...they may appear. ''Investors are in a performance mentality without a hell of a lot of concern for risk,'' said Jim Melcher, president of Balestra Capital Management, a New York investment firm. That lack of concern has allowed investors...

...speculation leading up to Tuesday's Fed announcement made the central bank's decision a non-event, according to Jim Melcher, president of Balestra Capital Management in New York. Economic data in the preceding weeks pointed to a cooling down...

...emerge. Witness, for example, the current popularity of biotech stocks and mutual funds. "They never learn," said Jim Melcher, president of Balestra Capital Management in New York. Melcher believes professional mutual fund managers were well...

...investors. ''Fund managers are in a performance derby, so whatever's working they all pile into it,'' said Jim Melcher, president of Balestra Capital Management in New York. Money managers feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon of a...