Not your brother's financial paper!
The Wall Street Journal is probably the most widely read business publication in the world. I will admit that I only started to read the WSJ a few years ago when my Finance professor required it for her class. I was hesitant at first because the articles seemed daunting and cumbersome, but the more I read the Journal, the more I understood how to read it.
Being who I am (very impatient), I like to find the quick way to get the maximum amount of information I need for the day ahead. What follows is my thought process of reading the Wall Street Journal on any given morning. Here is how I do it…
I First start with the Front Page Headline.
Someone once told me that on job interviews it would not be uncommon for the interviewer to ask you what the headline in the Journal was that morning. While I have never encountered it, the point it brings up is relevant. It is most likely that if an average person were to read the Journal, they would at least note the front page headline. This may prove to be a good networking lead in during your day. However, Only read the article if you don’t think you could speak semi-intelligently about it. Even then, just skim it. The headline article is always one of the most wordy complex pieces in the daily issue.
I then immediately turn to section B1, Marketplace. This is where I spend the majority of my reading time. I carefully flip through each page of this section, reading each title. If I find something relevant, I stop to read it. I always take extra time to read the Corporate Watch section. I find there to be excellent stock tips and new developments in the corporate world I hadn’t heard. I also take note of the advertisers in this section. As a marketer, I find that the ad placement within the Marketplace section are visually interesting. On the back page of the Marketplace section is the Weather Watch I always check the weather in L.A., Detroit, Paris and Berlin.
I then flip to the Personal Journal section. Now this is hit or miss. Sometimes this section is about small business, entrepreneurship or management. If this is the case I skim and read the articles of interest. However this section could also be about random entertainment or medicine. If this is the case I typically skip. I will say that most of the time the articles in this section provide a unique twist on new innovations.
On to C1, Money & Investing. I immediately start to flip through this section to find the currency rates. I check the U.K. Pound and the Euro. This information will often times put many of the international articles into perspective. The Pound is the strongest world currency and the Euro is not far behind. I may often check the Yen and Yuan as well. I then will find the Stocks In the News section where the WSJ reports “The Good News” and “The Bad News”. Four of each are shown with a brief description and a chart. Always interesting insights. Now that I work in the Credit Card industry, I am beginning to look at the Borrowing Benchmarks, specifically the Prime Rates. If you credit card is a variable rate, then it varies with the prime rate. It is a good thing to note especially if you carry interest on your credit cards.
Then back to the front section and I look at the bottom of the first page. There is always an article there that typically presents an interesting concept that is very random. This article is always written well and makes you think. If I have time I will read thoroughly, if not the title and the first few lines will do.
If I skipped over any articles, at this point I may go back and read something else. Once I get to my desk I always look at the WSJ tweets. They will typically tweet about 10-15 links to articles. I may at that point read an additional article that I may have missed, and of course Re-Tweet articles I enjoyed.
And that is how I read the Wall Street Journal.
