Equity research is a powerful tool for investors. Investment firms employ analysts to perform in-depth research and analysis on companies, producing reports that explain current trends and projected performance. While smaller firms may only staff a couple of analysts to target specific industries, large firms can have thousands of analysts covering a wide range of companies and industries. These analysts are usually academics, former executives, or people with a long history in their industry. In the following sections, learn about the role equity research plays in guiding investment decisions.

published Dec 11th 2016, 1:56 pm, by Javier Blas, Elena Mazneva and Angelina Rascouet (Bloomberg) —Saudi Oil Minister Khalid al-Falih emerged from the OPEC meeting room on Saturday evening having endured months of secret petro-diplomacy, late-night phone calls and, a few times, disagreements that almost saw talks collapse. But he