STOCK PROJECT

The course requirements for Introduction to Business include a writing assignment worth 100 points or 25% of your course grade.  Please read and follow these instructions to the letter.  Failure to meet the project requirements will result in a lower grade.

WARNING: This assignment should not be confused with the Stock Market Game found on the publisher's website.  The requirements are different.

You are to invest an imaginary $100,000 in the common stock of any listed U.S. corporation and then track the performance of your investment for 10 weeks during the semester. (Note: If you are enrolled in a short-term class, e.g. Summer, you should follow your stock for a term that covers the class term.) At the end of the ten weeks you will sell and report on how your investment performed.  You should not buy or sell your shares during the ten weeks.

The following guidelines apply for the stock project:

1. Select only one company.
2. Make your purchase in round lots.
3. Use the daily closing price to record performance.
4. Record the price daily indicating the price, date, and source of the information.
5. All papers must be typed or done on a word processor, no handwritten submissions are allowed.
6. The final paper must be a hard copy (no emails) and turned in to my office K227 by the due date.  There will be a box outside my door for your projects.  Plan ahead to turn your paper in when the office suite is open, i.e., during normal school hours.

Your final typed report should include:

1. An introduction - include a brief description of your company and your reasons for choosing it.
2. A detailed overview of the company including its ticker symbol, state of incorporation, number of shareholders, capitalization, products and services, NAICS or SIC category, markets, customers, financial condition, management style, key personnel and any other information you think might be relevant to determining its future potential.  A bullet list is a good way to handle this section of the project.
3. A single graph showing your daily closing prices and at least one well-known market index.
4. A section summarizing important news about your company that was released during the holding period, including the date the news was reported.
5. A detailed calculation of your 1.) overall profit or loss and 2.) return on investment. In making these calculations include the cost of commissions for buying and selling the stock (Use a commission schedule from any stockbroker firm, i.e., Charles Schwab, Merrill-Lynch, etc.) and the tax cost. For the tax cost assume a 25% marginal tax rate. Don't forget any dividends.  This calculation should show mathematically how your amounts were arrived at.
6. Your opinion as to why your stock performed as it did during the holding period.
7. The actual table used to record your daily stock price, with price and date clearly shown.
8. A bibliography of all sources, including electronic sources.  Non-attribution of copied sources will cost you points.
9. The project should be submitted with a paper cover containing your name and class section stapled to the other pages of the project, no other cover is necessary, nor will it get you a better grade.

The project must be submitted in hard copy form, emailed projects are will not be accepted.

The final report is due no later than the date set in the Class Calendar.

NEED HELP - Part of the point of this project is for you to research the various terms and concepts necessary to complete the project using the internet and other resources.  Some of the project terms are not included in the textbook, but are readily found in other easily accessed materials.  However, should you be unable to resolve an issue you may email me or come to my office hours for for help.  

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