Worldscope – coverage and data definitions

Worldscope is the global company accounts “database” from Thomson Reuters and thus a key research resource for company information. It is accessed using either Datastream (active and inactive companies) or Thomson One Banker (active companies only).

Worldscope is designed to allow comparison of companies that report under different accounting rules worldwide. In addition, it records company information using four templates: banks, industrial companies, insurance companies and other financial companies. This means that many of Worldscope’s datatypes only have values for a subset of the companies covered (e.g. US companies).

For full details of the Worldscope methodology and the definitions of the datatypes you can consult the Worldscope Data Definitions Guide (Issue 14) available from the Datastream Extranet.

The Worldscope Coverage Report, also available from the Datastream Extranet, for 28th Feb 2013 includes the following coverage information:

• Argentina – total companies 144, active 105, inactive 39
• Australia – total companies 2903, active 1957, inactive 946
• …
• United Kingdom – total companies 5093, active 1890, inactive 3203
• United States – total companies 21130, active 9175, inactive 11955
• All countries – total companies 74757, active 46704, inactive 28053

Worldscope Data Definitions Guide from Datastream Extranet (click to expand)

The Worldscope Data Definitions Guide (Issue 14) and Worldscope Coverage Report are also available in the folder Database Manuals\Worldscope when using the database PCs in the Eddie Davies Library

Related Worldscope posts:

• Worldscope – company accounts data definitions (April 2011)
• Datastream, Worldscope and Units (August 2011)
• Worldscope accounting data – finding data tips (July 2011)

Worldscope is not the only database for company accounts (financials) – for example Compustat, available through WRDS,  is very popular with researchers studying US companies and Bloomberg’s Financial Analysis (FA) function gives company account information.

• Where can I find company financials, e.g., balance sheets etc.?

The term “company financials” is often used rather than “company accounts”.

SCoRe (search company reports) website closing

The SCoRe (Search Company Reports) website closes on 21st March 2013. SCoRe is a catalogue of printed company reports held in UK libraries.

In the ten years since the SCoRe project ended in 2002, annual reports have become increasingly available online through company websites and commercial providers. Demand for the printed annual reports has declined as a result.

Going forwards, by the end of 2013, the British Library and Guildhall Library will hold the main collections of print and microfilm annual reports for UK companies, supplemented by the  planned digital archives at the London Business School and University of Manchester.

SCoRe Working Group (2012) Advance notice: Closure of SCoRe.  http://www.score.ac.uk/pdf/SCoRe_Closure_Notice_2012-12.pdf (accessed 20 March 2013)

The University of Manchester SCoRe archive includes over 80,000 annual reports. Over 60,000 of these are in MIRAC fiche format and therefore difficult to read, and the 20,000 in print are mostly from 1995 onwards and available online.

For databases giving online access to annual reports see:

Where can I find current and historical company annual reports?

The following – taken from the SCoRe web links page http://www.score.ac.uk/links.asp - are all free websites, except Companies House, which is included because of its key role in the collection of UK companies’ legal filings.

Business Archives Council
Exists to encourage the preservation of British business records, to advise on the administration and management of archives and current records and to promote the use of business records.

CAROL (Company Annual Reports On Line)
One-point access to web versions of company annual reports for a selection of companies in Europe, Asia and the US.

Companies House
Free access to brief information about UK companies. Order filed documents for a fee. Also includes information about the activities and strategic direction of Companies House.

Financial Times Annual Reports Service
The FT/World Investor Link service allows you to order printcopies of the most recent reports for companies listed in the share price service in the FT newspaper.

UK National Register of Archives
The NRA is maintained by the Historical Manuscripts Commission and contains information on the nature and location of manuscripts and historical records that relate to British history. You can search archives by corporate name.

U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission
The US equivalent of Companies House. The site gives electronic access to filed US company documents, including annual reports, via the EDGAR database. Documents from 1993 to the present.

Referencing – new citation guide

There is a new version of the University of Manchester Harvard Citation Guide.

Follow the Guide to Referencing at the University of Manchester link on the Business and Management Referencing tab.

At the Guide to Referencing at the University of Manchester pages select:

Referencing styles -> Harvard

You can download the guide as a pdf file, or read the advice online.

The Guide to Referencing at the University of Manchester (now renamed Referencing guide at the University of Manchester) includes tabs on referencing software: EndNote, EndNote Web, Reference Manager, Zotero and Mendeley.

GMID now Passport

Global Market Information Database (GMID) from Euromonitor has now been renamed Passport.

At the moment you access Passport (formerly GMID) as before, e.g. from the University of Manchester Library business and management databases page or the databases A to Z list.

Passport from Eurominitor welcome page (click to expand)

When you login you will get this welcome page.
(after confirming acceptance of the terms of use)

Passport is an excellent source of consumer market research reports and data, industry report and general macro economic data.

The most recent enquiry was for the “Retailing in Morocco Euromonitor 2012 report”.

For a quick search you can use the Enter keywords search box at the top right – “retail morocco” gave the results below.

Selecting the title Retailing in Morocco gives direct access to this June 2012 Euromonitor industry overview report – you can convert to a PDF file (25 pages) to download.

For more Passport (formerly GMID) tips:

• post tagged Passport-GMID on the Ohio University Business Blog
• other posts tagged GMID

Passport from Euromonitor – search results (click to expand)

HP acquisition of Autonomy and a $8.8billion write off

On 20 Nov 2012 Hewlett Packard (HP) announced that it was taking a write off of $8.8 billion of the $11.1 billion that it paid to acquire Autonomy in  October 2010. At the time Automony was a member of the FTSE 100 and seen as a UK technology success story.

There has been lots in the UK financial press since then as HP’s key argument is that they overpaid for Autonomy because of accounting manipulation. This is strongly denied by Automony founder Mike Lynch.

News stories:

• Hewlett-Packard accountants sued over Autonomy purchase (BBC 29 Nov 2012)
• US to probe Autonomy sale to Hewlett-Packard (BBC 27 Dec 2012)
• Autonomy’s Lynch defends record as HP confirms Federal probe (Reuters 28 Dec 2012)

Breaking down a 8.8$ million write off – from Musings on Markets blog (click to expand)

Aswath Damodaran’s Musings on Markets blog makes a strong case that even if HP is right this only accounts for $2.45 billion of the $8.8 billion write off – see HP’s Deal from Hell: The mark-it-up and write-it-down two-step.

The write off raises issues about the acquisition in terms of corporate strategy, leadership, corporate governance as well as the accuracy of Autonomy’s accounts.

Resources for more information:

Thomson One Banker - a deals module search will provide details of the deal: announced 18 Aug 2011, effective 3 Oct 2011, “UK – Hewlett-Packard Vision BV of the Netherlands, a unit of by Hewlett-Packard Co (HP),  completed the tender offer to acquire the entire share capital of Autonomy Corp PLC (Autonomy), a
Cambridge-based developer of infrastructure and information management software, for GBP 25.5 (USD 42.09)” [SDC deal number 2337968040]

Thomson Research - analysts reports - For example, on 23 Aug 2011 Marc Geall of Deutsche Bank published a report on Autonomy Corp plc. This reported a change of recommendation to sell, since the shares were GDP 24.86 almost fully valuing the HP offer, and substantially higher that Deutsche Bank’s fundamental target price of GBP 17.50.

Business Source Premier (EBSCO): - several trade journals with articles on the HP aquisition of Autonomy. For example,

Forbes.com (2012) ‘With Autonomy, H-P Bought An Old-Fashioned Accounting Scandal. Here’s How It Worked’ Forbes.Com, (November 20, 2012):p. 39, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 11 January 2013.

Manchester Business Answers 24/7 FAQ:

Where do I find info on Mergers and Acquisitions? and

mergers_and_aquistions tag.

‘Private Empire:…’ wins the 2012 FT Business Book of the Year award

“Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power” by Steve Coll has won the prestigious Financial Times and Goldman Sachs Business Book of the Year Award for 2012.

Drawing on over 400 interviews, Steve Coll investigates the notoriously mysterious ExxonMobil Corporation and the secrets of the oil industry

You may also be interested in the previous winners of the award listed below:

• 2011: “Poor Economics” – Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo
• 2010: “Fault Lines” – Raghuram Rajan
• 2009: “Lords of Finance– Liaquat Ahamed
• 2008: “When Markets Collide” – Mohamed El-Erian
• 2007: “The Last Tycoons” – William Cohan
• 2006: “China Shakes the World” – James Kynge
• 2005: “The World is Flat” – Thomas Friedman

Previous posts:

‘Poor Economics’ wins the 2011 FT Business Book of the Year award

“Fault Lines” wins the 2010 Financial Times Business Book of the Year Award

Referencing databases (Bloomberg, Datastream etc.)

Based on our popular “Guide to citing references guide (2012)” here are recommendations for citing specialist company and financial databases.

Harvard Style Referencing is now available as part of the Guide to Referencing at the University of Manchester. [12 Jan 2013]

Databases

Bloomberg. (2012) Bloomberg Professional. [Online]. Available at: Subscription Service (Accessed: 30 November 2012)

CRSP/Compustat Merged. (2012) CRSP/Compustat Merged. Center for Research in Security Prices. [Online]. Available at: WRDS  http://wrds-web.wharton.upenn.edu/wrds/ (Accessed: 14 November 2012)

Datastream. (2012) Thomson Reuters Datastream. [Online]. Available at: Subscription Service (Accessed: November 2012)

Fame, (2012) Fame. Bureau van Dijk. [Online]. Available at: http://fame2.bvdep.com/  (Accessed: 19 November 2012)

Orbis, (2012) Orbis. Bureau van Dijk. [Online]. Available at: https://orbis2.bvdep.com/  (Accessed: 19 November 2012)

SDC Platinum. (2012) SDC Platinum. Thomson Reuters. [Online]. Available at: Subscription Service (Accessed: November 2012)

Thomson One Banker. (2012) Thomson One Banker. Thomson Reuters. [Online]. Available at: http://banker.thomsonib.com/  (Accessed: 19 November 2012)

Reports/Data within a Database

Bloomberg. (2012) “Company information for Rolls Royce PLC”, Bloomberg Professional. [Online]. Available at: Bloomberg Subscription Service (Accessed: 19 November 2012)

Mintel. (2009) Books – UK – December 2009, Market Research Report. [Online]. Available at : http://reports.mintel.com/sinatra/reports/display/id=395633 (Accessed: 05 January 2010).

Meltz, M. A., Lewis, D. & Lovell, N. (2009). [J.P. Morgan report on] The McGraw-Hill Companies – 07 Dec 2009. Thomson Research Investment Research Collection Rpt. 15613728  [Online]. Available at: Thomson Research – http://research.thomsonib.com/ (Accessed: 05 January 2010).

Notes

If we consider a database as similar to an e-book then the first decision is whether you are citing the complete database or a separate identifiable part of the database.

Where a company has several databases it is easier for the reader if you use the database name as the author. This means that the in-text citation will be (Datastream, 2012) rather than (Thomson Reuters, 2012a) and the reader has to go to the list of references to find which Thomson Reuters database you are citing.

For additonal information about referencing in general, there is a Referencing Tab in the Business and Management subject guide.

You can also browse the other posts in the referencing category.

Datastream Workbook

Datastream (Thomson Reuters) is a Specialist Financial Database.     

Within the Eddie Davies and Precinct libraries there are copies of a ‘Datastream Workbook’, designed to assist students using Datastream.

This has been updated with an additional section under ‘Company Information – Quick Reference’, entitled:  ‘Importing Companies from External Database Search’.

When undertaking research for a dissertation, large numbers of companies can be generated from a database search. Often further analysis is required using another database, such as Datastream. A common company identifier available from database searches is the ISIN (International Security Identification Number) code. For example, GB0008847096 represents Tesco PLC.

Using the Datastream Advance For office (AFO) Excel Add-In, results [ISIN codes] from an external database search can be imported into an Excel sheet (copy and paste) and then the ‘Create List (From Range)’ function can be used to create a List for further analysis. This List can be stored locally or uploaded to the Thomson Reuters Mainframe for access and use in a ‘Static’ or ‘Time Series’ request (search).

The updated Datastream Workbook is available at the Eddie Davies Library and Precinct Library.

Datastream is available to use by current students and staff of the University of Manchester at the Eddie Davies and Precinct libraries.

“FileBrowser” App Review- Access your PC from your Mobile Device

Do you sometimes wish you could access files and drives from your home or work computer to view on your iPad or iPhone?

The excellent “FileBrowser” app enables you to browse through all the folders and files in your Mac or PC remotely. You can open compatible file types in the app itself or save them and send them to other compatible apps like “Dropbox” all that is required to complete the task is to install the relevant VPN software.    

“FileBrowser” is a universal app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad. The good thing about this app is you won’t have to install any additional software on your computer. You will only have to enable the appropriate network settings in your computer (e.g. File Sharing on the Mac), and then enter your username and password to login to your computer.

Aside from Mac and Windows, FileBrowser can also give you access to Linux systems and NAS drives. The app is pretty easy to setup for systems on your local network. To gain entry into your computer over the internet you’ll have to do so through using a VPN.

With File Browser, you can view PDF files and photo slideshows from your computer, open text documents, email attachments, and stream compatible movies and music over Wi-Fi. Should FileBrowser be unable to handle certain file types, you can use the “Open in” function to use the files in another compatible app. FileBrowser will then download the file into your device.

“FileBrowser” does everything it says and works well and also offers security features, such as a password lock.

This is an app that will come in very handy for anyone who works with a computer which is, quite likely, almost everyone who owns an iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad. The app isn’t free but will certainly be of use when on the go.

Essential Financial Toolkit

The book The Essential Financial Toolkit: everything you always wanted to know about finance but were afraid to ask by Javier Estrada of IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain is noteworthy because it is written with executive MBA participants in mind.

The book aims to bring those without training in finance up to speed in essential topics.

To paraphrase the book’s preface the books 10 chapters aim to be: short, engaging, easy to read, illustrated with real data, and to answer many of the questions executives would ask. The book aims to cover most essential topics: mean returns, volatility, correlation, beta, P/Es, yields, NPV (Net Present Value) and IRR (Internal Rate of Return). There is also an appendix of useful Excel Commands.

For more details:

Essential Financial Toolkit on Javier Estrada’s web pages.