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Blog: stock research and investing, explained

Plain-English guides with worked examples: how to read financial statements, value a business, use technical indicators and manage risk. See the complete Financial knowledge series →

All 154Market basics 15Trading and market structure 16Reading financial statements 15Ratios and business quality 15Valuation 15Advanced valuation and methods 15Technical analysis 15Portfolio, risk and behaviour 15Economy, sectors and the calendar 22Commodities 2Forex 5Hedge funds 3Rates and macro 1
Economy, sectors and the calendar4 min read Consumer discretionary sector: how it makes money and what to watch Learn how carmakers, retailers, restaurants and homebuilders earn money, why the consumer discretionary sector is cyclical, and which metric... Read the article → Economy, sectors and the calendar5 min read Financials sector: banks, insurers and what to watch Learn how banks, insurers and asset managers earn money, why standard ratios like EV/EBITDA fit them poorly, and which metrics matter in the... Read the article → Economy, sectors and the calendar5 min read Health care sector: how it makes money and what to watch Learn how drugmakers, device makers, insurers and providers earn money, which metrics matter in the health care sector, and what risks to co... Read the article → Economy, sectors and the calendar5 min read Information technology sector: how it makes money and what to watch Learn how software, semiconductor and hardware companies earn money, which metrics matter in the information technology sector, and what ris... Read the article → Economy, sectors and the calendar5 min read The 11 GICS stock market sectors explained Learn how the Global Industry Classification Standard groups companies into 11 sectors, what each sector contains, and why comparing within... Read the article → Economy, sectors and the calendar4 min read Economic regimes and how to read the StocksXray Market Compass Learn how growth and inflation define four economic regimes, and how to read the Market Compass risk gauge, regime quadrant, sector outlook... Read the article → Economy, sectors and the calendar5 min read GDP, CPI, PMI and jobs data: the indicators that move markets Learn what GDP, CPI, PMI and the monthly jobs report measure, who publishes them, how to read them, and why surprises matter more than the h... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Common investing mistakes and how to avoid them Review the most common investing mistakes, from market timing and concentration to costs, leverage and overtrading, with practical ways to r... Read the article →
Economy, sectors and the calendar5 min read The yield curve and recession signals Understand what the Treasury yield curve shows, why an inverted curve has often preceded recessions, and why it is a warning signal and not... Read the article → Economy, sectors and the calendar5 min read Interest rates, the Federal Reserve and stock prices Learn what the Federal Reserve controls, how interest rates feed into stock valuations and earnings, and why expectations often matter more... Read the article → Economy, sectors and the calendar5 min read Inflation and stocks See how inflation reaches stock prices through company costs, pricing power and interest rates, and why real returns matter more than nomina... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read How to research a stock in an afternoon Follow a time-boxed, three-hour routine for researching a stock: the business, the filings, the numbers, valuation, risks and a one-page the... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read A practical checklist before you buy a stock Build a reusable pre-purchase checklist covering the business, earnings quality, balance sheet, valuation, risks and portfolio fit, with lim... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read FOMO, herd behavior and bubbles Understand why fear of missing out and herd behavior push investors toward buying after big runs, how bubbles form and burst, and how to bui... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read Behavioral biases: loss aversion, anchoring, confirmation bias Learn how loss aversion, anchoring and confirmation bias distort investing decisions, with simple examples and practical habits that reduce... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour5 min read Stop-loss orders: pros, cons and gaps Learn how stop, stop-limit and trailing stop orders work, why overnight gaps and whipsaws can defeat them, and what a stop can and cannot gu... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Position sizing: how much to put in one stock Learn how position size decides what one mistake costs, three common ways to size a holding, and why correlation and uncertainty argue for r... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Correlation between stocks and why it moves Learn what a correlation coefficient measures, how it relates to beta and diversification, and why correlations between stocks change, espec... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read The Sharpe ratio and risk-adjusted returns Learn how the Sharpe ratio measures return earned per unit of volatility, how to calculate and compare it, and why a high figure can still m... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Drawdown, standard deviation and other risk measures Understand maximum drawdown, standard deviation, downside deviation, beta and value at risk, how each is calculated, and what each one misse... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Risk tolerance and time horizon Learn the difference between willingness, ability and need to take risk, how time horizon changes the picture, and how to test your own tole... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Dollar-cost averaging vs lump sum investing Compare investing a fixed amount on a schedule with investing everything at once, see how average cost works, and learn what history says ab... Read the article → Technical analysis5 min read How to use the StocksXray technical scanner A practical guide to the StocksXray technical scanner: what each preset looks for, how to check a result, and how to combine chart signals w... Read the article → Portfolio, risk and behaviour4 min read Rebalancing a portfolio Learn why portfolio weights drift, the main ways to rebalance, what it costs in trading and taxes, and what it can and cannot do for risk an... Read the article →

Educational only, not financial advice.