Information Sources for European stocks?

[silvamuppet]

Folks

With the risk attached to investing in dollar based securities i was wondering how people who invest in european stocks research their targets? With US listed stocks there is a wealth of information on companies courtesy of the SEC filings via edgar.
You can get your Balance sheets, P&L accounts, directors dealings etc etc all quite easily.

Where do you start with European ones? How do you get the financial visibility (short of the company happily providing you with them via the Investor Relations section of the website). Is there a trusted third party out there like edgar?

Cheers.

 

[whathome]

I usually start with company reports which are often available online. Most European companies have a version available in English. If I like what I see, I'll call the investor relations contact and run through a pre-prepared list of questions. Smaller companies are usually far more helpful in my experience and I've previously managed to arrange visits to HQ where you can get a feel for the company. If you have friends or contacts in the country where the company is based, find out if they know anything about the company and do some mystery shopping for you if the firm deals with the public.

Google usually throws up all kinds of interesting information and the translate tool is very useful!
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[silvamuppet]

Thanks whathome. It's a place to start
I guess as the years go on we might get our own edgar like system.

You are right though, a lot of companies do provide their reports in the investor relations section.
Some good tips there. Cheers. (I guess I've been a bit lazy with teh american stocks as I've been a bit spoiled for information online)