Where to get? stock quotes, financial data, and live streams for stocks

Online financial data providers (FDP's) are a dime a dozen these days, so where do you go when you want to find something specific? The question appears simple at first but grows in complexity depending on what it is you want to find.

The answers are different if you crave streaming quotes and technical charting tools that are up-to-the-minute like Bloomberg Terminal or want to track your passive portfolio. Portfolio tracking ranges from free (AOL's Dailyfinance) to expensive Investment Adviser level tools like Advent Axis.

The first thing we have to think of is a stock quote. Finding a stock quote can be as simple as entering a stock symbol into a Google Search Bar. The first result will be a nice Google finance stock quote with a small daily chart. Thanks to the proliferation of online FDP's stock quotes are free and available to everyone.

So we have talked about getting stock quotes but what if you want to capture and work with market data? Yahoo Finance provides a super simple way to query stock quotes directly from an Excel spreadsheet. Query stock quotes from Excel Personally I love Yahoo Finance. It is definitely the best free financial data provider...for now.  Google Finance has been a latecomer to the group, but has been gaining loyal users lately with the flexible features and especially because it is integrated with Google Docs. Look for Google Finance and Google docs to overtake Yahoo finance and Excel in popularity over the next ten years.

The stock quote competition is pretty standardized with most providers nearing 100% validity. The same standard does not apply to earnings reports. As soon as we jump from technical data to fundamental data the free data providers start to show their colors. Most free providers get their information from third-party data vendors such as Thompson, Morningstar, and Bloomberg. Their fundamental data is a composition of what they are served from these providers, who often employ different analysts and different methods. Because fundamental data is by definition a product of previous calculations this means it is subject to statistical and accounting bias. Variance in fundamental 2nd tier data can be the product of "opaqueness, fixed formulae information tradeoffs, and coverage differences" (Abarbanell and Lehavey).

The Value Line Investment Survey (VL) follows blue-chip stocks and provides 15 years of historical fundamental data and two years of forecasts. Most FDP's only provide a few years of historical data. They employ in-house analysts and have the best (IMHO) full circle coverage on each company. I rely heavily on VL in my research and believe their earnings analysis to be top-notch.

Bundling FDP with trading/investment accounts is the trend. Scottrade, Fidelity, Ameritrade, eTrade, MerrillEdge are all examples of online brokers who are also FDP's. This setup offers a microcosm where the investor can research and trade all while staying within the scope of the provider. Trade Architect which is a trading platform offered by Ameritrade includes a commercial free web-stream of CNBC. I like to turn off the TV and turn on Ameritrade's Trade Architect for the CNBC and live streaming quotes.

 These were just some of the sources and methods available for data online. There seem to be new platforms, especially for traders, popping up every day. I will end with a summary of what I like to use, and few that I dislike. Please leave a comment with your own summary of sources you like/dislike.

SUMMARY OF WHAT I USE
FREE

• Yahoo! Finance- definitely the best general access free source of market basics and news. Analyst coverage is thorough and consistent enough for a first look. Excel queries!

• AOL Dailyfinance- Good organization, I like to use the market news page for Oil futures and a post close wrapup of the day.

• Google Finance- best for a quick symbol lookup right in the Google Search Bar. I have not used portfolios in Google Finance, but for the long term I believe resistance is futile. API for developers

• Google Reader- not for data but the best way organize many news feeds with minimal headache.

FREE WITH ACCOUNT

• Standard and Poors- Mountains of data for drilling.

• Ameritrade- Trade Architect great for streaming portfolios, charting, technical data, and most of all commercial free CNBC. Ameritrade website is a good source of earnings trends and quarterlies as well as financial statements that load right into the page as opposed to downloading pdf files.

• Fidelity- portfolio tracking, bonds, etf's, no frills but comprehensive.

PAID

• The Value Line Investment Survey- bread and butter for earnings and historical data. Splits, dividends, corrections, economic indicators, in-house analysts with quarterly company reports. Available in print at a local library.

• HRA Stock Picks- quantitative analysis including industry charts, market under/over priced conditions, theoretical valuation, potential price increase and market commentary.

WHAT I DISLIKE

• Advent Axis- portfolio tracking by the devil himself. Designed to keep software engineers in business until the end of time.
• Fox Business- "The Power to Prosper" more like 'The Power to Depress'
• Tools meant to drive the uneducated and minimally funded investor to day trading.