How should investors evaluate publicly traded companies and corporate bonds?

"4. Choose a company currently traded on the NYSE ( http://www.nyse.com ). Find the company’s website using a search engine such as Google. At the website, find the firm’s investor relations information. Review the information, including, if available, the most recent online annual report. Follow up by researching if any SEC actions have been taken against the firm at the SEC website, http://www.sec.gov . Summarize your findings in a brief report that discusses whether you would recommend this company’s stock as an investment. 5. Using the information and links available at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association’s (SIFMA) website, https://www.sifma.org, write a brief paper explaining the pros and cons of investing in corporate bonds. In your paper, provide at least three examples of currently available corporate bonds from a site such as http://www.investinginbonds.com , and explain why they would be good investments."