This list highlights the key databases that a business student can use to research companies, markets and industries as well as to find articles on business topics. This list is based on electronic resources available from the York University Libraries subscriptions and a few internet resources.

Please note that you will need to login if you wish to access most of these databases from home. Use your Passport York ID. To access the library databases go to the York University Libraries  homepage  and type the name of the database in the Search Library Resources box or click on the links provided below.

There are many other databases available. For a complete list of business databases available at York University go to                         Business Resources A-Z

In addition we have prepared the following guides”

• Researching Information on Companies
• Researching Information on Industries
• Finding Articles on Business Topics

Please note that we have arranged the databases by primary use but many of them have multiple uses, e.g. company and industry information or company and market information.

When you are working at home and you need help searching or identifying the best resources for your research needs, please phone our reference staff for immediate service during reference hours 416-736-5139 or use our BizResearch IM chat service: http://www.library.yorku.ca/ccm/BG/index.htm

Company/Industry Information

Sedar (www.sedar.com) All companies traded on Canadian stock exchanges are required to file their public documents on Sedar. Full-text access is available for documents such as company annual reports, interim financial statements, material change reports, management discussions, and prospectuses . Free on the Internet.

Edgar  (www.sec.gov)All companies traded on United States stock exchanges file their documents with the US Security and Exchange Commission’s Edgar database and you can search Edgar to retrieve full-text filings such as 10k reports (the most detailed annual report), 10Q, prospectuses, etc Free on the Internet.

Infomart (formerly Financial Post Advisor) Limited to Canadian public companies but this service provides detailed information, news and corporate financial data including ratios. Search by company name and then choose from the menu of services such as historical reports (includes up-to-date information), FP Analyzer, FP Investor Reports, FP Corporate Surveys and link to FP Industry Reports (not available for every industry). In addition to the links to industry information from company records in the databases listed above, you can select Companies by Industry from the menu on the left side of the screen. You will find not only the key Canadian Companies in the industries but also a databank of key industry data.

IBISWorld China : Includes industry reports for China.

IBISWorld USA : Includes US and global industry reports and a business environment database. Many of the industry reports are for smaller industries not included in Mergent, MarketLine etc.

Investext Plus Contains full-text financial reports and forecasts prepared by the world’s leading investment banks and consulting and research firms. Provides access to financial analysis for over 11,000 companies. Useful for competitive analysis, researching industry trends, conducting market research and company studies. American, Canadian and International in scope.

Mergent Online Detailed information, news and corporate financial information for public companies. Canadian, American and International in scope. Search by company name and then choose from the menu of options along the top of the screen. Links to Edgar are available where relevant. Also includes industry reports (United States and Canada) covering current environment, sector performance, market trends, outlook, etc. for 20 industries.

Mergent Horizon A resource for finding company and industry information, including all companies that are actively traded on the NYSE, AMEX and NASDAQ. It highlights the relationships between a company’s major customers, suppliers and partners and maps companies from the bottom up, based on actual products and services.

MarketLine The Datamonitor Business Information Centre (DBIC) database is divided into Industry, Country, and Company sections including 2500 market profiles, 10,000 company profiles, 1000 company SWOT analyses, more than 50 country profiles, over 150 industry rankings, and news, comments and analysis. International in scope

NetAdvantage Standard & Poor’s database provides comprehensive information on business and investment information, offering on-line access to popular Standard & Poor’s research products such as Industry Surveys, Stock Reports, Corporation Records, The Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives, The Outlook, Mutual Fund Reports, etc. North American in scope.

Plunkett Research Provides research and trends analysis on a variety of industries, including energy, e-commerce, retailing and finance. In addition to the industry reports, it includes statistics, charts and profiles of leading companies. Primarily US information but some Canadian information is available.

Business Monitor Online contains quarterly surveys and forecasts on Canadian and U.S. industries.

Factiva Features coverage of approx. 300,000 companies worldwide with information from Reuters, Dow Jones, Hoovers, Dun & Bradstreet and more. You can search for basic company information, financials and ratios by clicking on the Companies/ Markets link and for news topics in general, by clicking on the Search link at the top of the screen. You can limit to specific publications such as the Globe and Mail by typing the name of the publication in the Find a Source dialog box.

Sustainalytics : This database rates companies on environmental, social and governance performance. For most performance issue areas, it includes aboriginal relations; community involvement; corporate governance; employee relations; environment; and human rights. The framework calls for a complete examination of each company’s performance record in that area, as well as an evaluation of each company’s record in these areas overall.

Bloomberg A real-time financial service that provides current and historical (5 years) data, news and financial analysis of companies, stocks, bonds and indices. As the ticker symbols are not always consistent with a specific stock exchange it is best to start by typing the name of the company and pressing the HELP key. Key economic statistics are also available. Available on a standalone workstation in the Bronfman Business Library. You can book a time to use this database in a reservation log book available at the workstation.

Industry Canada’s websitefor business and industry includes industry surveys, company directories, and patent and trademark databases. Much of the information on individual industries is found under Information by Industrial Sector and also via Canadian Industry Statistics. These are good sources for information on manufacturing industries and the high technology sector. This site also contains a database of private and public companies with directory type information – Canadian Company Capabilities.

The United States Census Bureau, Business and Industry Website is also a good source for industry and economic information.

Market Information

Datamonitor360 (Formerly Business Insights and MarketLine) Includes company and industry information, market segmentation, overview and size, competitive landscape, forecasts, news and comment.

GMID ( Global Market Information Database): Provides business intelligence on companies, countries, industries, and consumers. Includes demographic, economics and marketing statistics for 205 countries: historic and forecast consumer lifestyle statistics; analysis of consumer lifestyles in 71 countries; market size for more than 300 consumer products; 4500 market research reports; brand shares; and profiles and rankings of 3000 leading consumer goods companies.

WARC (World Advertising Research Centre): provides papers, case studies, research reports, news items and summaries, augmented with best practice guides and statistical data for use in marketing, advertising and media and research. Drawn from more than 40 international sources.

NADBank Provides product, retail and lifestyle information based on data derived from newspaper readership surveys of Canada and major urban markets. Includes demographic breakdowns for each category. Available only in the Bronfman Business Library at a standalone workstation.

Market Share Reporter provides a very limited amount of information on Canadian market share. Unless the title of the table specifically states Canada, assume that the information is for the United States. This reference book is available in the Peter F. Bronfman Business Library Reference Room. The call number is HF 5410 M33

Economic Forecasts and Country Information

Global Insight The Country Intelligence section contains economic and financial data for countries worldwide. Provides country analysis, risk and forecasts for 196 countries. Political, economic, regulatory, tax, security and general business conditions are covered in the individual country reports. In addition macroeconomic forecasts are provided and country and sovereign risk ratings are included.  Select DataInsight Web from the left column of the main page to search for time series data.

World Bank Data: provides download access to over 2,000 indicators from World Bank data sources. Includes economic and social indicators. Browse by country, indicator, topic or view the data catalog.

Articles on Business Topics

ProQuest Business : This link allows you to access the 6 preselected ProQuest business databases. The 6 databases are ABI/Inform Global, ABI/Inform Trade and Industry, CBCA Business, CBCA Current Events, ProQuest Asian Business and Reference, ProQuest European Business. These databases contain citations and abstracts for business and management publications, many of which are available in full-text or full-image. This resource incorporates management, industry and company-specific information of both a practical and theoretical nature. Subjects covered include: finance, public administration, marketing, management, economics, taxation, telecommunications, corporate strategies, competitive and product information.

CBCA Complete(ProQuest) Provides interdisciplinary coverage of Canadian topics including the areas of business and current affairs. Offers references and many full text articles, from Canadian journals, magazines, newspapers, and newswires. May be searched together with other ProQuest databases.

Business Source Premier(EBSCO) contains full text for periodicals and other sources, including scholarly journals, trade and general business magazines, monographs, country economic and industry reports, industry yearbooks, and market research reports.

Factiva is an excellent resource for searching newspapers such as the Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, and hundreds of newspapers from countries worldwide.

Scholars Portal Journals  This resource consists of a single search screen that provides access to full-text academic articles from journals in a variety of disciplines.  Ideal for retrieving articles on business related topics in scholarly journals.

Elizabeth Watson/Bronfman Business Library/YUL January 2009 Revised March 2012