Table
of Contents
INTRODUCTION
LOGIN PAGE
DIRECTOR OF
RESEARCH INFORMATION PAGE
ANALYST
INFORMATION PAGE
COMPANY
INFORMATION PAGE
SUBMITTING
REQUESTS
REQUEST HISTORY
SUMMARY PAGE
REQUEST FEEDBACK
METHODOLOGY
COMPANIES BY
INDUSTRY
RECENT CHANGES TO THE WSJ BOTS SURVEY
What is StatCheck?
StatCheck is a data verification tool designed to give analysts and
Directors of Research access to their historical recommendations and coverage
data, as recorded by Thomson First Call, as well as a mechanism to request
changes to this data. Additionally, this
data will be included in the calculations for The Wall Street Journal 2008 Best
on the Street Analysts Survey. StatCheck gives contributing analysts a voice in the
authenticity of the rankings results.
What if I have questions on how to use StatCheck or general questions regarding the WSJ Analysts
Survey?
You may contact Thomson First Call at 800-778-6864
or email wsjsurvey@thomson.com
for any questions concerning the usability of the application or with any
questions regarding The Wall Street Journal 2008 Best
on the Street Analysts Survey.
What does the data on the Website
represent?
The data represents analyst coverage and
recommendations data applicable to calendar year 2007.
How often is the data updated?
The data is updated on a
nightly basis. Some requests may
however, take multiple days to research and process.
How will I
know when my request is processed?
The status of each request will continually be
available on StatCheck, within the Request History
Summary section.
What is the URL?
The StatCheck tool is
accessible over the Internet at www.statcheck.firstcall.com
or via the www.thomson.com/financial
product menu.
Disclaimer Information:
By logging in to StatCheck,
the user agrees to the disclaimer viewed on the login page. The user is then brought
to an information page depending on whether the user is an Analyst or a
Director of Research.
What if I
forget my username or password?
You may click the link on the login page, which
will ask you to enter either your username or your email address. Upon verification of either entry, Thomson
First Call will email you your username and password. Please note that this only works if Thomson
First Call has your correct email address on file.
What if I
still experience login difficulty?
You may contact Thomson First Call at 800-778-6864
or email wsjsurvey@thomson.com
for any questions or problems concerning login.
How do I log out of StatCheck?
You can log out of StatCheck
by clicking the Logout button in the upper right-hand corner of any page. This will take you to www.thomson.com/financial. You can also simply close the browser window
to log out.
What data does the Director of Research
Information page show?
The Director of Research page is
split into two sections: the Director of Research's Professional Information
and the Research Analysts List. All
users of this page can submit comments on these data items, for review by a
Thomson First Call editor. See the
'Submitting Requests' section below.
Professional Information
The professional information section includes the Director of Research's name
and phone number, and the firm's full name and main address.
Research Analysts List
The research analysts list section lists the analysts who are currently
employed with the firm or were employed during 2007. Only
those analysts with recommendations after 01-Jan-2007 on companies listed in
the
If I am a
Director of Research, how do I review data for the analysts at my firm?
To review data for a specific analyst, click on
his/her name in the Research Analysts List.
This will bring you to the corresponding Analyst Information page.
What if I am a
Director of Research who also issues research on a company?
In this case, as a Director of Research user, you
will see your name listed on the Research Analysts List. You may select your name to view data just as
you would for an analyst at your firm.
Alternatively, Director of Research users may use a separate analyst username
and password to log in if desired.
What data does the Analyst Information
page show?
The Analyst Information page is
split into two sections: Analyst Professional Information and the
Company Coverage List. All users of this
page can submit comments on these data items, for review by a Thomson First
Call editor. See the 'Submitting
Requests' section below.
Professional Information
The professional information section includes the analyst's name, email address,
phone number, and names and dates of current and previous sell-side brokerage
firms on record with Thomson First Call.
Company Coverage List
The company coverage list includes companies covered by the analyst on or after
01-Jan-2007, including the ticker, company name, exchange country, the Wall
Street Journal 2008 Best on the Street Analysts Survey industry, and current
coverage status.
Exchange Country
In some cases, a security will be listed in the
If I issue
research as part of a research team, what should be displayed?
If you are the primary or senior analyst, the
affected companies will be displayed on your company
coverage list. If you are not the
primary analyst, you will not see those affected companies in your company
coverage list.
Why does research issued as part of a
team not appear for the analyst not identified as the primary?
Thomson First Call's policy for tracking analyst coverage
is to identify only one primary analyst for any team coverage situation in
accordance with The Wall Street Journal 2008 Best on the Street Analysts Survey
rules.
How do I
review company-specific recommendations and coverage data?
To review details, click on the ticker or company
name. From the Company Information page you will be able to review and submit requests;
alternatively, you can click the link at the top of the Company Coverage List
section to view all recommendations data on one web page.
What does the Company
Information page show?
The Company Information page contains detailed
information for a particular company that analyst covers, including historical
recommendations and coverage data. All
users of this page can submit comments on these data items, for review by a
Thomson First Call editor. See the
'Submitting Requests' section below.
Coverage
The coverage section includes the ticker, company name, and coverage activity
during 2007, as on record with Thomson First Call. Where applicable, the table will display the
last coverage activity prior to 01-Jan-2007, in order to show what status was
effective at the beginning of the year.
Recommendations
The recommendations section contains all recommendations data
from 01-Jan-2007 through 31-Dec-2007, as on record with Thomson First
Call. This data includes all
recommendation initiations, revisions, and drops. Where applicable, the table will display the
last recommendation activity prior to 01-Jan-2007, in order to show what value
was effective at the beginning of the year.
Next to the recommendations data is the
recommendations scale as currently used by their current firm.
Who determines the recommendations
scale?
Each brokerage firm determines how to convert their
scale to the Thomson First Call 1-5 scale.
The Director of Research is responsible for conveying any scale
conversion changes to Thomson First Call.
What if my
firm's recommendations scale changed since 01-Jan-2007?
The current recommendations scale for your firm
will appear on the Company Information page.
Any data associated with a previous recommendations scale will also
appear in the recommendations table, but will translate to the scale that was
applicable at the time.
If I changed
firms this year, which recommendations scale will appear?
The recommendations scale for your current firm
will appear on the Company Information page.
Any data associated with a previous firm will also appear in the
recommendations table, but is associated with the recommendations scale of the
previous firm(s).
What is the column marked WSJ
Translation?
For purposes of The Wall Street Journal 2008 Best
on the Street Analysts Survey, all recommendations are converted into Buy,
Hold, or Sell categories as follows: Thomson First Call values of 1 or 2 are converted into Buy; values of 3 are converted
into Hold; values of 4 or 5 are converted into Sell.
How do I
create a request for changes and submit it to Thomson First Call?
For each page that displays user-specific data, a
request can be submitted to an editor at Thomson First
Call. To create a request, enter text
into the box below each applicable section for that page, scroll down to the
bottom of the page and click the 'SUBMIT' button. In a moment, StatCheck
will display a confirmation page, which will include a confirmation number you
may use for reference. Now you can then
select 'Return to Professional Information' (to submit more requests), Logout
or Help.
When and why should I
attach documentation?
When a request is submitted
to Thomson First Call, it is reviewed and researched. For changes to historical recommendations or
coverage data, supporting documentation is required in order to ensure that the
data is updated accurately; however, if a relevant
First Call Note or research document was already submitted, there is no need to
submit it again.
What is the Request History Summary
page?
The Request History Summary page allows the user to
review previously submitted requests.
The current status of each request is
listed. By clicking a confirmation
number, the user can view the feedback from Thomson First Call editors. The Request History Summary tab is located in
the upper left-hand corner of every page.
What and how can I
search?
Search By
Confirmation Number
You can search by the confirmation number by entering
the number into the appropriate field and clicking 'SEARCH'. The result set is sorted in descending order
by request date and displays the request date, request number, analyst/DoR name, requestor, request type, ticker (if applicable),
process date and request status.
Search By Status
1. Open - any request for which a Thomson First Call editor
has not yet begun the research process.
2. In-Progress - any request that a Thomson First Call editor has begun
processing and is currently undergoing editorial review.
3. Closed - any request that a Thomson First Call editor has completed
processing. All feedback should be
viewable by the user.
4.
Documentation-Needed – any request that requires additional supporting
documentation in order for a Thomson First Call editor to complete processing.
Search By
You can search by a specific date range by entering the date in dd-mmm-yyyy format (Example: 01-JAN-2007), then pressing
'SEARCH'. The result set is sorted in
descending order by request date, and displays request date, request number,
analyst/DoR name, requestor, request type, ticker (if
applicable), process date and request status.
What if I do
not receive feedback from Thomson First Call?
You should receive request feedback from Thomson
First Call within 5 business days from submitting the
request; however, in some instances requests may take longer to resolve. If you are not able to see any status change
on your request, please contact Thomson First Call at 800-778-6864 or email wsjsurvey@thomson.com.
What if I want
to dispute the feedback that Thomson First Call has provided on my request?
If you choose to dispute any feedback from Thomson
First Call, you may submit additional documentation that supports your request,
in which case Thomson First Call will re-evaluate the request.
The link below
provides the methodology for The Wall Street Journal 2008 Best
on the Street Analysts Survey as of February 2008 and is subject to change by
The Wall Street Journal. Questions about
the methodology may be directed to Thomson First Call
at 800-778-6864 or email wsjsurvey@thomson.com.
The link below provides
the list of securities used in The Wall Street Journal 2008 Best on the Street
Analysts Survey, along with their corresponding industries. The industries listed were
derived from the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB) as described in
the Methodology document. Survey
industry groups are subject to change by The Wall Street Journal if necessary
for sufficient analyst coverage.
Questions about the industry listings may be directed
to Thomson First Call at 800-778-6864 or email wsjsurvey@thomson.com.
What changes have been implemented
recently for The Wall Street Journal Best on the
Street Analysts Survey?
1. In past years, the industry
groups were based on company classifications by Dow Jones & Co. Beginning with
the 2005 Survey, the industry groups are derived using
the Industry Classification Benchmark (ICB), as described in the Methodology_2008
document.
2. Special note regarding
companies trading in both
3. The scheduled
publication date is May 19, 2008.