Step # 1 Picking Stocks

Picking stocks may not require the Internet since our daily experiences and research in the library may give you ideas about which companies may be good bets. Here are three stock picking recommendations:

Choose companies that manufacture the favorite things in your daily life, such as soft drinks, shoes, clothes, restaurants, etc., and make sure they are publicly traded companies by checking the labels and packaging of the products.
Get company names from work places where your parents, friends, relatives, and neighbors have firsthand experience about the quality of the company.
Use The Value Line Investment Survey (800-654-0508, http://valueline.com) at the reference desk in the library. From the first booklet, which is a summary of the 1,700 companies rated by Value Line, take the 100 stocks with a rating of "1" for Timeliness. Next, narrow down to those companies with a Safety rank of "1," "2," or "3." Also, check on the industry ranking on these companies. Narrow down your stock selections to the companies in the top 20 industries.

Visit Investing For Kids' Stock Learning Center to learn more about stocks. Also, visit Stocks in Cyberspace to learn how to use the Internet to get stock quotes, set up stock portfolios, and research on companies.