Why does the Dow get so much attention? Just saw this article title,

[raccoon]

"Next stop: Dow 21,000

Yes, big-cap fever could spread and carry the Dow skyward. Here are my top picks to carry the big index to the 21,000 mark over the next four years.”

http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Investing/SuperModels/NextStopDow21000.aspx

It’s one of my pet peeves that the Dow gets so much attention when it’s only 30 stocks. Why don’t economic columnists and pundits make a bigger deal out of the S&P 500, or some other index that’s more representative of the US stock market as a whole? And forget the Dow, it's not that important.

[pscot]

1. AS onewho has owned Vanguard's index 500

for more than 20 years, I have often wondered the same thing. It is a small, but persistent irritant.

[A HERETIC I AM]

2. Tradition.

The S&P 500 or the Russel 2000 is a better gage of the market but they haven't been around as long as the Dow.

[Lucky Luciano]

3. Dow has been around for a long time and SP500 is

probably better, but the correlation of returns for the DJ and the SP500 is pretty damn close to +1 - which is impressive for a set of only 30 stocks.