Economic Growth, Stability, and Development Kyle Gerard Nadeau Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by DigitalCommons@WPI Worcester Polytechnic Institute Digital WPI Interactive Qualifying Projects (All Years) Interactive Qualifying Projects August 2009 Economic Growth, Stability, and Development Kyle Gerard Nadeau Worcester Polytechnic Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/iqp-all Repository Citation Nadeau, K. G. (2009). Economic Growth, Stability, and Development. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/iqp-all/3222 This Unrestricted is brought to you for free and open access by the Interactive Qualifying Projects at Digital WPI. It has been accepted for inclusion in Interactive Qualifying Projects (All Years) by an authorized administrator of Digital WPI. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Project Number: DZT0908 Stock Market Simulation An Interactive Qualifying Project Report: Submitted to the faculty of the Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor of Science by Kyle Nadeau Date: 10 August, 2009 Approved by: Professor Dalin Tang __________________ Project Advisor 1 Table of Contents: Page Acknowledgements 4 Abstract 5 1. Introduction 1.1 Goals of the project 6 1.2 History of Stock Market 6 1.3 NYSE 7 1.4 How to invest in NYSE 7 1.5 Plus and minuses of investing 7 2. Trading On The Stock Market 2.1 Overview of the chosen companies 8 2.2 Strategies and goals 9 3. Short-Term Trading Methods 3.1 Goals of simulation 10 3.2 History of short-term trading 10 3.3 Company Profile 11 3.4 Trades 24 3.5 Results and Conclusions 34 4. Long-Term Trading Methods 4.1 Goals of simulation 38 4.2 Long-term trading methods 38 4.3 Company Profile 39 2 4.4 Trades 41 4.5 Results and Conclusions 42 5. Conclusions 5.1 Did I meet my goals? 44 5.2 Profit or loss on investments? 45 5.3 Summary of IQP experience 46 References 47 3 Acknowledgements I would like to thank the following people for their contributions and guidance during this project: Dalin Tang, Professor, Mathematical Science Department, and all of my family members. 4 Abstract Using the internet and all that’s available on the web today, an eight week stock simulation was conducted to investigate the effects of different trading strategies on outcome of investments in the stock market. The knowledge and experience received from this project would be helpful for people to become better investors in future real-life investments. 5 Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Goals of the Project: The main goal of this project is to learn about the stock market through practice with a short-term and long-term stock market simulation. I will start short-term trading with 10 stocks that I selected over the first few weeks. I have also selected 2 stocks which will I will trade in a long-term method over the next 8-week period. After investing in the selected stocks, I will be able to analyze the simulation and make conclusions based on my performance. I am beginning with $200,000, and then will scope over my profits and losses to understand which methods work best. Starting in Chapter 1, I will explain the history of the stock market and who is involved with it. In the following chapters I will show my results of the simulation and discuss them. I will conclude the simulation in the final chapter, which will cover all results and what I learned during the 8-week period. 1.2 History of the Stock Market: The stock market is a trading place where bonds and stocks can be traded, usually to gain some type of income. Basically, a stock is a piece of a company or business. These businesses and companies are split up into equal parts, which can be purchased on the stock exchange. On most occasions, at least 51% of shares are held by one person or group while the remaining 49% are constantly traded. On the other hand, a bond is a government issued certificate that sets an agreed upon pay back date [4]. The market is not open to everyone. Only members of an owning association are open to NYSE. These members, called stockbrokers, are the only allowed persons to trade directly. 6 Buying and selling through the use of a stockbroker is allowed for the general public. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is the main market in the United States and has been opened since 1792 [4]. 1.3 NYSE: The main method of purchasing stocks in the NYSE is done by people on the floor in New York City. These stock prices in the NYSE are based upon the supply and demand of each individual stock. 1.4 How to Invest in NYSE: The four big terms in the NYSE are stocks, shares, equities, and funds. Understanding these terms and their meanings is important for making intelligent decisions as an investor. The basic way to invest is through stocks. Stocks are bought and sold in shares. Being a shareholder, you own a small % in a company. Using these stocks, you can make money in two different ways. First is with dividends and second is by capital gain. A dividend is a check that shareholders receive quarterly throughout the year, as their share of the company’s gains. Capital gains occur when an investor sells their shares for more than the original price bought [3]. 1.5 Plus and Minuses of Investing: The stock market is a money making opportunity. It allows for money to be made by anyone, but also can be dangerous. It is a complicated market with no required rules or methods to follow when trading stocks. Knowing certain strategies and understanding which ones are good creates better money making chances. 7 Chapter 2: Trading on the Stock Market 2.1 Overview of the Chosen companies: All twelve of the selected stocks are in the common stock categories. The first company is D.R. Horton Inc. (DHI) coming from Fort Worth, Texas. D.R. Horton is in the home construction industry and is a homebuilding company. Next would be the International Paper Co. (IP) which is located in Memphis, Tennessee. IP is a global packaging and paper company, with primary markets in North America, Europe, Latin America, Russia, Asia, and North Africa. Macy’s Inc. (M) is a retail company that operates stores as well as internet websites called Macy’s or Bloomingdale’s. The main headquarters for Macy’s is in Cincinnati, Ohio. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. (GT) is a tire manufacturing company out of Akron, Ohio. The Office Depot Inc. (ODP) is a worldwide supplier of office services and products. Next is Callaway Golf Company (ELY) which runs out of Carlsbad, Ca. The company manufactures and sells golf clubs and balls. Davita, Inc. (DVA) is a dialysis service provider for patients suffering from chronic kidney failure. DVA’s main headquarters is in El Segundo, Ca. Another company selected was Kellogg Company (K). Kellogg is a cereal and convenience food supplier out of Battle Creek Mi. From Philadelphia, Pa, is the CIGNA Corporation (CI). CI is an investor owned health service organization in the United States. Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (RT) is a bar and grill casual dining business. They originate out of Maryville, Tn. The J.C. Penney Company Inc. (JCP) is located in Plano, Texas. This company is a retailer with department stores nationwide. Lastly, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) is an apparel retailer company that also operates stores and websites, with their main location in New Albany, Ohio [2]. 8 2.2 Strategies and goals: Entering into the project, I was vaguely familiar with the stock market. Seeing how we are currently in a recession, my research led me to strategize my investment choices in the retail clothing and tire industry. I set a few goals for myself as well, one being that I at least break- even in terms of money gained or lost. The other main goal was that I would trade up to 3 stocks throughout the project period. I decided to be fairly aggressive hoping to make some serious money. The most important goal of mine is to gain knowledge of the NYSE and trading stocks in general. 9 Chapter 3: Short Term Trading Method 3.1 Goals of the Simulation: My biggest concern and what I wish to do most is gain profit during this simulation. I wish to gain as much profit as possible, and breaking even would be the worst outcome I would accept. I also want to receive an educated experience with the stock market, which might help me in the future. In the rest of the chapter, I will discuss the short term trading method. I am beginning with an overview of some stocks that we selected. Also, documents of my trades in the market will be shown along with my profits and losses. A summary for the simulation will conclude the chapter. 3.2 History of Short Term Trading: Short term market trading has a very positive history. With short term trading, a buyer can purchase any amount of stocks and keep them for no longer than a couple of days. The market being particularly well or not doesn’t factor into losing a bunch of money. From my research, there has never been a short term trade that brought an overall negative result. There is a great chance of making good money using this method. No tricks or special techniques are used with this method, and success is easily attainable.