Tech Review: Apps help you track stocks, investments
Apps that help users stay connected. Credit: AFP / Getty Images
For most stock market investors, 2013 was a good year as the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 hit all-time highs. But many analysts say the easy money will be harder to come by this year. These apps can help you keep up with the bulls and bears in stocks and other investing vehicles.
StockTwits
(iOS, Android; free)
A sort of crowdsourcing of investment ideas, StockTwits collects tips, rumors, news and views from a community of investors and traders. The app's best feature is its "trending" list of stocks people are discussing the most. Whether the lively discussions translate into profitable trades is another matter. You will have to create a free account to use the app.
CNBC
(iOS, Android; free)
The app from the cable-TV business network features real-time quotes for stocks and most indexes. You also have the ability to create a portfolio of your holdings so you can quickly see whether you're in the red or the green for the day. The app continually updates news from CNBC and other outlets and has links to videos from CNBC stock-tip shows such as "Fast Money" and Jim Cramer's "Mad Money."
Kitco Gold Live!
(iOS, Android; free)
While stock investments soared last year, gold bugs got squashed. The precious metal had its worst yearly loss since 1981. As bad as gold performed, silver did even worse. For those thinking about investing in precious metals or commodities, this app has continuously updated prices along with news from a variety of outlets. The app also produces historical and technical analysis charts.
NetDania Forex
(iOS, Android; free)
Think the almighty U.S. dollar will flex its muscle this year? Perhaps you want to bet the Australian dollar will outperform the Canadian dollar. NetDania Forex is for investors who like to play the currency market. The app shows real-time prices for more than 2,000 currency pairs, so you can track what's going on in this often wild and always speculative market. The app is easily customizable and offers updated news and an international calendar of events that could foretell swings in world currencies.
TECH BYTES
Unlocking the keys
Word-processing software makes many writing tasks easier, but if the clickety-click of today's keyboards has you pining for the clackety-clack of yesterday's typewriters, here's a solution. You can buy a kit that turns a typewriter into a USB computer keyboard. The kits, which require old-tech tools such as screwdrivers and pliers to install, can be bought for about $85 at usbtypewriter.com and etsy.com. Typewriters sold separately. -- Peter King
Intel rebrands McAfee products
Intel is renaming its McAfee anti-virus products to Intel Security in an apparent attempt to distance the software from controversial founder John McAfee. Although he left the company in 1994, John McAfee has continually been in the news for his eccentric behavior and was implicated in the shooting death of a neighbor in Belize in 2012. Intel bought the McAfee brand in 2010. -- Peter King
Beats goes on AT&T
AT&T will offer customers a subscription to Beats Music in a package that gives as many as five family members unlimited streaming and song downloading for $15 a month. The offer, an attempt to bring down the cost of music for families that pay AT&T for cellphone service, is a part of headphone maker Beats Electronics launch strategy since it bought streaming service MOG in 2012. -- AP
SARRA SOUNDS OFF: The shortage of game officials on LI On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to young people who are turning to game officiating as a new career path.
SARRA SOUNDS OFF: The shortage of game officials on LI On the latest episode of "Sarra Sounds Off," Newsday's Gregg Sarra talks to young people who are turning to game officiating as a new career path.
