Lefty Presidents Are Better For Markets

Don’t you hate how right-handed Donald Trump is? Can’t we get an all-lefty general election again, like when lefties Barack Obama and John McCain squared off?

As we go full-throttle into the election year, people will have endless debates about how policies affect the economy. As a left-handed investor, I ask the question that really matters … are there any lefties running for president?

As you may be aware, we’ve had a left-handed president for 40 of the last 92 years, including four of the last five presidents. It’s hardly a coincidence — lefties are natural born leaders, charismatic, wise...

More from the American Institute for Economic Research.

Dow Jones Industrial Average: Historical Components, 1884-2013

The Dow Jones Industrial Average, comprised of 12 ‘smokestack’ companies, made its debut May 26, 1896. Twelve years earlier, Mr. Dow’s initial stock average, containing 11 stocks (nine of which were railroad issues) appeared in Customer’s Afternoon Letter, a daily two-page financial news bulletin that was the precursor of The Wall Street Journal.

May 26, 1896: The Average consisted entirely of industrial stocks published for the first time. (The first average computed from this list of stocks was 40.94. It declined gradually during June and July and on August 8, 1896 stood at 28.48 which is the lowest point on record for the industrial average.)

More from Dow Jones.

Finding publicly traded companies, filtered by state,

To find publicly traded companies filtered by state, check out NASDAQ's lists of companies by state. Lists of companies can be filtered by name, region, and industry. You can also search by stock exchange (NASDAQ, NYSE, AMEX) and by market cap.