Pepperdine's Graziadio School of Business and Management Establishes Research Partnership with Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Pepperdine University's Private Capital Markets Project and Graziadio School of Business and Management announces a national partnership with Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. focused on the development of research on the national economy as well as private capital access for small and medium sized businesses.

The first part of the partnership between both organizations will involve a national annual economic forecast. This represents the continuation of ongoing research by Dr. John K. Paglia, lead researcher for the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project and an associate professor of finance at the Graziadio School. Dr. Paglia's previous economic forecast analysis has predicted GDP and employment trends with greater accuracy than research from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Congressional Budget Office and the White House.

“We expect to give small and medium size business owners in every community in the country an opportunity to share their challenges and successes in finding capital from a variety of sources and then benefit from the aggregate data,” added Pepperdine's John Paglia.

The first stage of the 2012 Economic Forecast will be released in the third week of January 2012. The second area of partnership between Pepperdine University and Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. centers on the development of a new, monthly Private Capital Access (PCA) Index. This new index is designed to measure the demand for, activity, and health of the private capital markets, plus provide actionable data to these business owners not generally available in the past.

“By partnering with Pepperdine University, we are proud to play a role facilitating the development of objective, ongoing research into the sentiment of America's businesses who are seeking precisely the sort of actionable data that Pepperdine is known for providing to the world,” stated Jeff Stibel, Chairman & CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.

Through the Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project, the Graziadio School of Business and Management has a four-year history of surveying small and medium size businesses determining their cost of capital, their views on the national economy and their need for capital to expand their businesses. Similarly, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. maintains ongoing conversations with millions of small businesses across sectors and industries.

“As a result of its sizable presence with US businesses, Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. has a unique relationship, understanding and dialogue with businesses nationwide,” said Linda A. Livingstone, Dean of the Graziadio School at Pepperdine. “Our multi-year partnership with them will allow for a detailed analysis and assessment on a wide range of important issues to the small business community including demand for financing needs, the level of accessibility of private capital, and the transparency and efficiency of private financing markets.”

The first Private Capital Index survey will be launched in January 2012 with Pepperdine and Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. reporting results in March 2012 and on a monthly basis thereafter. The monthly PCA Index will also have a subsection reports section covering: the Small Business Capital Index (SBCI), and the Middle Markets Capital Index (MMCI). Each index is further segmented into current conditions and expectations indices yielding the Private Capital Conditions Index (PCCI), the Private Capital Expectations Index (PCEI), the Small Business Capital Conditions Index (SBCCI), the Small Business Capital Expectations Index (SBCEI), the Middle Markets Capital Conditions Index (MMCCI), and the Middle Markets Capital Expectations Index (MMCEI).

About Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project

The Pepperdine Private Capital Markets Project at the Graziadio School of Business and Management is the first simultaneous, comprehensive, and on-going investigation of the major private capital market segments. The research seeks to understand the true cost of private capital across market types and the investment expectations of privately-held business owners; providing lenders, investors and the businesses that depend on them with critical data to make optimal investment and financing decisions, and better determine where the opportunities to create lasting economic value may be realized. Download reports and find more information at http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/privatecapital.

About Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business and Management

Founded on the core values of integrity, stewardship, courage, and compassion, Pepperdine University's Graziadio (GRAT-ZEE-ah-DEE-oh) School of Business and Management has been developing values-centered leaders and advancing responsible business practice since 1969. Student-focused, experience-driven, and globally-oriented, the Graziadio School offers fully accredited top-ranked MBA, Masters of Science, and bachelor's completion business programs. More information found at http://bschool.pepperdine.edu/newsroom/.

About Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp.

Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. is the leading provider of business credit building and credibility solutions for businesses. The company helps businesses establish their credit with a D&B D-U-N-S® Number and provides the only business credit solution available to companies looking to build, monitor, and impact their business credit and credibility. The company's headquarters are in Los Angeles, CA with offices throughout the United States. For more information on the company, please visit www.DandB.com. Twitter: @DandB