NYSE:SNE is an ADR [1]; basically, a bank buys shares in a foreign country, and sells a receipt for those shares on a local exchange. It acts as a proxy for the

NYSE:SNE is an ADR [1]; basically, a bank buys shares in a foreign country, and sells a receipt for those shares on a local exchange. It acts as a proxy for the foreign share, without having to deal with currency conversion/owning direct shares of a foreign company. [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_depositary_receipt http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_depositary_receipt