New database: ASSET4 ESG

Yesterday a new database became available which has infomation on corporate social responsibility and sustainability. The database provides environmental, social and governance (ESG) information based on 250+ key performance indicators (KPIs) and 750+ individual data points along with their original data sources. Asset 4 ESG covers +4500 listed companies including the S&P 500, Russell 1000, MSCI Europe, FTSE 250, ASX 300, the MSCI World Index and the 250 MSCI emerging markets companies. For a more comprehensive overview of the new database you can read the brochure.

Looking up data in ASSET4 ESG can be done using the Datastream software on computers on the Vrije Universiteit campus. The Datastream software support is provided by the Data Center of the university library. Online support is available through the Data Center course in Blackboard.

Opening hours Data Center back to normal !

The opening hours of the Data Center helpdesk temporarily changed during October because of the holidays. Starting next week (from 3 November) the opening hours of the Data Center will be again as they were:

• Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 13:00 and 16:00 pm
  
  
• The Data Center Helpdesk will be closed on Thursdays!

The information and support of financial and socio/economic databases through the Data enter blackboard course is available at all times (except for during maintenance).

Data Center helpdesk in week 16

The Data Center helpdesk is closed on Wednesday 17 April. The Opening hours on Thursday 18 April remain the same, but Friday 19 April the helpdesk will be open later than usual. To summarize:

• Wednesday 17 April: closed

• Thursday 18 April: open from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm

• Friday 19 April: open from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm.

News on financial databases

New blog entries have been made available on different subjects. Most of these deal with financial databases available to the personnel and students at the Vrije Universiteit. Most deal with databases and some of the subjects deal with handling data in Excel. Some of the latest blog entries in February concern: IPO data and quality, Combining searches in SDC Platinum, Accounting standards & Datastream, Using the Excel function Vlookup, Datastream & ratings, Auditor data in databases, Bankruptcy information in databases, and Index constituents in databases.

Data Center opening hours 8 & 15 February

This week and next week the Data Center help desk will be open on Fridays between 2:00 pm and 4:00 pm. The opening hours on Wednesday and Thursday remain the same. To summarize:

• Week 6:
  • Wednesday 6 February: open from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Thursday 7 February: open from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Friday 8 February: open from 2:00 am to 4:00 pm

• Week 7:
  • Wednesday 13 February: open from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Thursday 14 February: open from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
  • Friday 15 February: open from 2:00 am to 4:00 pm

The Data Center Team.

Opening hours Data Center helpdesk

The Data Center helpdesk will be open earlier than usual on Friday 25 January: between 10:00 and 12:00 am. The opening hours on Wednesday and Thursday remain the same. To summarize:

• Wednesday 23 January: open from 1:00 pm to 16:00 pm
• Thursday 24 January: open from 1:00 pm to 16:00 pm
• Friday 25 January: open from 10:00 am to 12:00 am.

The data Center team.

Helpdesk Data Center on Wednesday 16 January

Due to the reorganization of the Library and the meeting of the Employees Council (Ondernemingsraad) the helpdesk will start and close earlier this Wednesday. This means that the helpdesk will be open on Wednesday from 12:00 to 14:30 pm.

The Data Center Team

Changes in opening hours Data Center helpdesk

The Data Center helpdesk is closed on Wednesday 19 December. Instead the helpdesk will be open on Tuesday 18 December from 13:00 - 16:00 pm. The Opening hours on Thursday and Friday remain the same. To summarize:

• Tuesday 18 December: Helpdesk open from 1:00 pm to 16:00 pm
• Wednesday 19 December: Helpdesk closed
• Thursday 20 December: Helpdesk open from 1:00 pm to 16:00 pm
• Friday 21 December: Helpdesk open from 1:00 pm to 15:00 pm.

Changes in the first week of January 2013:

The Data Center helpdesk is closed on Wednesday 2 January and Friday 4 January. On Thursday the opening hours of the helpdesk will be as usual. To summarize:

• Wednesday 2 January: Helpdesk closed
• Thursday 3 January: Helpdesk open from 1:00 pm to 16:00 pm
• Friday 4 January: Helpdesk closed.

We wish you happy holidays and a great New Year!

The data Center team.

Data Center courses 2012 - 2013

This year the Data Center will provide the following courses:

• Meet the Data Center: Live introduction on the Data Center service. Short introduction of staff, databases, media, tutorials, statistics and services of the Data Center.
• Datastream: Presentation of and exercises in the basic functions and options for Datastream. This includes basic searches, working with lists and Requests Tables. Datastream is a database with financial data from stock exchanges, annual reports as well as economics country data.
• SDC Platinum: Live presentation of the basic functions and options for using SDC. This includes some basic searches and download examples (in English). SDC Platinum is an interface that offers access to databases on Mergers & Acquisitions, Global New Issues, and Venture Capital.

Specific information on the courses (location, dates, times, etc.) is made available through the Black board course of the Data Center. Signing up is mandatory and will be possible as soon as these courses have become available through the agenda of the libary website.

Data Center opening hours 10-12 October

The opening hours of the Data Center helpdesk will deviate from the usual opening hours on Thursday 11 October and Friday 12 October. Overview for the week:

• Wednesday 10 October: between 13:00 pm and 1600 pm
• Thursday 11 October: from 13:00 pm to 15:00 pm
• Friday 12 October: between 13:00 and 16:00 pm.

The data Center team.

Data Center news

1) FactSet Trial (WRDS)
Through the WRDS platform we have temporary trial access to a limited data range for 100 of the largest global companies in FactSet. The trial only includes Fundamentals and Ownership data. The trial period is: September 18 - October 18, 2012. Background information is available on the FacSet website:

• Fundamentals
• Ownership
• Full FactSet database range.

The WRDS portal is available through the library website.

2) Helpdesk
The Data Center helpdesk is closed on Wednesday 26 September. On Friday 28 September the Helpdesk will be open longer than usual: from 1:00 pm to 4:00 pm. The Opening hours on Thursday remain the same. To summarize:

• Wednesday 26 September: Helpdesk closed
• Thursday 27 September & Friday 28 September: Helpdesk open from 1:00 pm to 16:00 pm.

The Data Center team.

Bankscope presentations

This week two presentations about the new database Bankscope will be given by the producer Bureau van Dijk. Bankscope contains information on banks across the globe. You can use it to research individual banks and find banks with specific profiles. This edition of Bankscope covers the last 8 years and only the OECD countries. The information on banks includes: Detailed annual financials (statements are in multiple formats including a new universal format to compare banks globally), Interim data & Ownership information.
The presentations include a general introduction on the content, some basic searches, and working with lists and reports. There is also the opportunity to ask questions about the content or on how to search for and download data.

- First presentation on Thursday, 11:00 - 12:00 at the MediaXperience (1A-01K)
- Second presentation on Friday, 11:00 - 12:00 at the MediaXperience (1A-01J).

Signing up for a presentation is required because there is a limit to the number of people who can participate! You can sign up through the library website: the (course) agenda can be used to sign up for a presentation.

The Data Center Team.

LexisNexis changes on 6 September

The e-Resource LexisNexis contains articles from all the major national and international newspapers, newswires and several journals. In addition the e-Resource has many company reports. The new LexisNexis academic website will become available on 6 September.

The most important changes are:
- Doing a search in individual news sources will be easier
- Doing a search in your own selection of sources will be less complicated
- It is easier to use specific individual search options of news sources
- The download limit for articles / reports will be increased from 25 to 200
- A new save option is now included for citation software. A similar option will be included later for users of Endnote and Reference Manager.

The current website of LexisNexis will remain available until 31 December 2011.
After this date only the new website will be available.

The Data Center Team

Data Center closed during summer

Between 16 July and 7 August the helpdesk of the Data Center will be closed. After 7 August we will reply to any emails that were sent during this period as soon as possible. If there are any problems accessing the databases you can contact the library helpdesk through the website.

The Data Center Team.

Reuters interviews dr. S.A. Borovkova !

Recently Reuters interviewed dr. S.A. Borovkova on her research into Commodity futures & derivatives. Below you find a link to the interview.

Watch the Interview

The main source of information on commodities and futures & options available at the VU University is the database Datastream. This database can be used by researchers if the software is installed on their computer (contact the IT department if you want to arrange this). Datastream is available for students on computers in the library on the 3rd and 4th floor and in computer rooms in the VU Campus main building (1st, 5th and 7th floor, B-wing).

Instruction videos and help information on Datastream is available in the Blackboard course of the Data Center in the section Company Info.

The Data Center Team

Data Center opening hours change!

The Data Center of the university library provides help and support to students as well as teachers and researchers in finding economic and financial data. When you want to ask questions or if you need advice you can visit the Data Center during opening hours. At those times the Data Center personnel is available for consultation without previous appointment.

Based on customer feedback the decision has been made to change the current opening hours to include friday afternoons. Starting April 1 the Data Center will be open at the following hours:

- Wednesday & Thursday: 13:00 - 16:00

- Friday: 13:00 - 15:00.

Location: Main building VU, room 3B-04 (3rd floor).

Data Center news

1) Data Center closed
* Next week the helpdesk is closed on Wednesday and open only on Thursday 16 December between 12:00 and 16:00.

* We will also be closed for the holidays from 17 December 2010 until 5 January 2011. The helpdesk is available again on Thursday 6 January (12:00-16:00). We wish you a good Christmas and a happy New Year!

2) New Courses in 2011
New courses for financial databases have been scheduled for the period January - June 2011. This includes practical courses in the use of Datastream and SDC Platinum. If you are interested and want to sign up you can find the courses in the agenda on the library website. (http://www.ubvu.vu.nl >news, agenda > agenda )

3) ArcGIS
On the computers in the Data Center the software ArcGIS is available. If you want to practice using it in combination with time series data from the website of the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics you can do so in opening hours of Data Center. Information on ArcGIS is available in the Data Center Blackboard course via the statistics database StatLine (CBS) section.

Data Center developments !

1) New Courses
Starting from September new courses have been planned for financial databases this year. This includes practical courses in the use of Datastream and SDC Platinum. If you are interested and want to sign up you can find the courses in the agenda on the library website.

2) Blackboard
At the end of September the Data Center course in Blackboard will be moving to a new location. People who are enrolled in the course at that time will stay enrolled and do not have to do anything. The relocation of the course means, however, that links to this course in Blackboard will have to be updated. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

3) ArcGIS
On the computers in the Data Center the software ArcGIS is now available. If you want to practice using it in combination with time series data from the website of the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics you can do so. Information on ArcGIS is available in the Blackboard course of the Data Center via the statistics database StatLine (CBS).

The Data Center Team

New free database: UN Comtrade

A new database has been added to the e-Resources: the United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UN Comtrade). It contains detailed imports and exports statistics reported by statistical authorities of close to 200 countries or areas. It concerns annual trade data from 1962-present. More than 5000 different products are covered. You need to register to get access to the database. Access to the data is available only for the parts that are free of charge!

If you have any questions about UN Comtrade you can send an email to the Data Center or you can call us at 020-598 5166.

Wharton maintenance problems probably gone

Today the problems that were caused by the maintenance on the Wharton servers appear to be largely gone. I have submitted some queries and the search results were displayed after more or less the regular amount of time.

Let's hope that the maintenance was successful and the Wharton portal remains operational at it's usual speed. If problems return or new search problems appear please do not hesitate to contact the Data Center Team.

You can send an email to the Data Center or you can call us at 020-598 5166.