Dirt Diggers Digest

Dirt Diggers Digest and Earlier Corporate Research Project Online Publications

The Dirt Diggers Digest is a blog written by Corporate Research Project Director Phil Mattera about current controversies over corporate behavior along with tips on corporate research sources and techniques. The latest posts can be seen at the right side of this page; the full site is at dirtdiggersdigest.org. The Digest is also available via its Facebook page.

Prior to the launch of the blog in March 2008, the Corporate Research Project issued two separate online publications: the bimonthly Corporate Research E-Letter (essays on corporate misbehavior) and the old Dirt Diggers Digest (covering trends in disclosure and new info sources for corporate researchers). These were replaced by the blog, but their archives are preserved on this site:


Archive of the Corporate Research E-Letter
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Archive of the pre-blog Dirt Diggers Digest

Alphabetical index of info sources discussed in the pre-blog Dirt Diggers Digest

 

Archive of the Corporate Research E-Letter

No. 69, January-February 2008
Is Corporate Greenwashing Headed for a Fall?

No. 68, November-December 2007
The New Business Watergate: Prosecution of International Corporate Bribery is On The Rise

No. 67, September-October 2007
Rolling Back Property Tax Payments: How Wal-Mart Short-Changes Schools and other Public Services by Challenging Its Property Assessments

No. 66, July-August 2007
Avoiding the Wal-Martization of Healthcare

No. 65, May-June 2007
Is Big Business Buying Out the Environmental Movement?

No. 64, March-April 2007
Private Inequity: How Mammoth Buyouts are Changing Business for the Worse

No. 63, January-February 2007
Saving Private Insurance:The Dubious Mission of Healthcare Reform

No. 62, November-December 2006
Taking a Bite Out of Enforcement:The Drive to Weaken Federal Oversight of Big Business

No. 61, September-October 2006
Uncharitable Charities: Non-Profit Hospitals Under Fire for Mistreating the Uninsured

No. 60, July-August 2006
Is Wal-Mart Going Soft? The Giant Retailer Embraces Style and Social Responsibility--Up to a Point

No. 59, May-June 2006
Selective Business Ethics: How Wal-Mart and Other Large Corporations Pick and Choose When to Behave Properly

No. 58, March-April 2006
Gone South: Decline & Renewal in the U.S. Auto Industry

No. 57, January-February 2006
The New Raiders: Hedge Funds Take On Corporate America

No. 56, November-December 2005
Broadband Socialism? The Rise of Local Government-Sponsored Wireless Internet Access

No. 55, September-October 2005
Disaster As Relief: How Wal-Mart Used Hurricane Katrina to Repair Its Image

No. 54, July-August 2005
Fighting Chains Stores Past and Present: The Roots of the Campaign Against Wal-Mart

No. 53, May-June 2005
Broken Promises: The Business Assault on "Legacy Costs"

No. 52, March-April 2005
"All we want to do is grow": Wal-Mart Looks for New Worlds to Conquer

No. 51, January-February 2005
The Board Seat Becomes a Hot Seat: New Liability Risks for Corporate Directors

No. 50, November-December 2004
Modern-Day Snake Oil?The Vioxx Scandal and the Crisis of Drug Safety

No. 49, September-October 2004
A Kleptocrat in the Boardroom? Conrad Black and the Looting of Hollinger International

No. 48, August 2004
Farewell to the Good Jobs: Offshore Outsourcing Goes Upscale

No. 47, May-June-July 2004
Monsanto and Genetically Engineered Crops: The Battle Continues

No. 46, April 2004
Capital Flight: How U.S. Investment Funds are Bankrolling Offshore Outsourcing

No. 45, March 2004
What's the Beef? Consolidation and Market Manipulation in the Beef Packing Industry

No. 44, February 2004
Cable is King: Behind Comcast's Bid for Disney

No. 43, January 2004
The Scandal in Home Mortgage Financing: A Look at Freddie Mac

No. 42, December 2003
Cost Cutters or Con Artists? Pharmacy Benefit Managers Under Fire

No. 41, November 2003
Lack of Mutual Interest: The Betrayal of Shareholder Trust by the Mutual Funds Industry

No. 40, October 2003
Offshore Drilling for Cheap Labor: Foreign Outsourcing Hits the U.S. White-Collar Workforce

No. 39, September 2003
Who Let the Lights Go Out? A Look at the U.S. Electric Power System

No. 38, August 2003
Retirement Rip-Off: Corporate America's Campaign to Reduce its Pension Costs

No. 37, July 2003
Running Out of Options: Which Way for Corporate America?

No. 36, June 2003
Confronting Company Policy: The Growing Power of Shareholder Activism

No. 35, May 2003
Media Diversity At Risk: The FCC's Plan to Weaken Ownership Rules

No. 34, April 2003
Presenting Arms: The Iraqi War & the U.S. Weapons Industry

EXTRA - April 3, 2003
Postwar Iraq: A Showcase for Privatization?

EXTRA - March 25, 2003
The Next Wave of Invaders: U.S. Hires Anti-Union Company to Run Port in Iraq

No. 33, March 2003
Privatizing the Spoils of War: Paying Companies to Rebuild Post-Invasion Iraq

No. 32, February 2003
Problematic Protection: The Controversy Over the Anthrax Vaccine and Its Producer

No. 31, January 2003
Corporate Code Blue? The Crisis of the For-Profit Hospital Industry

No. 30, December 2002
Business on the Battlefield: The Role of Private Military Companies

No. 29, November 2002
Strategic Errors: The Crisis in Management Consulting

No. 28, October 2002
Corporate Governance Reform After Enron: The Good, The Bad And The Ineffectual

No. 27, September 2002
The Buck Doesn't Stop Here:The Spread of Limited Liability Companies

No. 26, July-August 2002
Debt Trap: The Credit Industry's Campaign to "Reform" the Personal Bankruptcy Laws

No. 25, June 2002
Duty Free: U.S. Corporations Move Their Legal Headquarters to Bermuda to Avoid Paying Federal Taxes

No. 24, May 2002
Profits, Profits Everywhere ? And Soon Not a Drop to Drink: Privatization of Water

No. 23, April 2002
Rigged Research: Wall Street Stock Analysts Under Fire

No. 22, March 2002
Bidding for Economic Development: The Role of Site Location Consultants

No. 21, February 2002
Lack of Accountability: The Enron/Arthur Andersen Scandal and the Future of the Accounting Business

No. 20, January 2002
Barriers to Accountability: Lessons from the Enron Meltdown

No. 19, December 2001
Big Steel on Steroids:  An Industry Pushes for Federal Aid and Permission to Create a Mega-Producer

No. 18, November 2001
You're In Good Hands With Uncle Sam: Federal Intervention In The Insurance Industry

No. 17, October 2001
Economic Development for the People: Making Corporations and Governments Accountable

No. 16, September 2001
The Big Bailout: Questions About Federal Aid for the Airline Industry and the Takeover of Airport Security

No. 15, August 2001
Footprints of the Rich and Famous: A Guide to Backgrounding Individual Executives and Directors

No. 14, July 2001
Black Sludge and Blackouts: The Coal Industry Takes Center Stage

No. 13, June 2001
Back from the Dead: The Resurgence of the Nuclear Power Industry

No. 12, May 2001
Energy Crisis: From the Golden State to the Region

No. 11, April 2001
Energy Deregulation: Lessons from the Golden State

No. 10, March 2001
The Return of Windfall Profits: An Overview of the Oil Industry

No. 9, February 2001
The Free-for-All in Financial Services: An Overview of The Banking Industry

No.8, January 2001
A Lot to Swallow: An Overview of the Food Industry

No.7, December 2000
Monitoring the Pill Pushers: An Overview of the Global Pharmaceutical Industry

No.6, November 2000
Piercing the Veil: How to Gather Information About Privately Held Companies

No.5, October 2000
Investigating the Non-Profit Sector

No.4, September 2000
Uncovering the Corporate Rap Sheet: How to Learn About a Company's Brushes with the Law

No.3, August 2000
Corporate Boards of Directors: Waking Up the "Watchdogs"

No.2, July 2000
Institutional Investors: Why They're Important and How to Find Information About Their Holdings

No.1, June 2000
Introducing the Project

 

Pre-blog Dirt Diggers Digest Archive

No. 82 - January 15, 2008

No. 81- November 15, 2007

No. 80 - September 27, 2007

No. 79 - August 15, 2007

No. 78 - July 2, 2007

No. 77 - May 22, 2007

No. 76 - April 13, 2007

No. 75 - March 5, 2007

No. 74 - January 18, 2007

No. 73 - December 4, 2006

No. 72 - October 20, 2006

No. 71 - September 7, 2006

No. 70 - July 10, 2006

No. 69 - May 31, 2006

No. 68 - April 19, 2006

No. 67 - March 9, 2006

No. 66 - February 1, 2006

No. 65 - December 19, 2005

No. 64 - November 10, 2005

No. 63 - September 19, 2005

No. 62 - July 1, 2005

No. 61 - May 26, 2005

No. 60 - April 18, 2005

No. 59 - March 7, 2005

No. 58 - January 24, 2005

No. 57 - December 8, 2004

No. 56 - October 25, 2004

No. 55 - September 3, 2004

No. 54 - July 21, 2004

No. 53 - June 18, 2004

No. 52 - May 17, 2004

No. 51 - April 15, 2004

No. 50 - March 18, 2004

No. 49 - February 24, 2004

No. 48 - February 2, 2004

No. 47 - January 13, 2004

No. 46 - December 12, 2003

No. 45 - November 26, 2003

No. 44 - November 5, 2003

No. 43 - October 15, 2003

No. 42 - September 16, 2003

No. 41 - August 25, 2003

No. 40 - July 29, 2003

No. 39 - July 11, 2003

No. 38 - June 25, 2003

No. 37 - June 10, 2003

No. 36 - May 28, 2003

No. 35 - May 14, 2003

No. 34 - April 30, 2003

No. 33 - April 15, 2003

No. 32 - April 1, 2003

No. 31 - March 18, 2003

No. 30- March 3, 2003

No. 29 - February 14, 2003

No. 28 - January 31, 2003

No. 27 - January 21, 2003

No. 26 - December 17, 2002

No. 25 - December 4, 2002

No. 24 - November 22, 2002

No. 23 - November 14, 2002

No. 22 - November 5, 2002

No. 21 - October 25, 2002

No. 20 - October 11, 2002

No. 19 - September 26, 2002

No. 18 - September 17, 2002

No. 17 - August 30, 2002

No. 16 - August 16, 2002

No. 15 - August 12, 2002

No. 14 - August 1, 2002

No. 13 - July 25, 2002

No. 12 - July 15, 2002

No. 11 - July 3, 2002

No. 10 - June 27, 2002

No. 9 - June 20, 2002

No. 8 - June 17, 2002

No. 7 - June 10, 2002

No. 6 - May 31, 2002

No. 5 - May 22, 2002

No. 4 - May 14, 2002

No. 3 - May 7, 2002

No. 2 - May 1, 2002

No. 1 - April 26, 2002