What is BLOOMBERG

BLOOMBERG is a live feed and is used to import prices into ITAS/TPRICE from the Bloomberg servers. The operating company open F&O/CFD trades and any SECSHELD records are scanned to ascertain what prices are required. The results will also update any corresponding named SHARE market prices.

There are 2 services, a sophisticated API utilising the in-house Bloomberg LP product or a link (FTP) to the Bloomberg service/datacentre.

Requirements

The following are required for the ITAS/Bloomberg Interface to run successfully:

·        A link to the ITAS database server is required. A standard network link will allow this.

·        An ITAS ODBC data source needs to be set up to link to the ITAS database.

·        The Bloomberg encryption software (des.exe) and the username/password/encryption key to access the Bloomberg FTP server.  The des.exe will be placed in the directory itas\bloomberg

Additionally, if the collection method is API, the following are required:

·         A licensed connection to Bloomberg. Not only must the workstation be licensed to Bloomberg, but also the user who is logged on, otherwise Bloomberg security will restrict access.

·        Bloomberg software must be installed on the workstation.

Program Description

The ITAS/Bloomberg Interface comprises four separate screens. They are described below.

Selection Screen

The user can select one of four options,

·         Update Prices

·         View Bloomberg Data Interactively

·        Change Collection Settings

·        Update Previous Days Prices

Update Prices

This screen is visible while the update is being run. It consists of a status area showing what is currently happening, and a Stop button to abort the process. The process can only be aborted while it is waiting for the next update. Prices are retrieved from Bloomberg according to the open position.

If your collection method does not support automatic collection of prices at intervals, the Stop button is not available. Once the prices have been updated the program will take no further action and you will need to press the Close button to return to the first screen.

 

View Bloomberg Data Interactively

This screen allows the user to view data from Bloomberg interactively to check that everything is working correctly. It consists of the following:

·         A grid where the results are displayed

·         A prompt to select the instrument type (All, Futures, Options or CFDs)

·         A prompt to select what to view (Description, Description and Price, Unrecognised Securities, Securities with no price, Previous Days Prices).    

·         A “Go” button to update the grid.

 

Initially, this screen should be used to make sure that all of the ITAS data is set up correctly. For example, you should select to view unrecognised securities to see which securities exist on your open position that have not had their Bloomberg ticker correctly assigned. Once these are corrected, you can choose to view securities with no price – that is, recognised securities that either have ceased trading (for example Enron), or that do not have real-time feeds. It is advisable to not perform an update until the Interface functions satisfactorily in this mode.

 

Change Collection Settings

The prompts on this screen must be filled in before you can run the rest of the program. The prompts are:

·         Update Interval. The number of minutes between retrieving the prices. When the collection method is FTP, the minimum interval is 15 minutes (this is necessary because the process may take a long time to connect via the Internet to the Bloomberg FTP server and retrieve the data). When this field is left blank/empty there is no automatic collection.

·         Termination Time. The time, in twenty-four-clock format, that the Interface terminates. The interface must terminate before any overnight Span collection to avoid corrupting the span prices.  This field will be left blank/empty when there are no automated collections. A special batch command can be setup by Hivedome to collect from Bloomberg overnight.

·         Company Mnemonic. The operating company.

·         Collection Method. This can be either API or FTP. See below for more details

·         FTP Details: Site. This is the address of the ftp site you use to communicate with Bloomberg. This information should be provided to you by Bloomberg.

·         FTP Details: Username. This is the FTP username. This information should be provided to you by Bloomberg.

·         FTP Details: Password. This is the FTP password. This information should be provided to you by Bloomberg.

·         FTP Details: Encryption Key. This is the key used to decrypt the files downloaded from Bloomberg’s FTP site. This information should be provided to you by Bloomberg.

 

Update Previous Days Prices

This feature allows you to update the previous days prices. It is quite slow to run (5 to 10 minutes) and will update the daily prices for the previous day.

ITAS Static Requirements

All Bloomberg securities are identified by a unique ticker code. To retrieve information about a security, ITAS needs to know:

1.       The security ticker code.

2.       The security type (equity, index, commodity etc.)

This information therefore needs to be set up in ITAS using the menu option TCCM. Bloomberg provide a utility (Ticker Lookup) that allows you to search for a ticker given the security’s name.

The ticker code should be set up in TCCM at the Price Feed Code prompt (3rd Party Codes tab). For Equities & Futures, the ticker code should include the market. For Options, the ticker code must be setup in TERMCODES/Bloomberg Option Tickers.

The ticker code should also not include the Bloomberg security type (Equity, Index, Commodity) as this is obtained from the SFA Instrument Type in TCCM (also 3rd Party Codes tab). This prompt therefore also needs to be correctly set up for Bloomberg to recognise the ticker.

Finally, any security that requires an update from Bloomberg needs to have the Price Feed Source prompt set to “Bloomberg” in TCCM. The interface will only collect prices for securities that are marked with a feed source of Bloomberg.

Bloomberg option codes do not necessarily use the same ticker code as used by the underlying security. Therefore, each option ticker needs to be maintained in ITAS individually. This is done using the menu option TERMCODES/Bloomberg Option Tickers. New records are created if a new option is traded in TERM; however the ticker code is left blank and it is up to the users to enter the correct option ticker. Prices are not collected for any security that does not have a ticker.

 

Price Collection Methods

The ITAS Bloomberg Interface can collect prices from Bloomberg using two different methods. The method used by you depends on the licenses you have purchased from Bloomberg. The collection method is set up on the Settings screen.

API (expensive licence)

This is the fastest method, but requires Bloomberg’s proprietary LP software to be installed as it uses Bloomberg’s Application Process Interface (API) to connect to Bloomberg. If you use the API method, you can set up the Interface to run at set intervals.

FTP (not so expensive)

This method does not require any proprietary Bloomberg software, but you need to have purchased the Bloomberg Data License. This collects prices from the Bloomberg’s FTP/internet sites.

Price Collection Process

The price collection works as follows:

The ITAS database is read for any codes that have a specified price feed source of Bloomberg. The interface then requests the prices for these securities from Bloomberg. If the security is an option, it additionally has to request a list of options for these securities. Once the prices have been retrieved, the spot price tables in the ITAS database will be updated. Their source will be Bloomberg and the user who did the amendment will be ‘BLP’ to indicate Bloomberg. The time of the update is also secured.

Once the interface reaches the termination time, it does a final request for prices, but this time it will update the daily prices for the relevant day. It will not update daily prices which come from the span interface.

 

Troubleshooting and Other Issues

 

The Interface Does Not Respond

In theory, if invalid ticker codes are passed to Bloomberg, there should be no problems and Bloomberg will just return an error code. However, in practice where a large number of tickers are incorrect, this may cause problems with Bloomberg and the interface will ‘hang’ and the process will need to be stopped. This problem should not arise if tickers are set up correctly.

The Interface Cannot Communicate With Bloomberg

None of the actual communication with Bloomberg is controlled by the ITAS Interface and so if it cannot communicate with Bloomberg, it is extremely likely that this is a general communications with Bloomberg issue. For example, if Bloomberg software were installed on a Windows Terminal Server, that software would be visible to every user on that server and they could all attempt to run Bloomberg. However, if any user were not registered, all users would subsequently be locked out of the system. Therefore, in these situations you should contact Bloomberg.

Prices Not Collected By Bloomberg

Not every position on your system will be updated by Bloomberg, even if the ticker is correct. Exceptions include the following:

Options for LME Aluminum and Copper. We are currently in discussion with Bloomberg as to why we cannot pick them up. There may be other options affected by the same problem.