Google Finance Finally Adds Pre-Bubble History, But Data Accuracy Still An Issue
Google Finance has finally and quietly integrated pre-2001 data into their stock charts. However, as my screen shots show, Google is still suffering from data inaccuracies. I revisited my previous example of a data inaccuracy, and was not surprised to find that it is still not resolved. As of this writing, Yahoo Finance correctly identifies the 52-week high of Tim Hortons (NYSE: TSX) to be $30.35, occurring on Nov. 22, 2006. Google Finance still stubbornly shows $33 as the 52-week high instead. More screenshots after the jump!
As I’ve mentioned Google and Yahoo already, I might as well use Microsoft to showcase an example of Google’s new historical (editor: sorry about the oxymoron) data integration. Among the Big 3 search engines, Microsoft is the deciding non-factor in the stock quotes arena. But Microsoft is a perfect illustration of the new feature as it has the longest stock history.
Since my last post two months ago about Google Finance’s ineptness, they have also integrated optional graphics such as stock splits and dividend information on the charts. Those features were implemented well. Google Finance is still my preferred financial engine for a quick scan / brief overview of stock quotes. Yahoo simply takes too long to load their charts and pages. But for details and accurate information, I have to rely on Yahoo. Google is on the right track, but for such a resourceful company, it’s simply taking too long for them to have gotten here, and yet simple issues are still unresolved.
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5 Responses to “Google Finance Finally Adds Pre-Bubble History, But Data Accuracy Still An Issue”
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franko sevei Says:
November 23rd, 2006 at 11:20 pmBzzzt! Yahoo looks wrong here. NYSE reports THI 52wk high as 33, and so does cnnfn:
http://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=THI
http://www.nyse.com/about/listed/lcddata.html?ticker=THI(as a Canadian I’m morally obligated to track Timmy’s.)
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Matthew Simmons Says:
November 24th, 2006 at 9:05 amWe’re aware that there are some data inaccuracies on the Google Finance site, and we’re working to fix them where and as we find them. Alas, the job of processing and merging the various financial data sources isn’t as straightforward as one might hope.
In the specific case of NYSE:THI, though, I don’t think we’re in the wrong, or if we are, we’ve got prestigious company. NYSE.com reports the 52-week high as being $33.00, set on March 24, 2006. A glance at our own records shows a trade of 100 shares at 9:46:07 for $33.00. I’d point this out to you on our charts, but embarassingly enough, we’re only rendering back to March 27th. I’ll look into that.
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Vince Chan Says:
November 24th, 2006 at 10:29 pmThanks for posting here Matthew. Definitely appreciate it!
I did some more investigation. March 24th, 2006 is the first day of trading for THI. However, Yahoo does not have data for that particular day. As well I found this snippet from a Canadian news story:
“Shares peaked at $37.99 in frenzied trading and wound up the day on the Toronto Stock Exchange at $33.10,”
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20060324/tim_hortons_onsale_060324/20060324
Using currency exchange rates, THI on the NYSE could not have closed anywhere near $33 USD. But it could mean there were intra-day highs achieved throughout the day.
One of my pet peeves is that you’re not making clear if the 52-wk high is intra-day figures or based on closing figures. You really gotta decide one way or the other. Your charts representing the figures at market close, so you shouldn’t be displaying data contrary to that assumption without some form of notification.
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franko_servei Says:
November 26th, 2006 at 8:09 pmNYSE.com, cnnfn.com and marketwatch.com all say 33 wk high. Y! Finance is the outlier here. My guess is that it represents 52-wk intraday high. Which is what I think most people use, I’ve never heard of someone only looking at 52-wk closing high/lows. I’m Canadian, but haven’t traded TSX in a while.
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john Says:
December 19th, 2006 at 9:52 amI would get your company to do a trial of edgar onlines “I-Metrix”. It works right in MS excel and fetches historical data that is most accurate and places it right into spreadsheets using XBRL. there are great templates too.
the new version works with vista and office 2007. check it out.
