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Public records
Current companies
Defunct companies
Bank mergers
Credit Unions
Trademarks
Executives & Officers
Real estate
Recommended books
Lynne Olver
olver@main.morris.org
Morris County Library
Whippany, NJ
12 April 2007 |
Public records online
BRB's public record links are an excellent way to locate online information
on corporations, licenced occupations, real estate/property taxes, courts, etc. Arranged by state. Listing vary. Compare NJ & Florida.
NJ Doctor list (Office of the Attorney General) lists malpractice payments.
I need everything on company ABC
- Company name: context is everything. Where did the attorney learn about the company? Start there. Spelling counts.
- Profiles & contacts: Business databases (Mergent, S & P, Hoovers, Dun's, Datamonitor/EBSCO, Business and Company Resource
Center/Gale, Reference USA). Free D&B and international telephone listings.
- E-company contacts (street address, phone, fax, adminstrator) Whois
- Products, services & people: company Web & industry-specific directories
- SEC reports: Company Web offers quick (but not always complete) access. Official SEC site is good for basic company lookup; advanced searching
available. Unofficial sites offer better access to documents.
- History & structure: International Directory of Company Histories, Mergent Manuals (public companies only), LexisNexis Corporate Affiliations
- News: business databases (EBSCO, ProQuest, Custom Newspapers, Factiva, Lexis Nexis, DIALOG), company press releases, Wire services
Yahoo Finance, Bloomberg News
- Internet Archives lets you retrieve old Web content
What happened to company XYZ?
State of incorporation and last known activity are key. Public companies are easier to trace the private.
- Capital Changes Reporter, Commerce Clearing House
- Directory of Obsolete Securities, Financial Information Inc.
- FP Survey Predecessor & Defunct, Canadian companies 1929-present
- Mergent Manuals (1909+)...formerly Moody's
- New York Times Historic (database 1851+)
- Robert D. Fisher Manual of Valuable and Worthless Securities, 1904-present (includes old mining stocks)
- S & P's Daily Stock Price Record 1960+...quick way to trace defunct stock prices, splits, and dividends
- Star Ledger (database 1989+)
What happened to this bank?
Sources for information depend upon the bank’s charter. Federal bank mergers & acquisitions are reported by the
National Information Center. NJ mergers are reported by the
State Dept. of Banking & Insurance and
New Jersey League of Community Bankers. Other states offer similar databases.
Where to get financial details on credit unions?
The National Credit Union Administration uploads summary financial performance
and 5300 (quartery statement of financial condition) reports for
active/inactive ferderal and state credit unions. Database is searchable by charter number, institution name, location, type of
membership (educational, military, government etc.)
Which company owns this trademark?
The U.S. Patent & Trademark Office database contains registration
for all trademarks issued 1976+; older registrations are online ONLY IF the product is still registered (Oreos & Cracker Jacks).
Registrations are not automatically updated when trademarks are acquired. Check the last known registrant (company Web)
for current products list. If the product is not found, run tradename through Google and news databases. International contacts
here.
Executive names, bios & affiliations
Who are the people running XYZ?
Go straight to the source: company web and corporate filings. Print sources and commercial directory databases (including
Reference USA
and Dun's Million Dollar Database) are often out of date. Check for date stamps on your products.
Company press releases often include people information; larger companies offer searchable archives. Site search sometimes
uncovers content not obviously linked from public pages. Provate ompany owners are listed in online corporations databases uploaded
by individual states. New Jersey Business Gateway ($5.00, can establish
a deposit account) lists name of person paying taxes for the company.
- Company Web (about us, press releases...works for public and private companies)
- SEC reports (10K, proxy statements detail compensation packages for top execs & directors)
- State corporations databases (searchable by name)
- Business databases: Dun's, Reference USA, Mergent, Hoovers, S&P Net Advantage...searchable by name
- News databases: EBSCO (Masterfile, Business Source, Regional Business News, Newspapers), ProQuest, Factiva, LexisNexis, Business & Company Resource Center, Star Ledger)
- People databases (Marquis Who's Who, BGMI)
- Google ("name of person", cross with industry or company)...awards, conferences, article references, speeches, sometimes resumes.
Shortcuts like Zoominfo are not as comprehensive. Use Google's advanced features to limit search to
(country or language).
- Political contributions OpenSecrets
- Need a photo? Google [images] and Ditto.com...warning! sometimes these are mislabled.
Real estate
Recommended books
Recommended reading: "Online Resources for Business research," Celia Ross, Choice, April 2007 (p. 1271-1299)
http://www.mclib.info/njlla.html
©, Morris County Library 2007
April 2007 |
