Unlike library databases, Web resources are available wherever you have web access. When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources.
Definition of a public company
Fortune 500 Companies
Publicly traded companies by state
EDGAR archives: US Securities and Exchange Commission
Company Research (Business Week): Business Week offers information on 4,000 companies in its Careers section (so some of the information is aimed at job-seekers), with a Corporate Snapshot, a Vault.Com Scoop, a Wetfeet.Com profile, as well as Business Week articles about the companies (some of which are available only for subscribers but are also available in the Oregon Tech Library database ABI/Inform Global).
MSN Money/CNBC Investing: This site is another good source for information about U.S. companies, with links to company reports, news, earnings estimates, financials, insider trading, and, in particular, ownership.
Business Filings Databases: This directory provides access, by state, to state offices that record business information and offer it online. The information is largely directory information only but is useful for research small private companies, along with Reference
USA (listed above, in Databases).
Seattle Times Northwest 100: Each year, the Seattle Times profiles the top public companies in the Northwest, with profiles of each company listed. The site also offers a listing by industry of the companies. Click here for an A to Z list of the companies and profiles of each of them. The site also offers the ability to compare companies via spreadsheet.
Yahoo! Finance: This site is excellent for company and investment information as well as an excellent source for financial ratio comparisons with industry, sector and S&P 500.
More web resources
Web Search Engines
Top Search Tips from Google.
GoogleGuide.com
Search Engine Watch: a guide to search engines, search engine registration and ranking issues.
Academic Business Web Directories
Penn State University: SMEALSearch, a Subject Specific Search Engine.
University of
Oregon Knight Library: Best Web Sites for Business.
University of
South Carolina Libraries: a listing of Business Search Engines.
Univeristy of Washington, Foster Business Library: Subject Index to Web Resources.
Invisible Web
Explore the Invisible Web.
Employment and industry related websites
Oregon Employment Department Home Page
DICE: An employment search service for current openings in the information technology industry.
US Department of Commerce Bureau of Economic Analysis: Survey of Current Business.
US Census Bureau
Related Oregon Tech Libraries Subject Area Guide: Management and Industrial Management