Friday, May 26, 2006

Spotlight
The Wall Street Journal began publishing the Dow Jones Industrial Average on this date in 1896. Charles Dow, Edward Jones and Charles Bergstresser founded Dow Jones & Company in 1882. They transformed the small Customers' Afternoon Letter into The Wall Street Journal, first published in 1889. The DJIA was created as one of the first — and still the most influential — indices of stock and bond prices on the New York Stock Exchange.

Quote
"Historically, the stock market has been a very dangerous place, a place of wild swoops and dips, of stomach-churning gyrations. It's not a financial Disneyland." – Ron Chernow

Word of the day
fluctuate: to rise and fall, in irregular waves; the stock market often fluctuates with the mood of the times. (© )

Today's News

• Yahoo!, eBay: join forces to face down Google, Microsoft (story)
• milk chocolate: boosts your brain (story)
• Cambrian Mountains: deliver victory in the National Geographic Bee (story)

Today's History

• Diet of Worms: outlawed reformer Martin Luther (1521)
• George Willig: scaled the World Trade Center (1977)
• Ellis Island: the US Supreme Court ruled the immigration landmark belonged mainly to New Jersey (1998)

Today's Birthdays

• Dorothea Lange: documentary photographer famous for her portraits from the Great Depression (1895-1965)
• Sally Ride: the first American woman to enter space (55)
• Matt Stone: creator, actor and producer, South Park (35)