Today the Dow crossed 14,000 for the first time . Interestingly, this has happened despite record oil prices and troubles in the housing market. Inflation fears are low, and global markets for US multinationals have picked up. The global boom and globalization has much to do with the happy news as do the big corporations and manufacturers that drive the Dow like 3M ,Caterpillar,Alcoa and Exxon Mobil. These big corporations have been working hard to build their global brands on the market side and have been working equally hard to streamline their global supply chains for both goods and services.As the numbers come in and are analyzed an interesting twist to globalization is that Rupert Murdoch the Australian magnate’s News Corp has reached a tentative agreement to buy Dow Jones driving its shares lower.