#748: Why Used Cars, Gas, Airfares, Meat & Other Items Are Experiencing Inflation

 This is an excellent article on our current economy and how the pandemic has shifted us into transitional inflation - some may be temporary, while some may be long-term.  You may have to register with the Washington Post to create an account which provides limited free access to a small number of articles each month. 

#747: NYT Investigates Amazon's Treatment of Workers

Click here to access this video segment on Amazon.

#746: Interesting Article on Sandwich Pricing

 How a New York City Restaurant Loses Money on a $14 Sandwich - click here to read

#745: Dow Jones Birthday Info from Morning Brew

MARKETS

Dow Cruises to 125th Birthday

125 years ago yesterday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average first appeared in the Wall Street Journal. It consisted of 12 stocks that Mr. Pennybags would approve of, such as gas and electric companies. 

Since then, the Dow has expanded to 30 companies and has grown from about 40 points on its inaugural trading day to over 34,000 today. But in the era of meme stocks, is it time for the Dow to retire and move to Florida?

Here’s one thing aging the Dow: It’s weighted by share price rather than market capitalization, like the S&P 500. That means the performance of companies with higher share prices have outsized influence, even if others may be more valuable. 

For example, United Healthcare (worth $390 billion) affects the Dow more than Apple ($2.1 trillion), because Apple has split its stock and United Healthcare’s individual shares cost more.

Some say this makes the index a good reflection of less-flashy “value stocks” favored by investors such as Warren Buffett. 

But Dowters say the index’s share-price weighting, plus its limited number of companies, makes it a poor representation of Corporate America.

#744: One Way Companies Are Concealing Higher Prices: Smaller Packages

 Click here to read this interesting Washington Post article on re-sized consumer packaging.