Champagne, Nail Polish, and the Dow Jones

In uncertain times, investors and other Americans find all sorts of indicators to measure the health of the economy and predict its future trend.  During the current downturn, sales of various different commodities (champagne, nail polish, underwear, cardboard boxes) are scrutinized, as are more traditional indexes like the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  This paper will discuss the various uses of these indexes today, how journalists understand and report on their use, and how they have become more or less valid indicators of the general state of the economy over the last few decades.