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Thoughts on Keeping Up With The News |
| | | These days, there is a TON of news out there. It can be a challenge to keep on top of things going on in the economy and the markets without becoming a hermit, hunkered over a workstation and squinting at three bright screens filled with news feeds and data. 
But keeping up is easier than you might think. It just takes a little practice and know-how.
It's up to you whether to make it a daily process, or less frequent. But if you really want to stay apprised, we recommend at least an hour a week. Depending on your level of interest and time available, you may find yourself wanting to spend even more time keeping up.
Here are some tips for streamlining the process and making sure you get the right news in the right quantities at the right time.
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News vs. Commentary
Keep this distinction in mind as you try to stay current.
News is reported objectively by a reputable company. It focuses on facts and data.
Commentary may mention news or events, but it is as part of a discussion in which the writer is expressing an opinion.
More and more these days, the stuff you read is commentary. Everyone has an angle, and diverse opinions sell. But you don't always get useful information from these commentators, and a often than not, the writer has the same level of understanding in economics and the markets as they do chimpanzee mating patterns.
So develop a keen eye, and be sure to distinguish between the news and commentary, as well as commentary that's useful and commentary that's written by someone paid $15 an hour to crank out analysis.
Don't get us wrong, we read tons of commentary (and even write it), but understand that it may have bias and possible misinformation. So read and watch all you want, but don't trust it blindly.
Primary vs. Secondary Sources
Most of the market news originates from an official source. Whether it's a report, release of data, or company earnings announcement, the organizations, agencies and companies who release these reports are the primary source. They usually release a news item as a press release. Examples include the Federal Reserve, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, and Coca Cola.
Once items are released, they are summarized and spit back out to the market by news companies. These articles are secondary sources of news. While they usually report accurately, they can occasionally miss part of the story or make a bad interpretation from the primary source. Examples of secondary sources are the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and Bloomberg. Keep in mind, however, that most news sources these days also have a lot of commentary. Make sure you know the difference.
So which should you use? It depends on you. If you have the time and desire to go to the source, if might make sense. But know that often those releases are full of a lot of information that can be time-consuming to digest. If that's the case with you, or your time is shorter, find secondary news sources that you trust.
Simplifying the Process and Recommendations
The good news for us today is there are plenty of tools available to us to make getting news easier. The internet is full of "portals" which bring one news source, or multiple news sources together in a single place.
Spend some time reviewing lots of different sources, then choose the ones that you find most valuable. Before we list some sources however, please note there aren't any television sources listed below. Unfortunately, TV doesn't offer great value for keeping up with economic news. Too often the reports are in snippets that are too short to contain any substance, and most of the news outlets on TV have significant bias and low economic IQ.
Reputable Secondary News Sources:
Reputable Aggregators of Multiple News Sources:
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