Research Guides : Business and Company Information

This guide is to selected sources of company and industry information. Additional sources can be found via the online catalog with a keyword, subject, or title search.

**Reference titles can be found in the open or closed stacks in the Reference Department.**

• Directories
• Company Histories
• Financial Statements
• Financial Ratios
• Company Rankings
• Company Stocks and Bonds
• Industry Sources
• Career Sources
• Bibliographic Guides
• Electronic Databases and Indexes
• Periodicals
• Internet Sources

Directories

General directories provide addresses, telephone numbers, officers, products or services, sales, number of employees, and SIC codes. More specific directories provide information on companies in specific industries and trades.

Million Dollar Directory. New York: Dun & Bradstreet. Annual.
[Ref. HC102.2 .M54]

Standard & Poor's Register of Corporations, Directors, and Executives. New York: Standard & Poor's. Annual.
[Ref. HG4057 .A4]

Thomas Register of American Manufacturers and Thomas Register Catalog File. New York: Thomas Publishers, 2001. Also available at http://www.thomasregister.com.
[Ref. T12 .T6]

America's Corporate Families. Parsippany, NJ: Dun & Bradstreet. Annual.
[Ref. HG4057 .A43]

Brands and Their Companies. Detroit: Gales Group. Annual.
[Ref. T223 .V4 A22]

Directory of American Firms Operating in Foreign Countries. New York: Simon & Schuster. Annual.
[Ref. HG4538 .A1 D5]

Directory of Corporate Affiliations. Skokie, IL: National Register Publishers. Annual.
[Ref. HG4057 .D573]

Dun's Employment Opportunities Directory. The Career Guide. Parsippany, NJ: Dun's Marketing Services. Annual.
[Ref. HF5382.5 .U5 D8]

Dun's Regional Business Directory. Raleigh/Durham/Fayetteville. Parsippany, NJ: Dun's Marketing Services. Annual.
[Ref. HG4058 .R3 D86]

The Franchise Annual. Lewiston, NY: Info Press, Inc. Annual.
[Ref. HF5429.3 .F69]

National Directory of Minority-Owned Business Firms. Lombard, IL: Business Research Services. Annual.
[Ref. HD2346 .U5 N332]

North Carolina Business Directory. Omaha: American Business Directories. Annual.
[Ref. HC107 .N8 N7525]

North Carolina Manufacturers Directory. Twinsbury, Ohio: Harris Publishing. Annual.
[Ref. HF5065 .N8 H37]

Standard Directory of Advertisers. New Providence, NJ: National Register Publishing, 2000.
[Ref. HF5805 .S7]

SRDS TV & Cable Source. Wilmette, IL: Standard Rate & Data Service. Annual.
[Ref. HF5950 .S745]

Company Histories

Company history sources cover the historical development of a company and may also include current financial data, officers, locations, products and services.

Best's Insurance Reports. Oldwick, NJ: A.M. Best Company. Annual.
[Ref. HG8943 .B3] Life - Health.
[Ref. HG9655 .B5] Property - Casualty.
[Ref. HG8021 .B47] International.

Business & Company Resource Center. Gale Group. http://www.galenet.com/servlet/BCRC?loclD=durh55126

Derdak, Thomas (ed). International Directory of Company Histories. Chicago: St. James Press. Annual.
[Ref. HD2721 .D36]

Hoover's Handbook of American Business. Austin: Hoover's, Inc. Annual.
http://www.hoovers.com
[Ref. HG4057 .A28617]

Hoover's Handbook of World Business. Austin: Hoover's, Inc. Annual.
http://www.hoovers.com
[Ref. HG4009 .H66]

Mergent Manuals. New York: Mergent, Inc. Annual. (Updated by monthly News Report)
[Ref. HG4961 .M65] Bank and Finance Manual.
[Ref. HG4961 .M67] Industrial Manual.
[Ref. HG4538 .M663] International Manual.
[Ref. HG4931 .M58] Municipal and Government Manual.
[Ref. HG4961 .M7237] OTC Industrial Manual.
[Ref. HG4961 .M7245] Public Utility Manual.
[Ref. HG4971 .M74] Transportation Manual.

Financial Statements

The Shepard Library has annual reports and 10K reports for companies with stocks sold on the NYSE. AMEX, and NASDAQ and Regional Exchanges. They are located in the Reference Department file cabinets -10 years coverage in hard copy for selected companies and a comprehensive collection on microfiche from 1978 -1998.

Annual Report Gallery.
http://www.reportgallery.com

CAROL: Company Annual Reports Online
http://carol.co.uk/

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Edgar Database.
http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm

Mergent Manuals. New York: Mergent, Inc. Annual.
[See Company Histories section for Call Numbers]

Financial Ratios

Annual Statement Studies. Philadelphia: Robert Morris Associates. Annual.
[Ref. HF5681 .B2 R6]

Industry Norms & Key Business Ratios. Murray Hill, NJ: Dun & Bradstreet. Annual.
[Ref. HF5681 .R25 I525]

Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys. New York: Standard & Poor's. Biweekly.
[Ref. HC106.6 .S74 Reference Desk]

Statistics on Banking. A Statistical Profile of the United States Banking Industry. Washington, DC: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 1998.
[Ref. HG2401 .S76]

Statistics on Banking 1934 - 1996. A Statistical History of the United States Banking Industry. Washington, DC: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 1997.
[Ref. HG2493 . H58]

Troy, Leo. Almanac of Business and Industrial Financial Ratios. Paramus, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2001.
[Ref. HF5681 .R25 T68]

[ Top ]

Company Rankings

Hoover's Handbooks and Guides.
[See Company Histories section for Call Number]

Mergent Industry Review. New York: Mergent, Inc. Biweekly.
[Ref. HG4961 .M68]

Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys. New York: Standard & Poor's. Biweekly.
[Ref. HC106.6 .S74 Reference Desk]

Magazines that give annual rankings. **Dates of issuance vary from year to year.**

Reserve Department

Black Enterprise
http://www.blackenterprise.com

• The B.E. 100s, June 2002.
• America's Best Small Companies, November 2001.

Business Week
http://www.businessweek.com

• 50 Best Performing Companies of the S&P 500, Special Issue Spring 2002.
• Performance Rankings of the S&P 500, April 2, 2002.
• Global 1000, July 9, 2001.

Fortune
http://www.fortune.com
Current lists are also available at Fortune's homepage.

• Fortune 500, April 15, 2002.
• America's Most Admired Corporations, February 15, 2001.
• Global Most Admired. *See home page.
• America's 100 Fastest-Growing Companies, September 3, 2001.
• The 100 Best Companies to Work For, February 2, 2001.
• Fortune Global 500. *See home page.
• Best Companies for Minorities, July 9, 2001.

Forbes
http://www.forbes.com
Current lists are also available at Forbes's homepage.

• The 500 Largest Private Companies. *See home page.
• America's 400 Best Big Companies, January 8, 2001.
• The Forbes 500s, April 15, 2002.
• The International 500, July 23, 2001.
• The 200 Best Small Companies, January 22, 2001.

Serials Department

Business North Carolina
http://www.businessnc.com

• 75 Top Public Companies, August 2001.
• North Carolina's Largest For-Profit Employers, February 2001.

Company Stocks and Bonds

Mergent Bond Record. New York: Mergent, Inc. Monthly.
[Ref. HG4651 .M617]

Mergent Dividend Record. New York: Mergent, Inc. Weekly plus an Annual issue.
[Ref. HG4537 .M66]

Mergent Handbook of Common Stocks. New York: Mergent, Inc. Quarterly.
[Ref. HG4501 .M59]

Standard & Poor's Stock Reports. American Stock Exchange, New York Stock Exchange. NASDAQ and Regional Exchanges. New York: Standard & Poor's. Quarterly.
[Ref. HG4907 .S72]

The Value Line Investment Survey. New York: Value Line Publishing Inc. Weekly.
[Ref. HG4501 .V26 Reference Desk]

Standard & Poor's Daily Stock Price Record. New York: Standard & Poor's, 2001. (Also available in COMPUSTAT.)
ASE [Ref. HG4915 .S66]
NASDAQ [Ref. HG4915 .S665]
NYSE [Ref. HG4915 .S664]

Industry Sources

Information in these sources may include industry trends, industry ratios, market share, how the industry operates, and comparative financial analysis for key players in each industry.

Current Industrial Reports, U.S. Census.
http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/cir/www

Standard & Poor's Industry Survey. New York: Standard & Poor's. Weekly.
[Ref. HC106.6 .S74]

U.S. Industry & Trade Outlook. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. 2000.
[Government Documents section in the Reference Department]

Mergent Industry Review. New York: Mergent, Inc. Biweekly.
[Ref. HG4961 .M68]

Career Sources

Career guides provide profiles of prospective employers and career opportunities. A profile may include an overview of the company, expertise and education requirements, benefits, availability of internships and a key contact person.

The Career Guide: D&B Employment Opportunities Directory. Parsippany, NJ: Dun & Bradstreet. Annual.
[Ref. HF5382.5 .U5 D86]

Peterson's Job Opportunities for Business Majors. Princeton, NJ: Peterson's, 1999.
[Ref. HF5382.5 .U5 B88]

Bibliographic Guides

Bibliographic guides present lists of business sources that may cover all fields of business or specific subject areas. These guides may provide annotations and evaluations of the various sources.

How to Find Information About Companies. Washington, DC: Washington Researchers, 1999.
[Ref. HD2771 .H68]

Lavin, Michael. Business Information. How to Find It, How to Use It. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1992.
[Ref. HF5356 .L36]

Pagell, Ruth. International Business Information. How to Find It, How to Use It. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1994.
[Ref. HF54.5 .P33]

Woy, James (ed). Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources. Detroit: Gale Research, 1999.
[Ref. HF5353 . E9]

Electronic Databases and Indexes

Indexing and abstracting services provide access to information in journals, magazines, newspapers, and reports. Arrangement in printed indexes is usually by subject, table of contents, citation, or Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) code.

Electronic Databases [Reference Department]

ABI/INFORM - Global and Business Periodicals on disc. UMI.
NOTE: Available only in the Shepard Library Reference Dept.

Business and Company Resource Center The Gale Group.
NOTE: Accessible only on the NCCU campus.

Business NewsBank NewsBank, Inc.
NOTE: Accessible only on the NCCU campus.

DIALOG Information Service. Dialog.

Global NewsBank NewsBank, Inc.
NOTE: Accessible only on the NCCU campus.

NewsBank NewsFile Collection NewsBank, Inc.
NOTE: Accessible only on the NCCU campus.

The following databases are available through NC LIVE. NC LIVE is a series of databases on many subjects; may be searched at home as well as on campus-- ask at the Reference desk for the password.

ABI Inform Global The ProQuest Company.

Business Source Elite EBSCOhost.

InfoTrac OneFile The Gale Group.

NC LIVE. State of North Carolina.
http://www.nclive.org

News and Observer Index [Raleigh] The ProQuest Company

Newspaper Source EBSCOhost.

North Carolina Newsstand The ProQuest Company.

Wall Street Journal The ProQuest Company.

Printed Indexes [Serials Department]

Accounting and Tax Index. UMI.

Business Periodicals Index. H.W. Wilson Company.

F&S Index United States and F&S Index International. Information Access Company

The New York Times Index. New York Times Company.

PAIS International in Print. Public Affairs Information Service, Inc.

The Wall Street Journal. UMI.

Periodicals (Selected)

These are only a sampling of the many business related periodicals housed in the Shepard Library. Current titles are located on the second floor in the Serials Department and Reserve Department. Older titles in print are located on the third floor in the Annex. Microform titles are located in file cabinets on the second floor in the Serials Department.

Publications from the International Monetary Fund and the Federal Reserve Banks are located in the Reference Department adjacent to the Annual Reports file cabinets.

Consult the Master List of Periodicals at any service desk for all titles in the collection.

[ Top ]

Internet Sources (Selected)

A magnitude of information covering all fields of business can be found through various search engines, such as Alta Vista, Excite, Infoseek, and Google and through search directories, such as Yahoo. Consulting the search "TIPS" at the home page of each search engine and directory will help you get the most out of your searches.

Company Home Page

Most Fortune 500 companies and other large companies have their own home page. Following is a typical company web address, its URL (Universal Resource Locator):

Ford Motor Company
http://www.ford.com

Web Links to Companies

U.S. Public, Private, and International Companies

http://www.corporationinformation.com

CompaniesOnline
http://www.companiesonline.com

Hoover's Online
http://www.hoovers.com

Thomas Register
http://www.thomasregister.com

Wright Investor Services
http://profiles.wisi.com

Specific Stock and Financial Information Sites

Big Charts
http://www.bigcharts.com

Bloomberg Financial Markets
http://www.bloomberg.com

CNNfn
http://www.cnnfn.com

DailyStocks.com
http://www.dailystocks.com

Market Guide
http://www.marketguide.com/home.asp

PC Quote
http://www.pcquote.com

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's EDGAR databases.
http://www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm

Wall Street Research Net Company Research database.
http://www.wsrn.com

Yahoo Finances
http://finance.yahoo.com

Yahoo Finances Historical quotes
http://chart.yahoo.com/d

[ Top ]

<--Back to Research Guides