Editorial Policy

FinanceInTime exists to give readers accurate, clear and fair financial news. This policy applies to everyone who writes, edits or publishes for us, and to every tool we use to do that work. It covers, in this order: accuracy, independence, sources, fact-checking, investment advice, conflicts of interest, corrections, types of articles, AI tools, advertising and images. The sections on sources and fact-checking are headed Sources and Fact-checking below.

Accuracy

Accuracy comes before speed. We would rather publish a story later than publish it wrong.

Every figure is reported with its unit, the period it covers and what it is compared with (for example "from the previous month" or "from a year earlier"). We say whether economic data is preliminary, revised or final, and whether it is seasonally adjusted.
We distinguish facts from estimates, forecasts and opinions, and we say whose estimate or forecast it is.
Headlines and summaries must be supported by the article. We do not use sensational or misleading headlines.
Quotes are reproduced exactly and attributed by name and title. We never invent, compose or "tidy up" a quote so that it says something the speaker did not say.
Each article is reviewed by its section editor before publication, as described below.

Independence

Our coverage is decided by our editors on news value alone.

No company, government, investor, advertiser or owner can buy, review or approve an article before publication.
We do not accept payment, gifts, trips or other benefits in exchange for coverage. Editors may accept modest hospitality only where it is customary in reporting (for example a coffee during an interview) and never in exchange for coverage.
We do not let the subjects of a story review it before publication. We may check specific facts with them.
Our owners do not direct coverage of individual stories. See Ownership and funding.

Sources

Primary sources first. Wherever possible we report from the original document: central bank statements, official statistics, company filings and results, court rulings, regulatory decisions and data from exchanges. When another news organisation reports something first, we credit it and link to its report, and we seek to confirm the information from a primary source.

Attribution. Readers should always be able to tell where a fact comes from. We name the source in the text ("according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics", "the company said in its quarterly report"), link to it where it is available online, and list our main sources at the end of every news article, with the primary source first. Market data includes the time, time zone and data provider.

Anonymous sources. Most of our reporting is based on public documents and on-the-record statements. We use anonymous sources rarely, and only when all of these apply:

the information is newsworthy and cannot reasonably be obtained on the record;
the source is in a position to know it first-hand;
the section editor knows the source's identity and approves its use;
where possible, the information is confirmed by a second, independent source or a document.

When we use an anonymous source we explain, as far as we can without identifying them, why they are in a position to know and why they asked not to be named. We do not grant anonymity for personal attacks or opinions, and we do not treat anonymous posts on social media as sources of fact.

Social media and the web. Posts on social media, forums and unverified websites are not sources of fact on their own. We use them only when we can confirm who published them and that they are genuine, for example an official account of a central bank or company.

Fact-checking

Every figure, name, date and quote is checked against its source before an article is published. This is how it works:

Each draft comes with a list of its factual claims (especially every number), each linked to the source and the exact passage that supports it.
A separate verification step compares each claim with its source and flags any claim that does not match. A draft with a flagged mismatch cannot be published until the editor has corrected the text and resolved the flag.
The section editor then checks the figures, names and dates against the linked sources, confirms that the sources are listed, and confirms that the headline and summary are fair, on a publish checklist. The checklist is recorded with the article.

Numbers we calculate ourselves, such as a percentage change or a difference between two readings, are recalculated from the source figures before publication. If we cannot verify a fact, we leave it out or say clearly that it could not be independently confirmed.

No investment advice

We report and explain financial news. We do not give personal investment advice.

Our articles do not tell readers to buy, sell or hold any security, currency, commodity or crypto asset, and they do not set our own price targets.
When we report the views of analysts, investors or institutions, we attribute them and make clear that they are views, not facts.
Past performance is not a reliable guide to future results, and we say so where it matters.

Read our full disclaimer.

Conflicts of interest

Readers need to know that our coverage is not influenced by our own finances.

Every editor discloses their holdings in individual shares, bonds, funds focused on a single sector or country, and crypto assets to the editor-in-chief when they join and whenever their holdings change. The disclosures are kept on file.
Editors do not write, edit or publish articles about a company, asset or crypto token they hold. Such stories are reassigned to another editor.
Editors do not buy or sell a security or crypto asset from the time they start working on a story about it until two trading days after it is published, and they never trade on information before it is published.
Broadly diversified funds (for example a global index fund or a pension fund) are not considered a conflict.
Any other personal or professional relationship with the subject of a story, such as a family member employed by the company, must be disclosed to the editor-in-chief, who decides whether the editor can work on the story.

Corrections and updates

When we make a mistake, we correct it promptly and transparently. Corrected articles carry a note saying what was wrong and what is right, and corrections are listed on our corrections page. When a developing story gains new information, we update the article and add an update note with the time. Read our corrections policy to learn how to report an error.

Types of articles

Each article is labelled with its type:

News: what happened, with the context needed to understand it.
Brief: a short summary of one event or a roundup of several.
Analysis: an explanation of the causes and implications of events, based on data and sources. Analysis is neutral and makes no recommendations.
Opinion: the personal view of the named author, published in our Opinion section. Opinion pieces are written by people, and their facts are held to the same standards as our news.

AI tools

We use AI tools to help monitor sources, gather research and prepare first drafts. Every article is reviewed, edited, fact-checked and approved by a named editor, who is shown as the byline and is responsible for it. Our AI policy sets out the details.

Advertising and commercial content

Editorial content and commercial content are kept separate.

Advertisers and sponsors have no influence over what we cover or how.
If we publish advertising, sponsored content or affiliate links in the future, they will be clearly labelled as such and kept visually distinct from our journalism. Editors do not write advertising.
We do not publish paid content disguised as news.

Images

We only use images we have the right to use: our own photos and graphics, official press material used for editorial purposes, public domain works, openly licensed images with the required credit, and licensed agency images. Every image is credited. We do not alter news photographs in a way that changes their meaning. Images created with AI are used only as generic illustrations, never to depict real people or real events, and they are labelled as AI-generated in their credit.

Contact

Questions about this policy or about our coverage: editorial@financeintime.com. To report an error: corrections@financeintime.com.