What Should I Be Reading to Stay Informed?
(Gorilla, 524
Points)
on 3/8/12 at 7:13pm
From what I've read on M&I it's important to be up on current events in the finance world for interviews. I generally follow the news pretty closely, but it's mostly political news, sports news, and whatever happens to be be important on the NY Times website.
So what should I read if I want to stay ready for interviews? I know the WSJ Deal Book is good, any other recommendations?





Just read the wsj and know
Just read the wsj and know what is moving the markets. Credit markets specifically.
Leadership can be defined in two words: "Follow Me"
FT.
FT.
The WSJ is largely worthless;
The WSJ is largely worthless; read the lex column of the FT, and the economist, and dealbreaker on NYT.
“...all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
- Schopenhauer
FT > WSJ if you can deal with
FT > WSJ if you can deal with that gayish color they print on. Also like the Economist and I've also recently been won over by the American Interest which seems to be similar quality to the Economist.
My best piece of advice would be this: If you have enough time, try to understand what is actually going on, not just the limited amount of info they give in the article. If you don't understand something, google it. If that leads you to more things you don't understand, google those too. Obviously, you have other things going on in your life, but the best way to impress people in interviews is to simply know a lot and be fluent, and there's no substitute for putting the time in.
Agreed with Ravenous on The
Agreed with Ravenous on The Economist as an excellent source for current events. You won't necessarily get flashy titles or bizarre stories, but you'll get articles that are definitely thought provoking and worth reading. Interestingly enough, its mission statement is "to take part in a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress." LOL.
It's a shame the authors hide their identities, since they all seem like very bright individuals.
Bottom-line: get a subscription of The Economist.
Seabird -- why is the WSJ largely worthless? I'm genuinely curious why you hold that opinion.
"Rage, rage against the dying of the light." - DT
Aragorn - it has less
Aragorn - it has less business news than it does political content. Its full of stories. The "personal journal," "weekend journal," "review," whatever sections appeal to more of an aspiration to compete with the NYT rather than as being a business paper. And it feels to me like the quality of the reporting has gone down and gotten less thorough.
“...all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
- Schopenhauer
Ravenous wrote: FT > WSJ if
FT > WSJ if you can deal with that gayish color they print on.
Agree that its a better paper, but the wsj is usually easier to get a hold of as a student.
My best piece of advice would be this: If you have enough time, try to understand what is actually going on, not just the limited amount of info they give in the article. If you don't understand something, google it. If that leads you to more things you don't understand, google those too. Obviously, you have other things going on in your life, but the best way to impress people in interviews is to simply know a lot and be fluent, and there's no substitute for putting the time in.
^^Very good advice here. I'd say that is why i got my job.
Leadership can be defined in two words: "Follow Me"
seabird wrote: Aragorn - it
Aragorn - it has less business news than it does political content. Its full of stories. The "personal journal," "weekend journal," "review," whatever sections appeal to more of an aspiration to compete with the NYT rather than as being a business paper. And it feels to me like the quality of the reporting has gone down and gotten less thorough.
Fully agreed. When it was owned by the Bancroft family, it had no shareholders to report to. Now that it's owned by Rupert, the only thing I do with my free WSJ is to take the Money and Investing section out and dump the rest. No I do not care what credit card deals are available and no stop explaining what EPS is in every single article.
Another part of WSJ's incompetency is if you go to wsj.com, as of 10:33PM, the headline for markets section is "Dow Loses 200 Points - Stocks fell sharply, punctuating a three-session skid with the biggest declines this year."
yea sure. Lately, i am not even sure if I am reading WSJ or the Post.
http://www.wallstreetoasis.co
http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forums/financial-ti...
breakdown
Wait, what's wrong with the
Wait, what's wrong with the Markets headline?, total noob if you can't tell...
* Economist for big picture
* Economist for big picture stuff
* WJS for day to day stuff
* WSO for everything else :D
I just had my first UFO experience.
I called my wife fat while we were making dinner.
Flying saucers everywhere XD
Side post: What about
Side post: What about specifically for prospective traders?
I say fuck change, I don't chase dimes
helpmepleasethx wrote: Wait,
Wait, what's wrong with the Markets headline?, total noob if you can't tell...
Dow dropped 200 points on Tuesday, and it was still the headline on Thursday.
AnATLieninNY wrote: Side
Side post: What about specifically for prospective traders?
I love the zerohedge and cliffkule blogs for keeping up to date and thinking more comprehensively about current issues. I've used those to prep for my last few markets-based interviews and the interviewers have been impressed with my market knowledge and trade ideas.