FT: Central banks learn as they go

The Financial Times analyzes how the central banks in the U.S., U.K. and European Union have reacted to the credit crisis, sometimes making it up as they go along. They've expanded the types of collateral they accept, lend at longer maturities, and come up with new methods to inject liquidity more quickly.

Dow index changes to mimic S&P 500

Matthew Hougan of Journal of Indexes says the new changes in the Dow Jones Industrial average bring the Dow in line with the S&P sector weightings.

Blogger note: The archaic Dow is still managed to some degree by newspaper editors, who presumably know little about modern index construction. But they should know better than to pimp their own index on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. (See the coverage the next time the Dow makes a new high.)