Google Launches Google Finance. Look Out Hoovers!

Look out Hoovers, Google has launched a beta of Google Finance, and its giving away info that Hoovers subscribers pay big bucks to get, like key executives. Smart complainers, who know you need to go to the top to get action on a complaint will enjoy access to this information too. As a novice investor, I'll start my searches here from now on.

Happily, Google Finance includes blog posts about the companies in search results. These days, that's just smart, because anyone savvy who's researching an investment will check blog posts anyway. And you can find a report with just a company name. You don't need to know the stock symbol like you do on other financial sites.

What's missing: There is no human voice on the site, nor can you reach any via Live Person or similar service. And the site needs a blog where financial experts can blog about market trends.

Google Finance FAQs promise "to deliver more relevant, unbiased results in a clean, uncluttered user interface." Time will tell. Google invites suggestions on a Google Finance Discussion Group, which is already buzzing with critiques and recommendations.