BUSINESS INFORMATION CENTER
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INDICATORS RESEARCH GUIDE
Indicators covered in this research guide are those most related to business and finance. Should other indicators such as social and political indicators be relevant to particular business decisions or assignments, consider using some of the resources in the Demographics Research Guide. For additional information, Ask a BIC Librarian.
GENERAL SOURCES
Bloomberg This database provides access to a wide range of indicators. Included are such items as the Consumer Price Index, worldwide economic announcements, market trends, and currency movements. A good place to start is by typing the command ECST to access world economic statistics. Consult the "Quick Tips" sheet in the manual (available at the front desk) for other starting places.
An overview workshop is suggested before undertaking major use of the terminal. A stand alone terminal is available in the Business Information Center to current SMU students, staff, and faculty.(Restricted Resource - A valid SMU ID is required for access)
SMU Library Catalog Some of the following subject headings may aid your search: Economic indicators, Economic indicators - Periodicals, Business cycles, Capital market, Capital movements, Economic forecasting, Monetary policy, Stock price forecasting, Stock price indexes.
LexisNexis Statistical This database contains a wide variety of indicators. Searches may be qualified by geographic, demographic, economic or frequency of reporting criteria. Also included are forecasts and polls. Much of the content is available in tables and searches may be limited to items containing Excel spreadsheets. (SMU Community Only)
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FINANCIAL INDICATORS
The Conference Board Global business cycle indicators are provided by the Board as part of their mission to help businesses strengthen their market performance. Indicators are provided for the U.S., Australia, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The Index to Leading Economic Indicators is an important approach to assessing global economic stability and growth.
Financial Forecast Center by Applied Reasoning, a company that makes artificial intelligence software. This site provides forecasts, including: Prime Interest Rate Forecast, Crude Oil Price Forecast, Dow Jones Industrial Average Stock Index Forecast, NASDAQ Composite Stock Index Forecast, Home Mortgage Interest Rate Forecast, and the Euro Currency Exchange Rate Forecast.
Interest Rates Brief historical data from MoneyCafe.com
Survey of Current Business provided by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, includes current and historical business indicator data.
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MARKET INDICATORS
Alphas and Betas The details of how these important measures of stock value are determined are provided by Baker Library at Harvard.
NetLibrary eBooks Search for "market indicators" or "investment analysis". (SMU Community Only)
Finance Topics at Wikipedia A wide variety of definitions and links to major financial web sites have been collected at this site.
Federal Reserve Bank of New York The New York Fed provides financial market datasets for Business Finance, Household Debt Statistics, Interest Rates and Stock Price Indexes and Valuation Ratios.
OPEC Market Indicators OPEC provides oil industry trend data including annual spot prices and supply and demand information.
Also see the Financial Markets Research Guide for additional sources.
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ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Border Business Indicators Data about the socioeconomic status of communities on the U.S.-Mexico border is provided from a legislatively founded consortium of Texas universities .
Bureau of Economic Analysis This government agency, a subsidiary of the Department of Commerce, is responsible for providing macro economic official estimates for GDP, personal income, profits and other indicators. Datasets include national, regional, international and major industry account perspectives.
Bureau of Labor Statistics The government agency within the U.S. Department of Labor that provided data on inflation and consumer spending; wages, earnings, and benefits; productivity; safety and health; international transactions; occupations; and demographics. Information by industry and employment status is available.
County Business Patterns This data from the U.S. Census Bureau provides tabular information accessed by NAICS (SIC) codes organized by county, state, and zip code.
Economic Statistics Briefing Room The White House web site contains this easily accessible set of factual displays about important economic indicators.
Economy at a Glance The Bureau of Economic Analysis provides multi-year graphs and geographical distribution maps showing at a glance principal macro indicators for the U.S.
FRED (Federal Reserve Economic Data) The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis presents "a database of over 3000 U.S. economic time series".
National Bureau of Economic Research Private, nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization with main offices in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Data displayed is Business Cycle Reference Dates.
Rural Economy at a Glance Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City provides "a monthly summary of the rural nonfarm and farm economies".
Small Business Indicators A substantial set of indicators is provided by the U.S. Small Business Administration describing quarterly the status of growth in the small business sector.
U.S. Economy at a Glance The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a quick view of the Unemployment Rate, Change in Payroll Employment, Average Hourly Earnings, CPI, PPI, U.S. Import Price Index, Employment Cost Index, and Productivity.
Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies An Austrian think tank with "first-hand expertise on Central and Eastern Europe, CIS and the Balkans".
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Last Updated: October 2006
