Why are citizens of the developed world looking a gift horse in the mouth? The Dow Jones Industrial Average rallied beyond 14,300 points this week, passing the highs it reached in 2007 just as the world economy was starting to wobble. Sure, there are reasons to be sceptical about the Dow. It is weighted, rather arbitrarily, by share price. But at least it is a quantifiable index of something. We look at 1954 – the year the Dow returned to its 1928 pre-depression high – as marking an epoch. And yet, this week, investors and pundits warned us not to read too much into it.
發達世界的人們為何如此吹毛求疵？道瓊斯工業平均指數(Dow Jones Industrial Average)上周突破14300萬點關口，超過了2007年觸及的高點，當時全球經濟正要開始下滑。沒錯，人們有理由對道指表示懷疑。它按照股價進行加權，難免顯得武端。但至少，它是一種可以量化的指數。我們將1954年視為一個紀元，道指在那一年重返1928年創下的大蕭條前高點。然而，上周，投資者和專家警告我們不要對此過度解讀。