WEBSITE LINKS to
INVESTMENT & OPTION RESOURCES
The following Web site links are provided as a resource to investors on a variety of investment subjects, including options. Just click on a link to go directly to that site in a separate window.
OPTIONS
www.coveredcallsfarm.com – The Covered Calls Farm by Farmer Ron. As he approached retirement, Ron made an important strategic decision...he decided to begin a program of writing covered calls on stocks to enhance his investment income. Because of his family's farming background, Ron developed this Web site that makes interesting and educational comparisons between covered call writing and farming.
www.borntosell.com – Born to Sell (Covered Call Investment Tools). A time-saving subscription service exclusively for covered call writing that helps you identify/research trades, track your portfolio, and maximize the time premium you collect each month.
www.cboe.com – Chicago Board Options Exchange. This is the largest exchange for trading options. The CBOE Web site is a tremendously valuable resource about how options work. This is probably the best educational site about options available to the nonprofessional. The booklet Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options is available on this Web site.
www.888options.com – The Options Industry Council. The OIC is a non-profit organization created to educate the investing public and brokers about the benefits and risks of exchange-traded options. In addition to providing a great deal of options related education on this site, the OIC also conducts free seminars around the country. The schedule for these seminars is provided on the site.
PERIODICALS
www.barrons.com - Barron’s. The Web site and weekly publication have articles on business and economic topics, individual industries and companies, stock market indicators and interviews with investment professionals. It also has regular sections on capital markets (including information on interest rate trends), real estate markets, international markets, commodities, and options. Barron’s is known for its extensive statistics and quotations on different markets, indexes, and economic and investment indicators. Corporate earnings and dividends are reported as well.
www.businessweek.com - Business Week. The Web site and weekly magazine have various articles divided into sections such as current business and company news, international, economic analysis, government, people, labor, finance, information processing, science and technology, marketing, environment, and personal business. Specific investment ideas and recommendations usually are provided in the finance and personal business sections. Each issue features a cover article that addresses a major business, economic, or news subject. Economic and monetary indicators, economic trends, business outlook, and various investment data also are provided.
www.forbes.com – Forbes. The Web site and magazine contain a variety of articles divided into sections about companies, industries, government, international, taxes, investing, marketing, computers/communications, personal affairs, and careers. It also provides economic news and investment information and advice from different columnists.
www.fortune.com - Fortune. The Web site and magazine also consist of articles divided by sections on topics such as companies to watch, money and markets, selling, the environment, managing, the economy, innovation, and corporate performance. Articles on specific industries are common. Regular features include economic forecasts, news and trends, and personal investing, which provides specific investment recommendations and interviews with professional money managers. Fortune also devotes a special issue to investment ideas and recommendations.
www.investors.com – Investor’s Business Daily. The Web site and daily newspaper contain quotations each business day for stocks, bonds, international currencies, options, futures, mutual funds, and foreign stocks. Charts for selected stocks, as well as major market indicators, are printed. There are also articles on certain companies, industries, and the U.S. economy. Earnings and dividend reports are presented.
www.money.cnn.com – CNN Money. The Web site and magazine contain personal finance articles, some of which are investment oriented and some of which are consumer oriented. The articles cover a variety of investment vehicles and investment strategies. Specific investment recommendations are common. The articles are easy to read and are perhaps better for the relative novice.
www.wsj.com – The Wall Street Journal. The Web site and daily newspaper provide a wealth of information to the investor. They report various economic data as well as opinions from economists about their expectations for the economy. They also present articles on investment topics, trends, and advice and reports on different industries and different companies. They also supply quotations on stocks, bonds, options, Exchange Traded Funds, futures contracts, mutual funds, and foreign stocks and currencies for each business day. Corporate earnings and dividends are also reported.
INVESTMENT NEWS & INFORMATION SITES
www.bloomberg.com - Bloomberg. Web site for Bloomberg. Among other things, the site contains a list of all Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) which are available anywhere in the world.
www.briefing.com – Briefing.com (Live Market Analysis). Professional quality analysis of investment news. This is one of the most respected sources of daily stock market news online. The “Short Stories” feature describes individual companies making news during the course of the business day. Information includes brokerage company evaluation changes, technical stock analysis, earnings estimates, and much more.
www.marketwatch.com – MarketWatch. In addition to a great deal of investment news, this site offers stock tracking, charting, broker research, industry analysis, and much more.
www.cnbc.com – CNBC. This cable TV channel, and the Web site that goes with it, has become a phenomenon. Investors of all types from day traders to long-term investors tune in to the TV show for hours daily to glean stock tips from guest analysts and portfolio managers in addition to feeling part of the CNBC “family” of regular commentators. Soon you won’t feel complete without your daily dose of Bill, Joe, Sue, Maria, Erin, Mark, Michelle and all the rest. The brief talks live on the floor of The New York Stock Exchange with Art Cashin are a highlight as well as highly informative and humorous. The Web site mirrors all that is happening on the TV show, with up to date market news and also the stock pickers’ selections. In addition, the site offers research capabilities, financial calculators, tax, retirement and other personal financial advice, career management links to other sites and message boards where CNBC community groupies can chat about their favorite stocks to love or hate. CNBC is owned by General Electric.
www.motleyfool.com – The Motley Fool. The real purpose of this Web site is to educate beginning investors in a certain approach to selecting stock purchases. The “Fool” motif, which runs throughout, keeps things fun and light, but the advice is serious and worthwhile. This organization is respected throughout the online world. Their approaches to investing, as well as the updated investment information each day, is well worth a look on an ongoing basis.
www.10kwizard.com – Morningstar Document Research. If you are looking for company specific information beyond just financials and news, this is the site for you. 10K Wizard allows you to do a complete background check on a company by retrieving the quarterly and annual reports which publicly held companies are required to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s EDGAR database. You can search for documents by company name, ticker symbol or a keyword. By registering at the site, it will send you an e-mail any time one of the companies you select files a report. This is heavy-duty information…and all of it is free.
www.bigcharts.com – BigCharts. Free charts, quotes, reports and indicators on over 50,000 stocks, mutual funds and indexes. The site lets you alter a graph’s look with nine different designs from mountain and bar chart to candlestick and logarithmic.
SUBSCRIPTION INVESTMENT SERVICES
www.valueline.com - Value Line Investment Survey (800-634-3583). This subscription service provides one-page summaries on more than 1,700 common stocks. The report on each stock has a “timeliness” and “safety” ranking from “1” to “5.” Also included is a chart of the stock and financial data for at least the past twelve years. It also describes the company’s business, recent developments, beta (a measure of the stock’s volatility), and future expectations for the company. Prior to each section is an industry analysis describing the current situation, trends, and composite statistics for that industry. Service is also available in hard copy format.
www.zacks.com – Zacks Investment Research (800-767-3771). There is a wealth of information on this site, both for free and for a charge. In addition to current quotes, statistics, an earnings calendar and news, there is a place to point and click to get the “All Star Analyst Portfolio” at no charge. For those who want the complete advisory service, sign up for the free trial by going to www.zacks.com. Service is also available in hard copy format.
DISCOUNT BROKERAGES
All of the following provide quotes on various securities and online investment capabilities for options, Exchange Traded Funds, bonds, mutual funds, and other types of investments. Some provide general business news, company specific news, investment research, and other information. This list is not meant to be exhaustive, but is representative of the largest online discount brokers. Information on these and other companies is available at libraries for non-computer users.
EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS
www.bloomberg.com – Web site of Bloomberg.com. For information about ETFs click on “ETFs."
www.nasdaq.com – Web site of the NASDAQ stock market. For information about ETFs click on “ETFs."
www.ishares.com – Information on ETFs offered by Barclays Global Investors.
