Since I started compiling this list, the companies putting up web sites have all started to migrate into a one-stop shopping site. No site still offers only quotes. They add news, most have portfolio capabilities, some stock screening, charting and other analytics as well as discussion and other. I have left the categories partly through inertia, but also because knowing what a site started as is a good indicator of what its strengths are.
More recently, the falling stock market has started many companies reducing what they offer for free and increasing costs on what they offer for a fee. It seems strange that in a falling market when there are fewer buyers of information, prices would increase, but that's the economics of online webpages.
Hopefully, you'll find this list useful. If you find other sites you like, please let me know. There are far more out there than I can possibly keep up with.
My Yahoo: IMO, the best general purpose News, Quote, Charting, Mutual Fund, Portfolio Tracker, individually customizable site on the Web. It has remained my top choice for three years -- a millennium in Internet time.
My Excite: One of the better reviewers on the Web, C/Net, says that My Excite is better than My Yahoo. I use both, but prefer My Yahoo. Take a look at both and make your own call.
Netscape Netscape has a nice site, quite obviously patterned after My.Yahoo. If you are using the Netscape browser and want to keep it up to date, keep a portfolio, follow stocks, get news, etc. this is a decent choice, but as in so many things, Netscape appears to be falling further and further behind Microsoft.
Microsoft: Just keeps getting better. Once was the worst of the lot. Now it is middle of the pack. In several areas, it is close to tops. Try it, you may like it -- and it just keeps getting better..
Briefing.com: has good portfolio tracking, news, quotes, etc. It does not have a configurable interface, but the information is excellent, market commentaries excellent and if you are doing bonds at all, they have the best bond information on the Web but they charge for it.
The Motley Fool: News, Quotes and a whole bunch more. They push their own investment philosophy hard, but there is a lot here for everyone.
CBS News: Probably more available for free than WSJ or IDB, but still more for a fee.
The Wall Street Journal: Some info available for free. Lots more for a fee (but less than a subscription to their tree-ware).
Investors Business Daily: Pretty much the same comments as for WSJ. Just slightly better statistical analytics and less text content.
CNNfn News/Quotes: Good site, carrying CNN Financial News. Excellent International coverage, particularly of stock markets.
Bloomberg: The largest depository of free, current quotes on the Web. Their coverage of International stocks, bonds and other investment vehicles not covered by anyone else put them a cut above the rest. Their main site follows, but there's lots more on other pages you can't see from here.
PC Quote: One of the best sources of market prices and data. Good site for free. Excellent services for relatively modest fees. Probably the best option if you want to pay for real time quotes.
ClearStation: An excellent portfolio layout, with tons of indices, averages and statistics. They also have decent opinion pieces, but lack news.
S&P: Free services are dwindling and are hardly worth the effort any more, fee services are on the expensive side, but the name is worth something (to some people, anyway).
Big Charts:: They still have excellent charts, plus a bit more.
Bloomberg Charts: Heck, just list Bloomberg in every category. They have excellent news, quotes, charts, analysis -- you name it. You can pay for even more sophisticated stuff. The most prized piece of equipment in any brokerage office is "The Bloomberg." If they offer it, it is uniformly excellent.
Federal Reserve Board, Board of Governors: Central index to all the latest economic statistics and reports.
Federal Reserve Board, St. Louis: Absolutely the best source of historical economic data on the Web.
Federal Reserve Board, Minneapolis: The Beige Book, plus data on Banking, Discount Rate, Interest Rates and the like. Quite nice, don't let the government tag fool you.
Economic Statistics Briefing Room: The official White House index to all the economic statistics the government puts out.
Bureau of Labor Statistics: The official Department of Labor site. Tons of economic stuff here.
EDGAR: If you know what a 10Q is and like to read financial statements, the SEC's EDGAR System is where you'll live.
Global Financial Data: Believe it or not, here you can get annual stock market data for US, UK, Germany, France and Japan from 1800-1997 (that is not a misprint).
Hoover's StockScreener: This was my favorite until Neural Search hit. It is still excellent, however the screener is no longer free. Pity.
Zacks: Long a supplier of financial analytical tools to the major brokerage firms, Zacks has decent stock-screening tools. Considering that this category has by far the highest turnover of all my tool areas, it is decent and should stick around for a while. You can subscribe to add a huge array of tools to the basic package, they still allow you to use the basic screener for free.
Bloomberg Mortgage Calculator: Enter rate, maturity, etc. and it will calculate monthly payments -- and much more.
Ohio State University List: The Ohio State Business College maintains a site listing the best finance-related sites on the Internet, but they frequently change the address. If I get tired of updating this site and you receive an error message, Ohio State will probably still be up and running, so you can probably still fine it there.
Visit the CIPCUG user group website for the best self-help resource in the county.
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