If you had purchased $1,000 of Nortel stock one year ago, it would be worth $49.00.
With Enron, you would have less than $11.00 of the original $1,000.
With Worldcom, you would have less than $5.00.

But, if you purchased $1,000 worth of Budweiser (the beer, not the stock) one year ago, drank all the beer, then turned in the cans for recycling, you would have $214.00

Based on the above, current investment advice is to drink heavily and recycle. It's called the 401-Keg Plan.