Chart of the Day - Dow down 79% this century

Here is today's chart and comments from the folks at Chart of the Day (see their links below):

Chart of the Day - Dow down 79% this century

The stock market has been rallying over the past 10 months. So, is the stock market performing well? It all depends on how you measure. When measured in US dollars, the Dow currently trades approximately 29% below its all-time record high. However, when measured with that other world currency (gold), the picture is even more bleak. To help illustrate the point, today's chart presents the Dow divided by the price of one ounce of gold. This results in what is referred to as the Dow / gold ratio or the cost of the Dow in ounces of gold. For example, it currently takes 9.3 ounces of gold to "buy the Dow." This is considerably less that the 44.8 ounces back in the year 1999. When priced in gold, the US stock market has been in a bear market for the entire 21st century.

Notes:
- Where's the Dow headed? The answer may surprise you. Find out right now with the exclusive & Barron's recommended charts of Chart of the Day Plus.

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Quote of the Day
"The great merit of gold is precisely that it is scarce; that its quantity is limited by nature; that it is costly to discover, to mine, and to process; and that it cannot be created by political fiat or caprice." - Henry Hazlitt

Events of the Day
January 31, 2010 - Grammy Awards - NFL Pro Bowl
February 02, 2010 - Groundhog Day
February 07, 2010 - Super Bowl XLIV

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