The Dow Jones Industrial Average is recovering from recession-era lows. It's flirting with the 14,000 mark. 14,000 is just a number. But for the Dow Jones in recent years, it's a healthy one. The Dow cratered down to 6,600 back in March of 2009. Since then the Dow and other equity markets have had their ups and downs. But an associate professor of finance at UW Green Bay — Bill Lepley — says, overall, the markets have made a comeback. "Let's put it this way: There are some people who probably got really, really scared, quite rightfully, and got out of stocks in 2008, maybe 2009. And they might be kicking themselves right now because if they hung in there they'd probably have done pretty well, depending on which particular stocks they had stayed in." Lepley says the Dow Jones tracks established companies. The NASDAQ, which is also on the upswing, tracks newer companies or tech stocks. He says both are leading indicators, but cautions that nothing on Wall Street is certain, "It's just a measurement, or giving us a measurement of expectations. Expectations are not always realized. Six months from now who knows?" The last time the Dow peaked above 14,000 was in October of 2007.
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