There are hundreds of financial media oulets on the net to choose from - and infinitely times more information. In this post, we narrow down the competition to five of the best financial blogs written in the English language.
11 december 2015
Blogging is not dead, nor dying, despite pessimists’ claims to the contrary. The blogosphere still remains a valid alternative (or complement) to traditional media channels, and in the world of finance bloggers are particularly enthusiastic. Scholars, journalists, investors – all have equally found their niche before the titans of Wall Street. Today we pick out five of the most distinguished blogs about international finance from both sides of the pond.
Paul Krugman – The Conscience of a Liberal
The famed economist – winner of the Nobel Prize in 2008 – sporadically writes for the New York Times as an op-ed columnist, and has done so for a couple of decades. Many of his articles reach our side of the Atlantic through El País [in Spanish], but it’s in his blog, without the constraints that come with newspapers, that Krugman proves his brilliance. Splashes of humour blend with lengthy explanations on economic theory; there’s room for his trademark political discourse, but The Conscience of a Liberal is particularly ideal for a glimpse of the more academic Krugman.
Many months before the implosion of Northern Rock, Lehman Brothers et al., Yves Smith (pseudonym of Susan Webber, a Harvard graduate and an ex-employee of Goldman Sachs, among others) saw the writing on the wall. Naked Capitalism was born in 2006 out of “an obvious underreporting in the US of the severity and extent of the underpricing of risk in all credit instruments”. She has been denouncing “the dark and seamy corners of finance” for nine years now, alongside a long list of collaborators. A fascinating read for those who mistrust official narratives.
Wall Street ‘guru’ Barry Ritholtz can boast over 100 million unique visits on this blog. Tongue planted firmly in cheek, this famed analyst with a history in law shares his personal tips for the common investor, but also discusses macroeconomic policy and gives daily recommendations on what to read from the financial world. Quite possibly the most important English-language financial blog in the world.
With twelve years of posts online (and counting), this blog revolves around current events in Europe. While articles on economic policy in west European states make up the meat of the site, financial matters are treated with class. Entries are uploaded fairly sporadically but the level of detail in their analyses easily make the wait worthwhile.
Self-named the gatekeepers of a world “where market professionals are inundated with information”, Alphaville combines the relative freedom of the blog format with the prestige of the Financial Times brand. It actually works in essence as a traditional news outlet, with the latest-minute updates on the financial markets, three morning briefing notes (6am London, New York and Hong Kong time), and with their own editorial team. And perhaps most importantly, unlike the traditional FT, there’s no paywall – access is completely free. World finance tout de suite.
Still not enough? Here is a 2011 list compilated by Time magazine on their personal best 25 financial blogs: http://content.time.com/time/specials/packages/completelist/0,29569,2057116,00.html
