Support a charity with Where’s the Dow Now?

The City Wire Readers now have a chance to win some cash for themselves, their favorite charity and impress friends and family with their ability to predict the quarterly movement of the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

The “Where’s the Dow Now?” contest is produced by The City Wire and sponsored by Arvest Bank-Fort Smith/River Valley Region.

"Arvest is focused on giving back to our community and this particularly sponsorship on The City Wire presents an opportunity to be part of local, charitable giving,” said Craig Rivaldo, president and CEO of the Arvest Fort Smith/River Valley Region. “We look forward to this unique partnership with The City Wire to provide monetary donations that will be given to charities quarterly."

CONTEST RULES
“Where’s the Dow Now?” gives you the chance to prognosticate on the quarterly direction of the stock market and possibly win a little cash for yourself and a favorite charity.

The concept is simple.

Provide the closest guess as to the June 29 closing number of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, and you could be $150 richer and the charity of your choice will also collect $150.

At the end of each fiscal quarter, The City Wire will profile the person with the winning entry AND the associated charity.

To enter, complete the form on this page no later than 5 p.m. (CST) by May 11 — and only one entry per person, please. (The charity must be a 501c3 non-profit in good standing with the IRS. The City Wire reserves the right to request a change with a charitable selection. Owners, employees and other associates of TCW Media and the sponsoring company, and their families, are not eligible.)

“We believe this contest is an innovative way to combine the business knowledge of The City Wire readers with our business philosophy that seeks to support charities in our coverage areas,” said Patricia Brown, chief operating officer for The City Wire. “Not only will the charity receive a check if a contest winner selects them, but they will also receive priceless publicity on The City Wire.”

WHAT IS A DOW JONES?
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is arguably the most closely-watched index of the U.S. stock markets. It was created in May 1896 by Charles Dow, and is now owned by the Dow Jones Index.

It’s “Industrial” moniker is largely historic, with companies like Bentonville-based Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), Atlanta-based Coca-Cola (NYSE: KO) and Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) now included in the list of 30 companies tracked by the index. (See complete list of DJIA component companies at end of story.)

The DJIA opened 2012 at 12,221.19, and began a rising trend that saw the index close above 13,000 on March 13 (closed at 13,177.68). The index remained above 13,000 through March. However, it fell below 13,000 during April.

During 2011, the DJIA rose more than 5.5% and closed the year at 12,217.56.

The closely-watched index began a downward trajectory in early 2008, falling from just short of 14,000 to around 7,000 around early 2009 — some of the lowest levels posted in the decade. The index began a slow recovery in late 2009, and ended the year above 10,000.

Dow Jones Industrial Average Components
Bank of America Corp.
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Microsoft Corp.
American Express Co.
Home Depot Inc.
Caterpillar Inc.
Cisco Systems Inc.
Walt Disney Co.
Intel Corp.
Alcoa Inc.
E.I. DuPont de Nemours & Co.
United Technologies Corp.
International Business Machines Corp.
General Electric Co.
3M Co.
Coca-Cola Co.
Pfizer Inc.
AT&T Inc.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
Exxon Mobil Corp.
Merck & Co. Inc.
Kraft Foods Inc.
Boeing Co.
Chevron Corp.
Procter & Gamble Co.
Johnson & Johnson
Travelers Cos. Inc.
McDonald's Corp.
Verizon Communications Inc.
Hewlett-Packard Co.