Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with finance and stock

Can I use a retirement fund to buy out startup stock options?

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:25:12 -0800

I'm about to leave a startup to go to a different company, and I need some help figuring out how to handle my stock options. I currently work for a startup at which I have accrued X stock options at a price of $Y. From the date I leave, I have 90 days to buy out the options. I don't currently have the cash on hand to do this, but I do have approximately X*$Y in my 401k, which I would have to roll over either to the new company's 401k or to an IRA.

I think I heard that you can buy out options like this in a retirement fund, but if this is true I need to better understand the details and mechanics of it. Is anyone familiar with this situation who can tell me what to look for? Are there specific types of IRAs or anything like that which would give me more flexibility? What do I need to know?

For what it's worth, I do believe the startup will succeed; I'm leaving because my job there is not what I want. Also, I'm in my mid-twenties. So I am not concerned about using my (currently minimal) retirement fund to buy these out.

Does shorting the competition count as insider trading?

Anonymous — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:15:31 -0800

I work for Acme Widgets, a competitor of WorldWide Doodads. I know that tomorrow we will be releasing an amazing widget that is going to completely outshine WorldWide's product lineup. Obviously, I can't do anything with Acme's stock - that would be insider trading. But what about shorting WorldWide's stock? Is that allowed?

Would you guys recommend to buy MOTORS LIQ CO (MTLQQ)?

omaralarifi — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 13:32:31 -0800

Can I buy MOTORS LIQ CO (MTLQQ) AKA General Motors stock? If yes, Would you guys recommend to buy the stock? Whatever your answer I need to know the reason. Thank You

Any sources for daily stock market index valuations for the long term?

rr — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 13:14:56 -0800

Is there a good source for daily stock market information for the last 100 years or so? I am unsatisfied with the modeling tools available online and would like to do some more sophisticated models on my own. For example, I am interested in modeling the effect of aftershock behaviors (withdrawl, cutting investment, etc.) and whatnot using historical data that isn't _just_ annual returns?

Is there a source of data for the stock market indices available online? Open and close prices would be handy as well, preferably in some easily parsed format (but I will settle for anything that is in machine readable form)?

Lesser of two tax burdens?

al_fresco — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:40:17 -0800

My partner and I need to pay off some debt, and unfortunately we need to dip into our retirement funds. Our tax accountant is on vacation and we can't find the answer to our question. We have two sources–either sell some stock or cash out a couple of short-term IRA CDs. Which is the lesser of two evils? The service charge on either transaction would be about the same (~$50). We understand that the painful part would come in the form of the taxes on the amount we receive. Is there a difference in how the two types of transactions would be taxed? If we took a theoretical amount of $10k from either transaction, which would be taxed at a higher rate? What is the tax rate on either of these. I'm in California, and we'd need to do this before the end of 2008. If it matters, the money would go directly to pay off credit cards, car, student loans.

And it always makes sense to pay off debt before saving for retirement, right? (Higher interest rate on debt than retirement fund, blah blah). Oh, and we're living paycheck to paycheck.

Thanks in advance!

Resource for evaluating past stock recommendations?

ibmcginty — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:10:23 -0800

Is there anyone (especially online) who's collected reasonably well-informed stock picks from, say, 2, 5, or 15 years ago and explained why the recommendations did or did not work out? Is there a better way to track that stuff down than hunting around for old articles on financial websites? It seems like making the effort to learn from mistakes in the past would help guard against over-optimistic, irrationally exuberant picks today.

Is an index fund really a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?

reenum — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 07:34:08 -0800

InvestingFilter: Is there anything inherently flawed about investing in index funds? I recently opened up a Roth IRA, and have invested in an S&P 500 Index Fund. I'll also be investing in a bond index soon.

I've been reading articles online and books such as 'The Lazy Person's Guide To Investing' by Paul Farrell. These books make it seem that investing in anything but index funds sets you up for a loss long term.

In my opinion, I'm a passive investor. I don't have the inclination to try and pick hot stocks. I'm fine getting a market average return. Farrell's book and some other sources such David Swenson make it seem that investing in anything but an index fund is lunacy. They harp on about load funds and how actively managed funds always underperform the market.

My question is: What's the catch about investing in index funds? It seems to good to be true. You keep putting money in and 30 years later, a nice pile is waiting for your retirement.

Some input from the more financial minded members of the Hive Mind would be much appreciated.

Is there a website that has graphs of stock price in non-quoted currency

caek — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 02:23:53 -0800

Is there a finance website that can plot historical and current graphs of a stock price in a currency other than that of its local exchange, e.g. the stock price of IBM in USD multiplied by the (moving, not current!) EUR:USD exchange rate? If this is easy to do on Google or Yahoo Finance then I'm obviously missing something!

Which insider is selling their stock?

jeanmari — Thu, 16 Feb 2006 08:59:23 -0800

When an insider sells their shares of stock in a company, is there a way to find out WHO sold their stock quickly thereafter? A friend of mine owns shares of stock in a company. She noticed (from Yahoo Finance) that a large amount of stock was sold by one person recently. Yahoo noted that this was an "insider transaction".

When this type of thing has happened in the past, she has noticed that sometimes the name of the person who sold the stock doesn't show up until a month later. She is curious about why this is so and if there is a way to know WHO sold their stock when it happens.

Books about the systems behind banking

qslack — Fri, 10 Feb 2006 20:04:06 -0800

Are there books that explain, in great detail, the systems that clear trades (equities and options) on the markets and shuffle funds among banks in the U.S.? This is a personal curiosity. I know how all of these things work, but I am interested in the mechanisms behind them.

Specifically, I'm looking for books (or other resources) that explain in detail what happens in...

Buying a stock -- info about how big brokerages work the spread, and also info about the electronic systems that provide liquidity for smaller trades

Shorting a stock -- what steps does the broker take to find a bank from which to borrow the shares?

Buying/selling options -- how is the exchange of the option contract between buyer and seller handled?

Transferring money -- details about ACH (the article's "ACH process" section is good, but I'd like to read more about what happens on the Fed's side)

In summary, where can I read more about the systems that transfer huge amounts of money among banks and people?

Tax and Stock Options

scarabic — Thu, 13 Jan 2005 15:49:22 -0800

I have exercised stock options and taken possession of a small number of shares. I have not sold anything, but am wondering how screwed I am, tax-wise. First, do I have to declare the value of the stock as "income" for the year that I acquired it? Second, if I should sell it, do I add the money I receive from that sale to my regular taxable income? Do I deduct the amount I paid in? Is the net difference subject to other taxes? Is this handle-able by an average person or do I need an accountant?

Why Will Dividend Make Microsoft Stock Price Fall By Dividend Amount?

pwb503 — Wed, 10 Nov 2004 14:14:09 -0800

According to numerous reports I've read in the last few days worth of the Business Section of the newspaper, Microsoft's "stock price can be expected to fall by the amount of the dividend." That's the one-time $3 dividend that is coming sometime soon for those of you who don't follow this sort of thing. Anyway... I don't get it? Why is the stock price expceted to drop about $3 the day after this dividend? I like to think of myself as knowledgeble about the markets, and I understand that this dividend will remove $3 per share out of the bank for M$, but aren't stock prices valued more in terms of the value of the company and its holdings rather than simply the value of the money in the bank?