1. Personal Finance

2. Define stocks and analyze the benefits of investing. Evaluate stocks in order to get a return on an investment. Compare and contrast “bear” and “bull” markets. Choose wisely in investments.

3. A stock is an investment in the ownership of a corporation. When you own stock in a company you actually own a piece of that company. A company’s profits are paid to its stockholders in the form of dividends. If the company’s value goes up so does the value of your investment. The amount of your profit is called a capital gain.

4. Shares in a company can be issued as common stock or preferred stock. Owners of common stock receive dividends based on the company’s earnings. They also have voting rights in electing the company’s board of directors. Each share represents a vote. Owners of preferred stocks receive a fixed dividend. They do not have voting rights, but do receive a dividend whether the company is making money or not.

5. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE): It is the largest and oldest exchange in the world (1790). http://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=TPUDPhpCecA NASDAQ: Virtual stock exchange 3200 companies listed and trades more shares per day than any other market

6. Blue Chip stocks: safe investments in the ownership of large respected corporations. (Disney, Coca-Cola, AT&T) Dow Jones Industrial Average: The Dow quotes the number of points a stock has risen. Each point is equal to one dollar per share. Ex. If a stock increases 3 points it increased by 3 dollars per share. S&P 500: similar to the Dow, but surveys 500 companies instead of 30. Many people consider a better indicator of the market.

7. Bull Market Investors are generally optimistic about the economy and it tends to go up. Investors are pessimistic and the market goes down. Bear Market

8. Futures are contracts to buy or sell a commodity for a set price at a specific date in the future. A person buying a future is betting that the price of a stock is going to rise or fall in the future and because the market is so unpredictable it is a riskier investment. Options are similar to futures, but instead of their being a contract to buy or sell, the owner has the option to in the future. Penny stocks are low-priced stocks issued by start up companies that have an unproven track record. They are cheap but risky because the companies are not proven moneymakers.

9. Diversify your stocks: own stock in different types of companies. Don’t be afraid to buy a lot of shares on one company. Buy when the price is going up by a lot and try to sell it at its highest point. Be patient, if a stock falls one day it might rise the next. Monitor your stocks on a regular basis.