Hand-out for the "Taking Back Wall Street: DIY corporate research for activists and media makers" session at the 2009 NYC Grassroots Media Conference

Prepared by Aliqae Geraci and Karen Okamoto

Free Online Resources

Corporate Research - Guides

Couey, Anna. Hands-On Corporate Research Guide. Corp Watch. (www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=945) An easy, step-by-step guide to locating company information.

Mattera, Philip. How to Do Corporate Research Online. Corporate Research Project. (www.corp-research.org/howto.htm) An excellent in-depth study of corporate research sources and techniques. Also helpful in researching private companies.

General Company Information

Hoover's Online (www.hoovers.com) Profiles public and private companies, as well as some major non-profits. More extensive information requires a fee.

Yahoo! Finance (www.finance.yahoo.com) Access company profiles, investor information, and link to recent news.

Public Companies

Securities and Exchange Commission. (www.sec.gov) Access the EDGAR database and locate filings by public companies in the U.S.

Private Companies

Company Research: Private Companies. Rutgers University Libraries. (www.libraries.rutgers.edu/rul/rr_gateway/research_guides/busi/company.shtml#C) Contains links to business directories and state sources, with a special focus on New Jersey.

Private Company Research. Library of Congress. (www.loc.gov/rr/business/company/private.html) A useful guide for locating information on private companies.

Canadian companies

SEDAR (www.sedar.com) Canadian equivalent of EDGAR. Contains information filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) by public companies and investment funds in Canada.

Public Records

Free Public Record Sites. BRB Publications. (www.publicrecordsources.com) Link to public records by state. Can be used to locate corporate filings.

Individuals

Corporate Executives & Directors Search Directory. Forbes. (www.forbes.com) Search by name or ticker symbol. Access biographies, rankings, and compensation information.

Government Contracts

Fedspending.org. (www.fedspending.org) From government watchdog group OMB Watch; contains data on government contracts and grants.

USAspending.gov. (www.usaspending.gov) Modeled after Fedspending.gov. Information may be more up-to-date.

Legal resources

Cornell Law School (www.law.cornell.edu) Covers court opinions, constitutions and codes, and laws including commerce and business sectors

FindLaw (findlaw.com/casecode) Find recent US Supreme Court cases, as well as federal and some state cases covering various legal topics such as corporate & enterprise law

Mega Law (www.megalaw.com) Provides extensive coverage of various state laws

Uniform Law Commission (www.nccusl.org) Includes a database of state acts

Government

GPO Access (www.gpoaccess.gov) Covers the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) and Presidential materials

Thomas (http://thomas.loc.gov/) For access to bills in Congress

An anti-corporate campaign

Who Profits? Exposing the Israeli Occupation Industry (www.whoprofits.org) Features a database of corporations involved in the Occupation.