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Researching Business Information and Using News Alerts

Researching Business Information and Using News Alerts. FSU Law Library, Spring 2005 Created by Marin Dell, Esq. Why does a law firm need to do business research?. Know your industry Know your client Know your opponent Rainmaking Hiring Marketing your firm. Workshop Outline.

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Researching Business Information and Using News Alerts

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  1. Researching Business Information and Using News Alerts FSU Law Library, Spring 2005 Created by Marin Dell, Esq.

  2. Why does a law firm need to do business research? • Know your industry • Know your client • Know your opponent • Rainmaking • Hiring • Marketing your firm

  3. Workshop Outline Performing business research in: • Trusted business sites • Web searching • News alerts • News aggregators/RSS feeds • Blogs

  4. Remember: • Online and electronic resources do not always mean searching “the Web.” • Have a list of trusted sites you know before using a search engine

  5. Develop your own trusted site list by: • Start your list now as you encounter them • By working with your law firm’s librarian • FSU reference librarians - By phone - In person • Local law school reference librarians - Even law school libraries that don’t admit the public usually allow members of the state bar to have library privileges

  6. Trusted Business Sites: • E-journals http://www.lib.fsu.edu/resources/business.html • Business information databases • .gov, .org and .edu websites • Leading industry/company websites

  7. Company Information • Company history and background • Company philosophy, outlook, and broad strategic direction • Names, titles, and backgrounds of key executives • Market focus and priorities • Organizational structure, subsidiaries, and divisions • Links to recent articles about the company • Stockholder information • Recent financial filings Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 111-2.

  8. Company Reports • Report Gallery http://www.reportgallery.com - Annual reports and 10K reports in HTML and PDF format • CAROL http://www.carol.co.uk - Annual Reports Online for the United Kingdom

  9. Company Profiles • Corporate Library, Companies, Directors & CEOs http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com/Research/default.html • Dun & Bradstreet - http://www.dnb.com • Fortune Company Profiles - http://www.fortune.com/companies • Forbes 500s – www.forbes.com • Largest corporations by sales, profits, assets and market value

  10. Edgar (SEC) • EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, performs automated collection, validation, indexing, acceptance, and forwarding of submissions by companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml • EDGAR Spin-offs: • FreeEDGAR, www.freeedgar.com • EDGAR Online, www.edgar-online.com • LIVEEDGAR, www.gsionline.com

  11. Remember: • Privately held companies are not required to report their financial information. • Information is harder to find on privately held companies • Information sources are scattered

  12. Sources of Public Information on Privately Held Companies Local Government • Building Department: building permit records; building inspection records. • Consumer Protection Agency: records of complaints about and investigations into companies, services or products. • County or City Clerk or the Recorder or Register of Deeds: real estate deeds; mortgage agreements. • Health Department: health inspection records; some permits. • Planning Department: development permits; bonds posted to guarantee construction; demonstrations of financial ability. • Property Appraiser or Tax Assessor: property and building descriptions; assessed value of property. Source: Washington Researchers. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonresearchers.com/

  13. Sources of Public Information on Privately Held Companies State Government: • Air Pollution Office: records of inspections for air pollution standard violations. • Attorney General's Office: records of prosecution for violations of state laws; consumer complaints and records of investigations of consumer problems. • Commerce and Economic Development Office: state manufacturers directories; plant locations; industry trends and statistics. • Corporations Division, Secretary of State's Office: articles of incorporation, notices of consolidation, merger, etc.; in some states, corporate annual reports. • Environmental Protection Office: investigation records relating to water and air pollution and sanitation, inspections of food and lodging establishments. Source: Washington Researchers. Retrieved from http://www.washingtonresearchers.com/

  14. Sources of Public Information on Privately Held Companies • For a full list of recommended sources of public information on privately held companies • http://www.washingtonresearchers.com/ • Publications link • Targeted Challenges: Privately held companies link • Free guide link

  15. General Business Information • Business Wirehttp://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/index.jsp • Hoover’s Online - http://www.hoovers.com • Browse reports by industry sector, by selected topics, reports by report type • EIU.com - http://www.eiu.com • business risk and intelligence on 60 countries

  16. General Business Information (cont’d) • MSN Money - stock company reports http://moneycentral.msn.com/investor/research/profile.asp • CNN Money - http://money.cnn.com/news/crc • Reuters.com - Headlines, company information/profiles, analyst research, industry watch. Some data requires subscription • http://www.investor.reuters.com/StockEntry.aspx?target=/stocks

  17. Directories and Portals • Westlaw - http://www.westlaw • Lexis - http://www.lexis.com • CEOExpress - http://www.ceoexpress.com/default.asp • Links to dozens of reliable, business related resources

  18. Directories and Portals (cont’d) • Portal to International Business Resources http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/ibrd.asp (Michigan State University portal) • Wall Street Executive Library http://www.executivelibrary.com • MagPortal - http://www.magportal.com/c/bus • magazine articles on business

  19. Background Checks • Many reliable sources for conducting background checks are available online • Some are free public records and some are fee based. • Permissible uses links: • The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act • Fair Credit Reporting Act • Driver's Privacy Protection Act

  20. Background Check Websites: • LexisNexis www.lexis.com • Westlaw www.westlaw.com • ChoicePoint Online www.choicepoint.com • AutoTrackXP www.autotrackxp.com • MerlinData https://www.merlindata.com/about.html

  21. Search Engines and News Search Remember that not all search engines cover the same web pages! • Altavista www.altavista.com • alltheweb www.alltheweb.com • Yahoo! http://search.yahoo.com • Yahoo! News! http://news.yahoo.com

  22. Search Engines and News Search • Google News http://news.google.com/ • includes press releases • Google http://www.google.com – - use advanced search http://www.google.com/advanced_search?hl=en to narrow search parameters

  23. “Google search” special features • Limit a search to PDF and/PowerPoint documents • Limit a search to .edu and .gov domains • Limit a search by date of most recent update • Use the minus sign to eliminate pages that are clearly irrelevant Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 59.

  24. When evaluating an unknown website: Do: • Have pre-existing knowledge on the subject • Get a confirming source on any factual data • Go to any original source mentioned • Try to find official sites to confirm the data • Remain skeptical Don’t: • Build your topic knowledge from only a Web site • Use anything directly from a Web page • Assume its all there. Ask yourself, “what is missing?” • Assume an organization is exactly what its title says it is • Assume that a Web site isn’t credible just because you have not previously encountered it. Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 110.

  25. Internet Credibility Checklist • How was the site identified? • What is the organization behind the site? • Who is the author? • How does the author demonstrate his/her breadth of knowledge on the topic? • How does the author present his/her work? • In what manner does the author present his/her material? • Is there evidence of bias? • How current is the material? Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. 243-5.

  26. Business news alerts Customize news alerts with search terms • Google news alerts http://www.google.com/alerts • Bizjournals tracks company if appears in news http://www.bizjournals.com/account/modify_email_subs/ • Hoovers alerts http://alertwizard.hoovers.com/ • Feedster alerts will email you when your search terms appear in print http://www.feedster.com/alerts.php

  27. Business news alerts (cont’d) Sites can’t be customized for news alerts • CNN news alerts http://www.cnn.com/EMAIL/ • Fox News alerts http://www.foxnews.com/alerts/subscribe.html • Channel News Asia http://www.channelnewsasia.com/enews/ • BBC news alerts (UK) http://www.bbc.co.uk/email/breakingnews

  28. News Aggregators/RSS feeds • XML software, either downloaded to your computer or Web-based, allows you to use a news reader that will periodically check URLs you have subscribed to for the latest news stories. • Most news and business sites have RSS technology and more are being added daily. Look for the orange RSS icon to subscribe. • E.g. Financial Times RSS for UK and world newshttp://news.ft.com/home/us

  29. RSS websites • Amphetadesk http://www.amphetadesk.com • “AmphetaDesk is a free, cross platform, open-sourced, syndicated news aggregator - it obediently sits on your desktop, downloads the latest news that interests you, and displays them in a quick and easy to use (and customizable!) webpage” • NewsMonster http://www.newsmonster.org/ • NewsMonster is a news, weblog, and RSS aggregator that runs directly in your web browser.

  30. Business Blogs • Get industry insider information • Get “watercooler” company talk • Usually undocumented, so be skeptical! • Use as a starting point or a heads up • Find a blogger with a good reputation • i.e. journalist or industry insider

  31. Finding Trustworthy News Bloggers • Look for mentions of specific bloggers in the mainstream press • Journalist or insider you recognize from mainstream press • Note if the blogger’s pages are ranked highly on Google • Try running a search on a search engine that specifically indexes blogs, such as www.DayPop.com or www.Waypath.com Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 173-4.

  32. Some things are better in print and in the library… • Business books – best browsed in print • Specialized directories – many smaller directory publishers covering niche markets are only in print • Media Archives – complete sets • Primary Documents – newsletters, memos • Librarians – A reference librarian can save you hours of wasted searching online Source: Berkman, R. (2004). The Skeptical Business Searcher. Medford: Information Today. p. 22-3.

  33. For More Information: • The Skeptical Business Searcher • by Robert Berkman • Law Library HF54.56 B4685 2004 • The Lawyer's Guide To Fact Finding on the Internet • by Carole A. Levitt • Law Library KF242.A1 L46 2004 • The Internet Guide for the Legal Researcher • by Ken Kozlowski • LAW Library Reference KF242.A1 M25 2001

  34. Thanks for coming!

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