. Retailers are still looking good this season, though. Those cash register bells are still ringing! Dow -39.06 NASDAQ -29.74 S&P 500 -7.40