Web Guide - Business & Economics

DATABASES & DIRECTORIES

America's Business Funding Directory
This site claims to be "the business capital portal to locate Venture Capital, Commercial Finance, Equipment Leasing, Investment Funds, Real Estate Finance, Government Funds, and much more." They do indeed have a large database of funding sources worldwide, and they also provide lots of advice to those seeking business funding.

Better Business Bureau
A searchable index of US and Canadian Better Business Bureaus.

Bureau of Labor Statistics
Unequaled for economic statistics including labor market, hours, and earnings, Consumer Price Index, and Producer Price Index. Enables customized tables of labor and economic data to be browsed or downloaded.

Consumer Price Index Home Page
One of the pages hosted by the US Bureau of Labor Standards, the CPI home page has lots of lists of historical CPIs as well as information on how to use the CPI and how the CPI is calculated.

Texas Business and Industry Data Center
"The Business and Industry Data Center (BIDC) program is an ongoing initiative of the U.S. Census Bureau to make economic data and statistics more widely available at the state and local levels." The Texas Department of Economic Development supports this site, hence the wealth of demographic and economic data and the analysis of the Texas economy.

Texas Economic Development Clearinghouse
A searchable database of federal, state, and local programs for economic development. Supported by the Texas Department of Economic Development. Coverage ranges from funding sources for small businesses to regulations concerning child care facilities.

Thomas Regional Industrial Buying Guide
"Thomas Regional on the Internet now gives you access to a searchable database of more than 500,000 manufacturers, distributors and service companies organized under 5,500 product/service categories in 19 key U.S. industrial markets. You can search by product/service or company name in the region of your choice. You can also refine your search based on company type (manufacturer, distributor, manufacturer's rep and service company), geographic location (state, city/county, area code), trade name, key words and other specifications such as ISO 9000-certified, and minority and woman-owned businesses. View supplier brochures, catalogs, line cards and fax forms and contact suppliers directly via our Contact Company feature."

Thomas Global Register

Complete and up-to-date directory of over 700,000 suppliers in 28 countries and can be searched in 11 languages.

U.S. Department of Commerce's Trade Information Center
"The Trade Information Center (TIC) is a comprehensive resource for information on all U.S. Federal Government export assistance programs. The Center is operated by the International Trade Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce for the 20 federal agencies comprising the Trade Promotion Coordinating Committee (TPCC). These agencies are responsible for managing the U.S. Government's export promotion programs and activities."

BUSINESS NEWS

American City Business Journals
Search through all news articles, columns and items from 42 weekly business journals around the country. Journals covered are all Web-based, and only the issues that are in electronic form (current or archived) will be searched. They also provide an index of back issues.

Business Week Online

Online version of the McGraw-Hill publication.

Money Online

Online version of the Time Inc. publication.

STOCKS

BigCharts
"This Historical Quotes tool allows you to look up a security's exact closing price. Simply type in the symbol and a historical date to view a quote and mini chart for that security." Also provides up-to-the-minute stock quotes and Dow and NASDAQ trading levels.

Edgar Online
Search for, and view online, any of the many documents filed by public companies with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Edgar also allows you to search for IPOs or people listed in SEC filings. The free version of the site allows you to retrieve filings after a delay. You can only get the real-time filings through the paid subscription option.

FreeEDGAR
FreeEDGAR offers company profiles and free, real-time SEC filings. The SEC's own site (Edgar Online -- above) -- which is not associated with FreeEDGAR -- generally releases filings after a 24-48 hour delay. Free EDGAR also offers a feature called WatchList (free, but registration required) through which users can receive email notification of available filings.

International Stock Symbol Lookup
A great site to look up stock, commodity, mutual fund, option, and money market symbols for U.S. markets, as well as stock and index symbols for Canada. Maintained by CBS Marketwatch.

InvestorWords
"InvestorWords is a free, comprehensive investing glossary. Over 6,000 definitions are included, with links between related terms."

PCQuote
PCQuote is one of many sites on the Web that offer quick links into stock and option quotes, investor news, SEC filings, and more in a relatively simple to use interface.

Pacific Exchange Rate Service
Today's currency rates for 200+ countries.

SIC Manual (Search)
"This page allows the user to search the 1987 version SIC manual by keyword, to access descriptive information for a specified 4-digit SIC, and to examine the manual structure." The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) maintains this online Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) manual.

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Office of Investor Education and Assistance
The SEC provides quite a bit of valuable information at this site: tips on on-line investing, a question and answer file, investor alerts, and more.

The Universal Currency Converter ~ Full Version
Get up-to-the-minute currency exchange rates for about 180 currencies.

MUTUAL FUNDS

Brill's Mutual Funds Interactive
Visit Brill's Funds101 to learn the basics of fund investing, or go to the MFI Toolshed for quotes, portfolio tracking, charts, etc. Brill's also offers articles on mutual funds and FundLink: a guide to mutual fund company Web sites.

COMMODITIES

Kitco
Excellent source to get closing prices on gold, silver and other precious metals.

AllBusiness.com
Good site to download business forms and agreements, get good advice and information on a wide variety of topics related to their daily operations and order products.

American Small Businesses Association
Comprehensive information on management, marketing and financing a small business; business news and feature articles from business publications; and free email newsletter.

Basic Guide to Exporting
From the U.S. International Trade Administration, a 16 chapter book on every facet of exporting, directed specifically to American businesses.

Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership
The Kauffman Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership (CEL) Clearinghouse on Entrepreneurship Education maintains this database of abstracts of materials on entrepreneurship education at all levels (k-12 to professional). The site also includes "a collection of links to the web pages of organizations dealing with entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship education."

International Small Business Consortium
Provides international business connections with plenty of help specifically for the small business owner;  tips on how to successfully market on the worldwide web; business discussion groups; funding sources.

Office of Women's Business Ownership
Excellent source of information for financial assistance and grant programs available to women in business.

SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives)
SCORE business counselors provide free advice to small business people via email as well as in person at

their local chapters. Their site also has plenty of resources for American small businesses: from web links to some of the best small business sites to tips and information on Y2K from a small business point of view.

Small and Home Based Business Links
Explore dozens of franchise opportunities -- many to be operated from one's home; services available for the self-employed and multilevel marketing programs geared to the home office. Learn of newsgroups related to small and home-based businesses.

Smart Business Supersite
Directory of nationwide tradeshows; resources for employers and job seekers; directory of speakers, consultants and experts; business tips;  "best business products" described and reviewed; profitability helps.

U.S. Business Advisor

Excellent place to start for federal government information including services and transactions. Many relevant links. Includes business-related press releases from government agencies. Sponsored by the US Small Business Administration.

U.S. Small Business Administration ~ Lubbock District Office
The national site offers valuable insights into starting, financing, and expanding a business, as well as disaster assistance, SBA assets for sale, legislation and regulations affecting business, and how to utilize your regional SBA office.  The local (Lubbock) office site offers further information about their local programs.

FUNDING

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Federal government assistance programs to individuals/organizations/businesses. A print copy of this catalog is in the basement reference section at R 353 UNI

OTHER

CPA Directory
Database if 450,000 Certified Public Accountants and PA firms. Searchable by name, location and industry focus.

Workindex.com
"workindex.com is the new web site from Cornell University's School of Industrial Labor Relations and Human Resource Executive magazine. The index will prove invaluable to anyone looking for workplace information, including corporate HR professionals, top executives, line managers and job-seekers around the orld. Those interested in human resources, labor relations, benefits, training, technology, staffing, recruiting, leadership, motivation, insurance, relocation, legal issues and more, will make use of this valuable tool."