Dirt Diggers Network: Digest No. 13
July 25, 2002
Editor: Philip Mattera
1. Global Security Risk Monitor
2. "Bushology" website
3. Info on largest bankruptcies
4. Full archives of New York Times available in digital form
5. Source for data on UK companies and their advisers
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1. Global Security Risk Monitor
Those of you with a big research budget and concern about
corporate investment in so-called rogue states will be interested
to know about a new database called the Global Security Risk
Monitor. It is produced by the Investor Responsibility Research Center
<www.irrc.org> and Conflict Securities Advisory Group, both based
in Washington, DC.
The service is described as "the world's first global security risk profile
and assessment product in the areas of terrorism and proliferation.
Consistent with IRRC's impartial assessments, the risk monitor is designed
to provide a profile of companies (both domestic and foreign), whose
operations in six countries (designated by the U.S. Government as
state-sponsors of terrorism and in possession of weapons of mass
destruction and ballistic missiles) or ties to proliferation related concerns
pose potential material risks to investors. These risks can be reputational
or financial." The six countries are Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan
and Syria.
Since the service is being marketed to institutional investors, the price is
not cheap: $12,500 a year. For more information, go to:
http://www.irrc.org/products/Global_Risk.html
Thanks to Mafruza Khan for bring this source to the moderator's attention.
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2. "Bushology" website
Mark Brooks has written to note
that the website of investigative reporter Dan Moldea
<www.moldea.com> now has a page called Bushology
Interactive <http://www.moldea.com/bushology.html>
that contains links to a wide range of material about
the Bush Family and their political and business deeds
and misdeeds.
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3. Info on largest bankruptcies
The recent Chapter 11 filing by WorldCom puts that company at the
top of the list of bankrupt companies (ranked by assets). For a
list of the 15 largest bankrupts, see the website of BankruptcyData.com
at: http://www.bankruptcydata.com/Research/15_Largest.htm
The site also has a database of corporate bankruptcies since 1986,
links to federal bankruptcy court online records, a history of
bankruptcy and a glossary of bankruptcy terms. Additional info
is available by paying a subscription fee.
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4. Full archives of New York Times available in digital form
For those of you doing historical business research, you'll be interested
to know that all back issues of the New York Times (back to 1851) have
been digitized by ProQuest and are being made available via the company's
Historical Newspapers program. The cost of the service is beyond the means
of individual researchers or most organizations, but it should be available via
larger university libraries. For more information, see:
http://www.umi.com/products/pd-product-HistNews.shtml
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5. Source for data on UK companies and their advisers
One of the most useful sites for information on UK publicly traded companies
is Hemscott <www.hemscott.net>. It has some similarities to Hoover's, but
it provides more extensive data, including list of each company's advisers
(including investment bankers, auditors, law firms, p.r. companies, etc.). Some
material is available for free (though registration is required), while other content
is contained in a subscription service that has just been introduced. Hemscott
is currently offering free seven-day trials of the latter. See
Philip Mattera
pmattera@goodjobsfirst.org