Finance, Banking, and Real Estate Research Guide

The CFTC is to commodities as the SEC is to stocks. Their web site has a lot of information on commodities markets, including a handy glossary.

CBOT is one of the largest commodities futures exchange organizations in the world. More than 3,600 CBOT member/stockholders trade 50 different futures and options products at the CBOT by open auction and electronically.

For more definitions of those elusive financial terms and acronyms, this is a great site. Use the browser’s “Find on Page” function to go quickly to the term sought.

Published by the Investment Company Institute, this informative site enhances public understanding of the investment company industry and the policy issues that affect it, particularly those involving legislation and regulation, the U.S. economy, and retirement security. Click on their Statistics and Research link for lots more info, including .pdf versions of the Mutual Fund Factbook.

Click the Industries tab at the top of the NetAdvantage homepage, and you will find a menu of reports for the United States. The library's account also includes Global Industry Surveys, so you will also find menus for Europe, Asia, and Latin America.

IPO Central covers US companies that have recently gone public or filed to go public. This service links the user to a subset of entries from the Hoover's Online site and to S-1 filings from EDGAR Online. Companies covered include those that initially filed with the SEC on or after May 6, 1996, the first day that all US companies were required to file electronically. Listings are removed from IPO Central approximately six months after they have begun trading on a stock exchange.

The Investor’s Clearinghouse offers reports and other information on consumer finance issues such as compulsive buying, senior investment fraud, retirement savings and home equities.

FINRA is an independent regulator of brokers and traders. They also have an investor education role through their foundation branch. Their mission is to provide underserved Americans with the knowledge, skills and tools necessary for a successful financial life.