Barron's covers what happens when money and markets come together — who wins, who perhaps loses, in terms of what assets (stocks, bonds, oil, gold etc.) and for what reasons.

What's more, Barron's explores what well may happen in the markets next, thereby arming investors for the shocks and turmoil of market battles to come and allowing them to survive — indeed, to thrive — as a result.

Financial survival and success being as highly esteemed as they are, Barron's is read intensely, cover-to-cover, week-after-week, by some of the most powerful (read "rich and influential") people in the world.

Different parts of the publication contain different information (data, insights and ideas), expressed in different ways (feature articles, columns, Q&As, charts and tables, financial statistics etc.) on different markets, the economy, sectors and companies. Thus, how each person reads Barron's varies with each person's needs.

But there's one constant among all these readers: It is the remarkable utility of Barron's that they value most — the fact that Barron's gives them immediately useful information that they can (almost literally) take to the bank.

Barron's is made up of three distinct parts — a center pullout section called "Market Week," which is nestled inside a second pullout section devoted to "Mutual Funds," and the pages that wrap around both sections which we call (quite naturally enough) "The Wrap."

The Wrap contains the cover story, feature stories, the weekly Q&A, some regular columns, the departments and the editorial material.

Market Week covers the previous week's market activities in detail with columns that focus on specific markets, the comprehensive statistics in the financial pages, and the final eight pages of market data and macroeconomic data known as the "Market Lab."

Mutual Funds presents the latest information and performance data on the most popular investment vehicle in America — mutual funds.

Barron's editorial perspective is to look back at what happened in the markets, and then to project forward to what may happen next. So the physical makeup of the publication mirrors our editorial focus:

an inner pullout that chronicles the markets' activities for the previous week and a second that covers what happened to mutual funds

an outer wrap whose articles, columns and departments explore the possibilities (good, bad and indifferent) for the economy, sectors, companies and investment categories.

I. The Wrap contains, on any given week, the following material in this usual order of appearance through the publication:

Up & Down Wall Street, by Alan Abelson. This legendary Wall Street wise man offers his witty and often controversial opinions on business, financial, economic and political news and events and analyzes moves in specific stocks.

Table of Contents. A listing with descriptions of that issue's stories, columns and departments.

Index to Companies. An alphabetical listing of companies mentioned in that week's issue.

Review & Preview, edited by Robin Goldwyn Blumenthal. This regular feature provides a quick look at the week that was and fills in the investing datebook with next week's critical events.

Review & Preview Follow-Up, written by staffers who wrote the original stories. Provides the opportunity to look back on previous Barron's stories and "find out how we did" — were reporters on the money or off the track?

Feature Articles (including Sizing Up Small Caps, by Rhonda Brammer). The ever-changing weekly array of key stories in an issue.

Q&A. Every week, we interview security analysts and money managers who discuss particular industry sectors and pass along their investing ideas and themes.

Cover Story. Appears in the Wrap as the first right-hand page after the centerfold. That week's most topical, most important story.

Offerings in the Offing. A brief look at upcoming stock issues, mainly initial public offerings (IPOs). The column provides important investment data as well as "Worth Noting" — cautious comments that balance the underwriter's enthusiastic look at the stock.

13D Filings. 13Ds are filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) within 10 days of a company's or an individual's attaining a 5% or greater position in any class of a company's securities. This information can indicate what insiders and other major shareholders are doing. This often provides insights into their view of the company's prospects.

Research Reports. Before an investment firm recommends a stock for purchase, they'll research the company to determine whether or not it's a good investment. This column provides a sampling of research report information from various investment firms and analysts.

Insider Transactions. An insider is any officer, director or owner of 10% or more of a class of a company's securities. An insider must report to the SEC, by the 10th of the month following a trade, any transaction that he or she has engaged in. The Insider Transactions table shows the largest dollar value transactions reported to the SEC for a specified period. Heavy sales might indicate that the insiders are pessimistic about the company's prospects; heavy purchases might indicate an optimistic outlook.

Market Watch. Excerpts from various investment newsletters, bulletins, and research reports. The column focuses on what the advisors of these publications see as the markets' direction rather than on their opinion of individual stocks.

Speaking of Dividends, by Shirley A. Lazo. A column that analyzes dividends — what companies are paying them, what companies aren't, increases, decreases and what might be ahead.

Economic Beat, by Gene Epstein. Covers a wide range of economic issues from the Fed's performance to the money supply.

The Ground Floor, by Barry Vinocur. A regular column covering real estate.

D.C. Current, by Jim McTague. Column explains how the legislation coming out of Washington affects the economy, your business and your personal investments.

Electronic Investor. A feature that appears every other week providing in-depth analysis of computer software and on-line services for investors.

Plugged In. A bi-weekly (alternating with the Electronic Investor) column from Palo Alto-based Mark Veverka focusing on computer technology — a behind-the-scenes look at the thinkers and doers, the companies and events driving technology today.

Balancing the Books. Occasional book reviews.

Company Offerings/Directory of Services. Provides brief descriptions and phone numbers for various Dow Jones products and services, as well as means to receive further information from companies advertising in that week's issue.

Other Voices, from outside contributors. An occasional column in which contributors outside the Barron's staff express their views on economic, financial, political, legal and other matters.

Mailbag. Letters to the editor.

Editorial Commentary, by Thomas G. Donlan. Regular column expressing the opinions of our editorial page editor.

II. Market Week contains the following material in this usual order of appearance through the publication:

The Trader, by Andrew Bary. A regular column that focuses on the U.S. stock market — trends, events, companies of interest etc. — and tries to explain why things happened and what a development might mean for the future. An excellent source for novice investors who want to learn how trends affect their investment decisions.

Winners and Losers. A listing of the most active stocks on the NYSE, AMEX, and NASDAQ exchanges. Biggest percentage movers, winners and losers by volume percentage, share volume, dollar volume.

International Trader, by Leslie Norton. Focusing on a foreign market in the news, this column typically presents the pros' views on economic and market cycles, inflation and interest rates, profits and buy-sell opportunities.

Charting the Market. A graphic look at the previous week's movements in selected stocks.

Current Yield, by Jennifer Ablan. Covers the bond markets by providing a big-picture look at the forces affecting interest rates and how this will affect economic , monetary, and fiscal policies.

Trading Points, by Andrew Bary. A regular column that reports on investments in the capital markets — specifically, bonds and other debt instruments.

The Striking Price, by Erin E. Arvedlund. Dealing with options, this column is one of the most closely read, intensely followed of Barron's columns.

Commodities Corner, by Cheryl Strauss Einhorn. This regular column focuses on the commodities markets, which serve as an excellent indicator of the economy and other markets. (Commodities are the raw materials to make other products — e.g., wheat, corn, soybeans, copper, gold etc.)

Financial Statistics. Pages containing all the financial data showing the week's price movements for stocks, bonds etc. The key sections of this huge portion of Market Week are:

• NYSE Composite List
• NASDAQ National Market
• NASDAQ Small-Cap Issues
• U.S. Regional Markets (Boston, Chicago, Pacific, Philadelphia)
• American Stock Exchange Composite List
• Short Interest
• Foreign Markets
• Bonds
• Options
• Commodities and Financial Futures

Market Laboratory. One of the most comprehensive sources of Wall Street data, Barron's Market Lab contains a wide range of indicators and indexes that investors use in their decision-making. Major sections within the Market Lab cover:

• Stocks
• Bonds
• Economic Indicators
• For the Record Data (e.g., new exchange listings, name changes
• for companies etc.)

III. Mutual Funds contains the following material in the order of appearance through the publication:

Fund of Information, by Michael Santoli. A broad-ranging commentary on the industry and profiles of top fund managers.

Scoreboard. A quick take on U.S. stock and bond funds for the week, with the top ten and bottom ten performers, a glance at how the ten largest funds did, and a brief commentary on key events.

Fund Scope. A close look at a specific sector, the funds in it, with contact, load and return information.

Cashtrack. Follows cash flows in and out of various types of funds, using three-month moving averages.

Financial Statistics. Pages containing all the financial data showing the week¹s movements. The main sections of this portion of Mutual Funds are:

• Mutual Funds
• Closed-End Funds
• Money Market Funds
• Variable Annuities/Life Accounts