The capital markets and the ability to raise funds for corporate uses are essential to the US economic systems. For this assignment, imagine that you have $25,000 to invest in US companies. You are buying used stock. The company got the money when it issued the stock originally. You will be buying it from an existing owner. You are investing, or buying the stock, because you believe the company will make money and pay you a dividend in cash. Each share of stock that you buy entitles you to any dividend declared and a vote at the annual stockholders meeting. The stock also allows you the ability to earn your money back by selling the stock. Of course, investing in stocks is risky and there is the possibility that the stock you buy will be worth less when you want your money back. The company is not obligated to give you any of your money back. You will only get your money back if another investor wants to buy your stock. For your first journal entry complete the following: Indicate the companies you are investing in: Select three (3) US companies that are publicly traded. There are many ways to find such companies and the stock prices, including the New York Stock Exchange at http://www.nyse.com, NASDAQ at http://www.nasdaq.com, and http://finance.yahoo.com. Indicate the amount you are investing in each company: Decide how you will divide the $25,000 across the three (3) companies; e.g. $10,000 in Company 1, $10,000 in Company 2, and $5,000 in Company 3. You decide the amount you are investing in each company. You do not have to provide any analysis to justify your decisions. You must only provide some reason for picking that company. For example, you might invest in WalMart because that company gets a lot of your money and you hear that WalMart is doing well, and will continue to do well. Indicate the number of shares you are buying, and the price of the shares you are buying for each company: Once you decide the companies and the amount for each company, determine how many shares you can buy. If Company 1 is selling for $42.16, then you may buy $10,000/ $42.16, or 237.19 shares. But you cannot buy a part of a share, so you decide to buy either 237 or 238. In this example you buy 237 shares, at $42.16 per share, investing $9,991.92. You wont be able to buy exactly $10,000, or $5,000, or $25,000, but it will be relatively close. When you look up a stock price, the price listed is the price as of that exact moment. There is an opening price, highs and lows during the day, and a closing price. Use the opening price for the day when you make your pretend investment. Using the example above, you are investing $9,991.92, 237 shares, and $42.16 per share. Your next journal assignment will be to report the new value of your shares during Week 8 of the course.