How do I find market share information?
What is a public company?
How can I tell if my company is publicly traded?
Where can I find a profile for a public company?

Price to Book Ratio
This measurement looks at the value the market places on the book value of the company. The P/B is calculated by taking the current price per share and dividing by the book value per share. Like Price Earnings Ratio (P/E) the lower the P/B, he better the value.

Price Earnings Ratio
The P/E looks at the relationship between the stock price and the company´s earnings. You calculate the P/E by taking the share price and dividing it by the company's earnings per share. (EPS) For example, a company trading at $60/share and having an earnings per share (EPS) of 12 would have a P/E of 5 (60/12=5). PE is important because it gives you an idea of what the market is willing to pay for the company´s earnings. However, one must not always judge a high or low P/E as being bad or good. This is merely one tool for evaluating a company`s worth, and should not be the sole reason to invest in a company or its stock.

Return on Equity
This is essentially one way (not the only) to measure how efficient a company uses its assets to produce earnings. To calculate return on equity, (ROE) you divide Net Income by the Book Value. This too, like other measures, is but a single tool that is a useful measure, but one needs to exercise caution and not put total faith in the numbers that it delivers. For example, accounting procedures can reduce book value and show a higher ROE without producing higher profits. Buying back stock, or taking unusual or one-time write-offs can give a false ROE. Also, companies that are debt heavy and raise capital by borrowing instead of issuing more stock may reduce book value and show a higher ROE, but it is an artificial ROE and not an accurate measure of the company`s true ROE.

Evaluating debt in a stock
Use Current Liabilities, which is defined as all bills that will come due within the next twelve months. This covers ANY debt due in twelve months. Current Assets are any and all assets that are liquid enough to be converted into cash within twelve months. Next the use of ratios to determine a company´s financial strength. Quick Ratio is cash, marketable securities, and accounts receivable, which are divided by current liabilities that are due within a twelve month period. Remember this includes only cash and marketable securities, not accounts receivable or inventory. Current Ratio is essentially the same as Quick Ratio, but includes ALL Current Liabilities and ALL Current assets. Both ratios measure a company's ability to meet its short-term obligations. When looking at these ratios, 1.00 or better is considered good. It means a company at 1.00 has just enough assets to meet its financial obligations. Over 1.00 means it has more than enough assets to meet obligations. It is important to compare companies in the same sectors, in order to utilize these ratios accurately.

I want to use Government online sources, but where do I locate the internet address?
Federal websites usually end with .gov or .mil (military). In addition, many of the government websites are abbreviated with the initials of the agency / department: Central Intelligence Agency ( http://www.cia.gov) and U.S. Department of Agriculture (http://www.usda.gov). You may also find information using several internet directories such as: Federal Agency Internet Sites, by GPO (Government Printing Office) & LSU Libraries. Federal Web Locator, Villanova University's Center for Information Law & Policy. There are also U.S. Government manuals & government yellow pages.

I want to find where the U.S. ranks in world soybean production.
Using the keywords soybean, U.S. and production, would lead us to agricultural statistics, which would steer us towards the USDA website and Agricultural Statistics, soybean production.

I would like to know about oil sands and their impact on U.S. energy as well as the environment.
This question may be directed to several government websites, but we will first start with the Department of Energy (http://www.doe.gov) and also use the EPA website (http://www.epa.gov).

How much would it take in 2005 dollars to putchase an item costing $100.00 in 1982?
The source would be the Bureau of Labor Statistics (http://www.bls.gov) and the woeful answer would be $202.28!