• In Canada-stockwatch NYSE and AMEX are consolidated into a single feed with exchange code 'Z'. The base symbol is optionally followed by a suffix: .P for preferred, .R for right, .W for warrant.
• QuoTracker is using Canada-stockwatch's convention for exchange code: Z for NYSE and AMEX, Q for NASDAQ, I for Non-exchange indexes, T for TSE, M for ME, V for VSE, A for ASE, C for CDN, W for WSE.
• NASDAQ equity symbols are up to 5 characters with no suffixes. The first 4 characters are the base symbol for the company. The 5th character, if present, represents a class.
• Canadian equity symbols consist of a 1 to 3 character symbol root, optionally followed by one of: .PR for preferred share, .DB for debenture, .IR for installment receipt, .WT for warrant, .RT for right, .UN for unit.
• US index symbols begin with a '$' in Canada-stockwatch, while they start with '^' in Yahoo.
• Canadian mutual fund symbols in Canada-stockwatch are of the form GGG*FFF where GGG represents the fund group, and FFF the specific fund.
• Canadian index symbols are of the form EIxxxx where E is the exchange code and xxxx is the exchange's index code.
• Yahoo doesn't provide bid size, ask size and number of trades, but Canada-stockwatch does.
• In general, the quotes are delayed 15 minutes for domestic stocks and 20 minutes for international stocks. I.e. TSE quotes are delayed 15 minutes in Canada-stockwatch, but 20 minutes in Yahoo. Similarly, U.S. quotes are delayed 20 minutes in Canada-stockwatch but 15 minutes in Yahoo.
• While Yahoo delayed quotes are updated continuously, Canada-stockwatch refreshes their delayed quotes every 3 minutes.
• Volume, as well as bid size and ask size (from Canada-stockwatch only) are shown in thousands - Aha, QuoTracker is the only one who has both!
• Yahoo quotes don't have most recent news date indicated as in Canada-stockwatch.
• Canada-stockwatch only provides news headlines for free.
• Canada-stockwatch doesn't have US mutual funds, and Yahoo doesn't have Canadian mutual funds.
• Mutual fund quotes are updated once daily in the evening after the stock market has been closed.
• It seems that Yahoo is in general very fast, compared to other web sites.
• Yahoo is not only faster, it also allows downloading much more quotes for each transaction. Up to 200 quotes are allowed in Yahoo, only 10 in Canada-stockwatch (20 for subscribers), and only 1 quote in many others.
• U.S. stock prices are in fractions, while Canadian stock prices in decimal format.
• There is no unique definition for Canadian mutual funds, which makes QuoTracker's life difficult.
• As we know so far, only Canada-stockwatch and IMoney use the common symbols for Canadian mutual funds.
• The U.S. and TSE stock markets are open from 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM EST, Monday through Friday, except holidays.

Investment Tips

• The bid price is the price you will get if you sell your stock, and the ask price is the price you have to pay to buy a stock.
• The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) does not permit bid and ask prices to be reported for delayed quotes.
• The bid/ask sizes (in thousands) together with bid/ask prices can give you indicator how active a stock is and in which direction (up or down) it is heading.
• Earnings per share (EPS) is the annual net earnings per share of stock, as reported by the company. The earnings from the most recent annual report are adjusted to include all subsequent quarterly earnings reported.
• The EPS represent primary earnings from continuing operations attributable to each share of common stock outstanding.
• The EPS is usually calculated by dividing the income from continuing operations by the average number of shares outstanding during the period.
• The earnings per share is adjusted for stock splits and stock dividends. An earnings per share value is reported as 0.00 when a value has not been available for 12 months or more.
• Price to earnings ratio (PE ratio) is the previous closing stock price divided by the earnings per share, and reflects the value the market has placed on a stock.
• Dividend per share (DivPerSh) is the annual dividend per share of stock, as reported by the company.
• Yield is the annual dividend per share divided by the previous closing stock price, as a percentage (multiplied by 100).
• Dividend pay date (DivDate) is the date on which the dividend was last paid, or the date on which the next one will be paid.
• The ex-dividend date (without dividend) means you need to purchase the stock before this date to receive the current quarter's dividend or stock split.
• The market capitalization (MktCap) is calculated by multiplying the last trade price by the current number of shares outstanding. Shares outstanding is updated weekly and is provided by Market Guide in Yahoo.
• Average daily volume (available from Yahoo) is the monthly average of the cumulative trading volume during the last three months divided by 22 days. It is updated weekly, and is provided by Market Guide in Yahoo.
• Conservative investors prefer large capitalization stocks, for price stability
• Compare the total shares with the number of shares traded daily to see what portion of the stock is changing hands.
• People who live on investment income or want reduced price volatility look for high dividend yield.
• Value investors look for stocks with low P/E ratios; momentum players look for high P/E.
• Compare earnings over several periods to spot a trend in the company's fortunes.
• Conservative and institutional investors avoid very low price stocks due to volatility.

Using QuoTracker