[quote=paramount]
My S&P number came from here:

http://chartoftheday.com/20090821.htm?T%5B/quote%5D

That seems to be the ratio of S&P market cap to cumulative annualized Q2 earnings. Not a very reliable measure.

To illustrate. Suppose there are two companies, Boeing and Citi. Boeing reports quarterly annualized profit of $10 bil. Citi reports quarterly annualized loss of $10 bil. What would be the appropriate market cap, and the appropriate index value, given these earnings?

The correct answer is 0 and 0…