Stock Symbol

Shopping on line can be easy, simple and save you lots of money. It can also take a lot of your time, frustrate you, and result in unwanted purchases. Now the same can be said for regular high street shopping, but with the vast opportunity presented by the Internet it will pay you to spend a few minutes reading this and understanding how to better optimize your Stock Symbol shopping experience:

1. Compare - without doubt the biggest advantage that the Stock Symbol offers shoppers today is the ability to compare thousands of Stock Symbol at a time. This is a great thing, but not necessarily all the time! Too much can be daunting at times so take advantage of the great comparison sites and where possible let them do the hard work for you.

2. Research - if it has been said it will be on the internet. Ignorance is no longer a justifiable reason for buying the wrong thing. Take the time to research in detail everything that you could possible want to know about

3. Testimonials - don't know anybody that has bought a Stock Symbol? Wrong! If the Stock Symbol is good the internet will let you know. Use the Internet as a friend and get testimonials before you buy.

4. Questions - Got a question about Stock Symbol then search the Forums, FAQ's, Blogs etc. Don't be afraid to ask .....

5. Reputation - Never heard of the company selling Stock Symbol? Don't worry, no reason why you should know every company in the world, but you know someone that does! Use the internet to find out what people are saying about Stock Symbol and build up a picture of their reputation for sales, returns, customer service, delivery etc.

6. Returns - still worried that even after all of the above your Stock Symbol wont be what you want? Check out the returns policy. There is so much competition now that someone, somewhere is bound to offer the terms that you are comfortable with.

7. Feedback - happy with your Stock Symbol then let people know, after all you are depending on others people input in your buying decision, so why not give a little back.

8. Security - check for the yellow padlock on the Stock Symbol site before you buy, and the s after http:/ /i.e. https:// = a secure site

9. Contact - got a question about Stock Symbol, or want to leave a comment then check out the sites contact page. Reputable companies have them and respond.

10. Payment - ready to pay for your Stock Symbol, then use your credit card or PayPal! Be aware of companies that don't accept them, there may be genuine reasons but given the huge amount of choice you have when buying online there is no reason at all not to buy via credit card or PayPal.

A stock symbol or ticker symbol is a mnemonic used to uniquely identify publicly-traded stock of a corporation on a particular stock market. A stock symbol may consist of letters, numbers or a combination of both. The word "ticker" used to mean "ticker symbol" is specific to U.S. stock symbols.

U.S stock symbol history In the United States, modern letter-only ticker symbols were developed by Standard & Poor's (S&P) to bring a national standard to investing. Previously, a single company could have many different ticker symbols as they varied between the dozens of individual stock markets. The term ticker refers to the noise made by the ticker tape machines once widely used by stock exchanges.

The S&P system was later standardized by the securities industry and modified as years passed. Stock symbols for preferred stock have not been standardized .

Examples of U.S. stock symbols # of LettersExchange1New York Stock Exchange2New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, Philadelphia Stock Exchange, or other U.S. Stock Exchange3New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, Philadelphia Stock Exchange, Nasdaq, or other U.S. Stock Exchange4Nasdaq5 or more(special)

A - Agilent Technologies
BRK.B - Berkshire Hathaway (class B shares)
KO - Coca-Cola Company
MSFT - Microsoft
TGT - Target Corporation
WMT - Wal-Mart
IFX - Infineon Technologies
INTC - Intel
TXN - Texas Instruments
QI - Qimonda

Currently a glance at a U.S. stock symbol and its appended codes can tell an investor where a stock trades and may give insight to the company's performance.

In July 2007, the SEC approved a plan to allow companies moving from the New York Stock Exchange to the Nasdaq to retain their three letter symbols. The change does not apply to companies that have symbols with one or two letters .

Single-letter ticker symbols

A: Agilent Technologies
B: Barnes Group
C: Citigroup
D: Dominion Resources
E: Eni SpA
F: Ford Motor Company
G: Genpact
H: Realogy Corp.
K: Kellogg Company
M: Macy's, Inc.
O: Realty Income Corporation
Q: Qwest Communications International Inc.
R: Ryder
S: Sprint Nextel
T: AT&T
X: United States Steel
Y: Alleghany Corporation

Interpreting the symbol Stock symbols are unique identifiers assigned to each security traded on a market. NASDAQ symbols are four or five characters in length, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) symbols are one to three characters long, American Stock Exchange (AMEX), Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX) and other U.S. stock exchange symbols are two or three characters, and Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board (OTCBB) symbols are four or five. These letter counts apply to the underlying company, but not always to the entire stock symbol. For example, PCG is the three letter symbol for Pacific Gas & Electric Company, which trades on the NYSE. But PCG-D is Pacific Gas & Electric's preferred D shares, which trade on the AMEX.

Some companies use a well-known product as their ticker symbol. Anheuser-Busch, the brewers of Budweiser beer, uses "BUD" as its three-letter ticker, symbolising its premier product. Genentech uses the symbol "DNA," relating to their biochemical research, while Southwest Airlines pays tribute to its headquarters at Dallas Love Field in Dallas through its "LUV" symbol. Steinway Musical Instruments uses the symbol "LVB", to honor their favorite composer and pianist (Ludwig van Beethoven). Starting August 27, 2007, Sun Microsystems uses the symbol "JAVA" for its Java programming language.

Prior to the 1999 merger with Mobil Oil, Exxon used a phonetic spelling of the company "XON" as its ticker symbol. The new firm is known as "XOM" (see Hewlett-Packard). AT&T's ticker symbol is simply "T"; accordingly, the company is referred to simply as "Telephone" on Wall Street (the T symbol is so well-known that when the company was purchased by SBC, it took the AT&T name to capitalize on its history and to obtain the desired single letter symbol).

After Hewlett-Packard merged with Compaq computer, the new firm took on the ticker symbol "HPQ". (The former firms were HWP and CPQ.)

{]s|-|B - Class "B"|L - Miscellaneous|V - Pending issue and distribution|-|C - Continuance - or Nasdaq exception|M - 4th class - preferred stock|W - Warrant (finance)s|-|D - New issue|N - 3rd class - preferred shares|X - Mutual funds|O - 2nd class - preferred shares|Y - [American Depositary Receipt (ADR)]|Q - In bankruptcys|.PK - A [Pink Sheets, indicating over-the-counter (finance)|-|I - 3rd convertible bond|S - Shares of beneficial interest|SC - Nasdaq Small Cap|-|J - Voting share - special|T - With warrants or rights|NM - Nasdaq National Market|}

United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, prior to 1996, stock codes were known as EPICs, named after the London Stock Exchange's Exchange Price Information Computer (e.g.: "MKS" for Marks and Spencer). Following the introduction of the Sequence trading platform in 1996 EPICs were renamed Tradable Instrument Display Mnemonics (TIDM), but they are still widely referred to as EPICs. Stocks can also be identified using their SEDOL number.

International Stock symbols are indispensable for stock market work in non-European countries. In countries where Arabic script is used, and in East Asia, translated Roman script versions of company names may be confusing to an unpracticed Western reader; stock symbols provide a simple means of clear communication in the workplace. Many Asian countries use numerical or alphanumerical ticker symbols instead of characters to facilitate international trade.

Industrial and Commercial Bank of China - 1398.HK Kong
HSBC - 0005 Kong
DBS Bank - D05
Jardine C&C - C07
TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK - 5012
Toshiba Corp - 6502
China CITIC Bank Corp Ltd - 601998 - China
Hubei Golden Ring Co Ltd - 000615 -Shenzhen - China]
ASUSTEK - 2357
Chunghwa Telecom Co Ltd - 2412