Business Services
International Business Pathfinder

Kompass <http://www.kompass-intl.com/>

Free registration required to search the database by company or product in over 60 countries. Search fields include executive names, trademark, brand names, number of employees, gross revenue, share value, and geographic region. French, German, Italian, and English versions available.

Country Data

Eldis <http://nt1.ids.ac.uk/eldis/newcountry.htm>

Coverage: profiles of most of the world's countries, provided by the Institute of Development Studies

Ernst & Young International <http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/International/home

Register and access detailed information about doing business in your country of choice. Download in .pdf format a special report on e-commerce, selected chapters of a publication on the euro, key findings of a report on fraud, or information about operating in Asia Pacific. Browse by services or industries for full text publications, and visit the Energy Gallery - a new site for the energy professional. This is one of the most content-rich commercial web sites on the internet.

International Business Practices <gopher://gopher.umsl.edu:70/11/library/govdocs/ibpa/ibpg>

Detailed business practice information on most of the world's countries. Courtesy of the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

International Database <http://www.census.gov/ftp/pub/ipc/www/idbnew.html>

Statistical tables of demographic, and socio-economic data for all countries of the world; from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Market Access & Compliance <http://www.mac.doc.gov/>

An informative Department of Commerce Report prepared for U.S. companies interested in doing business abroad. Includes data and documents on economic trends, investment climate, marketing, trade, finance, and politics. Brief executive summary and business travel information provided.

Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development <http://www.oecd.org>

Features news releases, free online documents, and an extensive collection of statistics. See also the Centre for Co-operation with Non-Members, a website with free online publications and country information.

World Bank Group <http://www.worldbank.org>

Features country and regional surveys; reports on development topics such as agriculture, finance, infrastructure, etc; full text publications and online journals; press releases and reports on topics of current interest; and a database of competitiveness indicators. The International Finance Corporation, a member group, also provides regional info in the corporation's annual report; more extensive reporting by region and sector can be found in the departments pages. The emerging markets database features a daily market feed, weekly market news, and links to stock exchanges in emerging markets. Highly recommended.

Bank for International Settlements <http://www.bis.org/publ>

An extensive collection of online articles, reports, and papers about banking, payment & settlement, Euro-currency, monetary policy, financial markets, and more.

Currency Boards <http://www.erols.com/kurrency>

Features an introductory primer on currency boards, a bibliography of print and web resources, foreign language materials, and articles by the site developer, Kurt Schuler.

Devline Home Page <http://www.ids.ac.uk>

From the UK, the Development Information Online web site provides full text information and pointers to content of interest to researchers in the social science and economic aspects of the developing world. Search or browse the Eldis database for full text records, or annotated links to other organizations. Search or browse the ID21 Development Research database and access Insights, a quarterly report on social and economic research findings, published by the Institute of Development Studies. View reports on globalisation from the Institute of Development Studies (IDS).

Export Hotline <http://exporthotline.com

A service of International Strategies, Inc. (ISI), a Boston based corporation, this site features thorough coverage of global trade and investment issues. Print rights are fee based, but free registration provides read-only access to .pdf documents containing country research, industry research, and trade stats. Export Hotline reports on Export Issues and Business Travel are also accessible from the Inc. International web site.

Global Trade Point Network <http://banx.com/banx/gtpnet/global.htm>

From BanxQuote, an official ETO-Electronic Trading Associate in cooperation with the GTPNet, this site helps traders identify markets for their products. Search or browse by country, industry, company matrix, sale matrix, or purchase matrix.

IFCI Risk Watch <http://risk.ifci.ch/index.htm>

This content-rich site provides an overview of the main issues in risk management; a framework of key risk concepts; a glossary of financial terms; and an online library of documents which you can browse by concept and sort by title, author, or date.

International Finance Corporation <http://www.ifc.org>

Regional reports can be accessed in the corporation's annual report; more extensive reporting by region and sector can be found in the departments pages. The emerging markets database features a daily market feed, weekly market news, product information, and links to stock exchanges in emerging markets. Country profiles for nations in Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa are provided. The Africa Business Network is presented in both French and English. Press releases are also available online in this highly recommended site.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Publications <http://www.imf.org/external/pubind.htm>

Full text working papers, country reports, and papers on policy analysis & assessment. Download pdf versions of the World Economic Outlook report, the IMF Survey, the Finance & Development journal, and the International Capital Markets surveys.

International Trade Administration <http://www.ita.doc.gov>

Access region or country information or link to coverage of U.S. industries. Among cross-cutting programs, you'll find an exporter's guide to the Euro, data on emerging markets, and funding information. Trade statistics are available by industry, country, region, state, metro area and more. Government sites don't get much better than this.

International Trade & Export Assistance - TradePort <http://www.tradeport.org/ts>

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Commerce, the California Trade and Commerce Agency, and others, this site features a how to export InfoBase with several full text guidebooks: How to Export, Exporting Assistance, and Exporting Tutorial. There's also a glossary of international trade terms, and a bibliography of print resources. The market research section features guides to develop an export plan, identify markets, and evaluate your target markets. You'll also find links to trade statistics, product classifications, laws or regs, and overseas travel info. The Buyers and trade leads section contains guides on developing an export strategy, links to trade leads, foreign companies, etc. Also learn what is involved in transporting products and obtaining financing.

J.P. Morgan & Co. <http://www.jpmorgan.com>

A unique financial and investment research site. The ADR (American Depositary Receipts) section provides market intelligence and investor information on more than 400 international companies. The European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) section features an online Bulletin, Fact Sheet, and glossary. The Event Risk Indicator (ERI) is a tool to assess the likelihood of currency crashes in 19 countries; this section includes a downloadable .pdf handbook.

Overseas Private Investment Corporation <http://www.opic.gov>

Web site of the U.S. agency which supports business investment abroad. Contains press releases, publications, and environmental information.

Trade Compliance Center <http://www.export.gov/tcc/>

Full text of trade agreements, provided by the Trade Compliance Center. Search by keyword or browse by country signatory, issue, or agreement title. This site also offers access to the Market Access Information database with country guides and reports on economic policy or national trade estimates.

TrustNet <http://www.trustnet.com/Default.asp>

Contains currency exchange rates from 37 countries, and performance data and profiles of investment companies, investment trusts, management groups, and world indices.

World Bank Group <http://www.worldbank.org>

Features country and regional surveys; reports on development topics such as agriculture, finance, infrastructure, etc; full text publications and online journals; press releases and reports on topics of current interest; and a database of competitiveness indicators. The International Finance Corporation, a member group, also provides regional info in the corporation's annual report; more extensive reporting by region and sector can be found in the departments pages. The emerging markets database features a daily market feed, weekly market news, and links to stock exchanges in emerging markets. Highly recommended.

World Stock Markets <http://cnnfn.com/markets/world_markets.html>

Composite data from exchanges worldwide, courtesy of CNN's financial network.

World Trade Organization <http://www.wto.org>

Contains full text documents, working papers, and news releases on trade topics such as development, intellectual property, and the environment.

Ernst & Young International <http://www.ey.com/global/content.nsf/International/home>

Register and access detailed information about doing business in your country of choice. Download in .pdf format a special report on e-commerce, selected chapters of a publication on the euro, key findings of a report on fraud, or information about operating in Asia Pacific. Browse by services or industries for full text publications, and visit the Energy Gallery - a new site for the energy professional. This is one of the most content-rich commercial web sites on the internet.

Information Policy: Copyright and Intellectual Property <http://www.ifla.org/II/cpyright.htm>

Full text articles and reports from the International Federation of Library Associations and Associations, as well as useful links to other copyright collections.

Mondaq Business Briefing <http://www.mondaq.com/>

Provides full text business news, market analyses, and coverage of legislation and treaties. Free registration is required for access.

World Bank Group <http://www.worldbank.org>

Features country and regional surveys; reports on development topics such as agriculture, finance, infrastructure, etc; full text publications and online journals; press releases and reports on topics of current interest; and a database of competitiveness indicators. The International Finance Corporation, a member group, also provides regional info in the corporation's annual report; more extensive reporting by region and sector can be found in the departments pages. The emerging markets database features a daily market feed, weekly market news, and links to stock exchanges in emerging markets. Highly recommended.

Strategis--Industry Canada Online <http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/>

Strategis provides business and consumer information to the public. Although the emphasis is on issues and resources of interest to Canadians, the site contains many resources that would be useful to anyone.

US Department of Commerce <http://home.doc.gov/>

The US Department of Commerce promotes job creation, economic growth, sustainable development and improved living standards. Although the emphasis is on issues and resources of interest to Americans, the site contains many resources that would be useful to anyone.

World Bank Group <http://www.worldbank.org>

Features country and regional surveys; reports on development topics such as agriculture, finance, infrastructure, etc; full text publications and online journals; press releases and reports on topics of current interest; and a database of competitiveness indicators. The International Finance Corporation, a member group, also provides regional info in the corporation's annual report; more extensive reporting by region and sector can be found in the departments pages. The emerging markets database features a daily market feed, weekly market news, and links to stock exchanges in emerging markets. Highly recommended.

World Trade Organization <http://www.wto.org>

The World Trade Organization (WTO) is the only global international organization dealing with the rules of trade between nations. At its heart are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The goal is to help producers of goods and services, exporters, and importers conduct their business.

Information Policy: Copyright and Intellectual Property <http://www.ifla.org/II/cpyright.htm>

Full text articles and reports from the International Federation of Library Associations and Associations, as well as useful links to other copyright collections.

SHRM Global Forum <http://www.shrmglobal.org/>

Recent articles from the International HR Update, highlights from the annual global HR Forum, and links to other international human resources websites.

World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) <http://www.wipo.org>

Access information about intellectual property and its two main branches: industrial property (patents, trademarks, etc.) and copyright. From the publications section, you can download the texts of treaties administered by WIPO, in html, pdf, or Microsoft Word; data on industrial property statistics are available in pdf or Excel spreadsheet format. A wealth of information on information technologies, electronic commerce, the PCT (Patent Cooperation Treaty) system, the Hague system, and the Madrid system is also provided. English/Français/Español.

World Trade Organization <http://www.wto.org>

Contains full text documents, working papers, and news releases on trade topics such as development, intellectual property, and the environment.