The Dow Is Worthless  The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEX:
^DJI  ) is the most widely quoted measure of the U.S. stock
market, yet it is terrible at its job. Read along and I'll
explain why the Dow is a poor measure of the U.S. market. I'll
also share a surprising stat that might change your mind on the
state of the U.S. market and tell you how you can profit from
all this.  The Dow The Dow Jones Industrial Average is an index
of just 30 stocks whose stated goal is "to provide a clear,
straightforward view of the stock market and, by extension, the
U.S. economy." Started in 1896 by financial journalist Charles
Dow, the Dow is weighted by the stock prices of its component
companies and nothing else. To calculate, you simply add up the
30 stock prices and divide the total by the Dow Divisor. When
the index was formed, the divisor was 30, but after 116 years of
stock splits, dividend payments, and component changes, it
currently stands at 0.132129493.  This method is a relic of the
pen-and-paper times the Do