Dow Jones Industrial Makeover?

Is the Dow Jones Industrial Average still relevant?  Or as Barron's asked in it's featured article last weekend is a makeover overdue?  For those that might not know, the DJIA is a price weighted index vs. a market weighted index.which makes it difficult to just put any stock in the index say Apple or Google. 


"My job and that of the index committee is to administer the Dow so that it does its job of reflecting the stock market, not to get companies into the Dow that people want," Prestbo says. "Everybody is in love with Apple because it keeps defying gravity. That doesn't mean the Dow isn't doing its job of reflecting the market. Apple certainly qualifies in every respect except one, price."





The fate of the Dow could soon be in the hands of Standard and Poor's because its parent,McGraw-Hill (MHP), agreed last November to form an indexes joint venture with CME Group (CME), parent of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, which now owns 90% of Dow Jones Indexes. McGraw-Hill would hold 73% of the combined business, CME, 24%, and Dow Jones, 2.6%. Dow Jones, the parent of Barron's, is owned by News Corp. The deal should close in the next few months, pending antitrust approval.