How do you find your Business information?
Marketers want to know; companies want to know; google and site trackers want to know. They all want to capture your attention.
EBizMba - The eBusiness Knowledgebase dedicates itself to the answers to this question. Through combining google page rank, alexa and compete and quantcast tracking statistics, it ranks websites. In fact they have just released figures for January 2010 for regular business websites and ebusiness websites. From these rankings you may get a profile for your own uses. Albeit these are popularity statistics and not necessary the "best" sites. These are the sites most visited on a regular basis. In the future we will profile many of these sites in more depth. The entire ebizmba most popular business websites article can viewed here.
Here then are your 20 most popular business websites in 2010 according to ebizmba:
1) Yahoo Finance
Yahoo Finance is content rich and aggregates all kinds of finance, investment, stock information in one place. Pick your interest and there will be information there. Also provides a host of daily rss feeds from business and investment news providers;
2) CNN Money
CNN Money is homebase for Fortune and Money Magazines and provides cross the board stock and investment information as well as covering daily business trends. Also features videos and podcasts.
3) Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal online is a pay subscription site though there is much free information available there.
4) Forbes
Forbes magazine online is like CNNMoney content rich. An important business, investment information source.
5) Business.com
An aggregator of all things business. Users often go to business.com as a starting point. Not mentioned in rankings is an equally important source of information -- business.gov
6) Bloomberg
Bloomberg.com is another exceptional business site, though graphically not as attractive as others. Content rich, thorough information. Well worth your visit.
7) Business Week
Until December Business Week was owned by McGraw-Hill, also owners of Standard and Poors. Bought in December by Bloomberg, which immediately attached its own name - Bloomberg Business Week. Business Week is rich in content, an important source of information and support for Small Businesses, company profiles, and indepth overall information. Includes videos, podcasts and editor blogs. What Bloomberg ownership means remains to be seen. Worth your visit.
8) FT.com
If you read the Wall Street Journal, you must also consult the Financial Times of London for its global perspective on investment and finance information. A critical business site. Much of it is however only available to paid subscribers.
9) BizJournals.com
Another content rich site tracking small and large business information and providing local trends as well from its multitude of sources.
10) MSN money
Like Yahoo Finace, MSN money pools information on personal finace and investment, more oriented to smaller investors rather than institutional investors. Worth your visit especially regarding personal finance issues.
11) MotleyFool
Clear eyed investment advice. A first stop for many despite its #11 ranking.
12) CNBC.com
Another major investment site. Up to the minute stock reports. Like msnmoney, yahoo finance and bloomberg and forbes.
13) BankRate.com
A major source for bank and credit card information.
14) TheStreet.com
Another investment site with much indepth information on the markets.
15) MarketWatch.com
MarketWatch is investment and personal finance for free. It's owned by Dow Jones, which also owns the Wall Street Journal and produces the Dow Jones Industrial Index otherwise known as the Dow. One of the better sites, thorough and content rich and free.
16) AllBusiness.com
In depth site soup to nuts on starting a business, buying a franchise and much more.
17) Hoover's.com
Used to be the source for company profiles. Still important though there is much competition now for its information. Basic information free; detailed information must pay subscription.
18) SeekingAlpha
Another investment oriented site seeking to find the scoop on the next big stock, ipo and so forth.
19) Entrepreneur
Our choice for #1 small business one stop shop, whether starting or maintaining or expanding a business. Excellent focus on women entrepreneurs, support forums, tax information. Truly a one stop shop for the gift of information that keeps on giving. Also a long standing business magazine.
Inc Magazine, not ranked, is a near #2 for small businesses. Check them both out.
20) GoogleFinance.com
Not as developed as YahooFinance and MSNmoney, but worth a visit and very competitive, up to the minute that you would expect from google.
There you have it -- "Your Favorite Top 20 Business Websites". What your real favorite will be will be based on your own needs and preferences. But if popularity and millions of links and hits are indicators, these sites may be worth your time and efforts and staying on top of things in critical in the business world.
Many of these sites are print magazines or newspapers as well and can be found at your public library such as Pittsfield's own Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield Massachusetts Public Library. There we subscribe for you to Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Business Week, Forbes, Money, Fortune, Kiplinger's Personal Finance, Entrepreneur and Inc Magazines. As you can see they all have their own content rich online websites. Other business information and journals are available free at the Athenaeum on our online databases they can be viewed simply by the use of your library card. The library is also a one stop shop for your information needs!
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
2009 Year In Review -- What Recession? or What A Recession!!!
Been thinking about 2009 and what happened and what it means for 2010 now that we're in 2010.
Remember the Greatest Recession since the Great Depression comments? Remember the $700 Billion Dollar T.A.R.P bailout for companies and banks "too big to fail". TARP incidentallly means Troubled Asset Relief Program, begun by former Treasury Chair Henry Paulsen ( also former CEO of Goldman Sachs, a chief beneficiary of TARP ) during the waning months of President Bush's administration and supported by President-Elect Barack Obama. By Dec 31 2008 247 billion dollars had been sent to relieve failing Investment Banks and AIG. And at the very least Goldman Sachs was saved and is prospering quite well. It has even returned the $40 Billion dollar outlay. Quite a turnaround! So for Goldman and many other large banks, the Recession appears over. They're back to investing but not necessarily issuing credit.
On the smaller bank front for 2009 140 banks went into Bankruptcy and were saved by the FDIC -- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporations, whose own funds are nearly bankrupt. In 2010 bank failures have continued a pace -- 9 have failed since the beginning of 2010, taken over by FDIC. In 2009 over 1 million foreclosures occured jeopardizing individual families needs for shelter. Furthermore the national unemployment rate reached and has maintained the 10 % level, roughly 16 million individuals and their families. For those families the term Recession if not Depression is very real. Even Wal-Mart is closing many Sam's Club stores and laying off 11,000 workers. Jobs held by Wal-Mart former employees will be outsourced.
On the Investment and Finance front, the Dow has risen from a low of 7100 a year ago to over 10,000 on a continual basis (10,196 today) though there are still daily ups and downs but no dramatic downward shifts. Institutional investors are back playing the Market, confident that the US government and the Federal Reserve will prevent any dramatic decay. So the Investing community is moving forward even though wary of Financial Reform legislation. But there has been no real Financial Reform legislation no new FDIC or regulatory reform. Perhaps that is due to the hands off approach of former deregulators Larry Summers, Tim Geitner and Robert Rubin. Only recently has 82 year old former Treasury head Paul Volker been heard from in marked contrast to the hands off the "too big to fail" proponents.
Financial Reform like HealthCare Reform are both up in the air. Whereas TARP was okayed for 700 billion for 1 year HealthCare was for that same abount over 10 years and is stalled. Small Business have vested interests in seeing Health Care Reform though since it 's a large share of their own budgets, which operate on very small profit margins, unlike the "too big to fail" companies. The Outlook for any major Financial or HealthCare Reform in 2010 is very clouded, if not dim.
And remember that other indicator of onset of Recession that caught economists by surprise. Here I'm talking about Oil and Gas Prices. It was just July of 2008 when gas prices were a steady $4.11, a price that was a shock to individuals then and now. By the end of 2008 gas prices were back down to $1.87 nationally. By that time the US automotive market fell apart. General Motors and Chrysler filed for Bankruptcy protection, Fiat took over Chrysler and US taxpayers put a major financial stake in General Motors; Barack Obama initiated the Cash for Clunkers program to get Americans back into dealer showrooms. The automotive industry is still floundering. Only Ford did not take advantage of TARP. However, when banks do not issue credit, buyers don't buy; so government money went into GM's major financial lender, GMAC.
Now if you have been following gas prices over the last year, they have been inching back up, from aforementioned $1.86 to national prices this week of $2.78 up from $2.60 during the Christmas holiday season. In Pittsfield in December is was $2.63; a year ago it was $1.80. Economists were not even including gas prices in cost of living indexes so they missed the Depressive effects of these high gas prices. Wages simply do not go up to cover these changes. Nor do State budgets have the flexibility to meet these changes. With employment down, investment down, tax collections were down as well and States have initiated 3 to 4 rounds of dollar cutbacks, that in turn has affected municipalities, such as Pittsfield. For libraries, the entire Regional Library System is being cut in favor of one centralized system. Libraries are losing expected levels of state funding and local governments are unable to support library costs. This has resulted in cutbacks in service,days open and in some cases closing of libraries. In western Massachusetts there is no longer Bookmobile service to dozens of rural communities.
So here we are in 2010. Has anything changed? Or does the Recession continue full force. There has been no financial reform and no healthcare reform, no relief for small businesses or workers. There have been none of the great reforms that occurred during the Great Depression other than the hope given by those Great Depression agencies the FDIC and for the banks, the Federal Reserve.
So the question remains What Recession? and the answer remains What A Recession flowing full force to every sector and unit of United States citizenry with the possible exception of big banks and the wary Investment community!!
Remember the Greatest Recession since the Great Depression comments? Remember the $700 Billion Dollar T.A.R.P bailout for companies and banks "too big to fail". TARP incidentallly means Troubled Asset Relief Program, begun by former Treasury Chair Henry Paulsen ( also former CEO of Goldman Sachs, a chief beneficiary of TARP ) during the waning months of President Bush's administration and supported by President-Elect Barack Obama. By Dec 31 2008 247 billion dollars had been sent to relieve failing Investment Banks and AIG. And at the very least Goldman Sachs was saved and is prospering quite well. It has even returned the $40 Billion dollar outlay. Quite a turnaround! So for Goldman and many other large banks, the Recession appears over. They're back to investing but not necessarily issuing credit.
On the smaller bank front for 2009 140 banks went into Bankruptcy and were saved by the FDIC -- Federal Deposit Insurance Corporations, whose own funds are nearly bankrupt. In 2010 bank failures have continued a pace -- 9 have failed since the beginning of 2010, taken over by FDIC. In 2009 over 1 million foreclosures occured jeopardizing individual families needs for shelter. Furthermore the national unemployment rate reached and has maintained the 10 % level, roughly 16 million individuals and their families. For those families the term Recession if not Depression is very real. Even Wal-Mart is closing many Sam's Club stores and laying off 11,000 workers. Jobs held by Wal-Mart former employees will be outsourced.
On the Investment and Finance front, the Dow has risen from a low of 7100 a year ago to over 10,000 on a continual basis (10,196 today) though there are still daily ups and downs but no dramatic downward shifts. Institutional investors are back playing the Market, confident that the US government and the Federal Reserve will prevent any dramatic decay. So the Investing community is moving forward even though wary of Financial Reform legislation. But there has been no real Financial Reform legislation no new FDIC or regulatory reform. Perhaps that is due to the hands off approach of former deregulators Larry Summers, Tim Geitner and Robert Rubin. Only recently has 82 year old former Treasury head Paul Volker been heard from in marked contrast to the hands off the "too big to fail" proponents.
Financial Reform like HealthCare Reform are both up in the air. Whereas TARP was okayed for 700 billion for 1 year HealthCare was for that same abount over 10 years and is stalled. Small Business have vested interests in seeing Health Care Reform though since it 's a large share of their own budgets, which operate on very small profit margins, unlike the "too big to fail" companies. The Outlook for any major Financial or HealthCare Reform in 2010 is very clouded, if not dim.
And remember that other indicator of onset of Recession that caught economists by surprise. Here I'm talking about Oil and Gas Prices. It was just July of 2008 when gas prices were a steady $4.11, a price that was a shock to individuals then and now. By the end of 2008 gas prices were back down to $1.87 nationally. By that time the US automotive market fell apart. General Motors and Chrysler filed for Bankruptcy protection, Fiat took over Chrysler and US taxpayers put a major financial stake in General Motors; Barack Obama initiated the Cash for Clunkers program to get Americans back into dealer showrooms. The automotive industry is still floundering. Only Ford did not take advantage of TARP. However, when banks do not issue credit, buyers don't buy; so government money went into GM's major financial lender, GMAC.
Now if you have been following gas prices over the last year, they have been inching back up, from aforementioned $1.86 to national prices this week of $2.78 up from $2.60 during the Christmas holiday season. In Pittsfield in December is was $2.63; a year ago it was $1.80. Economists were not even including gas prices in cost of living indexes so they missed the Depressive effects of these high gas prices. Wages simply do not go up to cover these changes. Nor do State budgets have the flexibility to meet these changes. With employment down, investment down, tax collections were down as well and States have initiated 3 to 4 rounds of dollar cutbacks, that in turn has affected municipalities, such as Pittsfield. For libraries, the entire Regional Library System is being cut in favor of one centralized system. Libraries are losing expected levels of state funding and local governments are unable to support library costs. This has resulted in cutbacks in service,days open and in some cases closing of libraries. In western Massachusetts there is no longer Bookmobile service to dozens of rural communities.
So here we are in 2010. Has anything changed? Or does the Recession continue full force. There has been no financial reform and no healthcare reform, no relief for small businesses or workers. There have been none of the great reforms that occurred during the Great Depression other than the hope given by those Great Depression agencies the FDIC and for the banks, the Federal Reserve.
So the question remains What Recession? and the answer remains What A Recession flowing full force to every sector and unit of United States citizenry with the possible exception of big banks and the wary Investment community!!
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