Small Business: Speed Up Receivables To Avoid A Cash Crunch
Waiting for customers to pay can be a losing game. Look to factoring for quicker cash.
Whom Should Corporations Please?
Companies balance the interests of owners, customers and employees. Find out who comes out on top.
Depreciation: Straight-Line Vs. Double-Declining Methods
Appreciate the different methods used to describe how book value is "used up".
Financial Institutions: Stretched Too Thin?
Find out how to evaluate a firm's loan portfolio to determine its financial health.
CEO Savvy And Stock's Success Go Hand In Hand
A CEO shapes the direction a business will take. We provide four clues to help you determine which ones have the right stuff.
Earnings Sustainability: The Key To Your Investing Future
Learn how to analyze earnings sustainability - an important part of making sound investments.
The 4 Basic Elements Of Stock Value
Investors use these four measures to determine a stock's worth. Find out how you can too.
Decoding DuPont Analysis
Get a deeper understanding of ROE with these three-step and five-step calculations.
Accounting For Differences In Oil And Gas Accounting
How a company accounts for its expenses affects how its net income and cash flow numbers are reported.
EBITDA: Challenging The Calculation
This measure has a bad rap, but it's still a valuable tool when used appropriately.
Getting On The Right Side Of The P/E Ratio Trend
Buying at the right time is crucial, but how do we know when that is?
The Baltic Dry Index: Evaluating An Economic Recovery
This index can provide insight into economic growth and production, but it has its critics.
Financial Statement Manipulation An Ever-Present Problem For Investors
The SEC has taken steps to eliminate this type of corporate fraud, but it remains a real risk for investors.
Pick Better Stocks By Consulting Form 10-K
Learn to read and dissect the most comprehensive compilation of information on a company.
Free Cash Flow Yield: The Best Fundamental Indicator
Cash in the bank is what every company strives to achieve. Find out how to determine how much a company is generating and keeping.
Conference Calls: Press 1 For Investment Insight
These calls can be an investor's most direct line to information about a company's operations.
Evaluate Stock Price With Reverse-Engineering DCF
This is a more accurate method to use when trying to find a target price for a stock.
5 Must-Have Metrics For Value Investors
These quick-and-dirty ratios will help you find the most undervalued stocks on the market.
Build A Baby Berkshire
Get a piece of Warren Buffett's profit by using Form 13F to coattail his picks.
Economic Moats: A Successful Company's Best Defense
Find out why some companies thrive while others flounder.
Don't Forget To Read The Prospectus!
Learn to decipher the secret language of the prospectus - it can tell you a lot about a company's future.
Reading The Balance Sheet
Learn about the components of the statement of financial position and how they relate to each other.
Litigation: Are Your Investments At Risk?
Don't let company lawsuits hit you unprepared. Learn how to uncover how they might affect you.
Common Clues Of Financial Statement Manipulation
Search for the "bloody" fingerprints in accounting crimes.
Banking Stress Tests: Would Yours Pass?
In weaker economic times, banks may be tested by the government to see how safe they are.
How Buybacks Warp The Price-To-Book Ratio
Relying on price-to-book can get ugly if a company has repurchased stock. Learn why.
Cleaning Up Dirty Surplus Items
Dirty surplus items can skew net income. Knowing how to account for them will give you a cleaner picture.
The Best CEOs Listen To The Street
Studies show that transparency and listening to the market are a winning combination for CEOs and the companies they run.
Pharma Patent Trolls: Cheap Drugs At A Steep Price
Though patent trolls can help patients achieve cheaper medication in the short-term, everyone pays for it in the long term.
How To Avoid Falling Prey To The Next Madoff Scam
Due diligence does work, but the loose reporting standards for hedge funds make extra care and attention necessary.
Assessing Bank Assets: Are Your Savings Safe?
Learn how to determine if your assets are safe or if your bank has spread itself too thin.
Accretion / Dilution Analysis: A Merger Mystery
This analysis tool is an effective way to value mergers and acquisitions. The deal's on the table, but should you sign the papers?
Is Your Bank On Its Way Down?
Find out how the Tier 1 capital ratio can be used to tell if your bank is going under.
Hamburger Economics: The Big Mac Index
In theory, PPP stands up much better than it does in reality. Find out how to evaluate currencies according to the price of a Big Mac.
4 Characteristics Of Recession-Proof Companies
Investors can find profitable companies - even in a recession. It's all about knowing where to look.
Equity Valuation In Good Times And Bad
Learn how to filter out the noise of the market place in order to find a solid way of determing a company's value.
Signs A Stock Is Ready To Slide
In investment, knowledge is power. Knowing these signs could alert you to potential problems on the horizon for your stocks.
Mark-To-Market: Tool Or Trouble?
Mark-to-market accounting can be a valuable practice, but all bets are off when the market fluctuates wildly.
Making A Winning Long-Term Stock Pick
Learn the different ratios and indicators that characterize a good long-term investment.
Dial Up Choice Telecom Stocks
This ever-changing industry can leave investors scratching their heads. Find out which metrics matter.
Book Value: Theory Vs. Reality
In theory, a low P/B ratio means you have a cushion against poor performance. In practice, it is much less certain.
The Value Investor's Handbook
Learn the technique that Buffett, Lynch and other pros used to make their fortunes.
Intermarket Relationships: Following The Cycle
Find out how commodity, bond, stock and currency markets interact.
Time Value Of Money: Determining Your Future Worth
Determining monthly contributions to college funds, retirement plans or savings is easy with the TVM calculation.
PEG Ratio Nails Down Value Stocks
Learn how this simple calculation can help you determine a stock's earnings potential.
Poker Face: Corporate Tells And How To Spot Them
Observing a company's behavior can prove beneficial for the mindful investor. Know the signs before you make a reactionary move.
Are Your Stocks Doomed?
When a company is headed for trouble, the warning signs are usually there. Learn how to spot disaster.
Reverse Engineering The ROE
Return on equity is a widely used ratio, but return on net operating assets (RNOA) takes things one step farther.
10 Timeless Market Rules
Find out what most investors are doing wrong, and how you can do it right.
How To Find P/E And PEG Ratios
If these numbers have you in the dark, these easy calculations should help light the way.
How's Your Mutual Fund Really Doing?
Determine how fund managers are doing by sizing them up against their peers.
Using Consumer Spending As A Market Indicator
What people buy and where they shop can provide valuable information about the economy.
Texas Ratio Rounds Up Bank Failures
This measure can help investors spot potential trouble in a bank's financials. Find out how.
Gauge Portfolio Performance By Measuring Returns
Calculate returns frequently and accurately to ensure that you're meeting your investing goals.
Get A Richer Picture With The Penman-Nissim Framework
Probability trends and profitability analysis are clearer when using this framework.
Value Investing Using The Enterprise Multiple
This simple measure can help investors determine whether a stock is a good deal.
Clone Cost Reveals True Value
Find out how calculating a reproduction cost for a company can beat out the dividend discount model.
The Evolution Of Enterprise Risk Management
This growing sector can tell you a lot about the companies you are investing in.
Executive Compensation: How Much Is Too Much?
The proxy statement can help determine whether a CEO is well compensated - or just overpaid.
Fly High With Angel Investors
When your business needs capital, put your faith in these wealthy investors.
Red Flag Phrases: "Material Adverse Effect"
Learn about this warning sign and how to spot it in a company's financial statements.
Understanding The Income Statement
Learn how to use revenue and expenses, among other factors, to break down and analyze a company.
Understanding The Cash Conversion Cycle
Find out how a simple calculation can help you uncover the most efficient companies.
A New Approach To Equity Compensation
The new financial accounting standard known as FAS 123R could take a bite out of your portfolio. Find out why here.
What Is A Cash Flow Statement?
Learn how the CFS relates to the balance sheet and income statement as a part of a company's financial reports.
Evaluating A Company's Management
Financial statements don't tell you everything about a company's health. Investigate the management behind the numbers!
Uncovering Insider Trading
Some insider trading is actually legal - and can be extremely telling for investors.
Detecting Two Tricks Of The Trade
"One-time charges" and "investment gains" are two strategies companies can use to distort their numbers.
Analyst Recommendations: Do Sell Ratings Exist?
What's in an analyst report and what should you do with this information? Find out here.
