STOCKMARKET
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Play the stockmarket using someone else's money! This game allows you to manage a small portfolio of shares. Are you a finacial whizz kid? You are given company reports, news flashes, share price reports and four graphs to assist you in making your decisions. The program is unique in that your tactics are analysed by the computer at the end of the week and you are given a rating by the computer which is based on the quality of the decisions that you have taken. There are three levels of play.


LOADING INSTRUCTIONS
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The procedure for loading a program into your Spectrum is given in your manual. Please follow these steps for loading a program.
1. Connect the ear socket of the computer to the ear socket of your tape recorder.
2. Set the volume control as per Sinclair manual.
3. Adjust the tone control to maximum.
4. Type LOAD "".
5. Start the tape recorder. The program will RUN automatically once loaded.
6. The program takes 5 minutes to load.


INSTRUCTIONS
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1. Objective
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The object of Stockmarket is twofold:
(a) To maximize the value of your investments by buying and selling shares.
(b) To achieve a high computer rating (this rating is calculated by the computer and is based on the quality of your decisions).

2. Summary of the Game
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The game covers five days and your portfolio can hold six different shares. Each day has 3 working segments. (You have 3 opporturnities to deal in each share each day.) The shares will rise and fall independently according to the trend or the randomized news flashes. You must use your judgement to buy and sell profitably. Level one is moderate - level three is much harder. After you deal with each company you cash situation, present investment and the market forecasts will be shown.

3. Information Available
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Companies.
This gives you a description of each company and an extract from their last year's accounts.
Gain.
Summaries profit/loss of each investment within the portfolio. (Key P to have this information displayed as a graph.)
Information.
Gives Market Trend of company you are dealing with.
PRices.
Gives share prices of each company, the trend factor and current share index. (Key S for histogramm of share prices and their trends.)
POrtfolio.
Summarises you portfolio of investments showing the number of sahres held and the value of each investment. (Key I for histogramm of value in each investment.)
Report.
A report summarising the investment in each company showing the number of shares held, bought value, present market value, profit/loss on investment.

4. The Bank Account
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You have overdraft facilities related to your assets. The more money you make, the more you can borrow. On levels 1 and 2, you can borrow money to the value of your assets. On level 3 however, this is reduced by half. Your bank has a savings scheme which secures high interest and tax exemption on money invested. However, only cash profits may benefit from this lucrative scheme. To deposit money in the bank enter "BA" during the period of transactions.

5. Bankruptcies and Bonus Shares
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This part of the game is out of your hands and depends on share prices and trends. Each company can only sustain a certain fall in prices, after which it will go bankrupt and you will lose your investment. A warning will be given if a company is in danger of going bankrupt. On the good side, if a company is continually successful it may give you bonus shares in proportion with your investment - so - big investment - big bonus.

6. The Share Index
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This shows the average price of all six companies. 1 point on the index is worth 10. You can use it to see if the overall trend is up or down.

7. Results
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At the end of the 5 days you are given a statement of your assets and the net profit you have made after charging brokers commission and capital gains tax. You are also given a rating based on the skill level you have chosen, the quality of your decisions and the net profit you have made. Your performance is plotted on a graph against the share index over the five days.

8. Tactics
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You have an option to have critique of the tactics you have used. The computer politely points out to you where you went wrong! E.g. "On two occasions you held onto shares at high prices when they were falling."


(c)1983 R. Duff
Copies of this recording may only be made for the sole use of the purchaser unless written permission is obtained from the publisher.
CASES COMPUTER SIMULATIONS LTD., 14 Langton Way, London SE3 7TL