LibGuides: Free Business Websites Guide: Economics, Finance, & Marketing

Overview of Section

This section is devoted to economics, finance, and marketing resources available online.

The resources listed include products and services that are free to the public, however, they may offer paid ones as well. Babson does not provide access to any paid products or services on this page to members outside of the Babson community. Please refer to the alumni guide to view the lists of databases available to alumni for paid products and services covered by Babson's subscriptions. You can also check your local public library to see if they provide access to particular resources.

Economics, Finance, & Marketing

Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED)
Thousands of U.S. and international economic time series.
International Monetary Fund (IMF)
International Financial Statistics, World Economic Outlook, and much more.
OECD
Economic indicators, industry statistics, social & scientific statistics, etc.
State Competitiveness Report - The Beacon Hill Institute for Public Policy Research at Suffolk University
State rankings by index and rank for government fiscal policy, security, infrastructure, human resources, technology, business incubation, openness and environmental policy. State profiles give both competitive advantages and disadvantages. To access, copy and paste the following into the search box: STATE COMPETITIVENESS REPORT.
State Economic Profiles
The SBA Office of Advocacy makes available small business profiles by state. To find the one for your state, type STATE ECONOMIC PROFILES in the search box.
StatsAmerica
A portal to US government economic development data; a service of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
U.S. Census
A gateway to the U.S. Economic Census including manufacturers, services, construction and wholesale.
U.S. Census Annual Integrated Economic Survey
The AIES provides key yearly measures of economic activity including the only comprehensive national and subnational data on business revenues, expenses, and assets on an annual basis.
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)
The EIA collects, analyzes, and disseminates independent and impartial energy information to promote sound policymaking, efficient markets, and public understanding of energy and its interaction with the economy and the environment.
Wells Fargo Economic Reviews
Provides economic reviews for regions and many states and contains links to related economic data.
World Development Indicators
World Bank website for those interested in expanding overseas this covers hundreds of statistical sets by country including economic data, financial, agricultural, energy, labor, trade and much more!

BizStats
Free industry ratios.
Google Finance
Investopedia
Educational and news information about stocks, markets, companies, and more.
MyCapital.com
Raise capital, find a business loan, post your business profile, search a database of 4000+ venture capitalists and angel investors. Free service.
National Venture Capital Association
See menu tab for ENTREPRENEURS. Resources include model legal documents, links for local venture capital groups, events calendar, reports and more.
WallStreetMojo
Comprehensive Educational Resource for Finance, Accounting, and Investment Information. Provides educational resources and online courses on Investment Banking, Financial Modeling, Private Equity, Venture Capital, Accounting, and Excel, with a strong focus on theory, application, and career prospects.
Yahoo Finance
Zack's
Zack's includes data and reports on over 10,000 companies from over 185 brokerage firms.

Creating a Marketing Plan
This comprehensive guide from the University of Maryland Global Campus details the structure of a marketing plan and includes supplemental resources.
American Customer Satisfaction Index
Access reports on economic sectors and major industries with a free account.
City Data
City Data provides users with city profiles for the United States, which are created using a variety of private and governmental resources.
ClickZ
Internet usage and advertising statistics.
Consumer Expenditure Survey
Published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, this website provides data on the buying habits of U.S. consumers.
ESRI
A GIS website which maps demographics of lifestyles.
National Retail Federation
Access articles, reports, and a job board for the retail industry.
TrendWatching
Access information and tools on consumer trends.
U.S. Census Bureau
Find demographics to target your market by zip code, county or state.
Wolfram|Alpha: U.S. Prices of Consumer Goods
Wolfram|Alpha contains extensive information about the prices of consumer goods and services in the US, such as food, health care, housing and entertainment.
Zip Code Demographics
Grab a quick overview of a zip code including households, education and business counts.