* News: Read the company's press
releases and keep current with breaking news. Try to connect isolated news articles to
spot trends. Check out News Index http://www.newsindex.com.
* Company profiles: To find short
summaries of the key issues with publicly traded companies, try Hoover's Online http://www.hoovers.com.
* Industry: Read news articles and
industry trade journals to spot patterns that may indicate technological breakthroughs or
new products. Find the answers to questions like "Does the industry have problems
with over-capacity?" How does this problem affect the profits of the company you're
researching? Try STAT-USA http://www.stat-usa.gov
and Technometrica Market Research http://www.technometrica.com.
* Economics: Note how changes in the
national, regional, and local economies affect your investment candidates. Will a rising
dollar lower corporate returns? What are the Wall Street economists saying? Check out
Internet Federal Reserve Sites http://www.cpcug.org/user/invest
and the GSA Government Information Locator Service http://www.gsa.gov
.
* Market: What's happening in the stock
market? Are prices and trading volume increasing? See the Holt Stock Report http://metro.turnpike.net/holt/index.html
and Quote.com http://www.quote.com.
* Analyst's evaluations: Study what the
Wall Street analysts are saying about the company. What they say may provide you with
leads for additional research. Try Reuters MoneyNet at http://www.moneynet.com.
* Earning estimates: Keep current with the
earning estimates of professionals. Are they going up or down? Try First Call http://www1.firstcall.com.
* Historical prices: Sometimes you can
tell where a company is going by seeing where it has been. Evaluating the company's past
stock prices may provide you with new insights. Try Stock Tools Data Giveaway at http://www.stocktools.com.