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Episode 443: Don't Believe The Hype

Published March 12, 2013 at 5:03 PM MDT

Reading Time: 0 minutes, 37 seconds

Despite all the celebration, the Dow Jones industrial average has not hit record highs recently. If you adjust for inflation, the highs just aren't as high as they seem.

And even if it does hit a real, inflation-adjusted high in the next few weeks, it won't mean much. The Dow is a seriously flawed stock index, and it's certainly not a good way to measure what's going on in the overall economy.

On today's show, we rain on the Dow's parade and explain why a lot of very smart people say we should ignore the Dow.

For more on the Dow:

The Dow Isn't Really At A Record High (And It Wouldn't Matter If It Were)

Dow's 'Record Highs' Misleading Without Including Inflation

Music: Milo Greene's "What's The Matter." Find us: Twitter/ Facebook/ Spotify. Download the Planet Money iPhone App.

Copyright 2020 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Tags
Planet Money PodcastStock MarketDow JonesWall Street
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