LEARN THE DESK / NEWS
Reading market news without confusing headlines with signals
Compare headline claims with reported numbers using an earnings-surprise exercise and a source-checking guide.
Separate the report from the interpretation
Start with the publisher, timestamp and original source. Distinguish a reported fact from an analyst’s opinion or a generated summary. Two headlines quoting the same press release are not two independent confirmations. The desk links news sources; its shared generated overview should be checked against those sources.
Try it with your own numbers
Local calculation only. These inputs are illustrative, not live quotes. Nothing you enter is uploaded.
Worked example
If expected earnings per share were $2.00 and reported earnings were $2.20, the arithmetic surprise is +10%. Price can still fall if guidance, positioning or other expectations disappoint.
The calculation
Difference = reported − expected. Relative surprise = 100 × difference / |expected|.Method and references
Arithmetic is shown above so you can reproduce the result. Indicator background: J. Welles Wilder, New Concepts in Technical Trading Systems (1978); John Bollinger, Bollinger on Bollinger Bands (2001). These references explain methods, not a claim that TickSPY predicts prices.
Exercises use the values you enter, not a hidden market feed. Examples demonstrate mechanics; they are not evidence of profitability. Reviewed October 11, 2026.
What this cannot tell you
This exercise does not fetch company reports. Enter numbers from a reliable source in the same units and accounting basis. A zero expectation has no defined relative surprise; negative expectations need careful interpretation.