This assignment is worth 200 points and is due by July 14.

Purpose of the Stock Report assignment

It is given to build your knowledge and awareness of the U.S. Stock Market, of which the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the largest in the world. After having completed this project you are likely to get a new sense of what happens in general in the business world and how people make decisions to invest in the stock market. Think of this project as a simulated stock investment "game" where real money is NOT involved, but real research is, leading to a basic understanding of the U.S. stock market.

NOTE: Correct grammar and spelling will count in this formal business report. As this is a college level business course, students are expected to have basic knowledge of grammar and spelling of common words; see the Grading Criteria below for how these will be graded. Consult dictionary.comwhenever necessary; proofread work very carefully, work with a Business Tutor if needed. Open the link below to contact the Business Tutor Office.

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PLEASE DO NOT LEAVE THIS MAJOR ASSIGNMENT TILL THE WEEK IT IS DUE TO COMPLETE. Get started on it immediately for best results.

STOCK REPORT ASSIGNMENT GUIDELINES

PART 1

You have $100,000 to invest in stocks

Select THREE (3) U.S. companies to invest your money in any amount you wish. Your companies must be listed in the New York Stock Exchange--no private companies.

Use the Web sites I have listed below for some general information. Then do some thorough research to select your three companies.

You can use the following Website to familiarize yourself with stock market information: http://finance.yahoo.com/

Using the above site, type in a company's name in the "Get Quote" box on the top left. You'll then get the ticker symbol (WMT for Walmart, etc.) for the company and be taken to its current stock status. Most of the information that you need for this report can be found in the list of things on the side banner under Summary, Charts, etc.Try to familiarize yourself with this site.

Try to base your selections of the three companies on the following information: a) companies' profits, revenues, etc. b) Earning Per Share EPS, c) their dividends - see ticker table on the financial pages of Wall St. Journal or any of the sites I've given you below, d) the hi's and low's ticker table, e) the companies' abilities to meet their social responsibilities, f) their effective greening strategies (going green), etc. You must clearly state the reasons for your company selections in the beginning of your report.

The selection of your companies should not be based on emotion, but on objective evaluation of your research. Remember, you are looking for a company that has been profitable at least one quarter during the last twelve months.

Buy common stock. Buy the stocks online (not with real money) and track them daily. Note the price you're buying them at per share. Closing prices are posted after 1 p.m.

BUY ONLY STOCKS, NOT CRYPTO CURRENCY, OR ANYTHING ELSE. THE ENTIRE $100,000 MUST BE SPENT ON YOUR STOCK INVESTMENTS ONLY.

PART 2

List the full name of the three companies you have selected, your purchase price for one share, the website used, the exchange the stocks are listed on, and a brief description of what the company does. Please don't just copy and paste information from Wikipedia, etc.write information using your own words, be clear and concise. TurnItIn will be used; Over 30 percent copying will be heavily penalized.

Sell your stocks at the appropriate time (one to two weeks for this course) from the date of purchase at the closing price of the day. In the "real world" money should be invested in stocks for longer terms such as for ten years or more. Stock investments should not be considered a "get rich quick" scheme. Money is made in stock investments over many years.

Get charts to show each company's growth over a certain period of time from the Web sites I've already given you, and/or check out the companies individual Web sites.

Discuss the companies' products briefly; their product line and product mix; include pictures if necessary. Use only one page for each company if you show any pictures of the products.

Explain clearly why you have selected these three companies, based on what criteria.

Create a set of criteria, benchmark, against which you have measured each company.

Check out your selected companies' Web sites for valuable information such as annual reports, accounting information (balance sheets), market share, forecasts on growth, product innovations, technology, market niche, competitive edge, social responsibilities, greening strategies, etc.

Further emphasis on what to discuss clearly on your report:

What is the purchase price per share when you buy?

What is the total number of shares for each company that you bought?

What is your total investment for each company?

What is your total profit or loss per company, and your overall profit or loss in your $100,000 investments?

What is the dividend amount and yield based on purchase price, if the stock is offering any dividend?

WRITE IN PARAGRAPH FORMS--not as a list, not as a question and answer format; otherwise lots of points will be lost.

Use the appropriate charts from the Internet to show how the stock has been doing over a period of time. Make sure to put the URL source at the bottom of every chart or material you use from the Internet as well as in your Work Cited or Reference page at the end of the report. Try to use a hyperlink instead of the actual url such as http://...etc.

The entire report, excluding the title page, should be eight to ten pages, including the Work Cited page. This will include the report itself, charts (one chart per page, using landscape format--if you know how; otherwise, leave as portrait format) for each of the three companies, work cited/reference page, and any supplementary pages for pictures of products, etc. Use single space for text within paragraphs, that means word-wrap (just keep typing till the end of your paragraph), but double space (that just means leave a blank line space) between paragraphs.

Number the pages--don't include the title page which is just a cover as in a book cover.

Use the two documents below to help you produce a great report.

See CHECKLIST FOR STOCK REPORT in this Module for Unit 2

See HOW TO ORGANIZE YOUR STOCK REPORT PROFESSIONALLY in Module, Unit 2

NO LATE SUBMISSION, NO EXTENSIONS, NO MAKE-UP WORK

AS IN ALL WRITING ASSIGNMENTS IN THIS COURSE, IF YOUR WORK DOES NOT SHOW UP IN GRADEBOOK, CANVAS WILL REPORT IT AS "MISSING"; THEREFORE, A ZERO GRADE WILL BE GIVEN FOR IT.

ATTACHMENTS OR E-MAILS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

If you have any questions on this project please get in touch with me through one or more of the following ways:

• Send me an e-mail through the Canvas system using the proper format shown in my Welcome Letter in Module below Week #1 Update.
• Arrange a Zoom meeting with me for Office Hours.
• Send me an e-mail through the Santa Monica e-mail system if it is confidential.

LIST OF WEBSITES TO HELP YOU WITH YOUR REPORT:

What are stocks

https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/investing-basics/investment-products/stocks(Links to an external site.)

Investments

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/investment.asp(Links to an external site.)

How to Invest in Stocks

https://www.investopedia.com/articles/basics/06/invest1000.asp

nerdwallet.com

Safe stocks to Buy

https://www.fool.com/investing/stock-market/types-of-stocks/safe-stocks/(Links to an external site.)

Stock Market Games

https://education.howthemarketworks.com/practice-stock-trading-questions/

Google's Market Summary

http://www.google.com/finance -

Whichever companies you choose, be aware of any negative publicity they may have received recently in the media as that would greatly alter the price of their stocks.

There are a whole lot of YouTube videos that you may want to look through to learn about stock investments.

FURTHER SUGGESTED REFERENCES TO USE FOR YOUR RESEARCH

Newspapers: Wall Street Journal, LA Times, Daily News, Valley Business Journal

Magazines: Business Week, Money, Kiplinger, Smart Money, Forbes, Fortune

The above magazines and newspapers all have their own websites.

Television: Mad Money CNBC, 8pm, Nightly Business Report, 5:30pm KCET

Radio: Afternoon Money Report Market Report 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., 89.3FM KNX 1070am

On Line: Bloomberg.com, the fool.com, zacks.com, valueline.com, the street.com, yahoo finance, NYSE.com; investopedia.com