Has anyone used Reuters products that are similar to Bloomberg? does Reuters have any products that compete directly with Bloomberg as far as global financial and economic data go
ok, can someone qualify this crap about how butterflies move their wings in london and BBG can tell us... 1) Does it have the ABX data? The plain vanilla CDS? As i understand you can get actual bid/ask quotes from your dealer through the terminal if you specifically set up with the guy, but what about generically? 2) And for historical data, do they have backdata on bonds and stocks that dont trade anymore? Do they have forward EPS projection historical data? Do they allow bulk download of this and other data to create a database and mine it for your own model?
Be warned - Bloomberg can be very expensive. You are committing to a 24 month contract. That means $40,000. The penalties are very steep if you want to get out earlier. Also, their contract automatically renews after the 2 years. If you are not careful and do not follow their cancellation instructions exactly, you are stuck for 4 years... or more. I learned this the hard way. You really should file a cancellation order with them way ahead of the 2 year contract end date so you don't get burned later. It's best to do it right after your initial sign-up - just in case you forget to do it later. They actually lost my paper cancellation notice on a second system when I did it way before hand and would not honor my cancellation since they "couldn't find it in the file", so do it with a certified letter, fax and email as well. Do it often and keep records of everything. Know what you are getting into before you sign anything. They have no sympathy when it comes to getting money from customers. They really, really want it from you - but they do treat their employees very well with lavish offices, free food in the cafeteria and other nice perks. There is a reason why Michael Bloomberg is a multi-billionaire: auto renewing contracts and an agressive legal department. The most positve thing I found, however, were some of the gals that came out to help with training. There was one in particular - stunning. Anyway...
Good point about the 24 month contract - if your Hedge Fund fails after a year you better hope you can pay out of personal funds. 1) Go to one of their trainning session and you can loot their fridge. 2) The BBG girls have an incredible vanishing skill if BBG goes down when they are present. One was standing right next to me when it crashed (our LAN actually, not them), She just VANISHED. There was no cover she could have got to in the time it took me to turn around. I suppose they have had one to many dealing room phone hand set thrown at them by people who value stabilty over sweeet smiles for customers.