Few schools were brave enough to enter their first trades as the annual Stock Market Game for local schools, sponsored by Sunbury Motors and The News-Item, got under way.
Six high school teams and four middle school teams are involved this year, but just four of those made trades in week one, said Carolyn Shirk, who coordinates the game for EconomicsPennsylvania.
"They have to trade to learn, but they have to really, really research to win," she said in explaining the slow start.
All 10 teams are expected to begin trading this week.
For now, a team from the Shamokin-based YouthBuild program leads the high school division, their starting hypothetical $100,000 having been pared to $99,722, the loss not as bad as that of a team from Line Mountain, which ended the week with $99,152.
In the middle school divsion, Shamokin Area boosted its holdings to $100,164, while Line Mountain fell slightly to $99,882.
Other schools competing include Mount Carmel Area, North Schuylkill and Our Lady of Lourdes.
Weekly updates will be published in The News-Item.