Corporate Information
The following websites provide information on and about corporations or reactions to them. You can find out about their products, their earnings, and their potential growth. But you can also find out about the affects they have on people's lives. For additional sites, check out the resources on the capitalist.
Asia-Pacific.com!
http://www.asia-pacific.com/
Asia-Pacific.com!, an invaluable resource for users interested in business and economics in Asia and the Pacific Rim, offers an informative assortment of resources, news, and data. The site links to respected media sources throughout the region including _Singapore Business Times_, _Jakarta Post_, and _The Australian_, as well as in-depth journal articles, and book reviews, tables of contents, and purchasing information. Data analysis includes links to economic sources, company annual reports, and trade reports. Users are also invited to send their questions and queries to Asia-Pacific.com!’s panel of experts, who include George T. Haley, Associate Professor/ Director of Marketing and International Business Programs at the University of New Haven, Usha C.V. Haley, Associate Professor of Strategy and International Business at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, and Tan Chin Tiong, Professor and Provost of the new Singapore Management University. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 1/17/2000)
BGH Bulletin
http://www.foxbghsuit.com/
At the heart of this site is a dispute over a series of reports produced by Akre and Wilson revealing the widespread and virtually secret use of a synthetic hormone being injected into dairy cows throughout Florida and much of the U.S. The hormone, artificial bovine growth hormone (rBGH), is produced by Monsanto, and Akre and Wilson claim that the company pressured the Fox Television Network to kill the report, and they did. At the site you can get information about the lawsuit that Akre and Wilson have filed against Fox, and information about research on rBGH, which, in fact, is banned in Canada, Europe and elsewhere in the world because of fear of health hazzards.
Boycott Disney
http://www.laker.net/webpage/Boycott.htm
The site details the activities of the Walt Disney Corporation. Check particularly the articles on Disney child labor and union busting.
- Business Wire
- www.businesswire.com/
A compilation of news stories on business and company press releases. An excellent source of information on what is happening in various industries. They also have an extensive collection of Web links.
Can Corporations Be
Accountable?
http://www.monitor.net/rachel/r609.html
& http://www.monitor.net/rachel/r610.html
A two-part essay by Richard Grossman that appeared in RACHEL’S ENVIRONMENT & HEALTH WEEKLY on the question of how corporations can be held responsible for their actions. The essay reviews the history of the corporate charter, and argues that people must reclaim their sovereignty over corporations.
CokeSpotlight
http://cokespotlight.org/html/indexflash.html
The official website of the Coke Challenge Campaign. This site is all about action: the action that individuals can and have taken to demand environmental responsibility from one of the world's biggest corporations, The Coca-Cola Company.
Company Annual Reports Online
(CAROL)
http://www.carol.co.uk/
Company Research"Company Annual Reports Online (CAROL) is a free corporate service offering direct links to the annual reports of a variety of European companies. The reports are arranged in alphabetical order by company name or industry type for direct searches or browsing. In addition, recent articles and statistics on Investor Relations and the Internet are available from CAROL’s The Marketplace index. [MW]" (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 9/10/98)
http://iws.ohiolink.edu/companies/
Lisa Lowe, Business Reference Librarian, Kent State University, developed this site as an explanatory guide to print and electronic business resources for the beginning researcher. The site is divided into three main parts: Company Research, Industry Research, and a general research, which includes helpful search strategies and basic definitions of business ownership and organization. Examples of business syllabi and library assignments should help students make the leap between course expectations and library research. (The Scout Report for Business and Economics, 11/5/98)
Do you want to get the dirt on corporations? Go to the Corporate Dirt page of the Corporate Accountability Project. There you can find links to groups and campaigns trying to end corporate abuse, as well as articles on related subjects and issues. The also have a section on researching corporations (also see below).
Corporate Crime Reporter [pdf]
http://www.corporatecrimereporter.com/index.html
Published since 1986, the Corporate Crime Reporter is a legal newsletter that highlights recent news items about ongoing corporate crime prosecutions, along with featuring interviews with prominent attorneys who work in this rather intriguing field of law practice. The interview section is quite interesting as users can read long-form interviews with major players such as Dan Webb (who was a prosecutor in the Iran-Contra Affair) and Neil Getnick, who prosecuted the Bayer corporation after it was suspected they bilked Medicaid out of approximately $100 million. Visitors can also view various related documents, such as the indictment of Martha Stewart and a Justice Department memo regarding the federal prosecution of business organizations. The site is rounded out by several reports on the top 10 white-collar crime defense lawyers and the top 100 corporate criminals of the 1990s. Overall, the site will be of great interest to legal professionals, or those who are interested in learning more about the complex world of corporate crime in the United States.
The Corporate LibraryGeneral information on corporations (financial statements, earning prospects, etc.); prepared largely by the corporations themselves or investment groups for their clients.
http://www.thecorporatelibrary.com/
Launched in the summer of 1999 by two long-term partners in Lens Investment Management, this site "is intended to serve as a central repository for research, study and critical thinking about the nature of the modern global corporation, with a special focus on corporate governance and the relationship between company management, their boards and their shareowners." Along with current awareness articles from the staff of The Corporate Library (TCL) and outside sources including Harvard Business School Working Knowledge, CBSMarketWatch, and McKinsey and Co., the site also provides in-depth special reports on CEO Contracts and on Corporate Governance and Performance. The full text of Power and Accountability, the book written by The Corporate Library's founders Robert AG Monks and Nell Minow, is also available free of charge. In addition, users may search the entire TCL catalog, which includes 25 years's worth of articles emphasizing the best practices in a variety of areas including disclosure and governance and corporate standing. (Scout Report, 8/14/00)
Corporate Report Card
www.cfrib.org
"The Council on Economic Priorities (CEP) prefers to evaluate companies on issues of environmental stewardship, diversity, charitable giving, working conditions, and community involvement, among others instead of by sales alone at the Corporate Report Card site. This database of over 320 companies is searchable by name, industry, or ticker symbol and displays a concise report card with an easy-to-understand grading system. The additional subjects of military contacts and animal testing are available for most entries, and a glossary of key CEP issues helps clarify company performance." (Scout Report for Business and Economics, January 28, 1999)
One of the most comprehensive sites on making people aware of corporate violations of environmental, social, labor, and legal regulations, as well as keeping track of corporate efforts at influencing government decisions and actions. For example you can access a report on Nike prepared by its auditors and leaked to Corporate Watch.
Corporate
Watch Hot News
www.corpwatch.org/corner/hotnews.html
Stories on specific issues involving corporate abuse and power; you read about the corporate takeover of schools, the campaign by energy companies to undermine the Kyoto Protocol on environmental warming, as well as other stories.
Directory of Transnational
Corporations
http://www.endgame.org/dtc/directory.html
Excellent resources on corporations with some detailed profiles of some (Boeing
Boise Cascade Citigroup Georgia-Pacific Interfor International Paper Microsoft Plum Creek Sierra Pacific Industries Union Carbide Weyerhaeuser). The goal of the site is to expose the damage done by transnational corporation in the name of profit.
dowjones.com
http://www.dowjones.com/corp/index.html
This new portal from the publishers of _The Wall Street Journal_ (WSJ) offers a wide selection of business news and resources. Users can read highlights from the _WSJ_, breaking business news, or view targeted news, research and resources for any of the 29 industries listed. The site also features delayed composite prices on US stocks, with links to background information and press releases, and a targeted search of business and news sites (fee required for full text of articles in the publications library). Additional resources include a markets wrap, news and links related to the US economy, and several aids for managing personal finance. Users may personalize the portal to suit their own interests after free registration. [MD](Scout Report, 6/4/99)
Lots of excellent information on the power of corporations, and their repeated violations of environmental, labor, social, and legal regulations, along with information on limiting the power of corporations. Check out some of the campaigns to revoke corporate charters. Why should the charter of Unilocal be revoked?
Would you like to know how much the CEOs in the top coporations are making? Would you like to find out how the pay of CEOs compares to that of workers? Check out the answers here.
ExxonMobil Secrets
http://www.exxonsecrets.org/
Good place to get insights on how corporations fund research to advance their economic interests and discredit information that may be harmful.
Focus
on the Corporation
http://www.essential.org/monitor/focus/focus.index.html
One of the features on the Multinational Monitor Website, featuring stories on the accumulation of power of multinational corporations. As they put it, "The multinational corporation is the most powerful institution of our time, dominating not only global economics, but politics and culture as well. The enormous influence of the corporation notwithstanding, the mechanisms of corporate control and the details of corporate abuses remain largely hidden from public perception. The purpose of the column "Focus on the Corporation" is be to rectify this informational shortcoming, to report and comment critically on corporate actions and plans, from particularized abuses to broad trends."
Forbes
500 Annual Directory
http://www.forbes.com/2003/03/26/500sland.html
Wait no longer! _Forbes Magazine_ has released its 2000 annual directory of the biggest, most powerful companies in the United States. This year’s Forbes 500 is fully searchable by rank of sales, market value, assets, and profits, as well as by state or industry. As would be expected, technology and New Economy companies were highly ranked, as were many Old Economy businesses, with General Electric topping the list. Along with the Super 100 breakdown of the top 100 companies, this year’s directory also offers "Business is Booming," a look back to the success of US businesses in 1999; commentary on the year’s biggest winners and losers; a survey of the benefits offered at these companies; and an interactive map which showcases where Forbes 500 companies are located. (Scout Report 4/7/00)
Fortune: 100 Best
Companies to Work For
http://www.fortune.com/lists/bestcompanies/
Clearly some companies are better to their employees than others. Forbes provides a list of the top 100 from Synovus Financial to L.L. Bean. The list was compiled from over 1000 large and midsize firms. Most, of course, required relatively skilled labor, and are generally far removed from the highly competitive textile, electronic and toy industries that have low profit margins and require cheap labor. But there are a few surprises.
- Global 2000 (with links to individual corporations)
- http://www.forbes.com/2003/07/02/internationaland.html
Check out the 2000 largest corporations in the world. As we mention in Global Problems and the Culture of Capitalism, among the 100 richest entities in the world (countries, corporations, etc.), 50 are corporations. That number has since increased, and is likely to increase even further (especially given the current global financial crisis and the devaluation of many national currencies).
Grocery Manufacturers of America
http://www.gmabrands.com/index_flash.cfm
A corporation site that details news and information regarding food sales. GMA is the world’s largest association of food, beverage and consumer product companies
Hoovers
http://www.hoovers.com/
Hoover’s Online includes information on about 50,000 companies, more than 3,000 links to news sources in its news library, and listings of weekly IPOs. Hoover’s strives to be the comprehensive Website for business professionals.
- INC 500 (500 fastest growing companies)
- http://www.inc.com/inc500/index_02.html
http://www.bls.gov/iag/iaghome.htm
A feature of the Bureau of Labor Statistics Industry at a Glance contains profiles of the nine major industry groups. Each profile is a fascinating collection of facts about the industry, and contains links to additional data. The profiles include information on employment, earnings, workplace safety, and more.
Industry
Resources
http://www.library.pitt.edu/research/guides/business/industry.html
Although this guide to industry research by Dennis Smith and Kim Chrobak describes resources at the University of Pittsburgh library, it should be useful for any student interested in US industry trends and data. The guide mainly describes print resources and helps readers locate companies within an industry, market share, and financial ratios, among other industry topics. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 5/6/1999)
Internet Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 1999
http://www.GWDG.DE/~uwvw/1999.html
Transparency International: 1999 Bribe Payers Index (BPI)
http://www.transparency.org/
The 1999 edition of the CPI (last discussed in the February 26, 1998 _Scout Report for Business & Economics_) has been published. The CPI is listed in table format with background information and a framework document. Transparency International has also put together the Bribe Payers Perceptions Index (BPI), which ranks the leading nineteen exporting countries "in terms of the degree to which their corporations are perceived to be paying bribes abroad." According to the Bribe Payers Index (BPI), Sweden ranks the highest, followed by Australia and Canada, tying for second place. The United States comes in at seventh. This site links to the press release, background information, and framework document as well as the actual data. (Scout Report, November 5, 1999)
IW 1000
http://www.industryweek.com/iwinprint/IW1000/
IndustryWeek's fourth annual report on the 1,000 largest manufacturing companies in the world consists of a searchable database with variables such as Company Name, IW Ranking, Earnings Per Share, and Total Revenue. The site also includes profiles of several of the largest manufacturing companies, an article detailing financial activities in the manufacturing business world in the past year, and an interview with Kim Clark, Dean of the Harvard Business School. [EM] (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 7/1/99)
Lies, Damn Lies and Enron
http://www.namebase.org/enron/
The collapse of Enron in 2001 was one of the biggest corporate stories of the year, not, as the Secretary of the Treasury Paul O'Neil said, because in capitalism companies come and go; rather because the way it went. A few commentators see the collapse of Enron having greater ramifications that the September 11th attack on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. At this site you can get a lot of detailed information about the history of the company and the machinations of its officers and accountants.
McSpotlight
and the Baby Milk Industry
http://www.mcspotlight.org/beyond/nestle.html
This site examines the affects of the baby milk industry on infant mortality and disease, focusing on those companies that promote breast milk substitutes.
The
Monsanto Files
http://www.gn.apc.org/ecologist/septoct/index.htm
(Temporarily offline)
The Ecologist has published a series of articles on the Monsanto Corporation, its history, and its role in environmental devastation. The articles also focus on the relationship between Monsanto and the U.S. regulatory agencies, particularly on the conflict of interest of people who move between corporate employment and governmental oversight.
Perhaps one of the best sites on the Web on corporate activities and international finance. There are also excellent feature articles addressing issues of global economics.
Not Milk
http://www.notmilk.com/
Robert Cohen's site that examines the proposition that milk is hardly the ideal food that we have convinced it is, and provides information on the harmful effects of dairy products that the chemicals that are added to it.
Opensecrets.org
http://www.opensecrets.org/
If you want to find out how much your elected federal officials received from different sources and how those contributions might influence their legislative votes or policy preferences, this is a great place to begin.
People's Campaign for Justice: Walmart
http://walmartdayofaction.com/index.shtml
A site detailing the issues raised by the retail dominance of Walmart stores. The site provides evidence of the economic and environmental damage of Walmart and the condition of workers and workers rights at Walmart.
Project Censored
http://www.projectcensored.org/
The world as we know it through the mass media is filtered through the social and cultural biases of those who report it and who choose what to show and print and what not to. Often there are events that, for various reasons, are not reported or are underreported whose importance is far greater than their media exposure. Project Censored offers one solution by each year choosing important stories that, for whatever reason, are not adequately covered.
- Researching Corporations
- http://www.corpwatch.org/resrch/
Researching
Companies on the Internet: A Tutorial
http://home.sprintmail.com/~debflanagan/index.html
A useful resource for getting information on corporations. However the site is designed largely for getting economic information(e.g. sales prospects, home pages, financial information); there is little on the effects of corporations, and, interestingly, no links to sites such as Corporate Watch or Multinational Monitor that critically examine the actions of corporations.
This is the site to go to find out the information on corporations that they probably would rather you didn't know; it's not the kind of things you'll find in corporate press releases. The site contains practical instructions on how to research a particular corporation, as well as links to other groups and campaigns that seek to stop corporate abuse. Check out the "social responsibility" feature and find out what corporate shareholders can do, and what some groups are doing.
Stakeholder Alliance
http://www.stakeholderalliance.org./
Excellent resources on ways to hold corporations accountable for their action, along with an interesting timeline on corporate responsibility. And check the resource page for information such as how much public money goes to support private corporations (The Public Cost of Private Corporations).
They Rule
http://www.theyrule.net/
Top 100 Corporate Criminals of the DecadeJosh On has put together a fabulous site. It is based on the the idea, outlined in the 1950s by C. Wright Mills, that there is in the United States a "power elite" that control most of our resources. On this site you can find out who the power elite is by examining the interlocking membership of people on corporate boards. The site allows users to select corporations, view the names of corporate directors, and then examine their history and the other boards on which they serve. It is a sobering exercise.
http://www.corporatepredators.org/top100.html
Check out this list of corporations that have been caught breaking the law. Be sure to go to the annotated version for a summary of each of the crimes.
Wall Street
Executive Library
http://www.executiveLibrary.com/
The Wall Street Executive Library provides relevant, up-to-date links to beneficial Websites dedicated to business and economics news, resources, and information. The site is broken into three sections: News, Information, and Reference; Research/ Intelligence; and Personal. All links are accessible from the homepage, and new sites and "hot" sites are denoted with icons. (Scout Report for Business and Economics, 1/17/2000)
Wal martWatch
http://walmartwatch.com/
In Spring 2005, Wal-Mart Watch began its nationwide public education campaign to challenge the world’s largest retailer to become a better employer, neighbor, and corporate citizen. This site will help you find out how Wal mart is doing.
Web100: Big Business on the
Web
http://www.w100.com/
This site indexes only "the largest American and international companies on the Web," with links to homepages, five-year income profiles, stock quotes, Hoover company capsules, and reviews from the Dow Jones Business Directory. Top businesses may be searched via the Web100 database or viewed by industry, region, or revenue ranking, and a newswire keeps users abreast of the latest big business headlines. (The Scout Report for Business and Economics, 11/19/98
Wikopedia
List of Fortune 500
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fortune_500
List of Fortune 500 companies with links to the corporate websites along with brief histories.
Who Owns What
http://www.cjr.org/owners/
Over the past decade there has been a growing concentration of media ownership, such that a few major corporations control most of what we see and hear about the rest of the world. As this site maintained by the Columbia Journalism Review says, " Media companies continue to grow, and a shrinking number of them shape what we view and read. What does that mean for journalists -- and for the nation?" Here you can check out which corporations own which media outlests.
