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A current awareness resource for students & faculty members in Business & Economics


From info glut to info curation: Passport's new Natural Resources module

Published by Mark Bodnar

In our current era of information overload, information loses value.

Not that long ago we could only dream of having fingertip access to all the stats and facts that are burying us now. Yet what we really need now, and what we are even willing to pay for, are tools that will pre-gather and pre-analyze the information for us.  [...]

It's in that light that I'd like to highlight a new feature in our super-popular Passport database: Natural Resources

Wood"Passport Natural Resources uncovers the resource landscape in 210 countries globally. It offers up-to-date and relevant insights on the supply and demand of natural resources, as well as the challenges and opportunities stemming from natural resources and sustainability issues.   <more>

Modeling the economic effect of a Trump victory: New feature in Passport

Published by Mark Bodnar

Back in August, I mentioned Macro Model, a new macroeconomic modeling tool in our Passport database that allows you to model the effect of major events (e.g., a Disorderly Brexit or a recession in China) on various national economies (see: Modeling major economic events for your strategic planning).

I couldn't resist a quick update: As of today, the Macro Model tool now includes a Donald Trump scenario among the events that you can build into your modeling...

Modeling major economic events for your strategic planning

Published by Mark Bodnar

Wouldn't business life be easier if we didn't have to worry about future calamities?  If we could just gather up the data on what's happened already and what's happening now, then create a perfect strategic plan for what we want to happen in the future...

In such an idyllic world, we'd need only to press the start button on our plan and let it run without a thought about the potential for a severe recession in the US, or a sudden tightening of credit in China, or yet another oil price shock...

Highlights from our Sustainable Organization Library

Published by Mark Bodnar

I was just scanning a usage report on our Sustainable Organization Library. It's great to see that this valuable resource is being used so much!

For those who are new to the SOL, I thought I'd list a small sample of the online books, reports, and journals that were downloaded most often from it this spring -- just to give you a taste of the range of content available for your research enjoyment... <more>

Trial: ESG data via WRDS (Environmental, Social, Governance)

Published by Mark Bodnar

SFU researchers now have trial access to a collection of ESG data via our WRDS financial data interface.  This trial of RepRisk ESG data will end on Oct. 19, 2016 (yes -- 2016!).  The RepRisk data includes severity measures for each of 28 different issues (child labor, local pollution, freedom of association...) within the broader categories of Environmental, Social, and Governance.  <more>