Take a look at the info on Nasdaq’s site about its Nat Gas Index (XNG), and you’ll see why the retail investor is skeptical of the stock market. The third component isn’t even listed and the sixth is Enron. Ken Lay was still the smartest guy in the room the last time this index info was updated.

The Dow is a more egregious offender of index fashion. Dow Jones should give Hewlett Packard Compaq the boot and replace HPQ with AAPL. I think the retail investor would pay more attention to the Dow if it was stocked with more relevant companies.

These indexes need an update to bring new life into the market.