How to track congressional stock trades
Members of Congress must disclose trades over $1,000 — but the law allows up to 45 days. Where the filings live, and why the delay is sometimes the story.
How to read a filing
Every guide here explains one document: what it is, where to find it, what the useful parts are, and what its equivalents are called in Canada and the UK.
They exist because the filings are free and public, and almost nobody opens one — not because the material is hard, but because nobody explains what you are looking at.
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How to check insider selling
A step-by-step walkthrough using SEC EDGAR — free, no account. Plus the four things that separate a meaningful sale from routine compensation.
13D vs 13G: what the difference means
Both disclose a stake above 5%. A 13D means the holder intends to influence the company; a 13G means they are passive. Switching from 13G to 13D is a signal.
Why do auditors resign?
An auditor change is reported on an 8-K under Item 4.01. The filing is brief — but the outgoing auditor's own letter is attached, and almost nobody reads it.
What is a material weakness?
A flaw in a company's financial-reporting controls serious enough that a material error might not be caught. It does not mean the numbers are wrong.
What is a going-concern warning?
The auditor stating substantial doubt the company survives the next twelve months. Where it appears in a filing, and what it does and does not mean.
How to read a 10-K
An annual report runs 200 pages, most of it boilerplate. Five sections carry almost everything worth knowing — and the real technique is comparing two years.
What is a Form 4?
A Form 4 is the filing an insider must submit within two business days of trading their own company's stock. What is in one, and what actually matters.