Editorial Review of
Economist Intelligence Unit

The Economist Intelligence Unit has the greatest commercial acumen of any country analysis outfit on the planet, though that's a low bar in an industry awash in clueless academics and ex-government types. The EIU's product offerings are so complex you need a report just to figure them out -- or an EIU sales rep, who are slick, professional and eager to meet you. The main categories are Country Reports, containing totally generic background info; Country Forecasts, slightly less generic with outlooks and industry reviews; the Country Risk Service, economic/payment risk reports targeted chiefly at banks; Country Commercial Guides (formerly ILT), with detailed operational info for investors and exporters; ViewsWire, an online service that spits out most of the above plus daily news as it's written; and RiskWire, an online service focusing on operational risk assessments. Got it?

The inconsistency of the EIU's coverage can be annoying -- they spit out 2000 pages on China each year, but nearly nothing on, say, Benin. Chalk that up to commercial acumen, though: if you really wanted to pay for it, they probably would have it. The EIU's product offerings tend to be better-targeted and more intelligently designed than most.

The EIU uses stringers (free-lancers) -- mostly journalists -- to write its stuff, backed by regional editors whith real credentials. As a result the analysis is rarely brilliant but it is reliable, consistent, covers the bases, and is very competently edited, a rarity in a business which seems to specialize in typos and haphazard content. And despite the commercial focus, the EIU isn't much overpriced.

http://www.eiu.com