SHOULD THE DOW DITCH GENERAL MOTORS?

DOW Jones & Co. Inc. DJ; GENERAL Motors Corp. 005356613 GM

The article discusses the impact of General Motors stock on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and considers the possibility that the Dow may drop the stock from its listing of 30 "blue-chip" stocks. In 2005 General Motors plunged to a 23-year low, costing the index nearly 200 points. The poor performance would not matter if the Dow were merely a statistic cited in the newspapers. But beginning in 1998, investors have been able to "buy" the index via the Diamonds Trust, an exchange-traded fund that tracks it. GM is still a huge company, but the company's share of the global auto market has fallen from a peak of 51% in 1962 to 26% today. However, few expect Dow Jones & Co. to make a change unless GM takes a turn for the worse.