Reviews (9)

Better than I had imagined!
I purchased a value-package of this magazine and Kiplinger's, and I've been thrilled with both. About 20% of the articles and info are over my head, but the balance is understandable, helpful, and easily applied to my average money management skills. I've since ordered a SmartMoney subscription for three friends and relatives!

Good magazine, very poor customer service
I have subscriptions to Forbes, Smart Money, Money and Fortune. Out of all 4, i like Forbes and Fortune the most, because they seem to give details also on the backgrounds of the companies they are presenting as good buys. Even if Smart Money is not as good as these magazines, it is still well worth the money and provides a cheaper alternative to the beginner investor.

My main problem with Smart Money was not their writing, but their way of doing business. I made a one year subscription through Amazon and i was supposed to get the March issue as the first issue (in February). Well, i received this issue, but with it i was also sent the January and February issues (published in December of last year and January of this year). The complaints i made to their customer service department - for this cheap method they used to shorten my one year subscription by 2 months - were left with no answer. I know many magazines take advantage of their readers by sending them an older issue with the new one, but Smart Money takes the crown, sending me issues published last year!

Overall, if you can go past this, this magazine can be worth getting, especially for beginner investors. Otherwise, get Forbes or Fortune.

An update: I also e-mailed Amazon about this problem and - to their merit - they solved it immediately. While Smart Money still hasn't replied to my original e-mail, once Amazon contacted them, they added 2 more issues to my subscription. Big thanks goes again to the exceptional customer service from Amazon!

The Benchmark for Financial Magazines
Simply the best -- this magazine is very well laid out- not busy like Money seems to be, has some intermediate technical analysis, covers a great range of financial issues including new stock pics (performance of which which they track over time), mutual funds, financial managers/discount and full service broker comparisons, bonds, tax and retirement issues, travel, just the right amount (minimal) of tech product reviews, and a monthly car review/comparison.

I appreciate the focus on bargain hunting, both in stocks and the other areas mentioned above. These guys are not stock pumpers, but value seekers!

SmartMoney
Great financial analysis, insight and tips. Smarter than Money or Kiplinger's......

Nice magazine, geared toward the average consumer.
Great magazine. The editors are somehow able to keep it timely although it is a monthly magazine. It does a great job of addressing the needs of baby boomers. Definitely one of the top ten magazines I recommend to my clients. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The resolute research team at Consumer Reports has broken, melted, disabled, and jacked-up almost everything that's been offered for sale in the last few decades. If you want to know, for sure, if a product lives up to its claim, Consumer Reports has the answer. In addition to providing unbiased detailed analysis of goods ranging from chainsaws to televisions to washable wool sweaters, the canny staff offers common sense advice. Consider this classic, their take on the efficacy of conditioning shampoo: Shampoo is meant to be rinsed out, any conditioner in a good shampoo will go right down the drain. --Edith Sorenson ... Read more

Reviews (13)

A goldmine of helpful information!
I've subscribed to this magazine for years. First of all, I love magazines that don't accept advertising. They are committed to helping consumers make good, educating buying decisions. Each issue reviews a variety of products - from cars to canned soup, from CD players to cell phones, from dishwashers to drinking water - they have it all.

There's an option to have total access to Consumer Reports online. It's $24/year if you aren't a subscriber, and $19/year if you are a subscriber. Even though I subscribe, I still pay the money to have the wealth of information at my fingertips when I need it. I'm not organized enough to find the September 2002 issue handy when my freezer breaks down and I have to hurry out and buy a new one. When our family needs a major (or smaller) appliance, we ALWAYS check out Consumer Reports. Though we don't always buy their Best Buy or top pick, it alerts us about things to look for, features to consider, and what brands are more reliable. I love having all that information when I go to the store to buy something.

I enjoy their Letters section, their short articles, recalls, and updates on previous product reviews. When you subscribe to CR you get the 2004 Buyers Guide, which is a handy thing to have around the house! This is one magazine subscription that I never allow to expire.

Informative magazine with no competition, but . . .
Consumer Reports is in a league by itself. Where else are you going to find reliable information and comparisons on consumer products without the conflict of interest of paid advertising? However, it's a small monthly magazine; so don't be surprised if (1) several issues review no products you're interested in and (2) the item you're thinking of buying was last reviewed six years ago and the information is completely out-of-date.

A less serious problem is that the magazine's reviews occasionally give a product a mediocre rating for reasons that I find picky or insignificant. However, their criteria are clear, so it's not hard to know when this is the case. From time to time, they also seem to miss the point. For example, a faucet-mounted water filter is said to clog easily, when in fact it's designed to cut off after so many gallons. Removing the filter cartridge and reinserting it--which the manufacturer understandably advises against--takes 10 seconds and returns the flow to normal.

Nevertheless, I like the idea of what Consumer Reports offers and represents. That alone might be a reason to subscribe, if you have some disposable income for a good cause.

I don't subscribe and as someone who lives and earns modestly by choice, I probably never will. Instead, I consult Consumer Reports at my public library whenever I'm considering a purchase that the magazine might be helpful with. This has two advantages: (1) I save the price of a subscription and (2) I feel less disappointed and frustrated when it offers no useful information on a particular product (about 60% of the time).

If you buy a lot of consumer products beyond the essentials, then your chances of finding the magazine helpful are increased, the price of a subscription perhaps no problem, and the magazine is probably for you. If you're not sure, consult the magazine at the library before you're next couple of purchases. Then you'll know for yourself whether it's worth having your very own copy in your mailbox every month.

RULE 1: CONSIDER THE SOURCE
After decades of occasionally reading Consumer Reports at the public library and on newsstands, and after comparing my own experiences with the CR editorials and recommendations, I am forced to conclude that CR data are typically based on ignorance, laziness, or perhaps something less savory. Goods that are clearly and outstandingly best in class go unreviewed. Goods that have obvious problems with durability are rewarded top marks. I am forced to conclude that CR is essentially a channel for shilling certain manufacturers' goods, but the motives for and mechanics of their activity remain unknown to me.

informative
Consumer Reports is very informative. They test out different products and write up a review about them, the cool thing is they care about quality and not the brand name. I'd suggest this magazine if you frequently buy things and need to have a guide to inform you which product is the best. Sometimes the issues are filled with stuff that might not interest you, but don't give up because each month is different and overall its a very helpful magazine. This is one of those magazines where I keep the issues for a few months to refer back to when I am ready to make a purchase.

Somewhat Useful
A friend of mine once remarked that CR seesm like a great magazine "until they write about something you actually know a bit about..." and that's the problem with CR. They're great when it comes to quantifiable things like repair frequency, reliability, warranty information and so forth. They're much less useful when it comes to reporting on subjective things, or on technical matters.

That's a problem with trying to review every possible consumer item; you can't be an expert on everything. Sure, CR has their own labs and testers, but they're as likely as not, when confronted with something they can't quantify, to come up with some arbitrary measure and then rate products on that. For example, I've read some hilarious HiFi reviews that never involved actually *listening* to units. Instead, they take some statistic they consider to be critical and rate all units on that. Computer reviews often are very superficial- you'd do far, far better with PC or a similar magazine. And some of their financial advice on life insurance, mortgages and investment has been rather narrow, preaching single solutions for all.

So yeah, read CR when you're buying that next vacuum cleaner, or toaster, or popcorn popper, but before making any major purchasers or investments I'd look a bit further than the pages of CR. ... Read more

From Amazon.com

Just as Wall Street is an icon to the investment community, Fortune magazine is one to its readership, the difference being Fortune's diversified reach into the many facets of business: technology, companies, global economics, and, of course, your personal fortune. While many a narrow-focused business and investing magazine has come and gone, Fortune has grown and prospered, investing as much in content as ad space and staying in print since the 1930s. Columns include features on the marketplace, tech movers and shakers, career trends, U.S. politics, and even European business. Readers also look forward to the annually updated Fortune lists, which include the "40 Richest Under 40," "Most Powerful Women," and the "Fortune 500," an exclusive collection of companies whose employees are undoubtedly Fortune readers as well. --Mace Bainwright ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Must read to stay on top of the world of business
Fortune is a must-read for anyone who needs to stay on top of the business world. I have been reading Fortune for 4 years and I try to make time to read each edition cover-to-cover. Fortune is the authoritative guide to keeping up to date on the most important events, companies, and people affecting business around the world. It's stories are in-depth, enjoyable, fascinating, and educational. One of my business school professors thought that Fortune articles were often written better than Harvard Business School case studies!

Great articles, but disorganized a bit, plus too much Ads.
I am royal reader to Businessweek and Fortune. I love both, but which is better? Fortune is like the fashion magzine in the business world, and Businessweek is more news centric. Fortune always has at least 5 or 6 very interesting featured articles about people, companies, or the economy.They are always insigtful, personal (as if the writer is talking to a friend), well researched, and perfectly structured. These long essays is the core of Fortune, but the rest of the magzine, columes, personal finances and so on, aren't as good. 50% of the magazine seems to be ads, and the contents are not as tightly connected together in a clear manner as the Economist or Businessweek. That's why I think it's like a fashion magzine. On the other hand, Businessweek doesn't have articles as well written, but comes weekly and covers everything important during that week or so, which gives you a complete view of the business world. Both magazines are fasinating to read, so what are you waiting for?

outstanding articles, really gets to the heart of the matter
As a Fortune reader for an embarrassingly long amount of time, it is a pleasure to say that it is getting better and better. The articles are really well-written and substantive. It is a real counter-balance to the daily business news - just enough above the fray to be insightful, but not so abstract as to be out of practical touch. Well done.

The best business magazine bar none
I am a connoisseur of magazines and a lover of business, and Fortune is a brilliant combination. Written with the intelligence of The New Yorker and the splash of SI, Fortune remains cutting edge without being trendy and is smart enough to root most stories around people.
If you can only read one business magazine, this is it!

Fortune
One of the best business magazine for a Global Manager. The Articles are well researched and comprehensive depending on the subject. ... Read more

Abstract

Formerly called Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine.
... Read more

Reviews (7)

The Best Mass Market Personal Finance Magazine
I have subscribed to "Kiplinger's" for a number of years now, and will continue to do so into the foreseeable future. The magazine is inexpensive, timely, and authoritative, and conveys complex financial concepts in easily comprehensible terms. The magazine is very in favor of long term, high quality stock market investing, and on a monthly basis covers something relevant to current investment issues in the stock market. It also covers important information on taxes, retirement, paying for tuition, mortgages, and making good car buying (or leasing) decisions.

The magazine is a great source of news as it is related to your financial life in ways that are sometimes obvious, and sometimes less so. For instance they have articles on annuities, which you would expect, but also on drug costs, which you might not. They also have extremely useful mutual fund performance charts in every issue, which I find to be among the best features in the magazine. With the passage of different tax laws, "Kiplinger's" writes on the practical implications of the Federal tax code changes as well as regularly looking at state tax issues.

There are many personal financial magazines covering many different areas available today. If you want only one that will give you the overall most valuable information per page, "Kiplinger's" would be tough to beat.

Balanced? Decent market advice, but...
We used to subscribe to Kiplingers Personal Finance. We no longer do, because we couldn't help but notice a definite bias toward stock/bond purchasing over any other type of investing. This advice continued in the face of lower interest rates, the overpriced bull, then bear, market, and record low mortgage rates. Articles urging us to keep putting money into the market continued to appear regardless of market conditions. A quick look at the regular advertisers provides an explanation. In five years of subcribing, some of these same regular advertisers (whose results in the market were below par) never appeared in the "Poor or Worst" performers columns. For an overall, balanced view of things for the average investor, one of the personal finance magazines such as Money or Smart Money might be more helpful.

Subscription renewal
I have been contacted by mail and phone for renewal, My check for renewal was cashed by you in December 2003. What's up?

Not as boring as it sounds
My retirement plan sends me a magazine, which is so boring that I don't even bother to open it anymore; Kiplinger's isn't at all like that. The best part of Kiplinger's is that it describes how real people with average salaries, kids, and debts can invest for the future. There are also some great articles for parents about how to teach their kids to manage their money. Everything seems practical, but I've yet to try any of it. The magazine is broken into four sections: 'Ahead' short articles about finance news and current event, 'investing' about investing mostly stocks, 'your money' about ways to invest your money though not as technical as the investing section and more diverse, and 'spending' which is basically general interest about new fun technologies and other ways to spend all the money saved or made through investing.

The perfect guide to personal finance!
Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine fits right in the middle between the lowest-common denominator approach of Money magazine and the head-in-the-clouds attitude at Worth magazine. Kiplinger's has a nicely balanced style and tone; it never preaches, and I almost always find a tip, suggestion, or tax-saving idea that pays for my year's subscription in every single issue. If that's the measure of the value of a personal finance magazine, then Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine deserves a five-star rating. Good stuff, and a good value! ... Read more

Abstract

Personal and family finance magazine with articles providing guidance on making, investing, spending, and saving money.
... Read more

Reviews (9)

Best For Beginners
I subscribe to several financial magazines, of which "Money" is one. I think that "Money" is an excellent publication for neophyte investors, as it does provide generally sound information and advice. It is very good at explaining terminology in plain English, which is to be applauded, but investors with more knowledge of investments and financial planning would probably be better off with another magazine, like "Kiplinger's", for instance.

"Money" covers primarily investments in mutual funds, bonds, and stocks, although real estate and retirement planning are also dealt with regularly. I like the investment index feature in the back of the issue: it is honestly the only part of the magazine I routinely use anymore, although I do skim the articles, and read one or two per issue. My chief complaint with the magazine is how formulaic the articles are. It seems like every month there is an article called "The Best Places To Put Your Money Now", for instance. Timeliness is a good thing, but the magazine endorses long term investing (as do I) so the last thing I want to be doing is thinking about where to move my money to this month.

Beginning investors: this is an excellent magazine for you, and I say that without reservation. Overall though, "Money" is not bad, but if you are already fairly knowledgeable about financial management you can do much better.

Great steppingstone to other financial resources
Money magazine is an excellent starter magazine. The information in Barrons, Smart Money and other magazines will go over the heads of those with little or no investment knowledge. Many people don't know financial terminology such as 403(b), ESOP, Wrap fee, 529 plan, and load fund. Money magazine is a gentle introduction to these concepts. You may find in a year or two that you have outgrown Money and by then you should be able to move onto other financial magazines. The negative reviewers here fault Money for being unhelpful in stock-picking. However, there is a lot more to Money magazine than stocks. I personally find the information on taxes, mutual funds, retirement planning, the housing market, saving strategies and the latest business news interesting and helpful. If your interest is mainly in stocks I recommend Barrons instead. But for overall financial knowledge Money is the best magazine for beginners.

Mediocre
After a year's subscription, I dumped the magazine. It has some good recommendations of what not to buy, which works for me since I'm a conservative when it comes to buying stocks. However, recommendations to buy should be taken with a grain of salt. Most of the articles I find are just churn of the mill, non-substantial stuff which I already know or not interested.

Smartmoney, Kiplinger or Fortune are better choices for personal finance.

Flailing...
"Money" magazine has long been a staple of those who are looking to better their financial condition. But time and circumstance have not proven kind to it.

In an age when markets fluctuate wildly from day to day, a monthly newsmagazine for investors cannot match the timeliness and level of information needed to compete adequately in the stock market. Since "Money" has long been a staunch advocate of stock investing, this makes its advice dated and incomplete. As many websites and financial journals ("Barron's", "The Wall Street Journal") exist to fill the void for timely info, "Money" is becoming an anachronism. That its press deadlines are probably a month or two before publication, it lags far behind in catching trends and responding to them. Today's investors need better.

As a proponent of buying stock, "Money" has found its recommendations pummeled lately. Because people buy "Money" to help them make money, if the magazine cannot pick winners then its usefulness suffers. During this bear market, the magazine has flailed in its attempts to ride out the storm, trying to latch on to something, anything, that will work. This does not lend itself to investor confidence.

A case in point can illustrate. The magazine recently suggested a group of mutual funds across a variety of sectors/styles that they felt were good picks. The problem lay in the fact that not a single one had made money in the last couple years. Now certainly to make money you buy low and sell high, but there are several solid mutual fund companies that have made money in this market and would make money in a bull market, too. There are even funds that fared better than the average of the market, though they did not immediately turn a positive result. But "Money" did not pick any of those. With no end in sight to the market downturn, would you put money into a mutual fund that had lost 25% of its value in the last year?

"Money" excels when it discusses strategies for saving money on purchases, aids in avoiding taxes, or looks at financial vehicles that are less common (REITs, etc.), but since its bread and butter is still stocks and bonds, it is less helpful than other resources.

You've got to be able to swim with the sharks. Years ago, "Money" was able to stay afloat. But in today's different investing environment, "Money" is simply so much chum in the water.

Excellent for beginning individual investors
This is an excellent magazine for beginning individual investors. It has good recommendations for stock purchases. Good basic information for financial planning.
This is the magazine I recommend first for beginners to financial planning and beginners to investing in the stock market. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Not thinking about their long term customers
Bottom Line offers intersting and worthwhile tips on coping in the modern world. What drives me nuts about them is that after subscribing to them for a few years it seems that they could offer loyal subscribers some deals on renewal like they do for new members. All the issues are about to save money. My tip quit subscribing and make them offer you a "new" deal.

Subscriber Beware
This is a good publication, but don't subscribe unless you want your junk mail to increase dramatically. They try to sell you a book on every subject under the sun, and when you ask to be removed from their mailing list there is no response.

Bottom Line/Personal
I have been reading this magazine for past 10+ years. It gives excellent information on wide variety of subjects pertaining to personal life. It talks about health, finance, business, careers, technology, etc. Easy to read and understand for all family members.

A grab bag of useful info
This slim newsletter is jam packed with short articles on a huge variety of subjects: finding a nursing home, managing employees, achieving goals, investment ideas, travel suggestions, you name it. The formula is pretty simple and effective: Talk to experts in a given field and boil it down into a short (rarely more than a page) list of suggestions. Fill in the rest with small factoids: places to write to get info on your bad knee, hot toys, how to handle a temper tantrum, etc. Although it's all over the map and the print is small, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who wouldn't find something of interest here. ... Read more

Reviews (26)

Pricey, but high in quality.
While it won't make you smarter or guide you down the path to success (no matter what the television ads may say), The Wall Street Journal is a periodical that is indeed worth the paper it is printed on.

The articles are well written, and are all but guaranteed to contain the relevant information of the business world and beyond. If the Nation is talking about it over breakfast each morning, and the news networks are making use of their valuable "air time" to cover the story, then you can bet that the Journal is covering it too, and usually from a much deeper angle. When important news hits the airwaves today, it is prudent to check the journal for the "real story" tomorrow.

What may surprise most of you who are new to the journal is the range of topics found throughout the paper, as it isn't just a daily tally of the world of stocks. From entertainment to computing, it's all there (after all, business encompasses quite a bit).

If there is one drawback to the Wall Street Journal, it has to be the price point. Compared to most papers, the journal isn't cheap by any means. Overlook this though, and you'll not only catch up on some excellent reading, the boss might see you looking at it and become "inspired" by your intellect and give you a promotion and an office with a window.

"alankelly"

The Best Paper to Start the Day
You could read the New York Times, the Washington Post, or USA Today, and get a reasonable feel for what's happening in the country. But if you want the best insight into finance, business, and the world economy, the Wall Street Journal is the way to start the day. Its news pages are clean, concise, and cover business news that other major papers catch the next day.

But it's more than a finance paper -- there are frequently personal stories of life in America, both on Column 4 of the front page, the front of the Marketplace section, and in Friday's Weekend Journal.

My only gripe is with the paper's extremely conservative editorial page, but it's interesting and provocative nonetheless.

Newspaper is great, Synpase Services is not!
I found that the newspaper was exactly what my previous revieweres had described, a journal of world events which have a potential impact on the Wall Street stocks, bonds and funds. Don't expect a complete news coverage but coverage of events relevant to the business world. All in all I am very happy with the quality of reporting.

What I am not happy with is the service provided by Synapse Services. Their local contractor in the South Bay Area, California did not deliver the journal on July 2nd and July 6th, 2004. When I called to ask about this, Synpase was not able to provide me with any useful information, and was not able to tell me if the newspaper was not delivered or was stolen instead. They did not make any effort to get to the bottom of the issue but instead advised me to wait for another day to see if service resumes.

Best Newspaper in the US
Every newspaper has a political orientation of some sort, and the WSJ is no exception; what differentiates the WSJ from every other mahjor newspaper in America is that it has a wall between News and Editorial sections. There's probably no other paper in the world whose news reporting is as free of politics, and that's part of what makes it such a great source of unbiased news and information.

The Op-Ed pages are also a treasure, particularly if you do subscribe to the Journal's libertarian-Republican point of view. And even if you don't it's always worth learning what the other side says. Leftists are well represented in the person of Al Hunt, whose weekly commentary keeps the reader abreast of what's current in Democratic circles. Writers from all sides are regularly represented in guest columns, too; last week's paper had an essay by Lech Walesa on the role Ronald Reagan played in supporting Solidarity and the Pope in the early days of their struggle againt the Polish government.

I've begun almost every weekday of the past twenty years with a cup of coffee and my copy of the WSJ. I can't imagine changing.

Best Magazine in America
Yes, technically the WSJ is a newspaper but frankly, it's really the best magazine in America right now.

For those who think it's just an expanded version of your home town paper's business section - you are missing out on quite a lot.

There are hundreds of magazines in America that don't cover as much ground in a monthly issue as the WSJ covers in a day EVERYDAY.

Obviously, there is lot of business news that everyone who is a manager at any level should be reading - but more importantly, it's information that is personalized. It's not just business news but how it affects your life or the lives of your neighbors. And perhaps, surprising to many - it is the most objective coverage out there. They are not "on" any side, they cover it all fairly and get both sides (or more sides) to every issue. They are not afraid to cover controversial topics such as out-sourcing or sweatshops. They cover it all in great detail and with knowledgeable perspective from all sides. They don't pull any punches and risk alienating advertisers on many features. They were early and covered corporate transgressions honestly and thoroughly - people might think of them as Wall Street's home town paper but they put journalism and their readers first.

But beyond the first "news/business news" section, it only gets better. Their features on marketing, travel, personal finanace, et al simply cannot be beat. Walter Mossberg is amazing. No one else who writes technology has the courage to actually use new technology as a "normal" person would and then tell us as it really is - if it's great, if it's useful or crap. He pulls no punches and sees right through the hype and the PR. Great stuff.

Even their sports and movies coverage is on target and fun - maybe the last place you'd expect to find such personality. They also have running feature where they do testing on everything from foods to tires to vacations. Each test and review is the equivilient of CONSUMER REPORTS - honest and detailed.

The WSJ packs more into each issue each day than 99% of the magazines in America do each month. It is news, entertainment, and fun knowledge EVERYDAY.

As for the so called conservative viewpoint - the editorial is one thin page in a 150-page coverage of news, business & life. Personally, I barely notice that page just as I notice there's a page on mansions for sale - neither interest me but then again, there are only about 300 other interesting features to get to first.

Quite simply, you are dumber without reading the WSJ everyday.*

*(okay, it's not published on financial holidays and weekends :-) ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Better than the WSJ
Unlike the WSJ which panders to a broad readership, the FT caters to the most sophisticated swath of the business community, and this gives it free rein to analyze issues at an advanced level. In particular, the FT's coverage of macroeconomic issues, such as the US current account deficit and China's role in the world economy, is rich in technical detail.

Fortunately, this doesn't come at the expense of style: the writing is consistently lucid, enlivened by a dash of humor and the occasional rhetorical flourish.

The Comment section is the paper's crown jewel, with op-eds by politicians, economists, and other luminaries, as well as the FT's stable of columnists. Articles by Martin Wolf, the chief economics commentator, are alone worth the cost of subscription. On the downside, the recent departure of U.S. bureau chief Gerard Baker has left a noticeable void.

In a marked contrast to the philistinism of the WSJ, the FT takes arts and culture seriously. Indeed, the Weekend edition's Arts section is on a par with staid literary journals. The Travel section and the recently-introduced FT Magazine are also stellar.

If I had to choose between the FT and the WSJ, I'd take the FT any day; it is hands-down the best business newspaper in the world.

Best world coverage
This newspaper provides an outside-the-box (US) opinion, even though Britain's outlook is similarities to ours. I read the WSJ daily and the NYTimes when I can, but the WSJ is so conservative and the NYTimes is so liberal that this provides a source that is at least one level removed from the conservative/liberal bias in this country.

good for economics/business not for world reporting
This newspaper is good for economics and business reporting but is painfully biased in its world reporting. Cant recommend, go with WSJ

The WSJ of Europe
What the Wall Street Journal is the the US, the Financial Times is to Europe- a collection of unbiased news, financial information and analysis, and darned good social and cultural reporting, too. It's what the New York Times purports to be- a journal for the informed, educated reader. Excellent repoting, fascinating features and a different outlook than you'll find in domestic papers. If you've never read the FT, give it a try.

FT vs WSJ
I've read WSJ for about 15 years and just started FT recently.Each has its own focus.WSJ is very sensible, yet clearly has a conservative inclination...I tend to share their perspective on most things.

FT seems less conservative in their observations and certainly looks at things from a more international viewpoint.The financial aspect of the paper has, I believe, more to do with understanding how the world operates economically whereas WSJ deals more with day-to-day considerations.

Entertaining opposing (or at least differently slanted) opinions can foster a more balanced perspective.So my advice is, if you are able, to read them both. ... Read more

Abstract

Feature articles, profiles, finance, product reviews issues and news of note aimed at senior financial executives in manufacturing, transportation, finance, utilities and service organizations.
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Reviews (4)

Don't invest without it.
IBD is the best newspaper and news source for investing or just good business advice.

I wouldn't invest or be without it.

Great no nonsense newspaper!
IBD gets straight to the point. There is no fluff here. This paper caters to investors and it knows just how to do it. The editors constantly focus on earnings and relevant news facts. It has a strong section that deals with commodities and futures.They have also added a commentary area on foreign currencies as well. Being an 11 year veteran of futures and commodites, as both an investor, broker ... This is my primary periodical second only to Barron's Weekly.

IDB is an excellant search tool for stocks
IDB is an excellant tools to search for great stocks. I always start with IDB when looking for a new stock then go to clearstation to look at the technical anyalisis. I have done well even in this bear market.

IBD is a must for serious investors
Its hard for me to imagine screening stocks without IBD. There are no analysts opinions.......just the facts. Is the particular stock or industry group doing well? Or how is that industry group doing vs an index? The information IBD provides me has been has been invaluable. ... Read more

Abstract

Aimed at people planning for retirement & those already retired. Emphasis is on matters relating to personal finance information & other matters related to retirement.
... Read more

Abstract

Articles, special reports, issues and trends in all types of real estate and financial information on all aspects of real estate financing for executives and managers in appraising, commercial banks, mortgage banking, insurance, law and investments.
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Abstract

Presents articles on all aspects of property and life & health insurance including recent legislation, regional news of note, business briefings, insurance stock reports, and commentarty.
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Abstract

Articles, review articles and commentary on new decisions and IRS actions for tax professionals.
... Read more

From Amazon.com

Few newspapers enjoy the prestige and authority of The Wall Street Journal. Its distinctive six-column format delivers news from around the world along with comprehensive business and market coverage that make it a must-read for corporate America. But the Journal covers more than just business--column four on the front page features intelligent and eclectic stories that are among the most widely read in America; Friday's "Weekend Section" takes on film, leisure, wine, music, and sports; and its probusiness editorial page will make any capitalist's heart glow. The Wall Street Journal is an ideal gift for students, corporate types, and anyone wanting to listen in on the national dialogue. --Harry Edwards ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Simply The Best Daily Newspaper In The USA
This newspaper is far superior to TV news. It does articles in depth and has nuggets of amazing news stories that you will not find anywhere else. It is a window on the world of news, business, finance, medicine, science, travel and politics. In addition to the print version, WSJ also offers an internet version.

THE daily printed media; only competition is the Internet
Of the printed daily newspapers, WSJ is easily the superior in just about every aspect that really matters. NYT has a lot more and better photographs, but they are best viewed on a computer screen. There's not much to argue (regarding the relatively conservative editorial page) in this review that hasn't already been written; and one more center-right Midwesterner's recommendation is not going to be of much incremental value. However, as an investor and consumer I can state that WSJ and its website have been the primary source of credible information about businesses, law, finance and consumer products. Anybody that works for a living, has a mortgage or has a long-term savings plan would benefit from reading the WSJ as often as possible. There's simply no substitute.

Good reporting, childish editorials.Get the FT instead
When you subscribe to the Wall Street Journal it's like getting two newspapers:a good news reporting paper and an what at times seems like an editorial page written by sophmomores in the local Young Americans for Freedom college rag.It's not that I mind right-wing editorials, I'm somewhat of a libertarian myself, it's just that its editorial page puts ideology ahead of reason far too often for my taste.For a much better deal-- business news, all the financial quotes, much better international coverage, and excellent and concise reporting -- choose the Financial Times.At the moment an annual subscription is selling for $50.It's a much better publication and on Saturday's has a very fine weekend section with good book reviews and arts and culture coverage.Also because the FT is based out of London the editors are much more balanced and less cowed or ideologically obedient.Even if they were similarly priced the FT would be the better deal.As it is the FT costs a fraction of the price of the WSJ.

Window on the World
"The Wall Street Journal" is nothing less than America's true newspaper of record, a window on the world of business, finance, international affairs, and all the delicious little nuggets of news that would otherwise slip through the cracks.

I am a media carnivore: I am news-addicted. I get my news in hourly, massive slabs: from CNBC, from CNN, from the Internet---and best of all, in the brain-shatteringly early hours of the morning in the form of my daily Wall Street Journal (kudos goes, as well, to my unfailingly faithful early-rising Journal deliveryman).

With that high praise I also must dispatch a warning to the curious: if you subscribe to the Journal---and if you want to be informed and ahead of the game, then you must!---you'll discover, possibly for the first time, intense agonies of Guilt. The Journal is, every single day, chock full of so many juicy, delicious, insanely informative, amazingly well-written, positively balanced nuggets of journalism on finance, politics, economics, technology, market trends, literary explosions---so much, in fact, that it's an embarrassment of riches. If you're busy---and who isn't?---then you simply won't have time to read everything.

Like Caesar's Roman Gaul, The Wall Street Journal is also divided into three parts: the Front page, Marketplace, and Money & Investing. Page One is my beachhead in the morning: I scan the middle two columns for the financial and geopolitical earth movers---and if I have the time, I can dig into the paper for all the gory details. The news here is uniformly objective: opinion is cut out, the wounds cauterized, and the unbiased opinion itself served up piping hot on the Journal's editorial page.

Marketplace deals with macro and micro business trends, and is always engagingly written. Sometimes the supplement "Personal Journal" accompies the fleet out; more often than not, there's another tasty little section dealing with mutual funds, technology trends, industry strategies, and quite a bit more. It's a veritable treasure-house of knowledge, and since Gordon Gekko was right---the most valuable commodity in the world is information---the Wall Street Journal serves as purveyor of that most critical, that most precious commodity. And, I might add, serves it up with spice, brains, guts and panache.

Oh, and Money & Investing is a fly-by of all the major financial trends of the day: M&A, economics, currency, commodities, oil making investors shake and quake, big stock movers. All good stuff.

Finally---and I'm biased, be warned---the Editorial Page is the best on the planet, and I always scour it at lunch---always. If you want to be informed---if you want to be light years ahead of your arch-rival, that nasty VP of Finance Hastings down the hall, which naturally you do---you should at the very least read the Editorial Page. It is incisive, delicious, never boring, brimming with opinion and intelligence. Yum.

The Journal is with me in the nosebleed hours of the early morning, right beside my boiled eggs and toast and steaming cup(s) of coffee. And it's with me in the evening, when I actually get to dip into it, at leisure, with my cigar and scotch.

So subscribe to it, I say: The Wall Street Journal is an important, glorious, massively influential American institution. It's your window on the World of affairs. It's what the movers and shakers of the British Empire might have read had the Empire survived into the 21st century: and yes, you have the news of the world, at your fingertips, hauled back from the Journal's far-flung outposts across the globe: from Hong Kong, London, Kuala Lumphur. Sincere Kudos to the Journal's officer corps: Karen Elliott House, the Publisher; Paul Steiger, Managing Editor; and Paul Gigot, Editorial Page Editor---and the brilliant, dedicated, blindingly talented team of reporters that work with them. Bravo!

For a decade now, not a morning has dawned without my Journal: it is my polestar and compass. It makes me richer, which makes me happier. It is a tasty read. Stop gawking and subscribe.

Excellent Newspaper For All Readers
The WSJ has always been required reading for business people and finance wonks, but in the past several years the whole thing -- reporting, layout, editorials -- has been overhauled and the result is one of the best general newspapers in America.

First of all, business, economics, finance, etc. are extremely important to everyone whether their profession involves these things or not. Everyone's lives are shaped by these things and it is important to understand them.

Second of all, a thoughtful couterpoint to the "liberal media" has long been lacking and the WSJ editorials fill the need ... read both the WSJ and the New York Times every day and you will likley hear two, thoughtful but opposing sides of all the major issues confronting our nation and world, from which you can begin to develop your own independent view.

I cannot recommend strongly enough that everyone subscribe to and read the WSJ every (week) day. ... Read more