Business & Economics

Information Handouts - General Business Sites - Company Info/Annual Reports
Economics - International Business - Market Research/Statistics

Information handouts

Rutger University's Business Research Strategies page is an excellent resource with an educational slant that walks a person through the types of research questions to ask and the sources to consult, both print and online.
WWW Virtual Library has a list of business/economics links that is maintained by scholars from their respective fields of expertise.
Internet Public Library is a comprehensive directory of business resources, including a list of marketing and other business related associations. It provides sites covering the realms of commerce and industry: the production, distribution, consumption of goods and services, and the management of economic systems.
RBA Business Sources on the Net, which offers classes, a listing of links, and a list of the UK's top sites. The listings by country are helpful for international research.
UK Business World's favorite site has a list of free business resources on the Web, including a great list of statistical sources and marketing related links.
Michael Bloomberg's site has been one of the top 100 classic business and finance sites for years (PC Magazine). Other classics include: www.hoovers.com, www.schwab.com, www.irs.gov, www.thestreet.com.
ENTERWeb - The Knowledge Portal for Small Business is a source of information on small business, finance, international trade, entrepreneurship, enterprise development and the economy worldwide. Index includes over 1,400 sites with more added monthly.

Brint: The BizTech Network covers Business Researcher's Interests and is a full-fledged business portal focusing on business technology.
Business Nation: Business Information Directory provides links to thousands of resources arranged by topics, including examples of different business forms and letters, as well as a listing of helpful government and business associations by state.
Corporate Information is an extremely useful listing of sites by country and covering stock exchanges, company directories and sector based sites.
Hoover's Online - has capsules that provide brief information on some 12,000 corporations plus 2,800 of America's largest private/nonpublic enterprises and 1,100 foreign companies. Click on Companies and Industries, or, search using Site Search and Capsules as search terms. This will show companies by broad categories. Clicking on the category will provide links to specific companies.
Thomas Register of American Manufacturers is a comprehensive listing of over 145, 000 U.S. public companies and 52,000 products and service categories. It is cross-referenced to find those companies selling particular products.
EDGAR Database of Corporate Information includes filings made to the SEC since January 1994. Users should read the "About EDGAR" and "Quick EDGAR Tutorial".
Further Annual Report sources with a more user-friendly method of retrieval can be found at www.10kwizard.com, www.edgar-online.com

About.com Directory for Economics has directories for many subjects. With each subject it also provides related subject guides to other directories in its database.
Financial Economics Web is maintained by Dr. James R. Garven of The University of Texas. It is a list of "substantive sources concerning finance-related topics." It appears to assume familiarity with economics.
United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs

International Trade Administration with current news, trade reports, a listing of trade promotion agencies, and other helpful links related to exporting and importing in particular.
Federation of International Trade Associations/FITA was founded in 1984. The organization "fosters international trade by strengthening the role of local, regional, and national associations throughout the United States, Mexico and Canada that have an international mission." With over 4,000 links to International trade related websites it is a good place to start research. Categories include country or region, legal resources, language and translation, International market research and business directories. From the site one can also subscribe to a free, bi-weekly newsletter.
Research Guide to International Law on the Internet, created and maintained by the Political Science faculty at the University of Bologna, is highly recommended by librarians. It is comprehensive and the sections on International Trade Law and the links to news and journals via the International Law Library link are especially useful.
FirstGov.gov Business Gateway is the U.S. Government's official website and has links for information on exporting, federal regulations, international trade, workplace issues, etc.

Go directly to the site of a Primary Research Company:
I.e. - www.frost.com, www.freedoniagroup.com, http://www3.gartner.com/Init, http://www.gigaweb.com/homepage, http://www.marketresearch.com, http://www.the-list.co.uk A great searchable site representing most of the primary research companies is available at www.mindbranch.com. Actual reports are costly, but it is free to search abstracts.
Go to secondary sources, for instance an aggregator that charges:
I. e. - Dialog, DataStar, ECNext
Advertising World is a site maintained by UT Austin's Department of Advertising and boasts to be the "the ultimate marketing communications directory."
Official Statistics on the Web is one of the best starting point for statistical sources by country, topic or subject.
Economic Census covers the various U.S. Industries and is complied every five years. Also look at the U.S. Census Bureau's County Business Patterns and the Statistical Abstract of the United States. Online to 2000.
Learning Fountain Network: Home of Helpfulness Marketing with its "Research Tool for Executives and Entrepreneurs" provides links to niches, products and services. It offers 7 levels of research to help researchers find information and is primarily an aid for small business.
Bureau of Labor Statistics has various types of statistical data on employment, wages, prices, etc. They also publish the Occupational Outlook Handbook for trends in job markets and occupations.

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