ALA Home  RUSA  BRASS  Professional Tools Best of the Best Business Web Sites Best Business Web Sites Financial Markets and Investments

Sponsored by the BRASS Education Committee

Financial Markets and Investments

For a resource guide about answering basic reference questions related to this topic, see the BRASS Core Competencies for Business Reference web page on Investment and Finance.

Produced by CNNFN and Money Magazine, this web site covers business news, personal finance calculators and other tools, and global financial market information. In addition, this site also provides mortgage cost worksheets, industry-specific news, stock quotes, mutual fund reports, and investment and financial advice.

Financial gateway for the individual investor with information on stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money markets, etc.

Created by Ohio State's Department of Finance, this meta-web site covers most investment areas, including information about equities, bonds, money markets, insurance, currencies, investment banks, and macroeconomics information. A good place to dig for further reputable resources.

Find the latest company news and company profiles, excellent charts, key statistics, financial statements, current and historical stock quotes going back to 1986, top ten competitors and SEC filings. Also, provides 51 broad industry research reports comparing the top 10 companies in each.

While not all information is for free, you can search by ticker to find company reports including charts, earning estimates, fundamental ratios, industry ratios and growth rates.

Created by the Securities and Exchange Commission Office of Investor Education and Assistance, this page has links to SEC tips and publications that will help users to "invest wisely and avoid costly mistakes and fraud." It also has suggestions on doing research, interactive tools to look at mutual funds and publicly traded companies, information on filing complaints, and links to other investor education sites.

Investopedia provides a lot of information on investing and allows users to look at it based on where they are in their investing life: as a beginner, experienced investor, active trader or preparing for retirement. There are tutorials, an investment game, a dictionary, research material and more.

The Alliance for Investor Education’s Investor’s Clearinghouse provides information on investing and financial markets, including educational material and links to other investment websites. Alliance members include the American Association of Individual Investors, the Chartered Financial Analyst Institute, the New York Stock Exchange and the Federal Reserve, among others.

MoneyChimp provides clear explanations on topics such as how to read an annual report, valuation methods, portfolios and index analysis, among others. Find calculators here as well as a section on "How Finance Works." Use their Chimp-a-Go-Go feature to learn something random.

The Foundation for Investor Education’s Path to Investing site is a collection of material covering all aspects of investing for individuals and families. Clear, in-depth explanations of all things related to investing are provided as is a stock market simulation game called the Investor Challenge.

Created by the Bond Market Association, this site provides basic information on personal finance, economic and consumer concepts to help people learn how to save and invest. A sister site, Coping with Unwarranted Change offers advice to people facing financial decision-making related to unexpected life changes such as loss of a spouse or a job, sudden disability, etc.

A. Stocks:

This site created by JPMorgan is a great source for accessing news, earnings estimates, quotes, technical charts, and institutional ownership on American Depositary Receipts (ADRs) and international equities. You can search for ADRs by region, industry, and ticker or company name. Click on market overview to get data on the best and worst performing DRs as well as top DRs by sector, ownership, and country.

Provides good background information on American Depository Receipts (ADR). You can view ADRs by industry, country, or region. Also, allows searching for DRs by institutional ownership and dividend paying issuers.

Use the Snap Charts feature to draw charts for periods of 1 day to all available dates going back to 50 years.

Create a variety of daily and weekly charts for periods ranging from a few minutes to several years and in several styles and colors.

This web guide lists stock and commodity exchanges worldwide, including those dealing in futures, options, and derivatives, as well as sources for market and stock prices and reports.

B. Bonds

Topics include: US corporate bonds, US Municipal bonds, US Treasury and Federal Agency securities, bond funds, convertible bonds. It also gives information about portfolio strategy, hedging, swap mechanics, and analytic software.

This a great source for finding a wide variety of data, news, and commentary about bonds. It provides investors information on types of bonds available, how to buy and sell bonds, bond investment strategies and a glossary of bond market terms.

Monthly data for treasury bills, notes, and other federal securities. Tables include a description of the security, issue date, amount, and date of final maturity. For more data related to federal bills, notes, and bonds visit the Bureau of the Public Debt.

Provides access to historical and current data on issuance, rates, and average maturity for corporate and municipal bonds, and federally issued securities. Also, covers Moody’s Corporate Bond Yield Averages from 1996 to present.

C. Mutual Funds:

Published by the Investment Company Institute, this informative site enhances public understanding of the investment company industry and the policy issues that affect it, particularly those involving legislation and regulation, the U.S. economy, and retirement security.

Backed by data from Morningstar, this interactive site from BusinessWeek is pdated each month to show how funds are performing. You can browse the listings, or enter a fund name or ticker symbol to pull up a specific fund. Click on the fund's name and you'll get a pop-up with more information.

Contains an overview of what a mutual fund is, the trends, and the various mutual fund investment objectives. The statistics section includes fund assets, sales, and portfolio purchases.

Published by the Mutual Fund Education Alliance, the not-for-profit trade association of the no-load mutual fund industry, this resource is designed to serve as an important resource for investors who want to use mutual funds to reach their financial goals. Here, you'll find a large collection of mutual fund companies, website links, fund listings and exclusive planning, tracking and monitoring tools.

D. Commodities and Futures

A free site with news, quotes and charts for commodities futures and financial indicators.

Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) is an independent agency with the mandate to regulate commodity futures and option markets in the United States. The Web site has links to all domestic exchanges, market analysis, market surveillance, and market research.

Made available by the Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, FAOSTAT provides statistical compilation on agricultural production and trade on both a world wide and country by country basis for all types of crops, livestock, and agricultural commodities.

Maintained by the Commodities and Trade Division of FAO, this database provides weekly, monthly, and annual prices for agricultural commodities from 1987 to present.

NYMEX site provides current and historical market data on futures and options for contracts traded by Exchange including crude oil, gasoline, heating oil, natural gas, electricity, gold, silver, copper, aluminum, and platinum; futures contracts for coal, propane, and palladium; and options contracts on the price differentials between crude oil and gasoline, crude oil and heating oil, and various futures contract months (calendar spreads) for light, sweet crude; Brent crude oil; gasoline; heating oil; and natural gas.