FAQ: About Our Content

$ The Outlook newsletter
Standard & Poor's weekly investment advisory newsletter for individuals and professional investors, published continuously since 1922. Drawing upon the vast analytical resources of Standard & Poor's, The Outlook offers solid research on stocks, industries and the economy as well as independent, unbiased recommendations on what securities to buy, hold, or sell.
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$ Company Profile
A comprehensive profile of a publicly traded company including a business description, an interactive charting tool, statistics, analyst ratings, valuation and financial information, as well as the latest stock price quote, company news, and information on competitors. Information on over 10,500 companies is available.
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$ Sub-industry Reviews
Monthly investment commentary on 115+ sub-industries. Like Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys, Sub-industry Reviews are authored by Standard & Poor's award-winning industry analysts.
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$ Stock Reports
Standard & Poor's Stock Reports are the industry standard in top-shelf equity analysis, covering over 4,000 publicly traded companies listed on the New York, American, NASDAQ and regional stock exchanges. Stock Reports include S&P 's price-volume chart, statistical measures, and fundamental analytics, which provide a concise picture of a company's health. Analysts consensus estimates and projections, industry outlook, and the latest news on the company are also included in the reports.
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$ Fund Reports
Mutual fund profiles, including a short overview of the fund, a comparison of the fund's performance with the market and its competitors, risk and return information, a current quote, charts, and statistics. Reports on over 14,000 funds are available.
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$ Bond Reports
Standard & Poor's Corporate Bond Reports include pricing and yield data, the current Standard & Poor's credit rating for the issuer and issue, the Standard & Poor's credit ratings history, Credit Watch activity, issuer and issue profiles, issuer financial highlights, issue redemption provisions, bond offering and coupon payment data and more. Reports are available on approximately 7,500 corporate bonds and are updated on a daily basis.
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Market Commentary
Market Snapshot
Provides commentary about what's going on in the equity market and why, addressing developments that affect the direction of stock prices. Updated throughout the day, this feature is written for individual investors in an easy-to-understand format.
The Outlook's Market Insight
Written by the editors of Standard & Poor's Outlook, this feature offers concise commentary on prospects for stocks and fixed-income investments. It draws on rigorous analysis by Standard & Poor's top economists and analysts of factors such as domestic and international macroeconomic developments, governmental actions, inflation and interest rates. Standard & Poor's current recommended asset allocation among stocks, bonds, and cash-equivalent investments is also provided.
NYSE Snapshot
NYSE Snapshot gives you the most important statistics on what's happening at the New York Stock Exchange, including volume, advance/decline information, new 52-week high and lows, and information on the individual issues that are moving the most. This feature is updated throughout the trading day.
NASDAQ Snapshot
NASDAQ Snapshot gives you the most important statistics on what's happening on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations system, including volume, advance/decline information, new 52-week high and lows, and information on the individual issues that are moving the most. This feature is updated throughout the trading day.
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ASE Snapshot
ASE Snapshot gives you the most important statistics on what's happening at the American Stock Exchange, including volume, advance/decline information, new 52-week high and lows, and information on the individual issues that are moving the most. This feature is updated throughout the trading day.
S&P Indexes
Includes an overview, vital statistics, and list of constituents for the S&P 500, S&P 400 MidCap, and S&P 600 SmallCap indexes.
Companies & Stocks
S&P's Stock Picks & Pans
Provides brief insights into what Standard & Poor's equity analysts are saying about the individual stocks and industries that they follow, generally in response to corporate news or market developments. It is updated throughout the day.
S&P's Focus Stock of the Week
S&P's Stock of the Week focuses on a stock that S&P feels has the potential to outperform the market by a wide margin. Highlighted issues are usually small to medium cap stocks with high sales and growth rates and strong technical postures. This feature is updated once a week.
Takeover Talk
Takeover Talk lists, in chronological order, companies that have recently announced mergers or acquisitions or are rumored to be "in play." Each entry also contains a brief explanation of the deal or potential deal. This feature is updated at the end of each trading day.
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Bonds
Credit Week Focus
Provided by Standard & Poor's Credit Market Services Group, Credit Week offers a comprehensive view of the global credit markets, providing credit rating news and analysis. This feature is updated weekly.
Funds
Fund Insight
Fund Insight focuses on happenings in the mutual fund industry, including commentary on fund sectors, trends and news.
Fund Strategies
This feature details a range of investment approaches to the equity and fixed-income markets. This feature is updated every other week.
FUNDAMENTALS
FUNDamentals discusses the how-tos of mutual fund investing. It focuses on recent mutual fund research from Standard & Poor's and from other sources in the financial industry. This feature is updated every other week.
Fund Spotlight
This feature is an in-depth analysis of top-performing mutual funds. It examines both individual funds and fund sectors based on outstanding returns or future potential. It includes "Meet the Manager" information--bringing the thoughts of key investment professionals like fund managers, institutional money managers, and economists to investors through interviews, Q&A, and roundtable discussions, among other things. This feature is updated every other week.
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Industries & the Economy
Industry In Focus
Industry in Focus analyzes hot industries that are in the news. S&P's editors will review why these sectors are hot as well as what the future may hold for them and their components. This feature is updated weekly.
Stovall's Sector Watch
This section features sector analysis by Sam Stovall, S&P's Chief Market and Sector Analyst. Sam often appears in the The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and Barron's, as well as on CNBC, to discuss market and sector conditions and forecasts. This feature is updated weekly.
Economic Insight
Economic Insight focuses on specific areas of the economy such as inflation, monetary policy, government spending and economic growth. Economic Insight also looks ahead to the coming month's data releases. This feature is updated weekly.
Economic Calendar
Economic Calendar, produced by MMS International, is a schedule of economic indicator releases, complete with forecasts, consensus estimates and prior results. It allows individuals to track economic developments as they unfold. This feature is updated daily.
Learning Center
The Basics of Smart Investing
This tutorial is a guide to investing, with an emphasis on understanding stocks, bonds, and mutual funds.
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Retirement Tutorial
The Retirement Tutorial educates the reader on the steps to saving for retirement. Issues covered include: Social Security, Inflation, Company Retirement Plans, Understanding Risks, Diversification, and Investment Allocation.
Wealth for Women
Wealth for Women addresses investment and financial issues pertinent to women.
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