Last week’s answer

Born in Milwaukee in 1948, I’m a world leader in employment services, specializing in recruitment, assessment, training and more. I have 4,300 offices in 67 nations and territories, and serve 400,000 customers annually (94 percent of the Fortune 500). My largest market is France, followed by America. My brands include my own name as well as Right Management Consultants, Jefferson Wells, Elan and Brook Street. In 2003, I placed more than 2 million people in temporary or contract jobs, and raked in more than $12 billion. You might call me Personenergy or Humanforce or Beingbrawn. Who am I?

(Answer: Manpower)

Price-to-earnings ratios

Where can I find data such as price-to-earnings ratios for the S&P 500 stock market index? — R.S., Provo, Utah

Try clicking over to www.barra.com.

There you’ll find price-to-earnings ratios, price-to-free-cash-flow ratios, dividend yields, return on equity, return on assets, market capitalization and much more for the S&P 500, S&P MidCap 400 and S&P SmallCap 600, among other indexes.

Riches from coaches

In 1977, A.L. Williams, a football coach, started an insurance company based on selling people term insurance instead of whole, and having them invest the difference. It went public in the 1980s, was bought by Primerica, and later ended up as part of Citigroup.

I was fortunate to have bought stock in A.L. Williams’ company. If my calculations are correct, $1 in 1982 stock is now worth nearly $300, and it’s bringing in $3.39 annually in dividends.

This investment was a gift from heaven. — Walter Oglesby, Sulphur, La.

The Fool Responds: Earning more annually than you paid for a stock to begin with is terrific.

Many small companies get gobbled up by larger firms. If a holding of yours is acquired and you end up with stock in a different company, take some time to learn more about your new holding.

If you’re encouraged by its health and prospects, hanging on for a long time may pay off well. Keep up with its progress by reading at least its annual reports, though. If you’re not impressed, consider selling and moving your funds to where you have more confidence.