In the following tutorial, we will provide you with some suggestions on where to find useful information about the financial market.

As you enter the world of stock investing, it may be a good idea to familiarize yourself with the useful information you will need.

We will cover the following topics in this tutorial:

• Stock symbols
• Where to find a stock
• Web sites and print media

STOCK SYMBOLS

A wise investor will always do a financial analysis before purchasing a stock. In order to obtain information about a prospective company, one needs to know the stock of the company (sometimes referred to as a ticker symbol).

Next, one may find it useful to review the company's stock quotes, charts and earning estimates in order to decide whether the company is a good investment.

Fortunately, all of this information is easy to find.

WHERE TO FIND A STOCK

Two basic ways for finding stock information are on the Internet and through various print media.

Web sites providing stock information are usually sponsored by brokerage firms such as Ameritrade, or by non-broker affiliated quoting services such as Quicken. They all provide similar data, but vary in server range, amount of information, and speed.

You may also look for web sites that have been created from print media. These have market reports.

WEB SITES & PRINT MEDIA

Several research firms offer an Internet version of their popular print reports. They do not have the option for immediate investing, but usually offer links to various brokerage institutions. These include:

• Individual Investor
  
• Zack's Research
  
• Valueline
  
• Morningstar
  
• Personal Wealth and
  
• The Wall Street Journal

This concludes our brief tutorial on finding stock symbols, quotes, charts, and earning estimates. Good luck on entering the exciting world of investing!