If I'm here and you're here, doesn't that make it OUR time?

Anybody know what the Dow did yesterday? Just about every news cast shares that bit of information, the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

I contend that factoid is a waste of my time. It's also a waste of OUR time, because I will try to convince you that it's a waste of your time.

The DJIA consists of 30 of the largest and most widely held public companies in the United States. If the Dow is up, the average price of those stocks is up. If it is down, the average price is down.

You know how many companies there are being traded? I asked Deion and he said, "Thousands, consequently millions."

For the common (wo)man who owns no stocks, this stat might suggest a trend, but only if monitoring these figures for an extended period of time. But who does that? Plus, how effective is that limited sample size statistically?

For you peeps who own stock, wouldn't you benefit more from knowing how your stocks did? The Dow could tank, but your stock in Pancho's could continue to rise. Even if you had stock in one of those 30 DJIA companies, yours could be up, while the other 29 are down, or vice versa.

For brokers and other stock junkies, isn't there something more helpful in giving you information about the market as a whole or your portfolio, etc.? (Rhetorical question)

Am I missing something or isn't the reporting of the Dow Jones Industrial Average a colossal waste of our time?