Business Articles: Company and Industry Reports
The first publication anyone should ask for when studying a publically
held company - and often privately held companies as well - is the company's Annual
Report. These reports are instrumental in at least a brief understanding of the
company's financial health, strategic goals, philosophy and organizational structure.
Therefore,
you should go to the largest online publisher of Annual Reports at: www.reportgallery.com
The Report Gallery is particularly useful for students since it not only
offers free company annual reports, but also such educational items as: "What is an
Annual Report?"; and other information on financial analysis.The Gallery has been
running for 5 years and has over 2,200 current annual reports listed. You can click on
"Snap Shot" which takes you to a report of analysts suggestions on that company,
the Annual Report itself, and the website of the company.
The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) also has a
website which offers up-to-date
information on companies
through its EDGAR Database: www.sec.gov/gov/edgar.shtml
The SEC requires all public companies (except foreign companies and companies with less
than $10 million in assets and 500 shareholders) to file registration statements, periodic
reports, and other forms electronically through EDGAR. Anyone can access and download this
information for free. Here you'll find links to a complete list of filings available
through EDGAR and instructions for searching the EDGAR database (Quick EDGAR Tutorial;
Search for Company Filings; Descriptions of SEC Forms; About EDGAR; FTP Users; and SIC
Codes.
Another excellent
source of business reports can
be found on Hoover's Online: www.hoovers.com. This is a quality company that provides a
great range of information services to its clients. Of particular interest to students
would be the Company Profiles (for which Hoover's is famous), plus publication and journal
searches. In true capitalist tradition there isn't too much on the site that's free. A
basic subscription costs $29.95 per month. Most progressive libraries will carry this
website, so you shouldn' t have to do it yourself.
Nevertheless
, if you have to bite the bullet for that research
project, a LOT of reseach can be done in a month for just $29.95. Business subscribers can
read current and archived full-text articles from more than 22 Business Reports (using
WinStar Telebase's offerings which encompass more than 500 databases including such
companies as Dun & Bradstreet, Moody's, Thompson & Thompson, plus others), and
over 4,600 daily newspapers, industry journals, newswires and trade magazines.
Information
of a more statistical
nature concerning the U.S. Government can be
obtained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) at: http://stats.bls.gov/blshome.htm.
This site provides information under specific categories such as: Economy at a Glance;
Career Guides (e.g. Occupational Outlook Handbook); Productivity; International
Comparisons; and Online Magazines (e.g. Monthly Labor Review).
An useful statistical site is provided by the Bureau
of Economic Analysis (BEA) at the Department of Commerce, which publishes the
popular Survey of Current Business, and can be found at: www.bea.doc.gov.
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