Mandy Hackley presents on how to locate and understand Investing Information, using free and widely available resources. For the Maryland Library Association conference, Mary 14, 2009.

1. Case 2: Investing
Information
Mandy Hackley, MLS
May 14, 2009
Maryland Library Association
Ocean City, MD

2. Bob Cratchit
My patron, Bob Cratchit, is looking for a new
job. He wants to thoroughly research his next
employer. Where can he start his research? What
resources can he trust as being valid?

3. The Annual Report!
Bob decides to start by looking at his future

company’s annual report. The annual report can
usually be found on the company web site.
The company web site is also a great way to see

how the company markets itself.
The annual report includes:

◦ Stock reports
◦ Ratios
◦ The company’s vision

4. Starbucks!

5. Highlights from the Annual
Report
STARBUCKS MISSION STATEMENT AND

GUIDING PRINCIPLES
To establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the

finest coffee in the world while maintaining our
uncompromising principles as we grow.
Provide a great work environment and treat each other

with respect and dignity. Bob loves this as his last
employer wasn’t always kind!
Develop enthusiastically satisfied customers all of the

time.
Contribute positively to our communities and our

environment.
Recognize that profitability is essential to our future

success.

6. What Has Bob Learned from the
Annual Report?
Starbucks is a publicly owned company

Because it is publicly owned it is sold on a stock exchange

and all of its financial information is public knowledge.
Starbucks is sold on the Nasdaq exchange

SBUX is Starbucks’ ticker symbol.

Starbucks values their employees.

Now we will turn to a third party for information about Starbucks.

7. Big Charts.com
What is Big Charts.com?

◦ BigCharts is the world's most comprehensive and
easy-to-use investment research Web
site, providing access to professional-level
research tools such as interactive
charts, quotes, industry analysis and intraday
stock screeners, as well as market news and
commentary.
 Taken from Bigcharts.com on May 10, 2009

8. It gets better….
Big Charts.com is maintained by MarketWatch, Inc.,
which is a service of Dow Jones and Company .
Dow Jones publishes the Wall Street Journal which
many business people love!

9. So we know Big Charts is a reliable
source but what can it do?
It can draw charts that compare companies

to the top 500 public companies according
to Standard and Poor’s
 Big Charts can also give you up to 5 years
of data regarding your company’s stock
price.

10. Here we see that Starbucks isn’t doing
so bad…..

11. Big Charts also provides industry
information.
Any guesses as to the
best and worst
industries according to
Big Charts?

12. ??????????????
Best Industry:
Forestry and Paper
Worst Industry:
Mortgage Finance
retrieved 5/13/09

13. Let’s talk briefly about a book.
Standard and Poor’s Industry Surveys

give detailed information about
particular industries.
For the restaurant industry it covers:

◦ Current Environment
◦ Industry Trends
◦ Industry Operations
◦ Ratios and Statistics
◦ Industry Terms
◦ Comparative Company Analysis

14. S&P Industry Surveys are updated
frequently in the book format. There is
also an online version.

15. S&P Industry Surveys
If your public library does not have
the survey books it might be worth it to
see if a library close to you does.
Perhaps, your patron won’t mind
taking a short trip?
Especially, if he is like my patron ,
Bob, and making a career switch from
book keeper to barista!

16. Value Line..
is called “The Most Trusted
Name in Investment
Research” because that is just
what it is!

17. Value Line is very popular for
investment clubs.
Perhaps you have seen these people

in your library?

18. You don’t have to know everything
about VL but you might want to
know this:
Ranking: VL ranks all stocks on a

scale of 1-5. 1 is highest and 5 is
lowest!
 Analysis: This part of VL is a narrative
about your stock. Here a commentator
will analyze the future of your stock.
This is a highly valued aspect of VL

19. What does the VL narrative look like? Well, isn’t
exactly a Danielle Steel novel but there it is on the
bottom of the page. Click here to see this page on
the web.

20. More to know about Value
Line..
Historical Data: Here you can see how

your stock sold in the past.
Ratios: The most popular ratio is the

Price/Earning ratio.
◦ What is a P/E ratio?
 The most common measure of how expensive
a stock is. The P/E ratio is equal to a stock's
market capitalization divided by its after-tax
earnings over a 12-month period. From Investorwords.com

21. Hmmmm?
I, myself just like to know where I can find the
P/E not how I would figure out the P/E!

22. Value Line University
Value Line has wonderful help pages on
their site.
So be a wise owl and visit VL university!

23. What happened to Bob?
In the end Bob decided that Scrooge
would have to see the ghosts of
Christmas past without his help and
he went off to work at Starbucks!!