2.+What+to+Buy

What to Buy?
The financial markets make it possible to invest in almost anything in the world. For this course, we will be focusing only on individual stocks and stock sectors. Stock sectors fluctuate almost as much as individual stocks (see table below). See how the __difference__ between the best and worst performing sector is __**about 50%**__ every year. You buys and sell a sector just like an individual stock, except with a sector, you own a basket of stock. You need to understand the sector broadly, rather than in depth research on any one company. It is a good idea to analyze both the sector and the leading companies.

Data in percentages (2013 data through September 30th).
Source: [|Sectorspdr.com]

Sector Research

 * **Consumer Discretionary**. Companies in this sector provides goods and services to people who have extra money. People tend to have extra money when the economy is doing well, so it is known as a **//cyclical//** sector. Examples include automobile manufacturers, hotels, Walt Disney World, movie theaters, restaurants, and retailers. ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])
 * **Consumer Staples**. Companies in this sector provide goods and services that people need. People tend to buy them irregardless of how the economy is doing (**//non-cyclical//**). Examples include food manufacturers like Coca-Cola, supermarkets, drug stores, and household products. ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])
 * **Energy**. Companies in this sector provide energy to consumers and businesses. These companies find and refine oil, coal, nuclear energy, natural gas, and solar power products. Examples include gas stations like Exxon and Mobil. ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])
 * **Financial**. Companies in this sector provide financial services to consumers and businesses. These services include savings accounts, car loans, mortgages, and trading. Examples include Bank of America, JP Morgan/Chase, UBS, and Morgan Stanley. (savings, ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])
 * **Health Care**. Companies in this sector provide goods and services to people who are sick. Examples include hospitals, Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Abbott Labs. ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])
 * **Industrial**. Companies in this sector provide goods and services to Examples include aerospace and defense, building products, construction and engineering, transportation (air, road, rail), General Electric 3M, and United Parcel. ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])
 * **Materials**. Companies in this sector provide goods and services to other manufacturers. Examples include chemicals, construction materials, containers and packaging, metals and mining, and paper and forest products, Monsanto, DuPont, and Dow Chemical. ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])
 * **Technology**. Companies in this sector provide computer hardware, software products and Internet services. Examples include Internet service providers, online retailers, IT consulting services, semiconductor equipment, telecommunication services, wireless telecommunication services, Microsoft Corp., AT&T, IBM, and Cisco. ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])
 * **Utilities**. Companies in this sector produce, generate, transmit or distribute electricity or natural gas. Examples include electric and natural gas utilities, Exelon, Southern Companies, Dominion Resources, and Northeast Utilities. ([|Snapshot], [|Charting], [|News])