I want to multiply two columns in a pandas DataFrame and add the result into a new column

I think an elegant solution is to use the where method (also see the API docs):

In [37]: values = df.Prices * df.Amount

In [38]: df['Values'] = values.where(df.Action == 'Sell', other=-values)

In [39]: df
Out[39]: 
   Prices  Amount Action  Values
0       3      57   Sell     171
1      89      42   Sell    3738
2      45      70    Buy   -3150
3       6      43   Sell     258
4      60      47   Sell    2820
5      19      16    Buy    -304
6      56      89   Sell    4984
7       3      28    Buy     -84
8      56      69   Sell    3864
9      90      49    Buy   -4410

Further more this should be the fastest solution.

You can use the DataFrame apply method:

order_df['Value'] = order_df.apply(lambda row: (row['Prices']*row['Amount']
                                               if row['Action']=='Sell'
                                               else -row['Prices']*row['Amount']),
                                   axis=1)

It is usually faster to use these methods rather than over for loops.

If we're willing to sacrifice the succinctness of Hayden's solution, one could also do something like this:

In [22]: orders_df['C'] = orders_df.Action.apply(
               lambda x: (1 if x == 'Sell' else -1))

In [23]: orders_df   # New column C represents the sign of the transaction
Out[23]:
   Prices  Amount Action  C
0       3      57   Sell  1
1      89      42   Sell  1
2      45      70    Buy -1
3       6      43   Sell  1
4      60      47   Sell  1
5      19      16    Buy -1
6      56      89   Sell  1
7       3      28    Buy -1
8      56      69   Sell  1
9      90      49    Buy -1

Now we have eliminated the need for the if statement. Using DataFrame.apply(), we also do away with the for loop. As Hayden noted, vectorized operations are always faster.

In [24]: orders_df['Value'] = orders_df.Prices * orders_df.Amount * orders_df.C

In [25]: orders_df   # The resulting dataframe
Out[25]:
   Prices  Amount Action  C  Value
0       3      57   Sell  1    171
1      89      42   Sell  1   3738
2      45      70    Buy -1  -3150
3       6      43   Sell  1    258
4      60      47   Sell  1   2820
5      19      16    Buy -1   -304
6      56      89   Sell  1   4984
7       3      28    Buy -1    -84
8      56      69   Sell  1   3864
9      90      49    Buy -1  -4410

This solution takes two lines of code instead of one, but is a bit easier to read. I suspect that the computational costs are similar as well.