background preloader

Investing

Facebook Twitter

The Wall Street Journal - Breaking News, Business, Financial and Economic News, World News & Video - Wall Street Journal - Wsj.com. Online Investing: Stocks, Personal Finance & Mutual Funds at SmartMoney.com - SmartMoney.com. Financial Investment News - Stock Investing News - Investment News - Barrons.com.

MarketWatch - Stock Market Quotes, Business News, Financial News. FIRECalc: A different kind of retirement calculator. Stock Market News, Business News, Financial, Earnings, World Markets - CNBC. Yahoo! Finance - Business Finance, Stock Market, Quotes, News. DailyFinance - News and Advice for a Lifetime of Financial Decisions. Business Daily. Wellington Management. Online Trading, ETFs, Mutual Funds, IRAs & Retirement - Fidelity. Online Stock Trading - TD Ameritrade. Quartz. Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting Free Website.

Stock Picker's Delight - AlphaClone. If there is one overriding theme this year for investors, it is uncertainty.

Stock Picker's Delight - AlphaClone

Unsure about the staying power of the recovery in the US and debt woes both here and in Europe, investors have flocked to emerging markets and have been well rewarded. The iShares emerging markets index ETF is up 12% on the year, nearly double the return in the S&P500. For investors who took a more selective approach, the returns were even better. The iShares South Africa and Korea ETFs are up 25% and 15% respectively year-to-date. With an uneven recovery that has been neither global nor broad, 2010 has been a year where being selective and being right has really paid off – this market is a stock picker's delight. For those of you familiar with our international core investment approach, you know it invests quarterly in the ten ADR stocks that appear most often amongst the largest 20 holdings across our hedge fund universe. Marketocracy. Practice Investing, Stock Market Game. Free information for the serious investor. Research and Valuation Process. How to Invest in the Stock Market: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 Here is the process I follow which is rooted in the Graham and Dodd approach: Search I usually scan for ideas reading print media such as the Wall Street Journal, Barrons, and websites such as Google Finance and blogs looking at 52-wk lows lists looking for headlines that just spell “bad news” and articles that may lead to ideas with catalysts, event driven ideas and sometimes macro-event driven ideas.

Research and Valuation Process

I’ll use screens if I don’t find anything in the headlines. If something peeks my interest a bit, I’ll try to gather more news and get an idea as to what is happening with the company, look at historical highlights, pull some efficiency, liquidity ratios and some basic numbers to look for consistency and I’ll think about the risks to the current situation a company is in and decide if I could potentially profit off the situation. If I think I can profit off the situation, I’ll really do some due diligence. Analysis. Understandings Earnings Estimates. In the video above, Hewitt Packard’s CEO Leo Apotheker said the following: Carl: Before we let you go, Leo, I don’t know if there’s been a quarter since you joined where the company beat, if you will, I wonder you’ve got to be looking forward to that day.Leo Apotheker: We’ve beat this quarter.Carl: But with accompanied by guidance that was very disappointing.

Understandings Earnings Estimates

Every quarter has had some level of disappointment. Are you looking forward to one where there is none? Leo: Of course. But I just want to make sure we get the facts right. The transcript cannot convey the frustration in Apotheker’s voice when he was accused of missing expectations for the current quarter. Gamed Earnings As the next two charts show, beating earnings and revenues expectations is nothing new. The chart below highlights the inception of SEC regulation “FD” (aka, Fair Disclosure). Click on chart for a larger image.

Analyzing Financial Statements. This topic could be and is a full semester course at some business schools.

Analyzing Financial Statements

It is a deep and rich topic that I can’t cover in one single blog post. But it is also a relatively narrow skill set at its most developed levels. How to Value a Stock with Benjamin Graham’s Formula. How to value stocks series For other posts in the series, follow the links below.

How to Value a Stock with Benjamin Graham’s Formula

Quick Word on the Science and Art of Valuation Valuation is an art. Assumptions are needed to perform any type of analysis as the whole topic of stock valuation is forward looking. Throughout these valuation exercises, it’s important to understand that the final stock value will vary based on the assumption of scenarios. Instead of trying to pinpoint one number, the science behind valuing stocks is to come up with a range of values. Now, let’s see how Graham valued stocks. Discounted Cash Flow & Stock Valuation. The purpose of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) valuation is to find the sum of the future cash flow of the business and discount it back to a present value.

Discounted Cash Flow & Stock Valuation

I use the F Wall Street method of valuing a business along with some tweaks here and there to suit my tastes in the free and best valuation spreadsheets you can find on this site. The advantage of this method is that it requires the investor to think about the stock as a business and analyze its cash flow rather than earnings. The first and foremost reason a business exists is to make money where money = cash, not earnings. Since cash is what a business needs in order to maintain and grow its operations, it’s only right to consider the possibility of its future cash growth rather than earnings growth. The disadvantage is that DCF is not suitable for start ups, growth companies or capital intensive companies where the cash flow cannot be accurately determined. How to Calculate Intrinsic Value for Stock Warren Buffet Way.

How to Calculate Intrinsic ValueDiscounted Earnings, Instead of Just Cash Flow Summarized Overview You will find information about why you should calculate intrinsic value in stock market investing, and step by step guide on how to do it.

How to Calculate Intrinsic Value for Stock Warren Buffet Way

You will also find information about which key financial ratios to use and what you have to do after calculating intrinsic value. Why You should Calculate Intrinsic Value Simply because, you don't buy any stock at any price, do you? The price you are paying is the ultimate determinant for the rate of return that you'll be earning.

However, buying a stock simply because it is cheap is not the right approach either. Zacks Investment Research - Proven Stock Ratings Research Recommendations. 50 Awesome Social Networks for Finance Geeks. Learning about finance is so much easier when you can see first-hand what others are doing to achieve success.

50 Awesome Social Networks for Finance Geeks

That’s the beauty of social networks with a focus on finance. The following social networks offer opportunities for finance students and geeks to contribute as well as learn from others. Whether you are interested in investing, business, participating in peer-to-peer loans, or personal finance growth, the following social networks are sure to help you make connections with others in the world of finance.

Investing and General Finance From learning investment strategies to staying on top of market news these social networks all have a focus on investing and general finance topics. Zacks Investment Research. All About Trends.