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Prepared by:
Library Staff |
Library Liaison: Lois
Tucker
(502) 456-6773
libsul@sullivan.edu
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Updated
November 2008 |
Introduction:
This brief
tutorial provides information about library and online resources for
company information, annual reports, stocks, the Dow Jones
Industrial Average, Mutual Funds, and Bonds.
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Personal Finance (MGT
200) students in particular can use this
tutorial as an aid in the completion of the Investment Portfolio
Project.
The Personal Finance project requires you to track the various company stocks and/or
mutual funds and bonds for a designated time period.
Specific details about the project can be obtained from your
instructor.
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Click
on the hyperlinks to go to the appropriate section of the tutorial:
Also, Sullivan
University Library offers the
Library Alert
service, which is designed to alert SUS students,
faculty and staff of the latest titles @ the Sullivan
University Louisville library! Sign up to be notified by
e-mail when the library receives new books, videos,
DVDs, etc., in the categories that interest you.
Finding A Stock:
| For the
Personal Finance project, you will need to
select common stock from two different companies. It is
strongly advised that you choose stocks that are found in
the Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500). |
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index
"consists of 500 stocks chosen for
market size, liquidity, and industry group representation. It is a
market-value weighted index (stock price times number of shares
outstanding), with each stock's weight in the Index proportionate
to its market value. The "500" is one of the most widely used
benchmarks of the U.S. equity performance."
It is usually easier to locate information about stocks listed in
the Standard & Poor's 500.
Company Information:
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ABI/INFORM?: Available through ProQuest? and
comprising nearly 1,400 North American journal sources, this
database provides information on advertising, economics, human
resources, finance, marketing, computers, plus 60,000 companies.
Also, ABI indexes The Wall Street Journal?
from 1984 to the present.
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Click here for detailed information on how to locate
Company Data needed for the Personal Finance project using Hoover's Online?.
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BPubs.com:
A search engine that scans an indexed directory of business
publications.
- Business
Source Premier (An EBSCOhost?
database): Business
Source Premier has a tab to company profile information. The
company profile information is compiled by Datamonitor and
includes: a company overview, key facts, a business description, a
history, a listing of key employees, a listing of top competitors,
and other information. Business Source Premier? can be
accessed from EBSCOhost?, located
on the Sullivan University Library web page (http://library.sullivan.edu)
in the Databases section.
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Click here for detailed information on how to locate
Company Data needed for the Personal Finance project using Business Source
Premier?.
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Morningstar:
Library Edition comprises a premier financial database providing
1995- present access to 6,000+ stock and 13,000+ mutual fund
reports, plus analyst reports on 1,000 stocks and 2,000 mutual
funds. A special feature is Morningstar's INVESTMENT CLASSROOM
containing 150 different interactive financial courses. The
exclusive stock and fund Morningstar Ratings are industry
standards. Updated daily.
Regional Business News: An EBSCOhost? database
indexing full-text articles from 75 U.S. regional
business journals, newspapers, and newswires.
Annual
Reports:
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It is strongly
advised that you write, e-mail, or telephone your chosen
companies at the start of the Personal Finance project to request an
annual report.
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Online sources
of annual reports include:
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Web Pages of Companies: Often, the
company web site will provide an overview of the company and
may provide access to the electronic version of annual reports
and other corporate information.
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Hoover's Online?:
Often there is a
link to an annual report in the Financials section of the
company profile. (NOTE: To use the premium features, you will
have to be on campus or use the Remote Access feature from the
Library's database page).
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Annual
Reports Online: Information and guidance on
how to access annual reports and proxies on the Internet
under "Investor Relations" sections of companies' Web pages.
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GUIDESTAR: Free
national database of nonprofit organizations.
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EDGAR: Free EDGAR contains information
from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's
(SEC) EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and
Retrieval). This includes annual report information and other
types of information. Free registration is required in order to
access the information.
- Type in the name of your
company in the search box and click search.
- A listing of companies will
appear. Click VIEW FILINGS under the correct company.
- You will retrieve a listing
of forms.
- Click on 10-K Annual
Report to pull up the annual report that the company
submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange
Commission. This report is often larger (several hundred
pages) and more detailed from the annual report issued
to stockholders.
Important: Please check with the library staff before
printing out an online annual report. The reports often contain
many pages and graphics, which can cause difficulties for the
printer.
Weekly Stock Statistics:
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For the
Personal Finance
project you will need to obtain weekly
stock quotes from companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) or NASDAQ.
You can choose to use either a
print resource or an online resource but it is important to be
consistent. Use the same source for all your statistics. You
should not use a print resource one week and an online resource
the next. There are some differences between the print and
electronic resources in the statistics you will retrieve.
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Print Resources for
Stock Quotes:
Online Resources for
Stock Quotes:
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Barron's Online
(http://www.barrons.com)
is an excellent source for
stock and mutual fund quotes. Currently, free access is provided
to Barron's stock and mutual fund tables. NOTE: An online copy
of Barron's can also be found using the ProQuest electronic
database. The stocks are listed for each week in a PDF format.
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BigCharts?
(http://www.bigcharts.com)
can be used for stock quotes.
Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA):
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Remember to be
consistent about the source that you use to obtain statistics
for the DJIA. |
Print Resources for the DJIA:
Online Resources
for the DJIA:
- Big
Charts?:
This web site (http://www.bigcharts.com)
can be used to obtain historical data for the Dow Jones
Industrial Average (DJIA).
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Click here for information
on how to use BigCharts?
to obtain statistical information on the DJIA.
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Dow Jones Indexes: Includes current
information about Dow Jones Indexes, including the Dow Jones
Industrial Averages (DJIA).
http://www.djindexes.com
Mutual Funds:
| Remember to be
consistent about the source you use to obtain information about your
mutual fund. |
Print Resources for
a Mutual Fund:
Online Resources
for a Mutual Fund:
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Barron's Online
(http://www.barrons.com)
currently provides free
access to current mutual fund tables. NOTE: An online copy of
Barron's can also be found using the ProQuest electronic database.
The mutual funds are listed for each week in a PDF format.
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Business Week?
Online:
This site, in conjunction with S&P's Personal Wealth, contains
useful information about S&P select mutual funds, as well as other
types of mutual funds.
http://www.businessweek.com. From the web site, click
INVESTING (at the top of the page), then FUNDS (found on the left
side of the page).
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CBS
MarketWatch?:
Information about mutual funds can be found by clicking the mutual
funds link at the top of the page.
http://www.cbsmarketwatch.com
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ICI Mutual Fund Connection:Published
by the Investment Company Institute, this informative site
enhances public understanding of the investment company industry
and the policy issues that affect it, particularly those involving
legislation and regulation, the U.S. economy, and retirement
security.
http://www.ici.org
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Mutual Fund Investor's Center:Published by the Mutual Fund
Education Alliance, the not-for-profit trade association of the
no-load mutual fund industry, this resource is designed to serve
as an important resource for investors who want to use mutual
funds to reach their financial goals. Here, you'll find a large
collection of mutual fund companies, website links, fund listings
and exclusive planning, tracking and monitoring tools.
http://www.mfea.com/
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Personal Finance
Project
students will need a
prospectus for your mutual fund. It is strongly advised
that you write, telephone, or e-mail early in the project to
request a prospectus about your chosen mutual fund.
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Online sources for
a prospectus:
- The Web
Page of the Mutual Fund Company: Some companies provide
an online prospectus that can be downloaded.
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Brill's Mutual Funds Interactive?
FundLink:
This site contains links to the home pages of mutual fund
companies.
http://www.fundsinteractive.com/fundlink.html
- Fund Info
Service: A free service
offered by WILink?
and Yahoo! Finance?.
A limited number of mutual funds' prospectuses can be
downloaded and/or mailed. A free registration is required.
http://yahoo.fundinfo.wilink.com/
Bonds
Online resource
for bonds:
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Personal Finance Students Please
Note: This site
does not contain all of the information you will need to complete
your project. Please speak with your instructor about specific
requirements.
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Bonds Online Database:
Information regarding municipal, corporate, CMO, zero coupon,
and treasury bonds can be found. Listings include S&P rating,
issue, quantity, maturity, price, and yield.
http://www.bondsonline.com
(NOTE: This site now requires an e-mail
address before any searching can be done).
Note: The
Louisville Free Public Library on 301 York Street, has
information on bonds (along with other business resources).
Click here to go to a
Bibliography of Stock and Bond Information at the Louisville
Free Public Library.
Articles Related to
Companies:
Print resources
for articles include:
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The Sullivan University Library's periodical collection:
Information about current journals and magazines (periodicals) found in the
Library's collection can be found at the Library's web site
(under the Reference Center tab, then Periodicals).
(Click
here to go to the Periodical search site).
Online Resources for articles include:
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ProQuest?:
This online database collection provides citations,
abstracts, and full-text and full-image articles from 1200+
periodicals focusing on North American business issues,
particularly in the area of management. This database can be
accessed from the Library's web page (http://library.sullivan.edu)
by going to the Databases section and going to ProQuest.
- Hoover's
Online?: Hoover's?
provides selected news and commentaries about companies, as well
as company press releases.
http://www.hoovers.com.
- Business
Source Premier and Business Wire News:
These databases are available
through EBSCO? or the Kentucky Virtual Library (KYVL) from the
Sullivan University Library web page under Databases.
IMPORTANT: To remotely access the
Sullivan University Databases, passwords are necessary. Go to
the Remote Access page (under Databases on the Sullivan
University Library web page) for the information. The Remote
Access page is password-protected and available only to the
Sullivan University community. Your user name and password is
needed to access the Help area.
Click here for detailed login information.
This ends the research guide.
However, there are other online resources that may be useful to
you. These sources include:
Smart Money: Information and primers about
stocks, investing, funds, and bonds can be found at this site.
http://www.smartmoney.com
Marshall School of Business Stock Quotes on the web:
This site provides links to other sites related to current or
historical stock quotes. Sites include Motley Fool, NASDAQ, and
the New York Stock Exchange.
http://www.marshall.usc.edu/web/Library.cfm?doc_id=2044
Business Links from the Sullivan
University Library Site: The
Library has also provided access to an alphabetically arranged
annotated list of General Business Links. To get to
business-related web sites, go to the Links section of the
Sullivan University Library web page.
http://library.sullivan.edu
SPSS@13.0: A comprehensive data analysis system
which is installed in a few computers in the lower level of the
Sullivan University Library and Learning Resource Center.
Return to the Sullivan
University Library's web page
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