Google Finance Means Business

Yahoo! will reign in the finance-data world for some time, but it's interesting to see Google nibble away at its domain. For some time, when I've sought out historical income statements or operating and margin data, Google has proved more useful than Yahoo! because its data can be cut and pasted into Excel, a longtime frustration with Yahoo!'s finance site.

If Google continues these slow-but-sure inroads into Yahoo!'s territory -- even with its tiny staff -- it will force Yahoo!, and eventually itself, into even more innovation. Just look at the Ajax stock charts that first appeared on Google but that Yahoo! rapidly improved on.

This is why it sounds strange to hear that Yahoo!'s lead is so entrenched that no one -- not even Google -- will beat it. Google Finance has made such significant strides in key areas over Yahoo! that one is tempted to rate it as a promising underdog that could in the long run take the crown jewels away from Yahoo!'s Web site.

And given what has been going on with Yahoo! over the past year, that is the last thing that it needs.