In such a market, weak performers are swiftly punished.

Each stock in the portfolio has to earn its keep continually, and no weak performer is permitted to stay.

The competition in each round becomes stronger as weaker performers are reduced and eliminated.

At most, they are dropping a weak performer and adding a few new funds.

"So far as I knew, my chief of staff was involved in the process of determining who were the weak performers," he said.

Among the weaker performers, he listed national magazines and interactive advertising.

However, even through all this, he was a weak performer.

Tax-loss selling can make an already feeble performer even weaker.

The Erskine car was a weak performer and sold poorly.

But even the results of the industry's weaker performers bore witness to the thaw in consumer spending.