Interactive Data Readies FX Datafeed Switch

Interactive Data Readies FX Datafeed Switch

October 03, 2005

Interactive Data Corp.'s ComStock division is getting ready to switch off its ComStock Forex feed of foreign exchange data and replace it with one based on an FX feed from GTIS, a division of ComStock.

Between January and May of this year, Interactive Data developed a new version of the GTIS service to replace both the existing feeds. Mark Hepsworth, newly appointed president of ComStock (see related article, this issue), says this is because the vendor wanted to be able to offer a more granular service. It also wanted to dispel confusion that had arisen in the marketplace and within the company as a result of having two similar products.

The cutover to the new feed, which has been running in parallel to the old ones since the spring, will take place in the fourth quarter of this year, most likely in November, Hepsworth says. At that point Interactive Data will switch off the older feeds.

Eight Segments

With the integration of some of the ComStock Forex content into GTIS, Interactive Data was able to segment the new feed into four modules of FX data plus four additional packages tailored to the needs of different clients.

GTIS will include two Basic FX packages: one with streaming spot and forward FX data on 18 major currency pairs and a Fixing version that offers snapshot data every five minutes. Two Premium FX packages offer the equivalent data but cover more than 1,000 currency pairs.

The Fixing versions are recommended for use in technical analysis and charting packages.

The new GTIS service will also offer four other modules. A money markets module includes interbank rate fixings for Euribor, real-time euro and domestic deposits, forward rate agreements, interest rate swaps and other instruments across 40 currencies.

A BBA (British Bankers' Association) module supplies real-time and end-of-day Libor (London Interbank Offered Rate) fixings, as well as rates from the individual contributing banks.

A fixed income module provides contributed data on a range of European and Japanese government bonds, US Treasuries, and Canadian government and provincial bonds.

A precious metals module offers rates on more than 80 metals.

Hepsworth says that segmenting the data means that Interactive Data can offer specific packages for different requirements. For example, some clients might want streaming data to use in a terminal product, while others might need a less sophisticated product to integrate into a Web site.

Changing the Symbology

The development effort also gave the company the opportunity to make changes to the symbology of the feed in order to make it easier for clients to work with, Hepsworth says.

There are two key changes. First, GTIS now lists FX rates by base currency, whereas before it listed them by secondary currency. It has also adopted ISO's three-letter currency codes to make it easier for users to recognize currencies.

While this means that other vendors that use the GTIS feed in their applications have to make changes and help their customers migrate, at least one vendor says it makes it easier for those customers to use the data.

Telecommunication Systems, a provider of mobile market data products that utilize ComStock's XpressFeed, has had to migrate its clients to the new codes and plans to switch off the old ones in the coming weeks.

However, the migration has been easy for TCS clients, says TCS operations manager Julius Beltrame, because TCS allows users to assign their own nicknames to currency codes, meaning that they can assign the same nickname to the new code. TCS also gave clients new versions of their watchlists containing the new codes.