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Introduction
- The Service
> The Software
- The Data

Market Coverage
- Futures Overview
- Futures Coverage Detail
- Spot/Cash Prices
- Historical Data
- Update Schedule

Getting Started
- Price
- Subscribe
- Free Trial

The Software

Data Tools is designed to work under the Windows environment. We recommend that the following minimum hardware and system requirements be present to allow the software to perform:

  • Pentium microprocessor
  • CD-ROM Drive
  • Windows 98 SE (or higher)
  • 200MB of free disk space
  • 64MB of Random Access Memory
  • Internet access (28.8 Kbps modem speed or higher)

Continuous Contracts

These are essential to any futures trader, as they allow the display of the long-term history of a market from a single chart. DataTools comes equipped with ready-made continuous contracts as part of its database, but also offers users the ability to change the underlying roll settings to suit personal requirements.

Continuous contracts are produced in two forms - back-adjusted and spliced - and are updated automatically, as part of the daily update routine.

Contract Details and Pricing

If you buy 3 Live Cattle contracts on the CME, and the price goes from 77.53 to 80.00, how much would you make in Australian Dollars? DataTools can answer this question because it stores and displays information about contract specifications and foreign exchange rates to enable the necessary calculations to be made.

This calculation would be done in the "Contract Details and Pricing" module, where you can look up pricing details for any market and perform trade simulations

There is also a "Currency Converter", where you can see the latest forex rates and convert between currencies. These tools help to take the guess-work out of trading on international exchanges.

Risk Management

As a corollary to the Contract Pricing module, DataTools offers a Risk Management module where you can work out how many to contracts to trade in any international market for a given level of risk. Just specify an entry price, a stop price and the amount to risk (in any of the supported currencies) and the answer is quickly at hand.

In addition, there is a "Risk Equaliser" which allows you to compare markets on the basis of recent volatility, tick size and exchange rates to see just how they stack up against each other.

For instance, if you're accustomed to trading S&P contracts in lots of 1, how many FT-100 contracts offer the same degree of exposure? This tool can be used to calculate how many contracts to trade on each side of any intermarket spread, e.g. between U.S. 10-year Notes and Australian 10-year Bonds.

Rapid Charting

DataTools charting has only one purpose - to acquaint you with what is happening in the markets as quickly as possible.

To accomplish this, it utilises the arrow keys on your keyboard to take you wherever you want to go in a hurry - up and down to take you between markets or left and right to take you back and forth between deliveries.

These arrow commands are replicated on the Charting Toolbar. In fact all of the charting functions appear as Toolbar icons for rapid mouse-click access.

DataTools charting is simple and fast.

Updating

Users may attempt to update whenever they like and as often as they like. There are no restrictions. When the program connects to our data servers, it checks your subscription level and then supplies any data that hasn't as yet downloaded. If you have been away on holidays, the intervening period will be filled in automatically.

The service employs two data servers. If one server happens to be down, or no route to it can be found, simply switch to the other server.