Business news commonly doesn't attract a lot of eyeballs online, but these aren't common times.
Folks who might normally not check on their 401(k) account for a year are hunting for information about what the meltdown on Wall Street means and what they should do in response.
Research company Nielsen Online reported last week that traffic to online brokerage Web sites was up 30 percent during the week that ended Sept. 21, compared with the previous seven weeks.
And blog discussions about Wall Street and the bailout soared, even though business as a blog subject typically ranks nearly even with "family updates." That means most folks would just as soon see somebody else's vacation photos as attempt to make sense of the markets.
Here are some independent blogs I've come across that might help cut through the fog. They're long on business insight and shorter on political wrangling, since you don't need more of that. A few came from suggestions from my colleague Jay Hancock, whose own blog at baltimoresun.com is an oasis of clarity on these matters:
Footnoted (footnoted.org) Written by several journalists and attorneys, the blog was recently named one of the best in business by Business Week, CNN and the Financial Times. It doesn't just rail against greed on Wall Street; it takes names. A sample post from last Wednesday explained "Why Main Street hates the bailout" and why obscene-sized parachutes for CEOs and boards of directors sickened the system:
"Yesterday, Sovereign Bancorp., a 750-branch bank focused on the Northeast corridor that's had its share of troubles, announced a series of management changes, including the departure of its CEO, Joseph P. Campanelli by the end of the day. ... But according to yesterday's agreement, Campanelli will still come out OK: a $3.2 million severance payment, a bonus equivalent to 133% of his target, a $4.3 million retirement payment, and a bevy of options that vest immediately. But the real piece de resistance is Campanelli's consulting contract that will pay him $25K a month plus provide him with office space for the next year. ...
"The idea that a company as troubled as Sovereign is - it's still unclear whether they'll be able to pull through - chose to do this sort of deal speaks volumes about why Main Street doesn't trust the $700 billion bailout plan."
Marginal Revolution (www.marginalrevolution.com) Written by two libertarian professors at George Mason University, Tyler Cowen and Alex Tabarrok, the blog has a free-market bent and is one of the most read on economics.
