Like the bloomberg terminals that seem so confusing to use, but actually aren't, the bloomberg.com financial website parallels it's cousin. The website seems complex and difficult but it is actually friendly to the personal investor. However, it's attempt at personalization on the site makes it less of a user compatible site. It falls short of it's competitors like Yahoo!Finance.

Bloomberg has a two new programs that can be run to view individual stocks. There are two types of market monitors that the user can use to add stocks. First, the individual must sign a simple application form with the obligatory name, address, and email. Then you must choose a userid and password in order to access the monitor.
I tried the simpler market monitor that provides quicker access to my stocks. This "desktop slim" monitor has a few features that are important and standard for any ticker.
The ability to:
-Track ten stocks, funds, or indices with up-to-the-minute automatic updates of their performance.

-Breaking Bloomberg news scrolling headlines can be clicked, linking you directly to the full story from Bloomberg News.

-Monitor your stocks in a horizontal or vertical pop-up window that can remain open on your desktop throughout the day.


Signing up for the account allows the user to login to the Enhanced Market Monitor as well. A new window is opened when you login. A few of the features are:
- Ability to track current price, net, % change, open, high, low,
and current volume traded for stocks, funds,
and indices in your portfolio
- See the latest news headline for each stock
- Get live market alerts on your stocks
- 15 day graph for each stock
- Rotating breaking Bloomberg News Headlines
- Watch live Bloomberg Television
- Rotation of the intraday graphs of your stocks

This is all done on a separate small window that pops up. They do not necessarily consume much memory from the computer. As far as I know, I find that the two monitors are quick and easy to use. They can be resized and edited to the user's own preferences.

As far as the site is concerned, there are more simple links that are merely underlined text. This makes reading easier, and allows me to find what information I want in a fast manner.

In the markets category, the obligatory information to access can be found:

NEWS
Top Financial News
Top World News
Stock Market Update
After Hours Trading
Technology
Economy and Politics
Columns

STOCKS
Tech Stocks
Stocks on the Move
Chart Builder
World Indices
Movers by Exchange
Stocks in the Dow
S&P 500 Snapshot
Industry Movers
Most Active Options
IPO Center
Regional Indices

RATES & BONDS
Key Rates
U.S. Treasuries
International Bonds
Muni Bond Yields

CURRENCIES
Currency Rates
Cross Currency Rates
Currency Calculator
EMU Update

COMMODITIES
Most Active Futures
Commodity Movers
Energy


I like the site. There are plenty of graphs and charts to analyze equities in the market section. Different sections within the tabs separate news updates, making the free-flowing text more organized. True, the site is extensive in its use of text, but this is effective. Many charts of the market performance and highlighted stocks add to the effectiveness of the presentation.

Overall, the site is strong and complex. I find that articles at bloomberg.com are more or less what one can find at Yahoo!Finance, (you can read my previous review). The site is strong and well-organized. Visit it! Another plus is that there are not many ads that bombard the web surfer.



Recommended: Yes