Investing

Introduction

This research guide is intended for anyone doing research in financial investing. It includes general investing sources such as handbooks and directories, periodicals, and financial news websites, as well as economic forecasting, international investing, and socially responsible investing resources. Additionally, the guide includes a wide array of information on various investing instruments, such as stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and commodities. In the "Stock" section, you will find stock links, investment services for company and industry information, stock exchanges, and historic stock prices. The resources include websites, electronic databases, print periodicals, and books from the libraries' collection.

Websites with a notation can be accessed on or off campus via Boston University connections. For details, please see Connecting to Library Databases . For further assistance, please call the library at 617 353-4303 or ask at the Reference/Information Desk.

Financial Instruments

General

The Informed Investor's Guide to Financial Quotations
Pardee Reference - Investing/Investing Handbooks, Section 13
X HG 4521 B439 1994
Describes how to read and understand financial market quotations. Coverage includes stocks, bonds, Treasury securities, futures, options, and foreign currency exchanges.

Investor's Business Daily Guide to the Markets
Pardee Reference - Investing/Investing Handbooks, Section 13
X HG 4910 I54 1996
Intended as a basic introduction to the financial markets. Chapters include discussion of capitalism, major markets, mutual funds and macroeconomics.

The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Investing
Pardee Reference - Investing/Investing Handbooks, Section 13
X HG 4910 M67 1999
Easy to understand guide to investing includes sections on money, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, futures & options. Explains how the markets work, why money gains and loses value, and what you need to know to make the right investments and measure their performance.

The Irwin Guide to Using the Wall Street Journal
Pardee Reference - Investing/Investing Handbooks, Section 13
X HB 3743 L44 2000
How to use the Wall Street Journal to interpret current economic conditions and make profitable business and investment decisions. Influence of the business cycle and economic indicators discussed along with the stock market, commodities, interest rates and money markets.

Stocks

Bloomberg [About] (dedicated terminal in Pardee Library)
Provides current prices from publicly traded companies from around the world. To look up a company and its common stock, type the ticker symbol, the yellow <Equity> key and the green <Go> key.

Factiva [About] Works best with Firefox.
Provides company reports, quotes and price charts.

Morningstar
http://www.morningstar.com
Facts on 6,500 mutual funds and 8,000 stocks; contains investment news, market data, and research tools.

Zacks Investment Research: Free Research Center
http://www1.zacks.com/free.html
Searchable by ticker symbol. Company profiles, earnings information (including some estimates), balance sheets and more. Site also includes a glossary of financial terms, company news, and more.

Bonds

Bonds Online
http://www.bondsonline.com/
A database of currently available bonds with real time quotes for treasury prices and yields. Bonds are searchable by type (municipal, corporate, CMO, zero coupon, and treasury). Site includes a glossary and links to news sources for bond information.

Bonds and Rates - CNNfn
http://money.cnn.com/markets/bondcenter/
This website provided by CNN finance provides information on bond prices, yields and bond basics

Corporate Ratings Criteria - Standard & Poor
A PDF document provided by Standard & Poor's about their corporate rating criteria

Treasury Direct
http://www.treasurydirect.gov/indiv/products/products.htm
This website provides overviews of U.S treasury bonds, notes, bills and TIPS.

Yahoo Finance Bond Screener
http://bonds.yahoo.com/search.html
A search tool provided by Yahoo Finance that allows users to search for different types of bonds.

Investing in Bonds
http://www.investinginbonds.com
The website of the Bond Market Association includes introductory information on Bond investing, daily and historical prices, and useful Internet links.

Bloomberg [About] (dedicated terminal in Pardee Library)
Bloomberg offers information on both Corporate Bonds and Government Securities. For corporate bond information type ticker symbol, the yellow <Corp> key, and the green <Go> key. For government securities type <Govt> TK <Go> to see a list of covered countries. Chose from the list by entering the line # <Go>.

The Bond Bible
Pardee Reference Desk
X HG 4651 C692 2000
All you need to know to be a savvy consumer and successful bond investor, from income streams and the Treasury yield curve to the pluses of federal agency bonds and the negatives of high-yield issues. Includes advanced strategies such as leveraging, credit rating agencies and insurance, bond funds and unit trusts, and nontraditional vehicles.

Mergent Bond Record
Pardee Reference - Investing/Mergent Bond Record, Section 13
X HG 4905 F31
Published monthly, this comprehensive review of over 68,000 issues provides complete and accurate coverage of the entire market. Covers a broad range of fixed-income issues in detail, affording the user a glance at the essential facts relating to market position and statistical background.

Standard & Poor's Stock and Bond Guide
Pardee
HG 4915 S655
Information on more than 14,000 different securities, including common stocks, preferred stocks, annuities, mutual funds, and domestic and foreign bonds. The Bond Guide contains detailed information on more than 6,500 corporate bonds issued by more than 1900 different companies.

Mutual Funds

Morningstar
http://www.morningstar.com/
Facts on 6,500 mutual funds and 8,000 stocks; contains investment news, market data, and research tools.

Investment Company Institute
http://www.ici.org
Provides statistics and research on mutual fund industry as a whole.

Leading Fund Intelligence
http://www.lipperwareweb.com
Provides analysis of performance trends, industry trends and research studies. Requires that users register on the website to gain access to reports.

Mutual Fund Investor's Center
http://www.mfea.com
Geared towards novices this website explains the basics of mutual funds, investment strategies and lists funds by minimum investment requirement, performance, risk and rating.

Bloomberg [About] (dedicated terminal in Pardee Library)
Provides current news and prices from financial markets, industries, commodities, and publicly traded companies from around the world. To look up a mutual fund, type the ticker symbol, the yellow <Equity> key and the green <Go> key. Bloomberg uses abbreviated names for some mutual fund issuers. To look up a mutual fund issued by Fidelity (for example), type <Equity> TK FID <GO>.

Morningstar Mutual Funds
Pardee Reference - Investing/Mutual Funds & Bonds, Section 13
X HG 4530 M8
Profiles and tracks over 1,000 mutual funds, emphasizing NASDAQ funds. Biweekly summary of key performance measures.

International Encyclopedia of Mutual Funds, Closed-End Funds and REITs
Pardee Reference - Investing/Mutual Funds & Bonds, Section 13
X HG 4530 M227 2000
Good explanation of mutual funds; what they are,how to invest and the many different types of funds. Provides list of funds, organized by type, with symbol, historic returns, phone number, and other information.

Mutual Funds Fact Book
Pardee Reference - Investing/Mutual Funds & Bonds, Section 13
X HG 4530 F652 2002
A guide to trends and statistics in the mutual fund industry by the Investment Company Institute (ICA). Includes chapters on features of mutual funds, regulation and taxation, U.S. mutual fund development(1990-2000), mutual fund ownership and shareholder characteristics, and the retirement market.

Hedge Funds

The Hedge Fund Handbook
X HG 4530 L364 2000
Pardee Reference - Investing/Mutual Funds & Bonds, Section 13
A guide to understanding and evaluating hedge funds from a definition and general characteristics of a hedge fund to hedge fund analysis and portfolio allocation.

A Demon Of our own Design: Markets, Hedge Funds, and the Perils of Financial Innovation
HG4530 .B66 2007
Pardee Stacks
Provides overview and analysis of risk management with respect to political and economic volatility. The content of this book being largely reflective and analytical.

Hedge Fund Strategies: A Global Outlook
HG4530 .H388 1998
Pardee Stacks
A guide on hedge funds that brings the reader a mix of articles from a variety of perspectives covering that include implantation of hedge fund strategies, correlations to the market, equalization, hedge structures and the use of funds of funds.

Hedge Hunters: Hedge Fund Masters on the Reward, the Risk, and the Reckoning
HG4530 .B87 2007
Pardee Stacks
Looks at the hedge fund industries to performers. Fund managers reveal their strategies for producing outstanding returns.

Inside the House of Money: Top Hedge Fund Traders On Profiting In a Global Market
HG4530 .D74 2006
Pardee Stacks
Introduction to global macro hedge funds. The global macro approach attempts to generate positive returns by making leveraged bets on price movements in equities, currencies, interest rates and commodities markets.

Leading Fund Intelligence
http://lipperweb.com
Provides monthly strategy review and performance analysis, research reports that analyzes the in-flows and outflows of capital allocated to hedge funds and hedge fund compensation reports.

The Hedge Fund Center:
http://www.hedgefundcenter.com/
Contains definitions, strategies, risk analysis and comparisons to mutual funds.

The Hedge Fund Association:
http://www.thehfa.org/
Discusses characteristics of hedge funds, strategies and includes articles.


Bloomberg [About] (dedicated terminal in Pardee Library)
Provides current news and prices from financial markets, industries, commodities, and publicly traded companies from around the world. To access the information on hedge funds:
Hedge Fund Home Page - Type HFND green <GO> button.
Hedge Fund News - Type NI HEDGE <GO>
Hedge Fund Searches - Type FSRC <GO>, select #24
Hedge Fund Ranking Tables - Type STAT <GO>

Bloomberg Markets
Pardee Stacks - located by Bloomberg terminal
A magazine published by Bloomberg and shelved by the Bloomberg terminal often contains articles and special reports on hedge funds that include information on the most profitable hedge funds, and the highest paid hedge fund managers.

Institutional Investor
A available through e-journals provides full text articles on investment banking and the financial services industry.

Commodities

TFC Commodity Charts
http://tfc-charts.w2d.com
A free source of daily commodity futures and financial information. Includes commodity charts, quotes, and a brief educational course on commodities trading.

Bloomberg [About] (dedicated terminal in Pardee Library)
Provides current news and prices from financial markets, industries, commodities, and publicly traded companies from around the world. For Commodities menu, hit yellow <Comdt> key and <Go>.

Commodity Prices
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X Z 7164 P94F74 1991
A sourcebook and index providing references to wholesale, retail, and other quotations for more than 10,000 agricultural, commercial, industrial, and consumer products.

The CRB Commodity Yearbook
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk (latest edition; earlier in stacks)
X HF 1041 F39
Worldwide supply/demand and production/consumption data for all the basic commodities and futures markets, including all the major markets in interest rates, currencies, energy,grains and stock index futures. Over 900 tables, graphs and price charts of historical data.

International Investing Sources:

Global Stock & Commodity Exchanges
http://www.investorlinks.com
An extensive listing of international stock exchanges' web pages.

Site-by-Site
http://www.site-by-site.com
International investment portal and research center includes Global stock exchanges, Analysis and Commentary, and more.

The Dow Jones Guide to the World Stock Market
Pardee Reference  - Investing/International Investing, Section 13
X HG 4661 D68 1999
Provides profiles of the current state of the equity market in 29 specific countries, based on the Dow Jones World Stock Index. Stocks that make up this index are described within each countrys profile. Ratios of stock prices and three years of sales and revenues are included.

The Financial Times Guide to Using the Financial Pages
Pardee Reference - Investing/International Investing, Section 13
X HG 5432 V35 2001
Comprehensive guide to the tools and language of modern finance. Includes the role and behavior of investors, companies, governments and financial institutions in financial markets. Interprets financial markets and economic statistics to better understand the price movements of a wide range of potential investments including shares, bonds, funds, currencies and derivatives. International focus.

Fundamental Analysis Worldwide: Investing and Managing Money in International Capital Markets
Pardee Reference- Investing/Investment Management & Analysis, Section 13
X HG 4538 K463 1996
Provides a standardized method of reporting international corporate financial information based on fundamental analysis. Assesses annual reports of 1,500 global companies in North America and in Europe. Financial data is compared by geographic region, standard industrial code, and operating ratios.

World Stock Exchange Fact Book
Pardee Reference - Investing/International Investing, Section 13
X HG 4551 W657
Provides more than 20 years of historical securities data from over 45 exchanges. Includes annual trading volume and value, market capitalization, dividend yields, relevant regulations, and more.

Company Research

Edgar: The Investor's Guide to Making Better Investments
Pardee Reference - Investing/Investing Handbooks, Section 13
X HG 4910 W258 2003
How to use the SEC's EDGAR System to find key company information, analyze a company's financial performance and investigate the actions of corporate executives.
Information on using EDGAR and analyzing key reports.

For more company information see Investment Services - Industries, in this guide, and the Company Information Research Guide.

Bloomberg [About] (dedicated terminal in Pardee Library)
Provides current news and prices from financial markets, industries, commodities, and publicly traded companies from around the world. To look up a company and its common stock, type the ticker symbol, the yellow <Equity> key and the green <Go> key.

Factiva [About] Works best with Firefox.
Provides company profiles and detailed company reports containing corporate history, financials, officers and industry ratios.

Mergent Online [ About ] Works best with Internet Explorer.
Contains financial data on U.S. and International Public companies. Data includes business description, history, property, subsidiaries, officers and directors, long-term debt, capital stock, balance sheet, and income statement. Financial statements are presented in detailed "as reported" form and in native currency. The financials can also be displayed in other currencies.
Older print version of Mergent and "Moody's Industrial" and "International" Manuals can be found on Table 1 and Ceased Reference Index Shelves.

Value Line Investment Survey, Ratings and Reports
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HG 4501 F49
Analysis of 1,700 stocks. Summary and Index provides key data for stocks. Ratings and Reports provide full page coverage of selected industry trends and company analysis. Weekly updates.
See also Value Line Investment Survey. Small and Mid-Cap Edition
Pardee Reference X HG 4501 V262 (Reference Desk)

Handbook of Common Stocks
Pardee Reference - Investing/Stocks, Section 13
X HG 4905 F55
Covers performance data, trends, and profiles of 1,000 leading companies from the New York Stock Exchange. Each profile includes company overview, new developments, Moody's forecasts, performance statistics, stock charts, institutional holdings, price performance, and more.

Industry Research

Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HG 4501 S74
Business and economic surveys of 52 major US industries, including financial data on more than 1,000 companies. Each survey includes a broad picture of a specific industry, covering analysis of product developments, markets, and government regulations. Includes a comparative analysis of revenues, income, growth, and financial strength of the industrys leading companies.

Value Line Investment Survey, Ratings and Reports
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HG 4501 F49
Analysis of 1,700 stocks. Summary and Index provides key data for stocks. Ratings and Reports provide full page coverage of selected industry trends and company analysis. Weekly updates.

Mergent's Industry Review
Pardee Reference - Industry Information/Market Shares & Industry Rankings
X HG 4905 M88 (Table 1A)
A comprehensive statistical reference that contains key financial information, operating data, and ratios on approximately 3,500 companies. Information is arranged by industry in 137 groups, allowing company and industry comparisons. Biweekly.

Standard & Poor's Statistical Service
Pardee Reference - Industry Information/Classification Manuals & Statistics
X HG 4530 F00 (Table 1A)
Consists of two sections: Current Statistics (monthly) and Security Price Index Record (biannual). Current Statistics contains a twelve-month record of Standard & Poors Stock Price Indexes plus Basic Statistics for 11 industry groups. Both allow performance comparisons of industry to industry, or industry to stock market.

Economic Forecasting

The Outlook
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HG 4530 F29
Standard and Poor's investment advisory newsletter includes economic outlook and company information. Published weekly.

Value Line. Selection & Opinion
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HG 4501 F49
Value Line's Quarterly Economic Review comes out every three months and includes Forecast of the U.S. Economy. Estimated projections include GDP, Prices and Wages, Production, Money and Interest Rates, and Income. Provides actual indicators four years back, and estimated indicators five years out.

Congressional Budget Office
http://www.cbo.gov
Ten year forecast of basic economic indicators from the U.S. Congressional Budget Office.

The Livingston Survey
http://www.phil.frb.org/econ/liv/index.html
The Philadelphia Fed's Livingston Survey (started in 1946), is the oldest continuous survey of economists' expectations. It summarizes the forecast of economists from industry, government, banking, and academia, and projects forward one year.

World Economic Outlook
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/1999/02/
Produced by the International Monetary Fund, this site includes text reports such as Patterns of Recovery in Asia and Latin America and Japan: Recovery in Sight?. These are in .pdf (Adobe Acrobat) format. Additionally, the WEO database is available via this site. The database provides figures such as real GDP and inflation with reports shown for: all countries, advanced economies, and developing and transition countries.

For books on Economic Forecasting see the Library Catalog subject search "Economic Forecasting", "Economic Indicators", and "Business Forecasting".

Newspapers and Periodicals

ABI/INFORM Global [About]
Covers over 1,500 publications including general business magazines and leading industry-specific trade journals. For articles on a specific company, enter the name of the company and highlight "Company/Org." in the field option. Includes Business week, Euromoney, Forbes, Fortune, and Institutional Investor.

Factiva [About] Works best with Firefox.
A Dow Jones-Reuters database providing full text access to all editions of Dow Jones publications, the Wall Street Journal (back to 1979) and 8,000 other publications.

LexisNexis Academic [About]
Indexes newspapers, trade journals, business magazines and much more. Includes full text of New York Times, and Wall Street Journal abstracts.

Barron's
National business and financial weekly with excellent articles on prospects for industries and individual companies, and a wide range of other business and financial topics of interest to investors. Includes numbers from various national and international stock exchanges. Current issues available in paper until superseded by microfilm. Available full text in ABI/Inform (except for current month)and Factiva (Works best with Firefox).

Financial Times
International business and financial newspaper, featuring news from London, Paris, Frankfurt, New York, and Tokyo. Includes worldwide stock and bond market data, commodity market data, and monetary/currency exchange information. Current issues at Reserve Desk until superseded by microfilm. Available full text through ejournals, Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe, Proquest and Factiva (Works best with Firefox).

Investor's Business Daily
Pardee - HF5001.I58
A national business newspaper. Includes statistical information and tables on companies and industries. Covers daily investment market reports and analysis plus company and industry news. Library has current three months.

New York Times
Comprehensive coverage of national, foreign, business and local news. Business section considered the most comprehensive of any US daily general circulation newspaper. Current issues at Reserve Desk until superseded by microfilm. Available full text in Lexis-Nexis Academic Universe and Factiva (Works best with Firefox).

Wall Street Journal
Covers news and trends relating to business, industry, finance, the economy, and international commerce. Provides extensive price and other data for the securities, commodity, options, futures, foreign exchange, and money markets. Current issues at Reserve Desk until superseded by microfilm. Available through ejournals, ABI/Inforum and Factiva (Works best with Firefox).

Financial News Websites

Bloomberg News
http://www.bloomberg.com/welcome.html
Bloomberg's web site provides very current market-oriented information. Most of the information under News, Stocks, World Indices and other links reflects the day's market activities. News is not archived. Chart Builder, under the Stocks link, is a unique feature which allows you to enter four ticker symbols and/or major indices and create a free graph comparing your entries. A pop-up menu allows you to select a variety of time frames. Delayed stock quotes and company-specific items from the day's news are also available. This site includes news developed by Bloomberg and other news providers.

CEO Express
http://www.ceoexpress.com
Links to daily newspapers, business newspapers and magazines, international newspaper and news feeds, as well as stock quotes and company information. See the tool bar on top for Biz research and Industries.

CNNMoney
http://money.cnn.com/
This site, from the editors of CNN and Money magazine, offers a wealth of information on the markets and individual companies, including an excellent "snapshot" of each company's stock performance and financial ratios (from Market Guide).

Google Finance
http://finance.google.com/finance
Offiers top news stories, stocks markets, and sector information.

PRNewswire
http://www.prnewswire.com/
The "news" on this site actually consists of companies' press releases, but it can be useful for certain types of information such as new product releases.

Reuters
http://www.reuters.com/investing
Investing section of Reuters Website offers business, market, and economic news. Wealth of information on stocks, bonds, commodities, options, currency and industry.

Yahoo! Finance
http://finance.yahoo.com/
One of the most comprehensive sites on the Web for information on individual stocks.

Stock Exchanges

American Stock Exchange
http://www.amex.com/
Offers 15-20 minute delayed quotes, stock screening, and portfolio tracking for AMEX, NASDAQ, and NYSE stocks and indices. Also has 5 days of market news and 3 months of company news (searchable by ticker symbol) from a selection of wire and news services.

Boston Stock Exchange
http://www.bostonstock.com/
Information about the exchange, jobs and internships, news, and searchable databases of companies listed and securities traded on the Boston Stock Exchange.

Chicago Stock Exchange
http://www.chx.com/
The Chicago Stock Exchange (CHX) is the second largest US stock exchange. Its site includes CHX listings, history, statistics, news and career opportunities.

Nasdaq Stock Market
http://www.nasdaq.com/
Offers 15-20 minute delayed quotes, stock screening, and portfolio tracking for NASDAQ stocks and indices. Also has 5 days of market news and 3 months of company news (searchable by ticker symbol) from a selection of wire and news services.

New York Stock Exchange
http://www.nyse.com/
Market information (including stock prices, market summary and statistics), listed companies with links, and international information are among the NYSE site's key features.

Philadelphia Stock Exchange
http://www.phlx.com/
A small site which includes quotes, news, newsletters, and historical information.

Global Stock & Commodity Exchanges
http://www.investorlinks.com
An extensive listing of international stock exchanges' web pages.

Historic Prices

Bloomberg [About] (dedicated terminal in Pardee Library)
Provides historic prices from publicly traded companies from around the world. To look up a company and its common stock, type the ticker symbol, the yellow <Equity> key and the green <Go> key.

Standard & Poor's Security Owners Stock Guide
Pardee Reference - Investing/Stocks, Section 13
X HG 4501 F47 (Jan 2004 to Nov. 2007)
Profiles over 6,000 common and preferred stocks. Includes current and past dividend performance, principal business activity, and other important financial data. Also includes S&P earnings and dividend rankings for common stocks, plus financial data for over 700 mutual funds. Generally, financial data will go back 5 years.

Standard & Poor's Daily Stock Price Record: ASE
Pardee Reference - Investing/Daily Stock Price Record, Section 14
X HG 4915 F62 (July 1972 to present)
Prices from July/Sept 2003 to present are available in reference while prices from July/Sept 1972 to Apr/June 2003 are archived in the stacks.

Standard & Poor's Daily Stock Price Record: NYSE
Pardee Reference - Investing/Daily Stock Price Record, Section 14
X HG 4915 F61 (July 1972 to present)
Prices from Oct/Dec 2003 to current are located in the reference area. Prices from July/Sept 1972 to July/Sept 2003 are archived in the stacks.

Standard & Poor's Daily Stock Price Record: NASDAQ
Pardee Reference - Investing/Daily Stock Price Record, Section 14
X HG 4915 D35 (July 1993 to present)
Each volume covers one market. Provides complete daily record of over 10,000 stocks. Each pricing page contains the high, low, and close of stocks traded; bid and asked prices; daily and weekly volumes; dividend information; weekly strength; ratios; and more. Prices from July/Sept 2003 to current are located in reference. Prices from July/Dec 1993 to April/June 2003 are archived in the stacks.

Mergent's Dividend Record
Pardee Reference - Investing/Stocks, Section 13
X HG 4028 D5 F30 (1968 to present)
Dividend announcements, published twice weekly. 2005 to present located in reference. 1968 to 2004 archived in stacks. Note: from 1968-1998 known as "Moody's" Dividend Record.

Stocks, Bonds, Bills and Inflation Yearbook (SBBI)
Pardee Reference - Reference Desk
X HG 4501 S7949 (1993-2006, Section 13)
A history of returns in the capital markets of the United States from 1926 to the present. The current year is located at the reference desk.

Stocks, Bonds, Bills, and Inflation: Historical Returns - Investing/Stocks
X HG 4915 I2 1989. Analysis of aggregate returns updates from 1926-1987.

Socially Responsible Investing

Green Money Journal
http://www.greenmoneyjournal.com
Green Money Journal's mission is to promote awareness of socially and environmentally responsible business, investing, and consumer resources. Companies and mutual funds involved in socially responsible investments are listed.

Social Investment Forum
http://www.socialinvest.org/
The forum offers information, contacts, and resources on socially responsible investing.

For books on Socially Responsible Investing see Library Catalog and search subject heading Investments--Moral and Ethical Aspects