Best deployed when moderately bearish and one is looking to make a return on the small decline in the price of an index or stock.

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Their price fluctuates depending on what has happened to the price of the stock or index they insure.

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One method divides the price (of a stock or index) by its trailing 12-month earnings.

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They delighted in learning about everything from the Baltic Dry Index (the daily number given to the price of moving raw materials by sea) to the stock of Crocs, which several of them also wore.

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Copper is up 19% this year, better than all stock indexes, better than the GSCI index of commodities and rivaling the 25% rise in the price of gold.

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Indexed options work similarly to traditional stock options, with one exception: Rather than having the exercise price fixed at the market price on the date of grant, the exercise price varies based on the change in an appropriate stock market index, e.g.

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The dividend yield on the index (dividends divided by the stock price) is just 2.1% a fraction of historic averages, and barely enough to keep pace with current, subdued inflation.

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Peugeot, a founding member of the main French stock market index, the Cac-40, was demoted last year as a result of its tumbling share price.

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