If you are only trading stocks/etfs, then I believe that subscribing to the NYSE/NASDAQ/AMEX feeds will get you the live streaming quotes. I think the reason you might want the "US Securities Snapshot and Futures Value Bundle" is if you want the quotes on some of the futures contracts that are included in that bundle. (It sounds like the quotes for those futures contracts will still be "free" in the bundle, as long as you hit $30 in monthly commissions.) If you don't look at quotes for futures, then the "bundle" doesn't seem necessary.
That's exactly what I am looking for. I only want to pay for what I use. Wish everything was a la carte. They don't even require you to subscribe to any quote feed in order to trade. Google and yahoo have real time quotes and IB's option quote package is only 1.50 / month last time I checked (not sure since I always get reimbursed for my quote fees). In any case, maybe IB just isn't for you. If you feel that you have identified a service / need that is not being met by the market...consider opening your own online brokerage.
If I have level II of CME Real-Time for 6.00 USD, am I obliged to have also level I CME Real-Time for 1.25 USD ?
Which of the level 2 subscriptions do we need to get the full picture of the order book for us equities? Seems like there is NASDAQ Totalview, NYSE ARCA, and NYSE Openbook. Do i need all three?
I tried that tool but I didn't find it helpful. I'll just let the vulnerable subscriptions get canceled and figure it out tomorrow morning.
Uh, even if that was possible, no strat would survive very long on that stale data. Just subscribe to the three main exchanges for 1.50 each and you SHOULD be ok.