Best of the Web: Business & Finance

USAID is an independent federal government agency that receives overall foreign policy guidance from the Secretary of State. It supports long-term and equitable economic growth and advances U.S. foreign policy objectives by supporting:

• economic growth, agriculture and trade;
• global health; and,
• democracy, conflict prevention and humanitarian assistance.

Trade association with advice on what to consider before buying a franchise guidance on how to form franchise organizations and additional information

A portal of industry links classified by associations, organizations, search engines, factories, production services, employment and news.

Financial information for the consumer Includes various calculator tools and comparisons of mortgage, credit card, money market and CD rates across the country

A Basic Guide to Exporting has been prepared by the U.S. Department of Commerce with the assistance of Unz & Co., Inc.
This website contains the 1998 version of A Basic Guide to Exporting.
The current edition (2008) is available for purchase at http://unzco.com.

BLS statistical profiles of 12 industry supersectors

Cornell University's Legal Information Institute (LII) - An introduction to bankruptcy topics and laws, including Chapter 11 (corporate bankruptcy), Chapter 13 (personal bankruptcy) and Chapter 7 (liquidation)

Publisher of The Cosmetics Ingredient Review, reviews and assesses the safety of ingredients used in cosmetics and publishes results in peer reviewed scientific literature.

Statistical reports on domestic industries from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Economic time series with subjects on Business economics, Financial economics and more

Wealth of information from Home business to E-biz, from Financing to Marketing

Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.) profiles of major industries including brief overview of the industry, description of industrial processesand environmental compliance summary

Good industry data from Euromonitor under Facts and Figures, re member agencies also lists of other associations and institutions

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) is the official export credit agency of the United States. Ex-Im Bank's mission is to assist in financing the export of U.S. goods and services to international markets.

Bank data and statistics

Data, reports and surveys on current banking rates, policies and regulations

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) is the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. The Bond Section of FINRA's Market Data Center includes general bond market information such as news, benchmark yields, and corporate bond market activity and performance information, descriptive data on U.S. Treasury, Agency, Corporate and Municipal Bonds, Credit Rating Information from major rating agencies, and price information with real-time transaction prices for Corporate and Agency Bonds (TRACE), Municipal Bonds (MSRB) and end of day prices for U.S. Treasury Bonds.

Information source for franchise buyers, franchisees, franchisors and transaction parties

According to the website: "Air freight, shipping, rail freight, trucking, specialized transportation, logistics management, customs brokers, international trade, export documentation and licensing, letter of credit... all freight forwarding services are located here."

Provides "Fact sheets" with basic company profiles full corporate profile is fee-based

The International Association of Food Industry Suppliers is a 90-year-old global trade association of more than 600 members that supply the food, dairy, beverage and related sanitary processing industries.

Links to all III publications and websites includes industry facts, statistics and directory of insurance organizations

The International Trade Administration (ITA) strengthens the competitiveness of U.S. industry, promotes trade and investment, and ensures fair trade through the rigorous enforcement of our trade laws and agreements.  ITA works to improve the global business environment and helps U.S. organization compete at home and abroad.

Link from the Bond Market Association website

Through its publications, Web sites, and data services, the publisher of the magazine and website The Journal of Commerce, UBM Global Trade, is the leading supplier of business information for people involved in transporting goods and commodities in the United States and internationally. Its publications and online services also include PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions, Directory of U.S. Exporters/Importers, Official Export Guide, U.S. Custom House Guide, and Transportation Telephone Tickler.

An international directory focusing on African companies

From the publisher of Forbes; a list of Mutual Fund Investment Terms with definitions.

The National Retail Federation's global membership includes retailers of all sizes, formats and channels of distribution as well as chain restaurants and industry partners from the U.S. and more than 45 countries abroad.  In the U.S., NRF represents the breadth and diversity of an industry with more than 1.6 million American companies that employ nearly 25 million workers and generated 2009 sales of $2.3 trillion.

Good industry information in left-hand column and selected news items on bottom of page additional information available to members only

With more than 8,000 listed issues, NYSE Euronext is home to the world's leading companies providing access to the global liquidity they need to collaborate, compete and grow. As the world's leading and most liquid equities exchange group, NYSE Euronext powers the exchanging world and is comprised of equities and derivatives exchanges across the United States and Europe which trade cash equities, futures, options, fixed-income and exchange-traded products.

Click to "Business" to find information about starting a business, business assistance, industries, licenses, permits and more.

Research Guide to resources for research on international trade (import and export) available at the Science, Industry and Business Library of the New York Public Library

Lists of industry directories available at the Science, Industry and Business Library

Guide to real estate resources available at the Science, Industry and Business Library, The New York Public Library, includes weblinks and online databases.

With more than 8,000 listed issues, NYSE Euronext is home to the world's leading companies providing access to the global liquidity they need to collaborate, compete and grow. As the world's leading and most liquid equities exchange group, NYSE Euronext powers the exchanging world and is comprised of equities and derivatives exchanges across the United States and Europe which trade cash equities, futures, options, fixed-income and exchange-traded products.

The PACER Service Center is the Federal Judiciary's centralized registration, billing, and technical support center for electronic access to U.S. District, Bankruptcy, and Appellate court records.

SICE - the Organization of American States' Foreign Trade Information System - centralizes information on trade policy in the Americas. On the SICE Website, you will find the full texts of trade agreements in force for OAS Member States, new and ongoing trade policy developments, information on national trade-related legislation, links to international, regional and national sources of trade policy information and more! SICE, with more than ten years online, strives to provide OAS member states and other users up-to-date and relevant information.

Excellent source of general information published by the Wall Street Journal

STAT-USA/Internet, a service of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is a single point of access to authoritative business, trade, and economic information from across the Federal Government. Subscription is required for full access (available at the Science, Industry and Business Library).

The GreenBook website features the entire directory in a user-friendly and interactive format. Multiple search options deliver accurate and relevant results quickly, including email and web links. A 'Request For Information' tool is also available.

TradePort is a repository of free information and resources for businesses that seek to conduct international trade to and from California.

The SBA helps Americans start, build and grow businesses. Through an extensive network of field offices and partnerships with public and private organizations, SBA delivers its services to people throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U. S. Virgin Islands and Guam.

The U.S. Department of Commerce has a broad mandate to advance economic growth and jobs and opportunities for the American people. It has responsibilities in the areas of trade, technology, entrepreneurship, economic development, environmental stewardship and statistical research and analysis. The products and services the department provides touch the lives of Americans and American companies in many ways, including weather forecasts, the decennial census, and patent and trademark protection for inventors and businesses.

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) works to improve foreign market access for U.S. products, build new markets, improve the competitive position of U.S. agriculture in the global marketplace, and provide food aid and technical assistance to foreign countries.

The United States International Trade Commission is an independent, quasijudicial Federal agency with broad investigative responsibilities on matters of trade. The agency investigates the effects of dumped and subsidized imports on domestic industries and conducts global safeguard investigations. The Commission also adjudicates cases involving imports that allegedly infringe intellectual property rights.

The mission of the U. S. Trade and Development Agency is to promote economic growth in developing and middle income countries, while simultaneously helping American businesses to export their products and services, thereby creating U.S. jobs. In addition, USTDA supports U.S. policy objectives related to development and capacity building activities.