MIME-Version: 1.0 Server: CERN/3.0 Date: Friday, 21-Nov-97 02:26:06 GMT Content-Type: text/html Content-Length: 30547 Last-Modified: Thursday, 23-Oct-97 20:24:29 GMT Top Business News and Analysis Web Sites

November 1997


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 ! Business Week
 ! CNNfn
 ! Financial Times
 ! Forbes
 ! Fortune
 ! N.Y. Times
 ! Wall Street
    Journal
 ! Washington Post


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Business News and Analysis

By Peter Haapaniemi

ecause they can be updated and displayed dynamically, Web sites provide an excellent vehicle for delivering business news. Of course, corporations provide business news on their Web sites, and newswire services such as the Excite News Channel can keep you up-to-date on developments in a variety of customizable news categories. But the most useful sites are those that go beyond simple news reporting to offer analysis and insight into what's happening in the world of business.

 

CNNfn

Part of CNN Interactive, CNNfn offers complete and far-reaching business and financial news. The home page starts with a handful of headlines from the day's most significant business developments; a click takes you to the full article. A tickertape across the top of the page displays late-breaking headlines. When you're ready to dig deeper, you can browse by department. Markets offers the day's top financial headlines along with up-to-the-minute quotes for U.S. and world stock markets, currencies, interest rates, and commodities. Hot Stories is home to a range of daily news and includes sections such as Deals, which details current mergers and acquisitions, and Washington Unwrapped, where you'll find the latest on the political front. Overall, the site offers a wealth of refreshingly well-organized, current, on-target coverage that lets you stay in touch with a fast-changing business world.

 

WSJ

The Wall Street Journal has made itself the daily newspaper of business, and it seems to be staking the same claim on the Web. For $49 a year ($29 if you're a print subscriber) you can read the latest global business news -- updated 24 hours a day -- in the publication's familiar format of Front Section, Marketplace, and Money. In addition, the site offers a Sports section -- which may seem irrelevant until you look at the players' salaries and the advertising dollars involved. But the strength of this site is its financial coverage. You'll find everything from stock and bond market resources to commodities, interest rate, and currency data. In all, more than 100,000 pages of information are available -- and paid subscribers also get complete access to Barron's and SmartMoney online. To make sense of it all, consider Personal Journal, a service that lets you create a customized "section" of the journal that presents news and tracks stocks based on your interests.

 

The New York Times

The New York Times offers more general news than business news, but there is much here to make it worthwhile for executives. The site provides several ways to access stories -- a Front Page that provides a clickable, graphic map of headlines; Late News Updates that are refreshed as needed; and Breaking News, with updates every 10 minutes from the Associated Press. The Business section includes the full text of major articles from the morning print edition, along with real-time quotes and data on financial markets. Finally, check out "CyberTimes," a daily Web-exclusive section with columns and reports on the Internet and computers -- two subjects that have become intertwined with business.

 

Unlike many publications, which offer only a sampling of their print articles online, BusinessWeek provides the full text of every weekly issue, including articles from the magazine's European and Asian editions. The complete text remains online for only one week, but an extensive archive lets you access several years' worth of selected articles; some are available for free, while others carry a nominal fee. Timely news is available in a Daily Briefing section, which also lets you weigh in with your opinions via Flash Surveys. This content is complemented by special areas such as Company of the Week and Quotes and Portfolios, "a tool chest for investors." Finally, BW Plus! includes sections such as Best Business Schools, Women and Business, the Computer Room, and Business Books, which features reviews and sample chapters of notable business books.

 

Financial Times

The Web site of the Financial Times is an enhanced version of the well-known U.K. business newspaper that offers a range of concise stories. For overviews, see News Update, which offers the latest headlines, and FT in Brief, which summarizes articles in the current issue and includes links to the full stories. World News divides articles by geographic region, while Themes & Topics organizes articles by subjects such as economics and technology. You'll find opinion in FT.comment, which contains columns and editorials, and statistics galore in Companies & Markets. While the site tends to be quite slow, it delivers a large volume of information with a global view not found in many other sites.

 

Fortune's news coverage -- which appears in the Business Report -- tends to be cursory. But news is secondary to the analysis and personality found in articles taken from the magazine's current print issue and organized in departments such as Features, Columnists, Smart Managing, and Digital Watch, which focuses on technology. The site can be slow and awkward to navigate -- at times you wish you were reading the print issue, where it doesn't take a minute to turn the page. But there are things here you won't find on the newsstand. For example, departments include useful lists of links to related resources on the Web, and an online archive lets you search back issues. The site is rounded out with special reports such as a Corporate Reputation Survey, a Technology Buyer's Guide, and a collection of stories on the Fortune 500 listings.

 

Forbes

The Forbes "Digital Tool" -- the online version of the well-known Capitalist Tool -- provides selections from the current print issue as well as daily updates of business stories. Rather than covering breaking news, however, the site looks at a specific subject area each day. On Monday you'll find Technology, on Tuesday, Investing, and so on through Media & Politics, International, Entertainment, and Cool, where you'll find product guides and other lifestyle features. Special items round out the site, such as lists of the 400 richest people in America and the 40 wealthiest entertainers in the world. And don't miss Forbes ASAP, a supplemental technology-focused publication.

 

Washington Post

The online home of the Washington Post is based on the daily print edition. It's updated throughout the day with feeds from the Associated Press, Reuters, and other sources. A lot of the content is aimed at those inside the Beltway, but there is a good dose of international and national coverage. Today's Top News, for example, provides a good overview of late-breaking events. In the Business section you'll find online tools for checking stock prices, tracking your portfolio, and finding the best mortgage rates, as well as the day's business stories. In many cases, stories often include links to related Post articles and other Web resources. And if you want to share your views, stop by Business Talk, where forums examine topics such as the current events, the technology industry, and money.


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