Here are some Web sites suggested by Pamela K. Luecke, Reynolds Professor of Business Journalism at Washington and Lee University, and Chris Roush, who teaches business journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The comments are by Roush. Census Bureau www.census.gov Part of the Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau is where to begin if you're looking for general data on the Economic Census, which breaks down the country's economy annually by industry, state, county and metropolitan statistical area.
Consumer Product Safety Commission www.cpsc.gov Information about product recalls, which occur almost on a daily basis.
Environmental Protection Agency www.epa.gov Regulates how businesses emit and store waste. The Web site has a useful search engine of EPA businesses, listed by ZIP code.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission www.eeoc.gov Investigates charges against business for unfair employment practices. Compiles statistics on types of discrimination, ranging from pregnancy and race to religious beliefs.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. www.fdic.gov Oversees bank deposits; compiles monthly list of banks being reviewed for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act; collects market share data on individual banks.
Food and Drug Administration www.fda.gov Regulates all food and drugs sold to consumers, from cosmetics and dog food to prescription drugs. Approves drugs to be offered for sale. Often takes action against companies.
Department of Labor www.dol.gov Provides information about wages, health plans and benefits and unemployment.
Bureau of Labor Statistics www.bls.gov Considerable information including the Consumer Price Index and import/export data.
Federal Reserve Board www.federalreserve.gov The central bank of the U.S., its Federal Open Market Committee determines the federal funds rate, which influences how much consumers are paid in interest rates. The speeches and testimony by Fed members influence Wall Street and make significant news stories.
Also: Fed101 www.federalreserveeducation.org/fed101/index.htm
Securities and Exchange Commission www.sec.gov Regulates public companies and some private businesses; provides information on recent commission actions that include enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements and upcoming commission meetings.
Federal Trade Commission www.ftc.gov Reviews all mergers and acquisitions. Sometimes it requires companies to make changes in their deals.
Department of the Treasury www.ustreas.gov The department contains the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates banks, and the Office of Thrift Supervision, which regulates thrifts.
Additional Sties (Suggested by Professor Luecke) American Bankruptcy Institute www.abiworld.org CFA Institute www.cfainstitute.org/aboutus/press/ An international institute for investment professionals
The Conference Board www.conferenceboard.org An organization of business leaders
The Corporate Library www.thecorporatelibrary.com Source for corporate governance; compensation and company performance data.
Footnoted.org www.footnoted.org A business news blog.
National Association of Secretaries of State www.nass.org State directory www.nass.org/sos/sosflags.html Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism www.businessjournalism.org Society of American Business Editors and Writers www.sabew.org Yahoo Finance http://.finance.yahoo.com/ | 