Should The Stock Investor Subscribe to a Business Publication?

In the world of stock investing, the more you know, the better you are. Most investors subscribe to at least one business journal and others subscribe to investor newsletters. The costs of subscriptions are reasonable compared to other specialized reading services. Many of the news journal also contain daily news stories and expert commentary. Most of the business news services and advisory newsletters are accessible on the Internet or in paper format.

Journals and Magazines:

The Wall Street Journal has been a familiar source of reliable stock market information for decades. It is owned by the Dow Jones family of business related publication. Dow Jones appears to headed for an acquisition by News Corporation with extensive a multi media entertainment holdings. The proposed merger should go through in the fourth quarter of 2007.

The Wall Street Journal has excellent stock market information. The format is easy to read and it is organized well for quick reference or for enjoyable reading about the stock market. The writers are exceptional with experience in the business world. There is a section to watch your own portfolio and to research company history and financial information that is easy to locate. It is a value at $79 for 54 weeks of reading either in paper or on-line. A subscriber can get both the on-line and paper version for a total of $99 for 52 weeks and some free weeks.

Barron’s is another publication that is owned by Dow Jones & Company. This publication is sold as a separate subscription. It is a weekly magazine format that is foremost in quality research and in depth reporting about the U.S. Market and around the world. Barron’s can be purchased on-line and in paper format.

Investor’s Business Daily has similar content to the Wall Street Journal. It has a remarkably good analysis of daily stocks and a good on-line educational tutorial. The publication may be read on-line or on a paper format. The publication is $295 per year for the paper version or $235 for the on-line version.

Newsletters:

There are numerous financial newsletters available on-line and in paper format. Of the ones I have reviewed there are only two that I would recommend for their value in stock investing. The Morningstar Stock Reporter is a monthly publication that has great research on stocks. The information is easy to digest and the format is easy to read. The subscription is about $89 per year.

The Street dot com stock advisory is unique. It is produced by Jim Cramer who has decades of experience in investing in the ups, downs and in between times on the stock market. He has a charitable trust that he keeps tabs on and invests. Due to a variety of reasons he is not an active trader of hedge funds or other investments.

He is a financial whiz in the market who appears on TV and writes books. His famous book Mad Money is now a half-hour TV show. He answers questions posed by telephone callers to the show. He also provides stock analysis.

The Jim Cramer Street dot com stock analysis subscription allows the investor to trade along side with him. He sends out advisories on stocks by e-mail. He also allows the investor to see his portfolio. In addition for every subscription sold he sends the subscriber a free copy of his book. This advisory service is worth a free trial run and then decide if it is worth the cost of the subscription. Jim Cramer has made himself and a whole lot of people very rich.