Get general background information

Downes, J. & Goodman, J. E. (2007). Barron's finance & investment handbook (7th ed). Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series. (Reference HG173 .D66 2007 )

A compact yet comprehensive volume containing over 5,000 definitions covering stocks, bonds, banking, corporate filings, tax laws and mutual funds, with illustrations plus a list of abbreviations and acronyms.

Martz, C. (2006). Dictionary of investment terms. Mason, OH: Thomson. (Reference HG4513 .M37 2006)

Shim, J.K. & Siegel, J.G. (2001). Dictionary of international investment terms. Hauppauge, NJ: Barron's Educational Series. (Reference HG3880 .S548 2001)

Investopedia Forbes. Accessed 11/08 from http://investopedia.com

This website, focused on investing for novices and those with experience, includes articles, tutorials, and a handy dictionary.

Investor education and assistance. Washington, DC: Securities and Exchange Commission. Accessed 11/08 from http://www.sec.gov/investor.shtml.

A consumer web site created by the Securities and Exchange Commission that states, "We cannot tell you what investments to make, but we can tell you how to invest wisely and avoid fraud." The site includes links to SEC filings via EDGAR, regulatory actions, a complaint center, information about auditors and analysts, interactive tools and other investor education sites.

Find statistics

Adams, A.T. (2003). Investment Mathematics. Hoboken, NJ: J. Wiley. Available as an e-book.

Bentley, L. H. & Kiesl, J. J. (1995). Investment statistics locator. Phoenix: Oryx Press. (Reference HG 4910.B43 1995)

An index to over 50 English language sources that regularly report statistical information on investments (includes database and CD-ROM information but not web resources).

BigCharts San Francisco: MarketWatch.com. Accessed 11/08 from http://bigcharts.marketwatch.com/

BigCharts combines quality graphics with a variety of research tools like interactive charts, quotes, industry analysis, intraday stock screeners, as well as market news and commentary.

Standard and Poor's industry surveys (quarterly). New York: Standard & Poor's Corp. (HC 106.6.S74) Current edition in READY REFERENCE; back issues on 3rd floor; library holds 1997-.

Synopsis and analysis of more than 1200 companies in 52 industry sectors and over 120 sub-industries. Includes price performance, valuation statistics, investment outlooks, price graphs, and "appreciation potential" for companies in the "S&P Super 1500." In-depth analyses of all 52 industries are periodically updated and include industry trends, key ratios and statistics and how to analyze companies in a particular industry.

Find company information

The Annual Reports Library. (n.d.). Accessed November 2008 from http://zpub.com/sf/arl/index.html

A web site that provides links to sources of annual reports, the SEC's "10-K Wizard," tips for producing annual reports, educational sites and additional resources.

Business and Company Resource Center [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1979 - present. Profiles 400,000 companies. Provides company histories, business articles, industry rankings and analyses for selected public companies.

Hoover's Company Records[on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 2002-current. Find in-depth company information on over 5,000 companies with Hoover's Company Records. Each profile provides an overview and history, as well as as information on key people, products, subsidiaries and competitors.

Howto: Organization Research

International directory of company histories (annual). Grant, T. (Ed.). Chicago: St. James Press (HD 2721 .I63) Library owns Vols. 1-48 or 1988-2002, and these are located on the 3rd floor.

International coverage of over 5,625 companies in 48 volumes. Companies profiled have generally achieved over $25 million in annual sales and are leaders in their industries (Some private and nonprofit companies are also profiled.). Entries include contact and ownership information, number of employees, sales figures, ticker symbols and industry codes, company profile, key competitors and a short bibliography. Each volume includes a cumulative index to companies, industries, and geographic location.

Key Business Ratios [on-campus]
Description: D&B's Key Business Ratios help you understand the true performance of a company, by benchmarking it against its industry peers. The 14 key business ratios cover all critical areas of business performance—solvency, efficiency and profitability. And, using an individual company's financial statements with Key Business Ratios, you can generate a comparison of a company's own business ratios with the industry.
Time span: Current year.

Mergent Online [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Current. Mergent Online contains the electronic versions of the Mergent (formerly Moody's) Manuals (Industrial, OTC, Banking and Finance, and International), covering over 10,000 U.S. companies and thousands for foreign companies. The financial data for most companies covers 15 years. Industry reports are included.

SEC Filings & Forms (EDGAR). (2008). Washington, DC: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Accessed November 2008 from http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml

EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system collects and makes available electronically registration statements, periodic reports, and other forms for companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the SEC. As of May 6, 1996 all public domestic companies are required to make their filings on EDGAR (except companies with less than $10 million in assets and 500 shareholders). Beginning on November 4, 2002 foreign companies and governments will also be required to file their documents on EDGAR.

 

Specific types of investment

STOCKS:

Mergent dividend record (2001-Present). New York, Mergent. (Reference HG 4050.M66).

This title provides basic financial information on "282 companies that have increased their cash dividends annually over at least the past ten calendar years." Mergent refers to these investment opportunities as "comfort investments" that "supply homey, uncomplicated products and anxiety-relieving services." Numerous charts include rankings by annual growth rate of dividends, companies with the longest records of consecutive annual dividend increases, highest and lowest price/earnings ratios and a list of companies classified by industry. This title continues Moody's dividend record.

Mergent's handbook of common stocks (quarterly). New York: Mergent, Inc. (HG4501 .M59), Most recent editions in Reference, and all others on 3rd floor.

MUTUAL FUNDS:

Morningstar.com Library Edition [on-campus]
Description: Find a stock or fund to meet your needs, research current or prospective holdings or see how your investments work together. Morningstar's data reports cover more than 20,000 securities. Coverage: Historical data back to 1996.

Mutual Fund Factbook (Annually). Washington, D.C.: Investment Co. Institute. (HG4530 .I6). 2004 edition in Reference, and all earlier editions on 3rd floor.

BONDS:

Bureau of the public debt online (2008). Washington, DC: United States Department of the Treasury. Accessed November 2008 from
http://www.publicdebt.treas.gov/index.htm

This Treasury Department web portal for government securities serves individual and institutional investors. Information on the public debt of the United States from the present day ("to the penny") back to 1791, savings bonds, t-bills, notes and bonds, state and local government securities and access to the online purchase of government securities. Provides information on the basics of investing in Treasury securities and resources on the regulation of securities markets.

Bonds online (2006). East Lansing, MI: Bondsonline Group, Inc. Accessed November 2008 from http://bonds-online.com

This site provides overviews of bond issues and numerous links to bond market news and information.

Mergent bond record: Corporates, convertibles, governments, municipals. (monthly, with annual cumulations). New York: Mergent FIS. (HG 4905.M78) Latest year is in Reference, with all previous editions on the 3rd floor.

Covers 56,000 fixed-income issues. Includes CUSIP number, call price, interest dates, price range, yield, yield to maturity, and Moody's rating. Information varies for other types of bonds.

COMMODITIES:
Commodity futures trading commission. (2008). Chicago: Commodities Futures Trading Commission. Accessed November 2008 from http://www.cftc.gov/cftc/cftchome.htm

The web site of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, an independent government agency that regulates the commodity futures and options markets in the United States. The site has links to all the domestic exchanges and includes market analysis, research, and surveillance information.

ABI Inform [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1970 - present. Indexes more than 1,300 journals on business, management, with 75% full-text.

Business and Company Resource Center [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: 1979 - present. Profiles 400,000 companies. Provides company histories, business articles, industry rankings and analyses for selected public companies.

Business Source Premier [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Varies– present. Business Source Premier provides full text for nearly 8,350 scholarly business journals and other sources, including full text for more than 1,100 scholarly business publications. Coverage includes virtually all subject areas related to business. This database provides full text (PDF) for more than 350 of the top scholarly journals dating as far back as 1922. Funded by the Maryland Digital Library (MDL). Includes company profiles, many of which contain SWOT analyses.

Several commercial websites offer up-to-the-minute information related to investing, such as current market conditions and commentary from industry journalists:

Bloomberg Bloomberg L.P. Accessed 11/08 gtp, http://www.bloomberg.com/

InvestorGuide WebFinance Inc. Accessed 11/08 from http://www.investorguide.com/

MarketWatch Dow Jones & Company.Accessed 11/08 from http://www.marketwatch.com/.

Yahoo Finance Accessed 11/08 from http://finance.yahoo.com/

Catalog USMAI [help]
Books, journals, government documents and other materials in the University System of Maryland, including UB. You may search up to six individual locations or the entire system. Digital Dissertations (Dissertation Abstracts from Proquest) [on-campus]
Coverage 1861 – present. Indexes U.S., Canadian, British, and other European dissertations and theses; dissertations abstracted since 1980, theses abstracted since 1988. A 24 page preview of dissertations published since 1997 is available. The full text of dissertations may be obtained by clicking the free download button.

Digital Dissertations (Dissertation Abstracts from Proquest) [on-campus]
Coverage 1861 – present. Indexes U.S., Canadian, British, and other European dissertations and theses; dissertations abstracted since 1980, theses abstracted since 1988. A 24 page preview of dissertations published since 1997 is available. The full text of dissertations may be obtained by clicking the free download button.

WorldCat [on-campus] [help]
Coverage: Varies. International database of collections (including books, journals , dissertations, documents, and other materials) held by libraries worldwide. Maryland libraries that own copies of the items display at the top of the list of libraries so you can easily determine if local libraries own the material needed. Records of any type of material cataloged by OCLC member libraries. Includes manuscripts written as early as the 12th century.

You can call 410-837-4274 when the Library is open, email langref@ubalt.edu or chat at http://langsdale.ubalt.edu/info_services/contact.htm

1/06, updated 11/08 asd