Researching Investments

Bargain stocks are equity securities that trade at a discount for some reason. These stocks might be undervalued by investors or facing a temporary setback that is hurting profitability.

Media stocks are companies that control some media outlet, such as a television network, Internet website or movie production business. These companies have issued equity shares in the financial...

There are many investment tools available to today's investor. One of the tools that is a recent development is exchange traded funds (ETF's). Exchange traded funds are similar to mutual funds in...

Stocks and commodities belong to two separate asset classes, although both are investment assets. Stocks are included in the equities asset class, while commodities comprise their own asset class....

Stocks trade for a dollar-per-share value in the stock market. Investors determine that price based on supply and demand for an equity security or stock. Sometimes investors get it wrong and place...

The most common way to measure equity share in real terms is with book (accounting) value of equity per share. This measure provides a comparison with the market value of equity per share....

A company pays stock dividends as an alternative to cash distributions. Stock dividends are paid as a reward to investors from a company's total shares, while cash dividends are paid from current...

Market share is a business term indicating the portion of the total sales generated in a market or industry that a single company earns. Investors use market shares to determine how dominant a...

A company's market share offers a snapshot look at the strength of the company compared with that of its competitors. A dominant company is often seen as a safe investment, but without evaluating...

The Dow is short for Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow is the most commonly quoted index and is often used as a gauge for the direction of the market and/or barometer of economic strength or...

The futures markets offer investors a wide range of opportunities to earn profits in commodities, stock indexes and currencies. The futures markets are diverse and complicated, so prospective...

Forex is an abbreviation for the foreign exchange market, which allows banks and other similar institutions to easily buy and sell currencies. Its basic purpose is to help in international trade...

Investing in the stock market can be a lucrative venture if done wisely. Research is necessary in order to determine which company you'd like to invest in and whether that investment is...

It takes twelve years of discipline to come a doctor, eight years of schooling to become a lawyer and five years of extensive training to become an engineer. However, most people think that they...

There are two main schools of thought for investment analysis. They are fundamental and technical. Technical analysts believe emotions drive market and price fluctuations. By looking at historical...

Finding stocks that are potential buyout candidates can be done by using an online stock selection program to filter out stocks that have certain characteristics. A potential buyout candidate is a...

Buying a bond is a good way to make more interest income than you would on a savings account. A bond is a loan that you, an investor, make to a corporation, government, or municipality. Because...

The stock market is a system, and like all systems, there are cycles savvy investors and traders rely on. From bubble to depression, the market can have as many moods as any person. If you want to...

Forex is short for "foreign exchange," which is the buying and selling of currencies. It is the convention to quote currencies with two currencies, such as EUR/USD, which means euro/U.S. dollar....

Cost basis is an accounting term used to refer to the original value of an asset. For stock, this original value must account for different ownership events such as stock splits, dividends,...

In metallurgy, an ingot is typically defined as a bar or plate of metal; precious metals such as silver are often shaped into ingots of specific weights to serve as a store of value.

Stocks can provide income in two main ways: share price appreciation and dividends. Both are considered as earnings by the IRS. Dividends are declared by the company board of directors on every...

Some stock purchases are motivated from investors wanting to make a purchase of the stock; that is, they want to add the stock to their portfolio. Another type of stock buying is called...

The main difference between individual and institutional investing is volume. Institutional trades can be large enough to effect the price of a stock or asset. As a result, exchange houses offer...

PK refers to a security that is classified as "pink sheet" securities. "Pink sheet" refers to securities quoted on the Pink Sheets Electronic Quotation system (Pink OTC). Pink OTC is not itself...

Stewart Information Services Corporation trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol STC. The Houston, Texas-based company provides real estate information, title...

Capital reserve is money that is built up by a municipality or business so that it can be used for large capital expenditures. On the balance sheet, capital reserves are placed in a capital...

There are two different types of options: calls and puts. Calls give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a stock or asset at an certain price (strike price) in the future....

When you make the decision to invest, it is wise to use back testing to find out if your trading system is effective. It helps verify the viability of the system and allows you to gain access to...

Time horizon is the amount of time an investment is held before it is sold or unwound. A day trader may have an investment horizon of a few minutes, but a fund manager may have an investment...

Two schools of thought exist in stock analysis: fundamental and technical. Fundamental analysis is the process of evaluating a stock based on value indicators such as earnings and debt. Technical...

There are many ways to invest in autos. You could buy one from your favorite company, become an auto dealer, or invest in auto companies through the stock market. The challenge is determining...

Indexed annuities are a popular investment vehicle where moderate or conservative investors can take advantage of stock market increases without seeing account values dwindle during down markets....

Stock market indexes were created to track the direction of the major exchanges. Common indexes include the Dow Jones U.S. Industrials Index, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq-100. ETFs, or...

Anything worth investing in is worth measuring. If you have a stock portfolio, you probably also have a broker or investment company that provides monthly statements showing your current return....

Energy has no language or nationality, but it is one of the most sought after commodities in the world. That said, trading oil may seem like a daunting task, however, with national trading...

A candlestick chart shows pictures of candlesticks that create patterns. Although not always accurate for forecasting, they are used to track several intraday market moves such as opening and...

Annuities are retirement savings products offered by life insurance companies. They offer the benefits of tax-deferred growth during the accumulation phase and the option of setting up a...

Investing in the stock market involves a certain amount of risk. Some types of investment vehicles and securities are less volatile and safer than others. Blue-chip stocks fall into this category.

If you own or are interested in owning a portfolio of stocks, the first thing you need to do is develop a system to evaluate portfolios. Because all investors want a return on their investment,...

Personally, I think stocks often offer strong choices for investors. However, I do worry that many think they are enough when combined with a house and bonds. Paper assets will only take one so...

Crude oil is one of the most important resources in the world today. Investing in crude oil has made many fortunes, and modern financial instruments, investing in crude oil is now accessable to...