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Toolbox | Chris Farrell's Favorites | Web Sites

When it comes to finance, the World Wide Web is thriving with thousands of sites. Although I may consult a particular site that isn't mentioned here when I am looking for a piece of specific information, these are the Web sites I tend to check on a regular basis.

DocumentThe Dismal Scientist
A place to go for the economics numbers and commentary.

DocumentSocial Investment Forum
The central clearinghouse of information for socially responsible investing.

DocumentMorningstar
The main mutual fund rating service.

DocumentMorgan Stanley
Every morning I check into this Web site to get the latest reading on the global economy from Morgan Stanley. Lots of good information and analysis.

DocumentDr. Ed Yardeni's Economics Network
Who says economists are boring? I don't. Yardeni is always bold and a good read. Among Wall Street economists he has done an especially stellar job grappling with the economic implications of the end of the Cold War and the spread of information technologies.

DocumentVanguard
The Vanguard mutual fund company offers a wealth of information, especially about mutual fund investing, retirement, and indexing. Well-organized site with clearly written articles. Best of all, though, is reading Vanguard chief John Bogle's insightful and strongly held views on the mutual fund industry.

DocumentT. Rowe Price
T. Rowe Price is one of my favorite places to go for deciphering the latest wrinkle in Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) or calculating what investment program might work best in planning for retirement.

DocumentFidelity Investments
Fidelity Investments is the world's largest mutual fund company. An extra bonus is their ticker tape with all the major U.S. indices plus the major market indices from around the world.

DocumentNolo
A great Web site for learning about credit, bankruptcy, and other critical personal finance issues.

DocumentFederal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis
Maybe it's a regional bias, but I frequently find myself using the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis for economic research and commentary. It is also my link to the Federal Reserve Board and the eleven other Federal Reserve banks around the country. The Fed system as a whole is a rich source to mine for economic information, data, analysis, and research.

DocumentBerkshire Hathaway
Warren Buffett runs Berkshire Hathaway, essentially a holding company for a wide range of business. His witty annual letter to shareholders is a terrific read — and a genuine education in investing.

DocumentReuters
The giant information company's Web site offers plenty of fodder for anyone with an interest in markets and current events.

DocumentRobert Shiller
Finance economist Robert Shiller of Yale has greatly deepened our understanding of the relationship between investor psychology and market behavior. He is also a partner in Case Shiller Weiss, Inc., which distributes on the web indices of home prices in various cities, forecasts of these indices, and also offers estimated values for individual homes.

DocumentBrad DeLong
I love economic and financial history. Brad de Long, professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley, takes a long-term perspective in his economics. Check out the draft chapters from his 20th-century economic history book, Slouching Towards Utopia.

DocumentJagdish Bhagwati
Columbia University economics professor Jagdish Bhagwati is the world's foremost authority on international trade, and his papers grapple with all the critical issues surrounding globalization.

DocumentU.S. Census Bureau
The Census Bureau is a treasure trove of economic and social data. A link to other government web sites.

DocumentU.S. Department of Labor
At the Web site of the Department of Labor you can see information on wages, pensions and divorce, labor-related data, and other areas of interest.

DocumentBankrate.com
Want to find no-fee credit cards or low-interest-rate credit cards? This company's Web site has information on a lot more than credit cards, ranging from mortgages to auto loans and online banking.

DocumentHSH Associates
Go here for current mortgage information.

DocumentFinancial Calculators
A web site with several good calculators.

DocumentTIAA-CREF
The world's largest retirement system has created a good online curriculum for anyone with basic questions about investing.

DocumentFinancial Engines
William Sharpe, a Nobel laureate in economics, is the main force behind this online company. Financial Engines uses sophisticated mathematical techniques to devise an asset allocation for you.

DocumentBloomberg.com
A superb cyberspace portal into the markets.

DocumentCNN/Money
A quick way to check up on the markets.

Periodicals
I try keeping up with a lot of publications (with varying success), such as Foreign Affairs, The New Yorker, The Atlantic, The New Republic, Challenge, The Financial Times, and USA Today. But there are four publications I read on either a daily or weekly basis. (I have included the Web site for those of you who prefer doing your reading from a computer screen.)

DocumentThe Wall Street Journal
DocumentThe New York Times
DocumentBusinessWeek
DocumentThe Economist


DocumentChris Farrell's Top 12 >>
DocumentFavorite books on investing >>
DocumentFavorite books on personal finance >>
DocumentFavorite books on broad trends and economic analysis >>
DocumentFavorite Web sites >>

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