FinancialMedia.org

Banks.com Launches RateCenter to Syndicate Interest Rate Content

Banks.com has launched RateCenter through an expanded partnership with online content aggregator FinancialContent Services to syndicate Banks.com's interest rate-related content and web tools for local (city, county, state) market rate information on financial products such as mortgages, home equity, CD and savings account rates.  Readers of many local newspaper websites will find rate information in the finance and real estate sections and link to Banks.com for more information.  (Disclaimer: FinancialContent is a sponsor of this blog.)

Who's that CEO in Ironman 2?

Larry Ellison, the CEO of Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), makes a cameo appearance in the movie IronMan 2 opening this weekend in the U.S.  The plot includes Oracle sponsoring a fictional Stark Expo, a tradeshow about cloud computing.   Back in the real world, the software company borrows the Marvel superhero theme and sets up a webpage on its corporate website.

Farewell to FiLife

FiLife, an online community with an editorial focus on personal finance and a joint venture of IAC and Dow Jones, has abruptly shut down.  The website is referring visitors to SmartMoney.com, a Dow Jones publication. The website also directs users to Ask.com for answers to personal finance questions.  FiLife was originally announced in 2007 and took over a year to launch.

Dow Jones Sues Briefing.com for Content Theft

 Dow Jones & Company has filed a suit to stop Briefing.com from misappropriating headlines and articles from Dow Jones Newswires.  Briefing.com allegedly "cut and pasted" substantial parts of articles and reprinted headlines within three minutes of their initial publication on Dow Jones Newswires.  Briefing.com sells live market analysis as a subscription service.  A free version of Briefing.com is available on Yahoo Finance.

Dow Jones Takes Ownership of SmartMoney

Dow Jones & Company has acquired the remaining 50% stake in SmartMoney from The Hearst Corporation taking over both the magazine and the website at SmartMoney.com.  Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.   Dow Jones is likely to look for synergies and cost savings across its lineup of financial publications which include The Wall Street Journal and Barron's.

CME Group Buys 90% Stake in Dow Jones Indexes

CME Group has announced plans to take a 90% stake in Dow Jones Indexes, a unit of Dow Jones & Company.  News Corp. which acquired Dow Jones & Company for $5.3 billion in late 2007, will retain a 10% stake in the joint venture and license the storied Dow Jones name to a basket of financial indexes. The deal values the index business at $675 million.

Nasdaq OMX Group Launches Mobile Edition of Nasdaq.com

Nasdaq OMX Group has partnered with mDog.com to launch mobile.nasdaq.com, the mobile edition of Nasdaq.com.  The offering features real-time stock quotes, pre-market and after-market data, charts and press releases as well as a quirky feature called Guru Analysis that assigns percentage ratings to stocks relative to the trading methodologies of certain investment managers and professional stockpickers.   At this time, the mobile site offers a few news articles written by freelancers instead of turning to mainstay business news providers like AP, Reuters and Bloomberg.

Kiplinger Launches Enhanced Website

Kiplinger has relaunched its website with a new wider layout with a more magazine-like approach. The website features a carousel of five leading stories as well as a daily video and an enhanced video section devoted to personal finance.   The publication appears to have dropped the use of the Kiplinger.com name in favor of just Kiplinger.

SEC Launches Investor Education Website

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched Investor.org, a much-needed online resource to educate investors.  The website prominently features an anti-fraud section and links out to other website for financial tools and calculators.  The website also includes Moneytopia, an online game developed in partnership with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

CNBC Launches iPhone App

CNBC has launched CNBC Real-Time, an iPhone app that features real-time stock quotes provided by Nasdaq.  The free program also includes 150 video clips from CNBC's television newscast every business day.