How to Find a Stock Broker

Determine your investment objectives. If you're only using a small fraction of your assets to invest every now and then, you should make cost control your main priority. Use financial publications such as Kiplinger's and Barron's to compare one brokerage against the other, and see who offers the lowest commissions and fee structures. If you're investing larger sums that constitute the majority of your assets, you might want to choose your broker based on capabilities rather than price. Be aware that price and capability are not mutually exclusive, however, since some of the lowest-cost brokerages such as TradeStation and Interactive Brokers have consistently received the highest customer satisfaction rankings.
Decide whether you want to trade or invest. Trading involves frequent buying and selling of stocks in hopes of making small, recurrent profits. Investing, on the other hand, involves deploying your capital in one or more companies for at least a year. Typically, larger full-service stock brokers are better equipped to assist longer-term investors looking for help with analyzing the financial statements and business prospects of the companies they want to invest in, while discount brokers are essential for people who are self-directed, actively trade and seek to keep the cost of their commissions down.
Figure out how much active help and advice you want from your broker. If you're relatively new to investing or trading, you might want the assistance of a full-service broker, who can give you some advice on investing methods and procedures, such as how to buy a stock with a stop-limit order or how to set a trailing stop loss. If you're more independent-minded and already checked out the basics of investing and trading, you should set up an account with a discount broker. Be aware that even if you use a full-service broker, the advice you get will not necessarily improve your stock market returns.
Determine which types of stocks you want to invest in or trade. Some brokerages are only equipped to buy and sell shares of mainstream American companies that have minimum market capitalizations of tens of millions of dollars. If you intend to purchase shares in low-market capitalization companies, illiquid penny stocks, foreign entities, or other irregular securities, be sure that your broker can accommodate.
Make sure that the broker you're considering opening an account with is registered with the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which insures your account for up to $250,000. If you have a larger account, consider looking for brokers that carry extra insurance from private providers such as Lloyd's of London.

How to Get Stock Quotes in Excel

Open Microsoft Excel. First, select 'Start' from the main operating system menu. Next, choose 'Programs.' Then, click on 'Microsoft Office' in the programs menu. Finally, select 'Microsoft Excel' from the Microsoft Office menu.
Click on the 'Data' menu from the Microsoft Excel main menu screen. Then, choose 'Get External Data' from the data menu. A dialog box will appear with a list of established data sources. Finally, choose the data source labeled 'Investor Stock Quotes.'
Select the cell in the spreadsheet for the stock quote information input or choose the 'Create New Worksheet' option to place the stock quote in a new worksheet. After selecting either option, select 'OK' from the dialog box.
Type the stock ticker symbol into the next Microsoft Excel dialog box. If the user wants to update the stock quote in the future, choose 'Use this value/reference for future refreshes.' Also check the second check box if you would like the information to refresh on its own.
Save the Microsoft Excel file for future use. Select 'Save' from the main file menu, name the file and choose the appropriate place on the computer hard drive to save it.

How to Buy Royal Caribbean Stock

Open a stock brokerage account if you do not already have one. Your bank may offer brokerage services, or you can visit the local office of a full-service brokerage firm. As an alternative, online discount brokers let you buy and sell shares through an online account access. Online commissions range from $5 to $10 each time you buy or sell. Commission rates for a live broker will be significantly higher, but the broker will handle all of the required paperwork.
Transfer some money into your brokerage account. Account funding minimums range from zero to several thousand dollars. You can send in money by check, wire transfer or set up Automated Clearing House payments. ACH transfers take a couple of days to clear, but cost nothing. Once they are set up, you can move money in either direction.
Look up the Royal Caribbean share price. Use the RCL stock symbol to find the current price using either your online account screen or one of the major financial websites.
Determine how many shares you would like to buy. In most cases, you can only purchase whole shares, one or greater. Multiply the number of shares times the share price plus the commission rate to get the total cost. For example, in July 2014, RCL was trading at about $60 per share. With a $10 commission, 15 shares would cost $910 and 200 shares would be $12,010.
Submit a buy order for the number of shares you want using either the online trading screen of your discount brokerage account or by calling your broker and telling her to buy the shares for you.
Verify with your broker or online that the shares have been purchased and at what share price. It only takes a few seconds to complete a stock purchase. However, the share price fluctuates constantly throughout the market hours, so your actual purchase price may be a little higher or lower than the price shown online before you placed the order.

How to Record Stock Options on a Balance Sheet

Record the periodic cost allocation of the stock option. The periodic cost is the value of the stock options divided by the number of service years. Record a journal entry that debits 'compensation expense' (this expense is reported in the income statement) and credits 'additional paid in capital -- stock options' (a stockholder's equity account reported in the balance sheet). Record this cost annually throughout the employee's vesting period.
Record the exercise of the stock option. When the exercise date arrives, the employee can exercise the option and purchase the company's common stock at the exercise price. Common stock is valued at par, a designated dollar amount used to value each share of common stock on the balance sheet. When common stock is sold or repurchased, it is usually for a price above the par value, so the excess amount over par is credited to an 'additional paid in capital' account. The journal entry to record the exercise of the option involves debiting 'cash' for the number of shares purchased multiplied by the exercise price. In addition, debit 'additional paid in capital -- stock options' for the balance accumulated in the account over the vesting period and credit 'common stock' for the number of shares purchased multiplied by the stock's par value. The remaining credit is made to 'additional paid-in capital in excess of par (common stock)' for the amount needed to balance the journal entry.
Record the expiration of the options, if applicable. If a stock option is not exercised on its exercise date, it will expire or sometimes only some of the shares offered by the option are purchased. If the options expire, the balance in the 'additional paid in capital -- stock options' account needs to be transferred to 'additional paid in capital -- expired stock options' account. By debiting the stock options account and crediting the expired stock options account, the cost is reclassified within the stockholder's equity section of the balance sheet. When a portion of the option shares are exercised and a portion expire, allocate the costs as explained in steps 2 and 3 based on the number of shares purchased and the remaining value of the option that expired.

How to Connect an Amp to a Stock Stereo

Remove your stock head unit and locate the speaker channel outputs in the wire harness plugged into its back panel. Most stock stereos will have four speaker channels with four corresponding wires. The channels are 'Left Front,' 'Left Rear,' 'Right Front' and 'Right Rear.' These wires carry a signal that is already amplified by the stock head unit's built-in power amp. This signal must be brought down using a converter or through an amp with the proper inputs.
Strip the ends of the speaker channel wires and connect them to the corresponding inputs on the amplifier, if connecting directly via high-level signal, or to the matching wires on your line out converter. Be sure to account for the length of wire needed to make your connections. If your wires are too short or you accidentally cut off too much, you can splice in extra speaker wire to increase the length. If connecting directly to an amp, skip to Step 4.
Take the RCA lines from your line out converter and connect them to the proper RCA channels on your amplifier. The line out converter is small enough to be installed behind most stock stereo head units. If you plan to mount your converter elsewhere, do so now and take the length of RCA speaker cables into consideration when making connections.
Run speaker wire from the the speaker outputs of the amp to the corresponding speakers. Connect your amplifier to the power system of your car. Consult the manuals included with your speakers and amplifier to ensure proper and safe installation.
Turn on your car and audio system and test for clean output. If everything checks out, reinstall the factory stereo head unit and make sure your amplifier is secured. You have now successfully increased the output and sound quality of your stock stereo system.

How to Transfer Stock Into an IRA

Open an IRA account. Before you can transfer stock into an IRA, you must establish one at a financial services firm. Most banks or brokerage houses should be able to set one up for you if your provide them with basic financial information, such as name, address, date of birth, Social Security number, and beneficiaries. Inform the firm that you wish to transfer stock into the account and ask if there are any special restrictions or requirements.
Bring your stock certificates into your financial services firm. The most secure way to transfer stock into your IRA is to simply bring the physical certificates into the firm. If you are taking your certificates from another IRA account to make your transfer, you have 60 days to make the rollover deposit to avoid taxation on the full value of your stock. Sign the back of the certificates to endorse them over to the firm for your benefit. Inform your firm that this is a transfer, and not a deposit or contribution. Ask for a receipt of your deposit.
Contact the custodian of your stock certificates and request a transfer. If you would rather transfer your stock directly, contact the firm which holds your stock on your behalf and say you want to make a trustee-to-trustee transfer. The delivering firm will request the name of the firm where your IRA is held, your account number, and other firm-specific information.
Monitor your transfer. Whether you deposit your stock in person or electronically, follow the transfer to make sure that your stock arrives in the correct account and in the correct amount. Usually, you can check your account status online, or if you haven't established such a connection with your firm, contact your financial adviser and verify the status of the transfer. You can also check your monthly statements, although you should generally check on your transfer sooner.

How to Buy Stock Online in Canada

Determine whether you wish to buy stocks through a stand-alone investment account or through your current financial institution. Some of the larger Canadian banks, such as the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), allow customers to invest a portion of their savings account in stocks. On the other hand, stand-alone investment accounts typically offer more features for investors and allow individuals to customize their investing strategy using a variety of investment-specific tools. Thus, stand-alone investment accounts are generally a better choice for investors.
Research the Canadian options for an online stockbroker or investment manager. Trading stocks online offers significant savings over a traditional stockbroker by offering individual investors lower fees for buying and selling. Canada has fewer options when it comes to online stockbrokers. For example, some of the biggest U.S. online stockbrokers (such as ShareBuilder) are not available in Canada. Three of the larger online stockbrokers available to Canadians include the Royal Bank of Canada's Direct Investing service (rbcdirectinvesting.com), ING Canada (ingcanada.com) and Questrade (questrade.com).
Evaluate each online stockbroker. Request detailed information on their pricing plans to find which broker charges the least amount for your investment lifestyle. Not all brokers are alike. Don't choose a broker just because it has what looks like a cheaper plan compared to its competitors. Some of the cheapest plans may require you to invest a certain amount of money each month, thus costing more than a more expensive plan that does not force you to buy a certain amount of stocks.
Register with the online stockbroker of your choice. You will need to provide personal financial information, such as your Social Insurance Number (SIN). You will also need to connect your investment account with a payment option, such as a credit card or a bank account.
Consult another stockbroker before buying stocks, and read books that deal with buying stocks for the first time. The stock market offers great potential to make money, but individuals can also lose money if they don't know what they're doing and invest in a poorly performing stock. Do as much research as you can before buying stocks for the first time. Many online stockbrokers provide guides and can help you select the right stocks for the level of risk you are willing to take. Typically, the higher the risk level, the more money you can lose (and earn).
Keep track of your stock market earnings from buying and selling stocks. Each year, you will have to pay taxes to the federal government of Canada on any capital gains you have made in your investments. Read the Canada Revenue Agency's guide to capital gains (see Resources).