In the never-ending quest for instant reportage, the business information group Thompson Financial is using computer programs to automatically compile and publish simple articles on the reported earnings of companies. Early results have been error free, if a little wooden when it comes to the language used. The programs are short on adjectives and human feeling, but then that’s not really a requirement for the sort of story being made here. Could this spell an end for financial and business blogging, at least blogging done by people? If machines can produce accurate factual pieces more quickly than a real person, a margin-sensitive media outlet will be keen to cash in.