An investor reading the news this morning was likely dismayed to find reports like this from Reuters: “Wall Street fell sharply on Thursday, with the S&P 500 and the Dow Industrials suffering their worst daily percentage drops in about six weeks.”

Last summer I wrote a few posts to help you dip your toes into the shallow waters of investment jargon. You might (or might not) find the jargon useful, but there is a lot to be said for not feeling like you are in over your head when discussing your own investments. So today, I've dragged out a slightly fusty standby—Earnings Per Share...