Again today....... 15:23 EST Some clients may have received the message 'Could not value contract at this time' when trying to place orders. We are investigating the issue. >:[
today has been a hellish day of IB problems for me. First, one of my computers reboots when I try to login to TWS, after the connection was lost mind you. Then windows won't reload after that. Then blue screen. Other computer doesn't have TWS. I install it. Then that computer reboots when I try to login!?!?!?! IB tech doesn't know what to do, of course. Stuck long two NQ during final selloff. It is like some kind of cosmic joke on me! The trading gods are sure shitting on me today.
So is this a problem with the Globex interface or on IB's side? Does this affect all brokers? I can't stand too many more days like this. Work all day for your for a tough profit and be handed a nice big loss in the end!
o 2 b If you're using TWS on an ethernet your network card may be at fault. Some mfrs don't work reliably with it believe it or not. Linksys cards have been a ballbreaker with the Java-based TWS.
Your long the position its going against you what is your back up plan. It should be a plan designed with two things in mind. 1 to provide a quote system and also a direct phone line to call a broker live to get the situation handled. I also recommend buying a cheap back up computer to use in these crash cases. Think of it like this: you are a surgeon and the scalpal breaks during an operation what do you do ? You get the spare as quick as you can. We are market surgeons so then we have to be prepared with at least two alternative back up and when that fails the customer service broker better be available. Better luck tomorrow CDN...
I have posted before about IB. You are just asking for it by using them to trade futures. They are NOT reliable. Find a broker that is and forget about how cheap it is. After all one nq contract is equal to 800 QQQ shares. IB charges a penny a share. So that is 16 bucks or so round trip. I may be off because there is a sliding scale with IB but I never have paid attention to it exactly. So considering you will pay 16 or so dollars for equivalent value with QQQ do not be afraid to go out and find a future broker that will charge say 10 to 20 round trip. Believe me, get stuck one time in a nq or es trade with IB and you will pay thru the nose on the "cheap" commissions. John