Dow Jones - the main indicator NYSE and chief "barometer" of the entire US economy. Millions of people start their day with a meeting with him, not even imagining that there was a time when the business world to do without it.
The history of the most famous in the business world index began June 3, 1884. On this day, the American journalist and financier Charles Dow first published in his daily report Customers' Afternoon Letter stock index Dow Jones Railroad Average. Method of calculation was simple: he took the arithmetic mean of the prices of its constituent shares 11 (9 railway and industrial 2). The index value of the first day of publication was 69.93 points with a total value of shares included in it at the time $ 769.23.
Charles Henry Dow was born on November 5, 1851 in the town of Sterling, Connecticut, the son of a farmer. Lost his father early and having no desire to farm, he was 21 becomes an employee of a local newspaper. Of urban reporter, he began to write articles about the development of various industries in the region and their prospects. Young inquisitive journalist remarked Charles Danielson, editor Providence Journal, and invited him to accompany a group of bankers and reporters in Leadvill, Colorado. There were found significant reserves of silver, and bankers interested in attracting investors who want to condition the silver mining industry was widely covered in the press. In 1879, Dow company tycoons, geologists and legislators carries four day trip to Colorado. During the trip, he interviewed many very successful financiers and find out what information helps investors on Wall Street to make money.
In November 1882, Charles Dow, along with Edward Jones opened his own agency Dow, Jones & Company. Business headquarters was located near the confectionery on Wall Street. Reporters who work in the agency, regularly visited brokerage houses, banks and offices in search of news. The bellmen accompanying reporters, immediately brought this information to the office, where clerks using pens and copy paper replicated messages. Using a very thin paper, each clerk could produce 24 copies at a time. Then messengers sped down Wall Street to deliver these copies to members. This process was repeated several times per day. In the first and last day release adds data on stock prices on the London Stock Exchange. The main requirement to be objective reporters submitted data. Dow said: "Customers expect us information, not its interpretation."
In November 1883, already having over 1,000 subscribers, the company began to produce a two-page summary of the financial news of the day, called the Customers' Afternoon Letter. This edition was first published and Dow Jones.
Today in determining the main Dow Jones quotes used 65 shares of leading US companies
