The story behind the merger of EDGAR Online and UBmatrix

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:58:28 -0400

When EDGAR Online and UBmatrix officially merge, the winners are everyone and anyone who deals with business data – whether they create it, report it, or analyze it. At least that’s how we saw it, when we made the decision to combine the two companies and create a global giant in the financial information industry, [...]

Mutual funds to report in XBRL for easier analysis of risk/return

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:57:21 -0400

Securities and Exchange Commission staff has made the replay available of a public seminar to help mutual funds comply with new rules that require them to file data in the risk/return summary section of the prospectus using XBRL. The enhanced data gives investors quicker access to the data they want in a format that is [...]

Hold the Champagne: XBRL mysteriously removed from financial reform bill

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:54:19 -0400

In the middle of toasting itself for a decade of hard work, the XBRL community learned that U.S. Senators inexplicably cut a data transparency amendment out of the financial overhaul bill. What happened? Who doesn’t want more transparency in government’s spending? Perhaps it was a classic problem of the House versus the Senate, or perhaps it was [...]

QUICK QUIZ: Who cut out the free beer retiree benefit?

Tue, 13 Jul 2010 19:37:58 -0400

At 6:00 PM on the Friday, beginning the summer holiday weekend, we impulsively typed “free beer” in the search box of our EDGAR Pro application. Surprise! Guess which beer manufacturer decided to amend certain postretirement benefits, specifically the amount of free beer the former employees could enjoy? Anheuser-Busch Inbev S.A. Beer [...]

Wondering what the semantic web is?

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:07:48 -0400

Here’s a great little video that explains how the web is changing into something called the semantic web. You may have heard the word, but not know what it means. And that is exactly how search engines work today: they get the keyword, but they don’t know what it means. The semantic web is smarter: [...]

New white paper explores impact on financial and business systems of converging US GAAP and IFRS for company reports

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:06:18 -0400

Attention financial and IT managers: If you want to see what your future holds when the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission starts converging the U.S. GAAP with IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards), read this new white paper from the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants). It explores the IT implications for a company converting [...]

The Relentless Revolution: A History of Capitalism

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:03:29 -0400

Why did the Dutch, who owned no gold or silver mines, manage to acquire more wealth than, Spain, which despite all the treasure amassed from conquering the New World, ended up with inflation and near bankruptcy? Arguing that capitalism is a cultural—rather than purely economic—phenomenon, historian Joyce Appleby traces the strange beginnings of what we [...]

Please contact me immediately!

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:02:34 -0400

We assume when people sign up online for our newsletter that they want to learn more about business data and our products. But sometimes people fill out the subscription form in a way that makes us laugh. One hopeful entrepreneur apparently confused Nasdaq with Nascar and in the “How can we assist you” field of [...]

June Quick Quiz:

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 17:00:16 -0400

Which country just last Sunday, June 6, announced it will get on board with XBRL? Iraq South Africa United Arab Emirates Finland China Check your answers! The answer is 3, United Arab Emirates. As reported in the country’s National newspaper Sunday, XBRL will be implemented by Abu Dhabi’s stock exchange by the end of the year. The company, called the Abu [...]

Economist executed for having correct theory

Wed, 19 May 2010 11:28:19 -0400

On September 17, 1938, Russian economist Nikolai Kondratieff was executed by a firing squad during Stalin’s Great Purge. His crime? Not agreeing with the heads of state that while capitalism has had built-in tensions that would inevitably create costly, socially damaging down waves, communism was not subject to the same corrections or recessions. Worse, his [...]