Less Common Sources: Disposable Information or Not, Read it Anyways

The economic and financial realm epitomizes the Information Age. Predictably, when such a large amount of data is available, economists and investors rely on a few agents to synthesize and interpret facts. Practically every stock player uses Google Finance and reads the Economist or the Wall Street Journal. Though there are a variety of well known news hubs which sum up current events, it is important to routinely, if not often, explore supplementary wells of information. These sources do not have to be as intensively exercised as Bloomberg or Market Watch, but should have a constant presence in one's research. I have chosen to blog about a few of many underused or unknown internet sites that provide quality information and evaluate them with respect to Webby Awards and IMSA criteria. Keep in mind, content is the most important benchmark; however, the type of content may differ greatly.

For example, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) World Fact Book is an incredibly useful site, but may not adhere to standard expectations of an economic or investment resource. Ever since globalization became prominent, detailed facts regarding other countries are imperative to understanding financial forces. The CIA Fact Book is an immense library of aggregated data on hundreds of countries. The information is well organized and in depth, providing everything from literacy rates to amounts of irrigated land. Unfortunately, the site provides no interpretation or interaction and is useful only for raw data collection. Similarly, the Federal Reserve is a great source of economic statistics when researching the United States. Unlike the CIA Fact Book, the Federal Reserve has a library of research publications to compliment the data. There is too much information to sift through without purpose and I recommend having an agenda before referring to this site. Additionally, as with any government source, a researcher should always be aware of possible biases. In contrast, the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) and the Peterson Institute for International Economics (IIE) are two high quality, nonpartisan academic sites. Both display a professional design and host up-to-date analysis and policy solution based papers which are full of useful insights. The works can be dense and technical and therefore don't provide efficient, daily reading material. Global Economy Matters (GEM), Econbrowser, and Free Exchange are three other technical sites, but the material is presented in blog format and much easier to frequent. Econbrowser appears to host the highest level of interactivity with multiple comments per post. Unfortunately, the other two blogs' comment sections are barren. All three blogs, though, lack citations and do not link to exterior sites where facts were gathered.

Another data hub is The Online Investor. The content on this site tends to be more informative than analytical and it is grouped accessibly without excessive detail. The site's main downfall is lack of scope and hopefully the editors will expand their research. Like The Online Investor, Ticker Sense's scope of information is rather limited. However, this site contains curt posts that remind readers of simple daily analyses which are easily overlooked. Finally, I leave you with a site that was recently launched and may not yet be well known--U.K. Google Finance. This is a great place for obtaining European economic and financial reports and it provides access to what foreign audiences receive. However, don't expect any unique perspectives as it is comparable to the original Google Finance. If you encounter any substantive sites, feel free to post the link in the comment section.