Google Finance, which started up as a small project in Bangalore, India, and is still a BETA project has finally been introduced to the public today (March 03, 2006). Google Finance helps people find North American stocks, mutual funds, public/private company profiles, financial news, and more data results. Google Finance is very similar to Yahoo! Finance, except that Google offers more content and new ways to present it. For example, the service automatically pulls stories from Google News, which already accesses over 4,500 reliable news sources. Google Finance no longer requires remembering company stock symbols, but automatically forwards searches to the appropriate page. (a search for Microsoft goes to MSFT)

“We hope Google Finance lives up to that aim by offering a fresh perspective on company-related searches” – Google Finance Team

Instead of using pre-generated images to display stock price timelines, Google Finance uses interactive flash powered charts which are fast and easy to use. The charts can be set to display different time periods and will also displays links press releases from that time. Using many algorithms and ratings, the service displays links to blogs about the company. The product also automatically creates profiles from private companies, which competitors such as Market Watch and The Street don’t offer. If logged into a “Google Account”, a portfolio can be created for favorite stocks.

Links: Google Finance | Google Press Release
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