27 June 2003
	Introduction to Sectors STORIES OF TOP COMPANIES Irrational exuberance was one thing. Now we have irrational negativity. Yet the word

These days, most JSE-listed companies have to pay you to invest in them. Strange concept? Well, consider: the average earnings yield of the all share index is 11% - that's the part of a company's profits that belongs to shareholders. And most investors are still shoving cash into bank instruments. No surprise, then, that many companies are asking: "Who needs this?", borrowing a whole lot of cash and saying goodbye to minority shareholders. The only sure thing is that things change. And it can only get better from here. In the following pages we identify companies that stepped out from the ordinary.