In an age of information overload, what websites and internet resources can someone who wants to keep up-to-date with the world of finance and financial management rely on? Here’s Cormac Lucey’s selection.
For daily business news…
The RTÉ website offers us the opportunity to read the daily survey of business and financial news published by the main Dublin stockbrokers. This is not just a useful survey of the previous day’s financial economic news, it also offers readers the opportunity to understand how financially literate readers view
that news.
Visit www.rte.ie/news/markets/broker_reports (and check out Goodbody Stockbrokers).
For detailed financial data on leading Irish corporates…
I opened up an account with Davy Stockbrokers largely to get access to the company’s Weekly Book. That is a compendium of corporate data for quoted companies covering recent financial history, near-term financial forecasts and key valuation metrics. For avid financial number crunchers such as myself, it’s the equivalent of crack cocaine!
Visit www.davy.ie
For an up-to-date overview of the Irish economy…
The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) borrows money on behalf of the State. That requires regularly updating international debt investors (who may buy Irish government debt) on economic developments here.
Visit www.ntma.ie (and look for ‘Investor Presentation’).
For an overview of the Northern Ireland economy…
EY’s Chief Economist, Neil Gibson, provides a regular and authoritative update on what is going on up North.
Visit www.ey.com (and search for ‘EY Economic Eye: Northern Ireland’).
For a global economic overview from a monetary perspective…
Simon Ward, Janus Henderson’s economic adviser, uses monetary and cycle analysis to assess economic and market prospects.
Visit www.moneymovesmarkets.com
For general trends in financial management…
Two large international consultancies offer regular publications that combine a focus on the practical problems facing financial staff in corporations with intellectual rigour.
Visit www.mckinsey.com (and search for McKinsey on Finance, which offers readers a quarterly selection of useful and stimulating articles).
Visit www.bcg.com/capabilities/corporate-finance-strategy/insights, which offers regular corporate finance updates.
For current developments in international markets…
The Financial Times has an excellent capital markets blog (www.ft.com/alphaville), and there is an offshoot of that (www.ftalphaville.ft.com/longroom/home) on which you can (once registered) access interesting research reports from the world’s top investment banks. Another website where you can access high-level research reports from investment banks is www.savvyinvestor.net (registration required).
For the technical situation of main financial markets…
Steve Blumenthal, executive chair of Capital Management Group, produces a useful technical survey of the main US markets each week.
Visit www.cmgwealth.com/ri-category/on-my-radar
For financial chatter, conspiracy theories and the occasional blinding insight...
It’s all available here: www.zerohedge.com
Cormac Lucey is an economic commentator and lecturer at Chartered Accountants Ireland.