Consumer Confidence Index

The Consumer Confidence Index measures how well people are feeling about the economy. People rate their current situation and expectations for the future.


Here's an interesting NPR article about how the Consumer Confidence Index is measured.

To quote the journalist from that article: 

"Well, this is an index, meaning it's a number that tells you how you're doing compared to a benchmark. And in this case, the benchmark is the average amount of confidence Americans felt in the year 1985. The Conference Board chose that year 'cause it just happened to be a sort of normal year; it wasn't particular great, it wasn't particularly awful. So they say, OK, 1985, that's normal, that's 100."



Link to our database subscription of the numbers here (you can't get to them on Google).

 What it looks like inside:

Searching For (and Getting) Books We Don't Own

Here's how to find books and other materials that the Alkek Library doesn't own.
Use Worldcat to search the world's libraries at once. Request the item you want through interlibrary loan (for books, expect the process to take a minimum of 6 to 8 days). Tutorial also shows you how to search area libraries if you want to get the item immediately (if you have a Texshare card). 
- See more at: http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/alkek/2013/02/searching-books-outside-alkek-library.html#sthash.gzkTtKRV.dpuf

Here's how to find books and other materials that the Alkek Library doesn't own.
Use Worldcat to search the world's libraries at once. Request the item you want through interlibrary loan (for books, expect the process to take a minimum of 6 to 8 days). Tutorial also shows you how to search area libraries if you want to get the item immediately (if you have a Texshare card). 
- See more at: http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/alkek/2013/02/searching-books-outside-alkek-library.html#sthash.gzkTtKRV.dpuf

How to find all the books ever written through Worldcat and request through Interlibrary Loan.

Use Worldcat to search the world's libraries at once. Request the item you want through interlibrary loan (for books, expect the process to take a minimum of 6 to 8 days). Tutorial also shows you how to search area libraries if you want to get the item immediately (if you have a Texshare card).  - See more at: http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/alkek/2013/02/searching-books-outside-alkek-library.html#sthash.gzkTtKRV.dpuf

Here's how to find books and other materials that the Alkek Library doesn't own.
Use Worldcat to search the world's libraries at once. Request the item you want through interlibrary loan (for books, expect the process to take a minimum of 6 to 8 days). Tutorial also shows you how to search area libraries if you want to get the item immediately (if you have a Texshare card).
- See more at: http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/alkek/2013/02/searching-books-outside-alkek-library.html#sthash.gzkTtKRV.dpuf

Here's how to find books and other materials that the Alkek Library doesn't own.
Use Worldcat to search the world's libraries at once. Request the item you want through interlibrary loan (for books, expect the process to take a minimum of 6 to 8 days). Tutorial also shows you how to search area libraries if you want to get the item immediately (if you have a Texshare card).
- See more at: http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/alkek/2013/02/searching-books-outside-alkek-library.html#sthash.gzkTtKRV.dpuf

Here's how to find books and other materials that the Alkek Library doesn't own.
Use Worldcat to search the world's libraries at once. Request the item you want through interlibrary loan (for books, expect the process to take a minimum of 6 to 8 days). Tutorial also shows you how to search area libraries if you want to get the item immediately (if you have a Texshare card).
- See more at: http://alkeklibrarynews.typepad.com/alkek/2013/02/searching-books-outside-alkek-library.html#sthash.gzkTtKRV.dpuf

Industrial Design

The Ipod. The Vespa. Ford Mustang. Fender Stratocaster.

These are icons of industrial design - the art of making your product ergonomic, functional and attractive.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Subject Headings

Lots of ways to make sure your business site turns up on a Google search.

Search engine optimization isn't really used as a term, but try.

Internet Marketing
Internet Advertising

Quick example of a SEO book:

Ultimate guide To search engine optimization

Like we said, search engine optimization not used officially, but I did a keyword search for you here.

Book Review: Martin Mayer's The Fed

Martin Mayer's The Fed is probably the best book I've read so far about the Fed.

Not a history of the Fed, but rather an examination of the transformation of finance that begins in the 80s and really picks up steam in the 90s (where the book focuses).

Mayer picks up on the fact that central banks' traditional levers of control (money supply, interest rates) have been superseded by the new financial landscape beyond its regulatory powers.

Derivatives, the extension of credit and more have created different circumstances that the Fed cannot control. Mayer gently chides those who believe all risks are contained and knowledge is perfected.

A few early crises in the 90s are shots across the bow for the deluge that is here now.

Mayer was writing in 2001. VERY prescient.

 

Insider Buying/Selling of Shares

You can find out if company employees are buying or selling shares of their companies. That's different from what you probably think of as insider trading, which is using inside information unfairly to profit.

This indicator is used by some people to see if corporations believe in themselves. Those in the know seek to profit in a good business by buying shares or want to escape a sinking ship by selling. Usually. Of course, there's lots of reasons corporate officers might buy or sell shares of their own companies. So take with a grain of salt.

The easiest way to do this is simply through money.msn.com or finance.yahoo.com. Enter your stock ticker or company name and look (in both interfaces) to the left of the screen. Choose Insider Trading/Insider Ownership.

To see the actual documents filed with the SEC, choose our database Morningstar Document Research. Once you're in, simply click on Insider on the left hand side.

AND:

Here's SEC/Edgar itself: 

Can I search EDGAR only for insider forms?

Yes. You can limit a search to the insider transaction forms by clicking the radio button marked “only.”

 

Can I find a list of all insider transactions for a specific time period?

Yes. In addition to doing a header search by form type and date, you can find insider transaction reports for previous five business days by using the current events analysis. However, you will not be able to limit your search to only Forms 3, 4 and 5.

Why can’t I find Forms 3, 4, and 5 filed prior to June 2003?

Prior to June 30, 2003, the SEC did not require that Forms 3, 4 and 5 be filed electronically through EDGAR, although filers had the discretion to do so. You can submit a request for a hard-copy of these manually-filed forms.

Find a Company's Earnings from International Operations

Here's how to find a company's revenues from international operations. Most of these breakdowns are by continents, but read on to the end on how to get breakdowns by countries.

Mint Database:

Do your company search,  select BY SECTION TAB and then you'll see:
Then select segments data like so:

Mint breaks out different global earnings by continent and ALSO earnings by different products within a large corporation like Ford or Apple.

Mergent is the best. Choose your company, select company details and look to the right. Select business segments.
  

Marketline Advantage will also work. Search your company and then open the Report PDF.




 You will see the phrase "revenue analysis" in the PDF (see below).




Marketline Advantage also has a (slightly imperfect) way to break this out by country. Choose databases inside Marketline Advantage and then search market size by product and individual country.

You'll see how much products and/or money your company made in your selected countries.