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Lesson 2
Objectives: In this lesson, you will learn how to turn firsthand knowledge of common products into a useful way of choosing stocks for the Global Stock Game (GSG.)
Background: When people choose stocks, they usually want to buy the popular brand names. However, if they look for companies such as Pizza Hut, Oreo cookies, or Kleenex, they won't be able to find them. These products are not listed in the newspaper because they are not their own company and are, instead, part of a larger company, also known as the parent company. For example, Tricon Restaurants International owns Pizza Hut, Nabisco owns Oreo cookies, and Kimberly-Clark Corporation owns Kleenex.
Once you find the parent company of a product, you can buy shares of stock in the larger company and indirectly own the product they like or use daily. However, some companies that make popular items are not public and, therefore, no stock can be bought. Some larger companies such as Sony, McDonald's, and Microsoft are already their own company. In this exercise, you will gain more knowledge of the products and companies in which they have had firsthand knowledge.
Activities:
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List two products you use daily or have first hand knowledge of.
- Try to find the parent companies of the products listed. Here are some suggested methods:
- Look at the label of the actual product.
- Search on the Web using Yahoo!
- Check out books in the library, such as The Dow 40,000 Portfolio: The Stocks to Own to Outperform Today's Leading Benchmark, by David Elias.
- Check local newspapers.
- Interview adults.
- Once you have found the parent companies, record the name of the parent company and list a few of the products that the company makes. Some companies will be harder to find because another company may yet own the company that makes the product. For example, McNeil Consumer Products Company makes Tylenol, but Johnson & Johnson owns McNeil Consumer Products.
- Finally, choose 1 company/stock and visit the Web site of this company to learn more about the business of the company. Please provide the following information:
- Name of company
- Products and/or services made by the company
- Other companies owned by the parent company
- Stock Symbol
- Current price of stock
- Describe how the stock's price has changed over the last year (graph)
- Describe how the stock's price has changed over the last five years (graph)
http://finance.yahoo.com may help you find more information about your company.
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Earnings Growth (%) |
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