Petryk's Picks
"The Financial Times of London (ft.com)"
Reviewed By William Petryk

It was while reviewing the book “The Real Office” by Lucy Kellaway that I came upon the website of the organization for which she works.

This would be The Financial Times of London and it can be reached at ft.com.

It was one of those lucky encounters in that I found much more than what I initially sought. Ms. Kellaway writes a regular column which is available on this site as are works by Stefan Stern, on management topics, Luke Johnson, about the entrepreneur, and Paul Taylor, on technology issues.

One must register to use this site but basic usage is free and this entitles one to view 10 full articles in a 30 day period plus company financials. Full uninterrupted access can be had for US$29.95 per month and most to the content for US$18.69 per month.
A casual user can have access to current headlines, in depth stories, and special features for free. The stories are sorted by major headings including world, companies, markets, global economy, management, and arts & leisure.

It is under management where one can find new and past columns by Ms. Kellaway and her colleagues.
When I last checked this site, it included an up-to-date story of Kraft’s attempted takeover of Cadbury and what was happening in Haiti.
Along the right side there are quick links to interactive graphs and various videos.
The tools menu includes a currency converter and an MBA ranking should one need this information or is just curious.

The newspaper downloads are only available to paying subscribers but UK annual reports are free. There is another section titled Analyst Research for which one must also pay for the reports but the prices, listed in UK pounds, appear to be reasonable.

Content is not entirely Eurocentric and includes a Canada section under the world heading.

Because so much good material is available from this site it would be best to personally explore it rather than rely on another’s opinion. Each person values different things and items that are inconsequential to me can be greatly valued by someone else. Once again the site can be reached at ft.com and do not be put off by a request to register.

As I stated earlier, basic access is free. My only negative comment is that, should the ten article free limit be exceeded, a reminder pops up annoyingly. One must then either pay up or wait 30 days.

The basic content should not be disappointing and the request for payment is, in fact, the current trend in web access provided by newspapers. Many of them cannot make a profit by selling hard copies on the street, so tease us with free news with an enticement of better content for a small payment.

The Financial Times of London (ft.com)

Reviewed by William Petryk, CMA