REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 8, 2003 — Consumers view profitable investing as the biggest financial challenge in the new year, according to a recent poll conducted by CNBC on MSN®
Money, available at http://www.money.msn.com/.* More than 50 percent of the nearly 8,000 respondents from Dec. 18 to Jan. 8 expressed more concern about their investment decisions in 2003 than about saving money, paying less in taxes or funding a college education.
Other poll results showed that 28 percent of respondents deemed saving money as their top financial concern, followed by 8 percent who chose paying less in taxes. Only 5 percent viewed funding a college education as their greatest worry, and the remaining 6 percent chose
“other.”
“In light of last year’s bear market and economic slowdown, it is no surprise that how to invest came in as the No. 1 financial hurdle expected in 2003,”
said Jim Jubak, senior markets editor for MSN Money.
“In order to figure out the best strategy for the new year, investors can utilize the vast resources on the Web to research existing investments, find new investing ideas and consult trusted experts who can help them assemble a portfolio that best suits their needs.”
The consumer poll appeared in an exclusive CNBC on MSN Money special report titled
“After 2002’s Pain, What’s Ahead in 2003,”
featuring highly regarded expert commentary and award-winning investing tools. Following are just a few of the popular features available in the CNBC on MSN Money special report and/or in the investing area of the site:
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Portfolio Manager enables consumers to view all their investments and current performance in one place, any time, any place. The feature also notifies consumers of the latest news, community message boards and alerts relevant to their investments.
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Stock Pick Analysis allows consumers to monitor and analyze stock picks made by financial experts appearing on CNBC-TV to determine which stocks are the most profitable and which experts picked them.
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StockScouter objective stock rating system utilizes a quantitative methodology to help consumers quickly assess a stock’s potential for outperforming the broader market by designating a rating for a specified stock on a scale from one to 10.
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Stock Screener provides near real-time screening and supports more than 550 search criteria, including current intraday data, risk expectation, return expectation and StockScouter data, enabling consumers to select stocks based on their criteria.
About CNBC on MSN Money
CNBC on MSN Money, located exclusively on MSN, is a complete online personal finance service that combines award-winning finance tools and content from Microsoft Corp., the worldwide leader in software, with exclusive investment news and analysis from CNBC, the world’s most popular financial cable news network. CNBC on MSN Money offers consumers the ability to easily complete a wide range of everyday financial tasks, such as paying bills, viewing account balances, tracking investments, planning for retirement and staying informed with the latest financial news, in one convenient place online — any time, any place.
CNBC on MSN Money enables people at all levels of experience to take control of and feel comfortable with their finances, helping them make smart financial decisions. Leading industry publications, including Barron’s, Forbes Magazine, Money Magazine, PC Magazine and PC World Magazine, consistently applaud the sophisticated personal finance tools and information from Microsoft. The service is available at http://www.cnbc.com/ or http://money.msn.com/, or by visiting MSN at http://www.msn.com/.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
* The poll, conducted by Microsoft from Dec. 18 to Jan. 8 at http://www.money.msn.com/, was open to all races, genders and income levels, and 7,838 people participated.
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