Stanford Business Library Blog

Look for the union label

Nora Richardson — Mon, 28 May 2012 20:13:43 +0000

If you are of a certain age, you might remember seeing the “Look for the Union label” television commercials.

It’s being reported in various sources that U.S. union membership has been declining since 2008 due in part to the recession and workers inability to pay union dues. In 2011 there was a slight boost to union membership as we as a country creep toward economic recovery.

For the official count of US union membership check out the statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Browse This

Kim Simmons — Sat, 26 May 2012 01:58:06 +0000

Last week for the first time ever, Chrome emerged as the world’s most frequently-used Web browser. Lest you wonder how much of this is due to the GSB’s switch to Gmail this year, take note that Chrome is still in second place in the US. But with increasing functionality and the power of Google of behind it, Internet Explorer had best not rest on its laurels.

Importing large data sets

Paul Reist — Wed, 23 May 2012 23:26:45 +0000

You are a student or professor and have a set of 800 firms, identified by tickers or CUSIP numbers. You want to retrieve balance sheet and cash flow items and performance ratios. Problem? No problem – depending on your specific requirements, several databases are available. For overseas firms, Orbis or its alternate Mint Global are good bets, as well as Bloomberg. For domestic firms, Compustat, FactSet and Thomson One offer very detailed coverage. All these products allow for the importation of hefty datasets of your own making, using tickers, CUSIPs, or other identifiers. Consult one of our friendly librarians should you require assistance.

Invest in Yourself with Bloomberg

Emily Alschbach — Mon, 21 May 2012 22:54:53 +0000

Boost your resume – Bloomberg is vital for internships & jobs.
Bloomberg Training:
Wed May 23rd
12-1pm
Faculty Building East – E101

Don’t let the BB terminals intimate you anymore! Learn basic user training, navigation & topical functionality.

Understated millionaires

Nora Richardson — Sat, 19 May 2012 00:50:08 +0000

I wasn’t going to blog about Facebook today but I just couldn’t help it. I was intrigued about this article from the New York Times talking about in effect if you’re wealthy, don’t flaunt it at least not in the Silicon Valley culture. Today it’s estimated that the Facebook offering will create about 1,000 new millionaires in the $2 million to $5 million range according to the article and none of them better show up driving a new Ferrari to work Monday morning!

Energy Info Session – GIS, Alt Energy & More!

Emily Alschbach — Thu, 17 May 2012 22:05:47 +0000

Need research on the Energy sector? Want to visualize your info using GIS data?
Check out the GSB Library’s newest workshop:
Energy Information Session
Mon May 21st
2-3pm
**Branner Earth Science Library
Mitchell Bldg, 2nd floor, Teaching Corner

Industry and market research databases
Interdisciplinary energy-related databases
Geographic information system (GIS) data to visualize energy research

Class team-taught by Geospatial, Earth Sciences, & Business Librarians.

Summer reading preview

Paul Reist — Tue, 15 May 2012 00:14:42 +0000

Just a reminder that some of the more interesting business books of the last few years are available to members of the Stanford community on our Popular Books shelf in the Bass Center (to the right, as you walk in). A list of some current titles on display: The Next Convergence: The Future of Economic Growth in a Multispeed World, by Michael Spence; lol … OMG! What Every Student Needs to Know About Online Reputation Management, Digital Citizenship and Cyberbullying, by Matt Ivester; The Googlization of Everything (And Why We Should Worry), by Siva Vaidhyanathan, and Great by Choice, by Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen. Start planning your summer reading … now!

Wind Power

Nora Richardson — Sat, 12 May 2012 01:03:56 +0000

Did you ever want to know how many offshore wind farms there are in the world? Or wanted to know how many deals where announced by energy companies? Look no further than the database Alternative Energy eTrack found on our GSB Library Business Databases A-Z list.

Wild Kingdom

Kim Simmons — Tue, 08 May 2012 16:42:25 +0000

Great article in the May issue of Fast Company on the importance of Steve Job’s “wilderness years,” the 11 year period between when he left and returned to Apple. Journalist Brent Schlender had hundreds of conversations with Jobs – during those years and after — and makes a convincing argument that without these pivotal years he would never have been able to achieve all that he achieved in the next phase of his life. The fact that all accompanying illustrations were drawn on an iPad helps “illustrate” just how much Jobs did achieve… and if you read it on an iPad, you can download an app to hear tapes of some of the conversations on which the article is based.

Consumers and media

Nora Richardson — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:59:22 +0000

Nielsen’s blog, nielsenwire, has some useful free content dealing with consumers and media primarily. For premium content from the nielsen.com site you need to be a client and pay for content. If you need rich media data, they are the people to see.