U.S.A. (Independence Day)

Non-settlement day - all exchange trading floors closed

CME Group - open for overnight Globex trading in equity index, currency and interest rate products (settlement prices are repeats of Thursday's).
ICE Futures U.S. - closed for trading in Softs (open for US Dollar Index).

Database Upgrade: June 05, 2008

We are now providing updates for the following markets:

Eurex

DAX L    (DAX4)    (Last traded price in close field)
Euro STOXX 50 L (ESX4)   (Last traded price in close field)
Euro-BOBL L        (GBM4) (Last traded price in close field)
Euro-BUND L (GBL4) (Last traded price in close field)
Euro-SCHATZ L    (GBS4) (Last traded price in close field)

(The "L" suffix signifies "Last". The existing versions of these markets continue to have the Settlement price in the close field.)

Singapore Exchange

Singapore Index D (SSG1) (Day session only)

(This market was added to the service in May, with a history going back to 2006. The history has now been extended to 1998.)

Sydney Futures Exchange

Interbank Cash (YIB) (day session only)
Interbank Cash C (YIB2) (all sessions Combined)

Please note -

these codes won't update for you unless you obtain the historical data first.
the continuous contracts for these markets won't exist unless you create them!
to incorporate these new markets, please perform a "Database Upgrade".

To perform a Database Upgrade -

Make sure you are connected to the internet.
Open DataTools and click on Program Utilities and then on Database Upgrade.
Highlight any market histories you wish to incorporate and then click "Download".
If you can't see any markets to download, run a normal Update first.

To create Continuous Contracts -

Open the Continuous Contracts module in DataTools (Tools/Continuous Contracts)
Highlight the required market(s) in the market list and click "Create Contracts".

Market Holidays: May 26, 2008

U.K. (Spring Bank Holiday)
Euronext LIFFE - closed for commodity futures and sterling-based financial futures

U.S.A. (Memorial Day)
CME Group - trading floor closed - Globex closed for commodities; open for overnight trading in equity indices, currencies and interest rates (for trade date May 27)

ICE Futures U.S. - closed for softs

KCBT - closed

MGEX - closed

NYMEX - trading floor closed

Market Holidays: May 19, 2008

Canada (Victoria Day)
Ice Futures Canada - closed
Montreal Exchange - closed

Singapore - Vesak Day
India - Buddha Pournima
Singapore Exchange - closed for India and Singapore based contracts

Database Upgrade for Singapore Exchange: May 17, 2008

We are now providing updates for the following markets:

Euroyen TIBOR     (SEY)     (all sessions combined)
S&P CNX Nifty     (SIN)     (all sessions combined)
Nikkei 225 D         (SNI1     (Day session only)
Singapore Index D (SSG1)   (Day session only)
Taiwan Index D      (STW1) (Day session only)

Database Upgrade for U.S. Grains: April 4, 2008

We are now providing updates for the following markets:

Wheat (Kansas) C   (KW2) (all sessions Combined)
Wheat (MGEX)       (MW)   (floor trading only)
Wheat (MGEX) C   (MW2) (all sessions Combined)

The MGEX (Minneapolis Grain Exchange) Wheat contract represents "Hard Red Spring Wheat"

ICE Futures U.S. to close trading floor: Saturday, March 1, 2008

With effect from the end of trading on February 29, the former NYBOT trading floor will be closed. All legacy NYBOT products will then trade exclusively on ICE's electronic platform.

This means that the following "floor-only" codes will no longer update: CC, CT, DX, KC, OJ, SB.

However, the "all-sessions combined" codes will continue to update as normal (CC2, CT2, DX2, KC2, OJ2, SB2). If you can't see these codes in DataTools, please perform a "Database Upgrade."

DataTools & Windows Operating Systems: September 12, 2007

On July 11 2006, Microsoft ended support for the Windows 98 and Windows ME operating systems (see the link below).

Windows Support

We now advise potential clients that they need to have Windows 2000 or above in order to run our updating products. Whilst DataTools will continue to function under W98/ME, we can no longer guarantee that it will work seamlessly. In particular, problems may arise when we issue an automatic upgrade to a program component.

If you are using either W98 or ME, and find that an upgrade causes the program to fail, you can work around the problem simply by doing a program re-install. Program installers are always available for this purpose from the Downloads area of our website.

Downloads

Contracts De-listed

As previously advised, the following contracts are now no longer available for trading and can be safely removed from the DataTools futures database:

Unleaded Gasoline
AustralianDollar (SFE)
AustralianDollar (SFE) C

To remove a market from the database, use Windows to delete the relevant market folder (or cut-and-paste it to an archive). If you're not sure exactly where your database is located, you can read its location from the DataTools Configuration page, where the entry for "Data Folder" shows the path to its top level. (Program Utilities/Configuration/General)

The following markets have all been de-listed over the last few years.

Exchange Market Name

CME                  Deutschemark
CME                  Treasury Bills
Eurex                  Nemax 50
LIFFE                 Euro-Lira
LIFFE                 Euro-Mark
LIFFE                 Italian Govt. Bond
NYMEX             Unleaded Gasoline
SFE                    All Ords SPI
SFE                    Australian Dollar
SFE                    Barley
SFE                    Canola
SFE                    Sorghum
SFE                    Wheat

Problems with Continuous Contracts

General Advice

If any problem is noticed with a continuous contract, the first thing to try is to re-build the contract from scratch. Continuous contracts are made from the data in your underlying futures database. As long as this data is sound, you can always quickly re-create a continuous contract. The Continuous Contracts module can be accessed from the chain-link icon, or from under the Tools item on the DataTools menu line. See below for a complete description of the process.

Re-creating Continuous Contracts

Open DataTools and select "Tools" from the menu line and then "Continuous Contracts".
Highlight the market in question and click "Edit Roll Settings".
Make sure that the "End Year" setting shows some year beyond 2007 (towards the bottom of the Annual Template window)
Click "Save & Exit"
With the market in question still highlighted, click "Create Contracts".