Trade Organizations and Statistics

Trade or professional organizations can be good sources for otherwise hard to find statistics on sales, volume, value, industry trends or other news. Many times these figures are cited as definitive as possible sources.

There are organizations for toys, chocolate, automobile sales, and so on.

They have stats like this:



You can do a google search for their websites or.....

you can search our database Ward's Directory and be sure to select advanced search and search the Encyclopedia of Associations by keywords. More clicks but better results.
 

Book Review: Reminiscences of A Stock Operator

This may be the best book ever written about trading stocks. Sure, it was written a hundred years or so ago, but the market behaves very similarly today. 

Jesse Livermore made millions in the glory years of early 20th century stock trading. He DID NOT use inside information either - just tape reading (the record of price movement).

Here's some major takeaways from the book:

1. Learn to read a chart (book doesn't discuss chart reading, just advises you to learn it)
2. Learn to trust your instincts, read the chart and ignore hot tips.
3. Learn that the market forms ideas that it is slow to abandon.
4. Learn to trade current events
5. Learn to recognize deceptive tricks (And this book has a lot of classic examples that still get used today!)

Wonderful writing really gives you a sense of early 20th century stock plungers: the bucket shops, the trips to Florida for fishing, catching the train, going broke in Boston and starting over in Cleveland, the crusty characters at the local stock brokerages and more. 

What Investors Can Learn From Accounting Standards

Here's a way to get a little more insight when looking at a company's financials.

One size of analysis does not fit all - and contracts, depreciation, costs, inventory and other financials may be handled very differently owing to the reality of the industry.

Retail, housing, airplane manufacturing, cosmetics and more all experience these metrics differently.

1. Go to Checkpoint.

2. Make sure the drop down box is tuned to accounting, audit and corporation finance.

3. Set Tab to Search

4. Look to the right - you'll see AICPA Audit and Accounting Guides



It's a great way to see what analysts are seeing when they upgrade or downgrade a company!