Reuters's remarkable MarketClip - a news-and-quotes service for wireless palmtops - brings together two trends in financial data delivery: shrinking delays in reporting and growing ubiquity of access. For the hard-traveling, hard-trading portfolio manager - professional or personal - it's a dream come true.
OK, so no one's going to confuse the tiny palmtop application with a Bloomberg terminal. But if you've already done some homework, it's got what you need to make snap investment decisions. Real-time quotes, options data, price graphs, and news headlines - check. Dividends, earnings, and P/E info on every Nasdaq, NYSE, and AMEX listing - check. It also provides customizable market alerts: When Lucent busted my US$70 price target, I knew within seconds.
Currently, the app's wireless network covers most North American cities, so you'll get exactly the same service whether you're in Merrill Lynch's Wall Street headquarters or in an El Paso taquerìa. Connecting to Reuters's server usually takes only a few seconds; perhaps one time in 20 my quote request would inexplicably go unanswered (wireless ain't perfect yet). Once you do connect, MarketClip is ultralow-bandwidth, so download time is negligible.
NEW MONEY
Walking-Around Money
