The finance pages – why they tell me nothing
Reading the finance pages for me is a bit like watching the stocks go across the bottom of the screen during the Channel Seven news. I know it matters to someone, and probably should matter to me. But in no way do I understand what’s going on. The business section is something I use to wrap presents; I like to think it gives my gifts a unique and kooky tone. They’re something I use to protect the bin from a broken glass, or spread out when I’m practicing my finger painting.
But gut instinct and lots of people who are good with money tell me different, so I decided to take the Business Pages Challenge. It’s simple. I actually concentrated an hour of my time on the business pages of a couple of the major media sources in this fine country of ours.
So, without any further ado, I was onto it. Coffee- check. Notepad- check. Steely resolve- check.
8am: So far, I have learnt that United Group Limited is trying to boost its shares by trading under its acronym UGL. I was confused by this piece of information. Even the business journalist didn’t take it seriously. I wonder if my sex appeal would increase if I renamed myself with an acronym. Have made note on my notepad to pilot this in near future.
8:10am: Apparently anti-money laundering regulation is excluding the world’s poor from accessing and utilising finance. I’m not going to pretend I understand the technicalities behind it, but suspect this is a large issue that requires a lot of attention and am puzzled as to why it is buried in the business pages, and not on page 3.
8:16am Now reading about how key US indicate growth but jobs are scarce. This makes sense to me. This I can understand. Accidentally caught sight of some stock market analysis while reading it though and had to have a coffee break to recover from the consequent panic attack.
8:30am: Have returned from coffee break. Attempted to read stock pages. To be honest, they weren’t as bad as I thought. I have an allergy to numbers, but it was actually a nice little summary of the day.
8:45am: A glance at the Financial Review website has revealed that paying attention is half the battle. In the news today the telecommunication companies are urging the government to split up Telstra (a disinterested position if ever I saw one), apparently Coles sales are rising and European banks are warning on hedge, which sounds to me like it’s about fox hunting but I’m potentially is a discussion of finance.
By nine o’clock I had concluded a basic truth about the business pages. I prefer them when they’re not on the page. The business websites for the Sydney Morning Herald, Financial Review and Economist are fantastic because they talk about money issues as well as financial issues.
The business pages themselves always appear to be directed at people with (a lot of) money. A website can have a far greater variety of information. On a website, the commentary on an issue is immediately available. If I don’t understand something, I don’t have to ask the man wearing his serious suit at the next table to explain it to me.
And I found this in my cyber dance, A written page just couldn’t convey this kind of information the same way.
Do you read the business pages?
How about the online versions? What would you prefer?
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