The continuing mayhem in the stock market has certainly captured the general public’s attention. Stock market-related search terms are trending on Google , with “djia” and “dow jones industrial average” ranking second and third, respectively. Other financial terms in Google’s top 20 include “wall street”; “stock market today”; “nasdaq”; “silver prices”; “gold prices”; and “gld,” the ticker for an exchange-traded fund investing in gold. Financial websites Yahoo Finance, CNN Money, and CNBC are also on the hot list. Meanwhile, on Twitter, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the government-sponsored mortgage companies that had their credit ratings downgraded Monday by Standard & Poor’s, are among the top 10 trending subjects.
Still, the hunger for market data isn’t quite drowning out everything else. The No. 1 search term is “watch the throne,” the name of a newly released album by rappers Jay-Z and Kanye West. Television and tabloid star Kate Gosselin makes the list at No. 7. And TV dramedy “Desperate Housewives” sneaks in at No. 20, following news that ABC has decided to end the hit show after its eighth season. Fans may be scrambling for news, but market-watchers are clearly wrapped up in a drama of their own.
