Finance: October 2007

MBA Finance Class Investment Information

Will Rogers once said, “Don’t gamble; take all your savings and buy some good stock and hold it till it goes up, then sell it. If it don’t go up, don’t buy it.”

Here are some web sites that may be helpful when seeking academic investment information...

Remember, your personal situation is unique, and you might want to get professional investment, tax, accounting and legal advice before you act on any potential investment opportunity. The following list is merely a list of some web sites that you might find helpful in doing preliminary research.

It is NOT intended to be comprehensive or representative of all possible financial web sites... or to be a list of recommendations... or even a list of the very best financial information web sites... just a starting point for further academic research before you actually invest or spend money. Use with caution and at your own risk!

You might want to keep this link handy for future reference... and feel free to share this information with your friends!

Dan's Finance & Investment Communications for You:

Dans' Twitter

Dan's Finance Blog

Dan's Google Reader Feed

Dan's Online Investment Class Info (available to anyone in the general public - not for MBA students)

Investment Basics course page

Investment Class Wiki

MBA Finance Class Wiki

Stock Wiki

TV Video Archives

PBS News Hour Business Reports - Jan-June '08

PBS News Hour Business Reports - July-Dec '08

Charlie Rose Show - occasional business guests

CBC The National

Six Disciplines Videos

Coming Depression Videos

Wall Street Warriors - TV Show

Wall Street Warriors - early review

Wall Street Warriors - Season1: Episodes 2 & 6; Season 2: Episodes 1, 2, 5, 7, 8 & 10

Wall Street Warriors - Questions for discussion

Clubs

Investment Clubs

Money Club - Introduction

Money Club

Money Club Article

Smart Cookies

Smart Cookies - book

Apple iPhone Applications

PortfolioLive

StockRazor

Finance Principles

10 Fundamentals of Finance

10 Basic Investment Concepts

Stop Wasting Money

Corporate Governance Challenges

The Compelling Case for Change

Aspen Principles

Corporation 20/20

Economy

Financial Crisis Explained - Video

End of Credit Era - But What's Next?

The Big Picture

Briefing.Com

Who Killed the Economy?

Visual Guide to the Financial Crisis

History of Government Bailouts

Economic Doom PPT

Morgan Stanley - Mary Meeker Projections

Venture Capital Business is Broken

Economic Projections - Consumer Electronics

Google is optimistic about 2009!

Basics

100 Corporations That Will Survive 100 Years

Yahoo Finance

Google Finance

International Investing

Sane Bull

Fidelity Investment Basics

Why Invest? PPT

Average Consumer Spending

Wall Street Firms Capitalization

Investment Basics

Stock Investing

Stock Trading

Mutual Fund Investing

Exchange Traded Funds

Exchange Traded Funds Screener

Exchange Traded Notes

How REITs Work

401 K & IRA

529 & College Savings Plans

eRollover

Yahoo Investment Education

Standard & Poors

FiscalZen

Personal Finance

Retirement Calculator

Retirement Planning

Credit Information

Finance@Wikipedia

Finance Methods & Theories

Financial Modeling Guide

World Stock Markets

Dictionary of financial terms

Mutual Fund Families

Market Daily Summary

Daily Gainers & Losers

FiLife

Teach Me Finance

Free Credit Reports - Forget copycat sites. This is the official Web site where you can get a
free report from each of the three credit bureaus once a year.

Credit Score - Buy your score from one credit bureau for $15.95 or from all three for
$47.85. Plus, get advice on how to raise your score, and use the site's
EZ Error Correct system to dispute mistakes.

FICO Score - educational info

Tax-withholding calculator

Social Security calculator - Type your name, Social Security number, birth date, birthplace and
mother's name into this secure site, and it will show your estimated
benefits based on your up-to-date earnings record.

Health Insurance Quotes - Provides immediate quotes for most major health insurers and compares
policies. For personalized attention, call 800-977-8860 or find a local broker.

Health Insurance for people with medical conditions or modest incomes.

Medicare - detailed information about Medicare, with excellent tools to help you
pick the best Part D plan or Medicare Advantage policy based on your
specific medications and health condition.

Term Life Insurance - An easy way to get term-insurance rates from many of the top companies.
Call 800-442-9899 for personalized help, especially if you have a
medical condition.

Term Life Insurance - Use this site to see the detailed criteria you must meet to qualify for each company's term-insurance rates.

Auto Insurance - Lets you compare price quotes from several major insurers (the number
varies by state). Also a good resource for money-saving tips on every
kind of insurance. For personal help, contact an agent.

Homeowners Insurance - For a fee of $7.95, you can calculate how much coverage you need. Plug
in data about your home's age, building materials and other details,
and get an immediate estimate of its replacement cost.

Complaints - National Association of Insurance Commissioners
maintains complaint records for each insurer in every state. Focus on
the complaint ratio: the number of complaints for every dollar the
insurer collects in premiums.

Insurance Quotes

Asset Allocation

Diversification Example

Harvard University Portfolio

America's Challenges:

Shift Happens

Perot Charts

Pickens Plan

Pump the Plug

Water Crisis (free book)

Crowdsourcing

The World Is Flat

Hot, Flat & Crowded

Auto Industry Collapse

Google Clean Energy 2030

All About Google PPT

3 Basic Choices...

1. Savings & Interest Rates:

Save for a specific goal - FDIC-insured, minimum goal of $250 and a $25 deposit. Your timetable must be at least three months and no longer than 50 years.Tell SmartyPig how much you need to save and when you need the
money, and it will suggest a monthly contribution to be deducted from
your checking account. And here's SmartyPig's stroke of genius: You can make your account public so family and friends can chip in toward your goal. SmartyPig offers a generous annual yield on the account.
And the company has partnered with more than 25 retailers, such as Amazon.com and Macy's, where you can redeem your savings for a gift card with a bonus of up to 5 percent.

Banks & Rate Info

US Treasuries Rate & Info

CD Auction

Bank Rates

Bank Around

Bank Rates

2. Bond Valuation

Investing in Bonds

Bond Yields (Goldman Sachs - GS)

3. Stock Valuation

Video

Stock Splits (if any)

Fundamental Research:

MSN Stock Research Wizzard

MSN Stock Research Wizard - Apple Example

Apple Investment Wiki

Google Stock Screener

FinViz

InvestSide

Whale Wisdom

CNBC Stock Screener

Motley Fool CAPS

Energy News

Companies by Sector

Stocks Listed Alphabetically

News & Analyst Upgrades or Downgrades

Know the Company

Technical Research:

Technical Analysis

Stock Risk Grades

Stop Loss Orders

Wall Street Journal Big Charts

MACD

Stock Mood (free registration required)

Interactive Charts

Stock Alerts

Depression Investing:

Euro Pacific Capital

Corporate Bonds:

Investment Grade Corporate Bonds - LQD

Junk Bonds:

If you think they are going UP in value...

iShares IBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond Fund - HYG

If you think they are going DOWN in value...

Rydex Inverse High Yield Strategy Fund - RYIHX

Employee Benefit Plans:

Vanguard Funds

Excalibur Financial

Play Money Stock Exchanges:

WeSeed

kaChing

Fantasy Stock Exchange

Wall Street Survivor

CNBC - open from time to time

Virtual Stock Exchange

London Stock Exchange Game

Covestor

Portfolio Optimization

Portfolio Monkey

Detailed Academic Explanation

Crowd Opinions

Options (i.e. Citigroup, Symbol: C )

Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Options Education

Options Videos

CBOE Volatility Index

CBOE Volatility Index - defined

The expected movement in the S&P 500 index over the next 30-day period, on an annualized basis. For example, if the VIX is at 15, this represents an expected annual change of 15%.

CBOE Volatility Index Options

Indices:

Index Funds

What is an index fund?

Index investing - partial book chapter

Index Fund Information

Wisdom Tree Index ETFs

Wisdom Tree Small Cap Earnings Index ETF

Vanguard Index Funds

Sectors

Exchange Traded Funds - ETFs

Seeking 3X market moves

Commodities

Canadian Energy Trusts

Currencies

Short Selling

Hedge Funds

Exchange Traded Funds for Short Sellers

Chart - SDS vs. SSO (twice the volatility)

SDS - Options

Example - 9/29/08

Example - 10/9/08

Risk

Risk Statistics Overview

Sharpe Ratio - Academic Explanation

Modern Portfolio Theory

Post Modern Portfolio Theory

Prof. William F. Sharpe - Stanford - Modern Portfolio Theory

Video Meeting of Laureates in Economic Sciences, 2004

Video American Finance Association

Audio Part 1, ProMoney Talk, 2006 (Starts at 8:10)

Audio Part 2, ProMoney Talk, 2006 (Starts at 2:25)

Post Retirement Economics

Online Publications

Investment Text

Online Calculators

Money Management Software

Wesabe

Wesabe on UK Telegraph

Mint

Rudder

Buxfer

Thrive

Money2Manage

Personal Budgeting

Green Sherpa

Moneygement

Geezeo

MoneyIO - UK

Kublax - UK

ZimpleMoney

Benjamin Graham

Warren Buffett

Buffett's Investments

John Templeton

John Bogle

Bogle Financial Markets Research Center

Louis Rukeyser

Compare Mutual Funds (i.e., Symbol: TEPLX vs. VFINX )

Yahoo Finance

Wall Street Journal

Google Finance

MSN Money Central

Bloomberg

Morningstar

Closed End Funds

Age Related Funds

Wall Street Journal

Wall Street Journal Video

Overall Market Data Center

Company Research

US Mutual Fund Research (i.e. VFINX)

US Mutual Fund Screener

Asia Mutual Fund Research

Europe Mutual Fund Research

International Funds Screener

Exchange Traded Funds Research

Exchange Traded Funds Screener

Worksheets / Calculators

Games

Stock Market Game

Startup Exchange Game

Stock News Game

Investopedia Trading Game (registration required)

Yalicoo

World Stock Market

Trade Your Game Assets - Gold Farming

News & Coming Events:

Wall Street Journal Video

AllTop Financial News

Google Investment News

Loud3r

Headlines Globe

Fast Eagle

Company Financial Calendars & Web Sites

Street Read

Silicon Alley Insider

Business Sheet

Apple Investment News

CEO Gains & Losses

Brokers:

Sharebuilder - Buy by Dollar Amount

E*TRADE

E*TRADE plans to enable U.S. Retail customers to trade on 42 international exchanges (6 currently available) while holding multiple currencies in a single dollar-denominated E*TRADE account.

Interactive Brokers - access over 70 markets worldwide

Currency Trading:

Currency Trading (practice for fun!)

Exchange Traded Notes

FXCM - mentioned on Wall Street Warriors

DailyFX.Com

Currency Mutual Fund

Analysts:

Investors Business Daily

Value Line Investment Survey

Wall Street Transcript

Morningstar

The Street Ratings

Matrix USA LLC

World Stock Markets

World Markets

China Shell Companies

UK

Europe

Asia

Financial Planning:

Financial Planning Basics

SumApp

The Far Side...

Pink Sheets

OTC Bulletin Board

S&P Info (if available) on these stocks

Meyer Blinder

Penny Stock Fraudster - video

Research:

Wharton

WikiInvest

SEC 10K Reports

SEC Info via Twitter

Yahoo Finance

Yahoo Finance Video - Tech Ticker

Google Finance

Google News

MSN Money Central

Barron's

Forbes

Dow Jones Market Watch

AOL Money & Finance

Reuters Investing

CNN Money

CNN Money Stock Quotes

CNBC

CNBC - Mad Money - Cramer

CNBC - Fast Money

Bloomberg

Fox Business News

WikiInvest

Seeking Alpha

Bob's Stock Advice

Kiplinger.Com

Institutional Investor

SFO Magazine

Financial Sense

Stocks & Commodities Magazine

Financial Times of London

The Economist

Euroland

Global Finance Magazine

Global Investor Magazine

World Investment News

UK NewsNow

UK Financial News

Briefing.Com

Smart Money

Cake Financial

Covester

Wallet Pop

US Investment Publications:

Business Week

Business Week Statistics

Newsweek

Wall Street Journal

New York Times

News

Business Publications

Investment Tools:

Currency, Metals & Oil Trading (for fun!)

Sector Investing

Exchange Traded Funds

Investors Business Daily Online

The Street University

Value Line University

Interactive Brokers University

Value Line Free RSS Feeds

Investopedia

Once a Month Trading School

Investment Information:

Breaking Views

Florida Trend Wealth Management

London Stock Exchange

Wikipedia Finance

Prosper Loans

Lending Club

Free Corporate Annual Reports

Free Mutual Fund Annual Reports

Free UK Annual Reports

MergerStat

Investment Clubs

Wharton Professor Investment Strategy

Wharton Professor Investment Book

Investors can improve on index-style investing by also holding stocks with low price-to-earnings ratios and high dividend yields, and by putting as much as 40% of their stock portfolios into foreign issues.

Wharton Professor ETF Index Funds

Ben Stein's Best Thoughts

Second Life Stock Exchange

Wells Fargo Bank - Stagecoach Island

Mozo

Social Networks:

Podcasts:

Financial Times of London

Other Information:

Directory

Blog Directory

Podcasts

Social Media

Scottrade Social Community Video (registration required)

Newsletter & RSS Feeds

Blogs

23/7 Wall Street - 25 Best Financial Blogs

1. Mish’s Global Economic Trend Analysis
(7,903 links). Although Mish (aka Mike Shedlock) is not an economist by
training, he adroitly gets into the thick of economic data. Mish looks
at comments made by the major media, so–called experts and government
officials and serves up trenchant analysis based on his impression of
their relevance and validity. The author is not afraid to attack
conventional wisdom.

2. Footnoted.org (598
links). The blog’s author, Michelle Leder, digs through SEC filings
and comes up with some of the best insights about the “hidden” comments
found in 8Ks, 10Qs, and other government filings that rarely get as
careful a review. This is one of the oldest financial blogs, founded
in 2003.

3. Bill Cara’s Cara Community
(389 links) analyzes the capital markets, stock movements, and the
economy with an eye to technical guides including volatility, cash
flows, trading volume, and price performance and is prolific almost
beyond comparison.

4. Infectious Greed (3,822
links). Blogger, Paul Kedrosky, is considered one the preeminent
financial market pundits. His site reflects the perspective of a
former technology analyst, institutional money manager, and venture
capitalist. Infectious greed provides a running commentary on global
markets, economic trends, and emerging business trends.

5. Bespoke Invest,
also known as “Think Big” (6,112 links), is the blog for a money
management and research firm. The site provides a combination of
technical analysis and commentary on macroeconomic trends, major
sectors of the stock market, and currencies.

6. Angry Bear (2,447
links) is the product of a half dozen Ph.D economists, an historian,
and financial professionals. The writers provide individual
perspectives on broad sectors of the economy based on their unique
training. They look at topics as varied as worldwide trade and
industrial production as well as US government programs and regulations
like Social Security.

7. The Big Picture by Barry Ritholtz (11,223 links) has recently moved from his long-standing site on typepad, where he's been since 2002, to http://www.ritholtz.com.
Ritholtz is one of the most well-respected market and economic pundits
and bloggers who manages money as his day job. Multiple posts a day on
subjects as diverse as criticisms of the business press, digital media,
and key economic indicators. Sophisticated analysis made clear by an
unmistakably irreverent voice and excellent use of charts, tables, and
graphs.

8. Naked Shorts
(833 links) covers ETFs, hedge funds, monetary policy, and current
events. Bangs on hedgies and the accounting profession and its
practices. Not fond of the practices of many US government agencies.

9. A VC (2,777 links). Long-time
venture capitalist Fred Wilson passes along his opinions on new
technology and how it converges with emerging parts of the economy.
Wilson talks in detail about where he is investing his venture capital
money and why. His Union Square Ventures has taken positions in new
ventures including Del.icio.us, Feedburner, and Twitter.

10. SeekingAlpha (63,563
links), the grandfather of financial blog aggregation, also has its own
editors and columnists. This is by far the largest collection of
financial blog posts in the world. Readers who want to find articles
from hundreds of sites get a one-stop-shop at SeekingAlpha. If it were
not for this web site, a large number of blogs would have almost no
readers.

11. Clusterstock
(1,613) links) follows and comments on business, the stock market, and
economic news throughout the day. It has a staff of several
outstanding writers lead by Henry Blodget. Articles by John Carney are
particularly good. It is now combined with another strong site called
Silicon Alley Insider.

12. 1440 Wall Street
(1,216 link). Although the site is “intended for the institutional
equities crowd,” we won’t hold it against them - it’s still very good.
Covers money markets, sell side, buy side, private equity, Wall St.
research, and media. Strong analysis. Strong on multimedia.

13. The Kirk Report
(1,571 links). This is one of the oldest financial blogs and it has
been consistently good. It has a number of articles which are simply
links to other sites. Strong on stock analysis, market
recommendations, and volume investing. Too bad some of the content
requires being a “member.”

14. Calculated Risk
(11,057 links) is among the most thoughtful and thorough financial
commentary on the internet. Period. Tears apart poor economic
assumptions. Gets to the heart of the elements that move the economy
and markets. Big focus on housing and economic analysis

15. Abnormal Returns
(1,009 links). Disregarding our own rules for what blogs should be on
this list, this site is the only one that simply provides lists of
links to other financial sites. However, there’s a reason we’re making
an exception as these are carefully selected and come with good short
intros. Links are regularly organized by subject.

16. TraderFeed
(2,437 links). The author, Brett Steenbarger, is one of the most
intelligent voices in the financial blog business. Strong on technical
analysis, broad market commentary, and the psychology behind trading
behavior.

17. Alpha Trends
(1,046 links). Extremely strong technical analysis. Good video
commentary which it claims is the highest subscription membership for
financial videos on YouTube. Covers stocks, ETF, and index movement.

18. Econbrowser (6,597
links). Run by two professors, both with economic backgrounds. What
readers would expect from academics looking at the markets. Indepth and
often complex analysis of a broad range of topics from infrastructure
to policy making to consumer spendings. More than any other site on
this list, Econ Browser is not for sisses.

19. Peridot Capitalist
(192 links). Written by a money manager, one of the oldest and better
regarded financial blogs. Good corporate earnings analysis and looks at
undervalued stocks.

20. Information Arbitrage
(957 links) The author has been in the M&A and derivatives
businesses for some time. Strong and rich commentary on current
financial events, investment risks and rewards, and the current credit
and economic crisis.

21. Maoxian (290 links). Strong
pieces on day trading, technical trading, balance sheets, and ETFs.
Strange graphics. Writer tries to be anonymous, but it hasn’t worked.

22. 10Q Detective
(277 links). Writer has been an equity analyst. Good at digging through
government filings to find information for investors which is both
helpful and sometimes amusing. Good place to read how public companies
“game” the process of SEC reporting.

23. Ticker Sense (538
links). This site may be the most well known for its weekly poll of
financial blogger sentiments about the market. Written by money
management firm Birinyi Associates. Has excellent analysis of global
economy and major sectors of the stock market. Use of tables and graphs
is among the best.

24. Upside Trader
(356 links) Good technical analysis which follows the market carefully.
Strong charting on individual companies. Great place for day traders.

25. Carl Futia (133
links). One of the best financial forecasting blogs. Employs various
technical analysis including some he has developed. Notable for his
thoughtful and approachable writing. Posts very regularly.

Seeking Alpha

Wikivest Wire

Drug Companies

PKS Miami Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog

Blog Post Map Mashup

Ratings Agency

Moodys Sample Report

Commodities

ICE - contracts based on crude oil and refined products, natural gas, power and emissions, as well as agricultural commodities including cocoa, coffee, cotton, ethanol, orange juice, wood pulp and sugar, in addition to foreign currency and equity index futures and options.

Exchange Traded Notes

Day Trading (NOT recommended!)

Trading Tips

SMB Capital (mentioned on Wall Street Warriors)

Trader Daily

Velez Capital Management

Online Trading Platform

Trader's Library

Betting (NOT Legal in the US)

The Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006 made it illegal for banks and other financial institutions to process online wagers. The goal was to find an indirect way to regulate offshore casinos [… and sportsbooks… and real-money prediction exchanges…], which are outside the jurisdiction of American law enforcement. In short: the casinos are out of reach, but not the banks in the United States that process their transactions.

Bet on the Markets

Research Tools: