- Copyright
- About the Author
- Acknowledgements
- Publisher's Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- I. The Financial Pages
- 1. Introducing the Financial Pages
- 2. Looking at How the Financial Pages Work
- 3. Relating the Financial Pages to the Stock Market
- 3.1. Revealing What the Stock Market Is and What It Does
- 3.2. Understanding What Shares Are
- 3.3. Looking at How the Pages Report on the Stock Market
- 3.4. Understanding Market Sectors
- 3.5. Understanding Stock Market Indices
- 3.6. Looking at Market Realities
- 3.6.1. Understanding how macro factors move markets
- 3.6.1.1. Assumption 1: Strong economic growth is a good thing
- 3.6.1.2. Assumption 2: A big trade surplus is desirable
- 3.6.1.3. Assumption 3: A strong currency is desirable
- 3.6.1.4. Assumption 4: Inflation is your enemy
- 3.6.1.5. Assumption 5: Debt is generally a bad thing
- 3.6.1.6. Assumption 6: Behaving responsibly is good for your bottom line
- 3.6.2. Avoiding the madness of crowds
- 3.6.3. Understanding how the standard business cycle works
- 3.6.1. Understanding how macro factors move markets
- 3.7. Interpreting Important Stock Market Buzzwords
- 4. Using the Pages to Your Advantage
- II. Using The Financial Pages to Make Basic Investments
- 5. Investing in Shares
- 5.1. Different Shares for Different People
- 5.2. Using the Information in the Financial Pages
- 5.2.1. Reading the information correctly
- 5.2.2. Using the information to make decisions
- 5.2.3. Selling, and why it's harder than buying
- 5.2.4. Taking a closer look at price/earnings ratios
- 5.2.5. Valuing a company that doesn't have any earnings
- 5.2.6. Understanding market capitalisation
- 5.2.7. Delving into dividends
- 5.2.8. Understanding debt ratios
- 5.2.9. Getting more information about debt
- 5.3. Comparing Stocks with Cash
- 6. Investing in Bonds
- 7. Investing in Cash Investments
- 5. Investing in Shares
- III. Delving Deeper into the Financial Pages
- 8. Sharpening Your Understanding
- 9. Watching Out for the Pitfalls
- 10. Monitoring the Market's Psychology Using Charts
- IV. Using the Pages for More Advanced Investments
- 11. Going International
- 12. Delving into Derivatives
- 13. Making Money from Commodities
- 14. Investing in Funds and Trusts
- 15. Discovering Hedge Funds, Bonds, and ETFs
- V. Other Places to Go for Financial Information
- 16. Using the Alternatives
- 17. Understanding Company Accounts
- VI. The Part of Tens
- 18. Ten Things to Know about a Share
- 18.1. Knowing What the Share Price Has Done During the Last Five Years
- 18.2. Knowing the Company's Stock Market Size
- 18.3. Knowing the Price/Earnings Ratio
- 18.4. Looking at the Dividend, and Deciding Whether Current Profits Can Cover It
- 18.5. Finding Out When the Next Dividend Payment Is Due
- 18.6. Reading the Profit and Loss Statement
- 18.7. Looking at the Balance Sheet
- 18.8. Knowing What Other Debts the Company Has
- 18.9. Looking at the Directors' Statements
- 18.10. Checking the Buzz on Online Forums
- 19. Ten Ways of Making Sure Your Asset Allocation Fits You Perfectly
- 19.1. Assessing Your Life Situation
- 19.2. Adjusting the Balance
- 19.3. Considering Whose Money You're Managing
- 19.4. Deciding Between Capital Gains and Income for Tax Purposes
- 19.5. Deciding How Long You Can Afford to Lock in Your Money if Everything Goes Wrong
- 19.6. Figuring Out Your Attitude to Debt
- 19.7. Asking Whether You Enjoy the Investment Game for Its Own Sake
- 19.8. Figuring Out Whether You're a Herd Follower or a Maverick
- 19.9. Making Sure You Know How Important This Money Is to You
- 19.10. Asking Whether You Can Get Over a Mistake
- 20. Ten Warning Signs that a Company May Be on the Ropes
- 20.1. Profits Are Stagnant or Falling
- 20.2. The Dividend Cover Is Looking Stretched
- 20.3. The Share Price Is Below Its 200-day Moving Average
- 20.4. Directors Are Selling Their Shares
- 20.5. The Sector Is Troubled, with No Obvious Upturn in Sight
- 20.6. The Company Depends Heavily on a Client Who's in Trouble
- 20.7. A Merger Approach Looks like Falling Through
- 20.8. New Reporting Regulations Have Exposed a Pensions 'Black Hole'
- 20.9. A Recent Merger Doesn't Seem to Have Produced any Useful Synergies
- 20.10. The Auditors Have Qualified the Company's Accounts
- 21. Ten Red-Hot Clues to an Opportunity
- 21.1. The Price/Earnings Ratio Is Below the Sector Average, but Rising
- 21.2. Like-For-Like Sales Are Up Strongly
- 21.3. Brokers' Recommendations Improve
- 21.4. The Company Is about to Be Promoted into the FTSE-100
- 21.5. The Economic Cycle Is Moving to Favour Companies like Your Target
- 21.6. The Underlying Macro-environment Is Improving
- 21.7. The Share Price Has Been Unfairly Devastated
- 21.8. Predators Are Circling the Company
- 21.9. The Company Has Announced a Technical Breakthrough
- 21.10. The Company Earns Its Money in a Currency that's Set to Strengthen
- 18. Ten Things to Know about a Share
- A. Glossary
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Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Commissioning Editor: Nicole Hermitage
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