An indispensible resource for today's independent investors More Americans than ever are directing their own investments, and thousands of "experts" promise information on the best stocks and bonds to buy. To be successful in the markets, investors need to dig out of the information overload and the unintelligible lingo. Using examples to help simplify complex financial issues and written in lively, understandable language, Gretchen Morgenson and Campbell R. Harvey explain and cross-reference more than 3,500 investing terms, from the rules surrounding abandonment options to when you should expect to pay interest on zero-coupon bonds. They define the risks and rewards that accompany various investments and help you find meaningful information on a company's or fund's financial statements. Among the terms they decode: - the markets, the indexes, and how they work, including the NYSE, Nasdaq, Dow Jones Industrial Average, Russell 2000, S&P 500, and Wilshire 5000 - discounted investment opportunities, such as employee stock purchase plans and DRIPs - tools for estimating company earnings, P/E ratios, quarterly EPS and.