Greek tragedies make a meal of racers

The article says the market scooted backwards by 2.8% over the week, leaving most competitors in the Investor shares race with losses. The column uses a Greek-tragedy metaphor to describe how difficult it was to make money in that stretch.

Only two competitors—leader Louise Jessop and Dizzy Ms Daze—were described as 'above water' and managed to beat the market. Doreen also stood out, claiming three of the top five performing stocks for the week.

The article highlights Wesfarmers as a notable winner—Edwina Harrison’s hero stock—which added $23 for the week. Doreen’s portfolio produced three of the week’s top five performing stocks, although the article doesn’t list all of them.

According to the article, Funtastic gave up all its gains from round two, leaving Qaiser Malik with a 'nasty hangover' from that investment. Despite the setback, Qaiser retained sixth position in the race.

The article says investors dropped Iluka Resources during the week, a move that left financial manager James 'propping up the ladder'—in other words, it hurt his standing in the Investor shares race.

In the article's context, being 'above water' means a competitor has beaten the market for the period and is showing positive relative performance despite the broader market decline.

The article invites readers to compete by emailing investor@fairfax.com.au if they would like to be a competitor in the world‑renowned Investor shares race.

The article used Greek-tragedy metaphors—referencing Sisyphus and Prometheus—to convey how gruelling and repetitive recent market moves felt for investors, underscoring the challenge of making money in a week where the market fell 2.8%.