5 Great Sites for Oil & Gas Research

According to the American Petroleum Institute, the Oil & Gas Industry represents about 7.5% of our GDP.  And just try turning on your television without hearing a story about rising gas prices, oil spills, oil shortages, drill or don't drill. It can be a bit overwhelming. Spend even a week doing business research and you'll likely be asked at least one question about the Oil & Gas Industry. Luckily, there are endless places to turn for free resources. Here are five that we've found to be fountains (wells? tanks?) of information: 1. The U.S. Energy Information Administration--Here you'll find crude oil spot prices (current & historic back to 1986), weekly gas prices by region, U.S. production of oil all the way back to 1920 and monthly imports of crude oil by country . They also publish This Week in Petroleum which comes out every Wednesday.

2. The American Petroleum Institute--The API is a trade association representing all aspects of the oil and gas industry from refiners to pipeline operators. The API collects, maintains and publishes "statistics and data on all aspects of U.S. industry operations, including supply and demand for various products, imports and exports, drilling activities and costs, and well completions."

3. Bakers Hughes--If you're looking for rig counts, Baker Hughes is the place to go. A rig count is the  "number of drilling rigs actively exploring for or developing oil or natural gas". Here you can find current and historic rigs counts all the way back to 1968.

4. Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries--OPEC publishes the Monthly Oil Market Report covering things like world oil supply & demand, commodity markets, world economy, the tanker market and the oil trade. This month's report is 72 pages and it's yours for the taking. You can get free reports back to 2001. They also have annual reports back to 2001 and a recent joint report  with World Bank, the OECD and the IEA.

5. Environmental Protection Agency--The EPA provides regulatory information for the petroleum sector. Here you can find laws, regulations and policies affecting the industry.

What If It Were My Home?

Ever wonder what your life would be like if you lived in France? Or Japan? Or Senegal? Then it's time to check out IfItWereMyHome.com.  Using data from sources like the CIA World Factbook and the World Health Organization, IfItWereMyHome shows you how living in the US compares with other countries. From the home page, I simply click on the country I want to compare and I can find out things like:

• If I lived in Australia, I'd live 3.48 years longer and spend 53.58% less on healthcare.
• If I lived in Portugal, I'd use 63.6% less electricity and make 53.02% less money.
• If I lived in Brazil, I'd make 78.02% less money and die 5.98 years sooner.

You can compare any two countries and find out all sorts of information on healthcare, employment, life expectancy, energy usage, class divide and family size. Each comparison also shows a map overlay so that you can see how much bigger or smaller that country is than your own.

Now when you're wondering if you should retire to someplace warmer, you can make sure that you're living longer and spending less on electricity when you get there!

Casual Friday: 5 of Our Favorite Burgers

While the origins of the hamburger can be traced back to 17th century Hamburg, Germany, this tasty, handheld meal owes its long-standing popularity to its development over the last two centuries on these shores. And the basic recipe - ground beef patty sandwiched between two bun halves - is still being tweaked today, thanks to creative chefs who recognize the enduring appeal of this most American of menu offerings. Great hamburgers can be found in nearly every city across the country. Here are a few that have caught this burger enthusiast's tastebuds over the past few years: 1. Garmisch Cheeseburger - Garmisch Lodge, Cable, Wisconsin. Nestled in the majestic northwoods of western Wisconsin, the Garmisch Lodge is found on the shores of beautiful Lake Namakogan. The lodge's Bierstube Eatery offers guests pristine views of the lake, as well as one of the greatest cheeseburgers you'll ever lay your hands on. Featuring a high-quality, half-pound, grilled-to-order patty, a sweet, fresh-baked bun, your choice of cheeses (bleu is my recommendation) and a host of potential add-ons, including carmelized onions, bacon and pickles, this northwoods treat is likely as good as you'll find, especially when you get it alongside an order of deep-fried Wisconsin cheese curds.

2. Rosebud Burger - Rosebud Steakhouse, Chicago, Illinois. There are a few better settings for devouring a delicious burger than a dark, wood-paneled, white-linen-tableclothed, old-school-Chicago dining room like the Rosebud. And there are few better burgers in the whole of these United States than the one you'll find there. Made from the highest-quality beef ground right there in the restaurant and served on a delicious pretzel bun, the Rosebud burger is a gargantuan achievement that weighs in at nearly a pound, so you're likely going to need one of the Rosebud's Chuck-Norris-ready steak knives in order to get this thing into your mouth. It's definitely worth the trouble though. Believe me.

3. Counter Burger - Counter Cafe, Austin, Texas. Texas-centric publication Texas Monthly ranked this burger second on their top burgers in a Texas list a couple of years ago, and for good reason. This juicy little miracle absolutely oozes with flavor, especially when it's paired with a slice of cheddar cheese and some grilled onions. Do yourself one better and get it with a side of sweet potato fries. I swear to god I'm getting hungry  just writing this.

4. Shack Burger - Shake Shack, New York, New York - Shake Shack may be a chain (there are a grand total of seven Shake Shacks, five of which are scattered throughout Manhattan), but the food there is as fresh-tasting as you'll find anywhere. The Shack Burger, which comes with American cheese, lettuce, tomato and the mysteriously delicious Shack Sauce is bound to please the snobbiest of burger connoisseurs, be they in the mood for a single or a double patty version. Cooked to a pleasant medium and, ideally, nestled alongside an order of hot n' gooey Cheese fries (and maybe a hand-spun caramel malt), it's the perfect way to take a bite out of the Big Apple.

5. Hudson New American Public House, Seattle, WA - Visitors to the  rainy paradise of Seattle, as well as longtime residents, are strongly advised to check out this recently-opened gastropub in the heart of the city's Maple Leaf neighborhood. In addition to an always excellent, rotating selection of beers and a fine, well-rounded menu, Hudson offers up a mighty tasty, plate-crowding, napkin-soaking burger that will likely hold its own against the other faves on your personal burger list. Served with pickled onions, romaine, tomato, pickles, whole grain mustard aioli and house fries, it becomes even more memorable once you add a couple of slices of Zoe's bacon, a slab of smoked  Tillamook Cheddar and a fried duck egg. Just try it for yourself and then try to tell me I'm wrong.

Professional Associations Spotlight: National Sporting Goods Association

Professional associations can be a great source of free information when you're doing business research. And nearly every industry or occupation you can think of has an association. Today we're taking a look at the National Sporting Goods Association. They've got a great site and they make it really easy by having a tab right at the top labeled "research".  Here you'll find several reports not only about consumer purchases, but also sports participation.

Using Snowboarding as our example, here are some facts you can find on the NSGA's page:

• In 2010, consumers are expected to spend $294 million on snowboarding equipment.
• Of the households surveyed, about 6.2% of them participated in snowboarding in 2009--a 5.7% increase over the previous year.
• Women represent about 30% of the snowboarders in the US.
• Snowboarding tops the charts for Sports with over a 15% Change in Participation since 1999 with an increase of 76.7%.

You can also find reports on Participation by 45-54 Year Olds, Youth Sports Participation and Participation by State. Who knew Kentuckians loved paintball so much? Or that the top participation sport in Texas was not football, but water skiing?

In addition to their research, the National Sporting Goods Association page also has directories, news and publications.

Got an association that's been a great resource for you? Tell us about it in the comments.

bizologie Favorite Apps: Simply Postcards

One of our new favorite apps is Simply Postcards. This app lets you "mail any photo as a real postcard, right from your mobile device".  Pure genius. We all love getting postcards in the mail, but sometimes sending them can be a hassle when you're away on vacation. Now all you have to do is snap and send. No shopping for postcards or tracking down stamps when you're in an unfamiliar city. And now instead of a pic of the Eiffel Tower, you can send a pic of YOU in front of the Eiffel Tower! All you do is write your message, enter the address and for about a dollar, you can send your picture anywhere in the US (International addresses are a bit more; around $2). Simply Postcards will print and stamp your postcard the day you create it and mail it the next day. You can also add fun borders to your card. They've got borders for all sorts of occasions like birthdays, thank yous, Valentine's Day, and Christmas. You'll also find general travel ones and one that makes your photo look like a Polaroid picture.

The app is free to download and is available for iPhone. Never fear Android users, their site says that the Android app is coming soon.

In the Market for Housing Data? No Shortage of Free Resources

Whether you're looking for new home sales, existing home sales, median prices or foreclosure information, there are several free resources to offer assistance when researching housing data. The US Census Bureau's Economic Indicators site has information on new home sales, building permits, Home Ownership Rates (HR), Rental Vacancy Rates (RVR) and Homeowner Vacancy Rates (HVR). They also have a page for New Residential Sales Index and as part of the 2011 Statistical Abstract, you can find Construction & Housing: Housing Sales providing such data as Price Indexes of New One-Family Houses Sold, by Region or Existing One-Family Homes Sold and Price by Region.

RealtyTrac provides statistics and trends for foreclosures across the country. You can find things like foreclosure activity counts, a national Foreclosure Rate Heat Map, foreclosure average prices and top foreclosure cities (1. Las Vegas 2. Chicago 3. Phoenix 4. Miami 5. Los Angeles).

The National Association of Realtors also provides housing statistics including things like Existing Home Sales, Pending Home Sales, Metropolitan Area Prices, State-Existing Home Sales and the Housing Affordability Index.

You can also find information specific to your own state. For instance, in Texas, the Texas Controller's Office publishes the Comptroller's Economic Outlook which includes housing statistics specific to Texas.  State Universities can be a wealth of information, as well. The Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University provides "Residential home sales, listings, price activity and affordability for over 40 Texas metropolitan MLS (Multiple Listing Service) areas."

Not only do these sites provide great information, several of them package it for you, as well. So if you're looking for a pre-made PDF chart or an Excel sheet with all the data, sometimes they've done the work for you. Got other housing data sites you love? Tell us about them in the comments.

How are folks spending their money?

Need stats on how consumers are spending their hard earned dollars?  Or are you just curious how your personal spending stacks up to your neighbors? Bundle is the free resource that provides spending and saving data gathered from over 20 million Americans. The Everybody's Money feature lets you filter by income, age, household status, city (even down to the zip code level). You see bubbles for broad areas of spending and then Go Deep for more of a breakdown. Under Food & Drink you can see dining out spending separate from grocery store spending. Bundle even provides you with the names of the merchants most used by your select demographic for that area of spending. Then they give you monthly spend and even average purchase price!

How do they do it? The largest portion of the juicy information comes from anonymous and aggregated customer spending data from Citi and other third party providers. It is even updated quarterly so that you can see seasonal spending and spot trends early. Not only is it amazing data, it is also easy to use, and really pretty.

Mad Men & Wolfram Alpha

I've been rewatching  Mad Men Season Two recently and thinking about salaries and what it takes to live in NYC.  In one episode, I believe it's Peter who says he makes $75/week. Of course, the Business Librarian in me kicked in and I had to know what that meant, exactly. "How much is that?" "Can you afford a NYC apartment on $75/week?"  Wolfram Alpha to the rescue. Peter's salary comes out to about $3900/year in 1960 or $29,146 in 2011. Which would explain why they need Trudy's parents' help with the purchase. Harry gets a raise in season two: $225/week. This comes out to $11,700/year in 1960 or $87,438.52 in 2011. You can try out the Historic Salary Calculator below, or make your own, here. Wolfram Alpha has lots of other tools helpful for business research like stock data, foreign currency exchange and income tax estimates.  You can type in the names of a couple of companies and Wolfram Alpha will create a chart comparing things like stock prices, number of employees and revenue.  Need calculations on-the-go? Download their app available for iPhone & Android for $1.99.