YCharts is a new research tool that takes something as complex as the stock market, and turns it into something people like you and me could easily understand. Created by fomer Wall Street Journal, Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and WallStreetView employees, this web service enables users to chart over 70 different metrics for more than 5,000 stocks. These include everything from revenue growth and market cap to dividend yield, and the way everything works companies can be placed side to side and compared on these metrics, too.

YCharts can also deliver reminders and alerts for all the stocks that one invests in, effectively notifying people of adverse changes the moment they begin making themselves felt.