Important New Investing Resources

Investing resources on the Web are multiplying and evolving in ways that few of us would have predicted.

You probably already know about Blogs, sites where anyone can post their musings. But you may not know that some Bloggers are highly qualified financial experts who post valuable information on their Blogs, just for fun.

I’ll describe some of my favorite Blogs. Then I’ll finish up by telling you about a new type of financial site, still in the toddler stage that could evolve into a valuable resource for fundamentally inclined investors. First the Blogs.

ZachStocks
Hedge fund portfolio manager Zachary Scheidt runs ZachStocks (www.zachstocks.com), where he posts his take on stocks that his fund is considering buying or selling short (short-sellers make money when the stocks they’ve sold short go down instead of up).

For instance, when I looked, Scheidt had just highlighted E-House China Holdings (ticker EJ), which contracts with developers in China to sell their housing units. Scheidt pointed out that, in contrast to the U.S. market, real estate developers in China “can hardly keep up with demand.” Scheidt’s write-ups are lengthy and go into considerable detail, often quoting stock analyst’ reports.

Scheidt, himself a Chartered Financial Analyst, sometimes gets it wrong. But that’s not a problem because Scheidt gladly posts dissenting opinions, if any, following each article. However, the reader comments are nothing like the sophomoric posts found on most financial sites’ message boards. Instead, they are well-reasoned, thoughtful arguments, often posted by readers with considerable insights on the topic.

Scheidt posts several new articles each week. When I checked, there were more than 90 articles archived on the site going back to June. So, you’ll find plenty of ideas, plus good advice on stocks to avoid.

Daily Speculations
Run by Victor Niederhoffer and Laurel Kenner, Daily Speculations (www.dailyspeculations.com) offers insights that you won’t find anywhere else. The site has been around for years, probably predating the term “Blog.” Niederhoffer, who once worked for legendary investor George Soros, authored the 1997 best selling book; “Education of a Speculator.” Kenner was chief U.S. stock market editor at Bloomberg News before she joined Niederhoffer in 2000.

The erudite articles posted on Daily Speculations, some penned by others besides Niederhoffer and Kenner, cover almost any topic, some unrelated to stocks. Recent postings included an analysis of Amazon.com’s new wireless e-book device, an analysis of a recent day’s S&P 500 Index price chart, and a discussion about mid-town Manhattan barbershops.

TraderFeed
Run by Brett Steenbarger, psychologist, and author of “The Psychology of Trading,” TraderFeed (traderfeed.blogspot.com), covers the market from a technical (charting) perspective. His daily posts attempt to divine what happens next by analyzing recent market and individual stock price action employing a variety of technical indicators. He also offers links to other like-minded sites. Given his background, it’s not surprising that Steenbarger also includes articles about how to prevent your emotions from hurting your trading results.

Minyanville
Minyanville (www.minyanville.com) is a new site that, despite its whimsical look, covers market and economic events in a businesslike manner. I’m mentioning Minyanville because one of its semi-regular features, called “Doin’ It Bloggystyle,” lists a dozen or so Blogs that, in its view, are doing the best at covering current market events. You’ll find that feature in the News & Views section.

This column wouldn’t be complete without mentioning my two favorite Blog sites.

Kirk Report
Charles Kirk’s The Kirk Report (www.thekirkreport.com) includes his own views, but mostly links to other Blogs with timely comments about individual stocks, the markets, and the overall economy. It’s comprehensive and worth reading daily.

Seeking Alpha
Seeking Alpha  (www.seekingalpha.com) features dozens of new articles daily from dozens of market experts on topics ranging from China to energy to exchange-traded-funds.

Finally, the new type of site I mentioned at the beginning.

Wikinvest
Wikinvest (www.wikinvest.com) was inspired by Wikipedia (wikipedia.org ), the free Web-based encyclopedia that depends on users to contribute new articles, and/or modify existing articles about just about any topic. Volunteer administrators ensure the quality of the posted articles.

At first hearing, Wikipedia sounded to me like a wacky idea sure to fail. But, surprisingly, it works, and I’ve found it to be a useful resource.

Wikinvest, founded only a year or so ago by a couple of college roommates at Harvard, is Wikipedia for stocks. The main difference between Wikinvest and traditional financial sites is that Wikinvest focuses on concepts and business strategies rather than numbers.

For example, its five-page write-up on Coach delves into the leather accessory retailer’s history, product lineup, pricing structure, marketing strategies, competition, cost structures and operating results. While you’ll still need to access traditional sites to get the financial statistics and analyst forecasts, Wikinvest adds the information you need to understand a firm’s business and future prospects.

Wikinvest says it has already received more than 100,000 editorial contributions, but it only covers around 310 of the 5,000 or so U.S. stocks. Of course the list will grow as more investors discover the site.

Besides for stocks, wikinvest members can also contribute articles on broader topics, which it calls “concepts.” I found more than 100 concept articles on topics such as the implications of Flash memory taking market share from disk drives, or who wins and who loses when U.S. automaker’s lose market share to foreign competitors.

All of the features that I’ve described today are free. Helpful new Blogs and other interactive financial sites are coming online almost daily. Please tell me about your favorites that I’ve missed. 
published 12/9/07