Information & Data

Written by JS T. Alexander | 09 August 2009

Several trading platforms are provided by most broker / dealers offering services from trading the foreign exchange market. The most renowned data providers are Thomson-Reuters and Bloomberg financial News.

Reliable source of information and price feed data is vital to the accuracy and delivery of current or real time breaking news as they happen because this affects price fluctuations in the market. Most financial and institutional brokers as some of the more popular retail currency dealers do provide trading platforms and independent research for their clients.

Although one should pay more attention particularly for price differences between screen quoted prices by contributory and participating institutions against real time prices from Reuters dealing system bid and asking prices over the inter bank dealer quotes.

The comparison between screen prices and voice box dealing can be an advantage to those who pay more attention to bid and asking price spreads and trades are based on volume transactions. Moreover, the prices quoted and that is heard over the Reuters dealing system is the true real time prices being sold and bought. This gives the traders a sense of guidance as to where the market prices are heading. There times during rapid price fluctuations where on screen prices may sometimes be delayed a few seconds from what is already the next price level. Although technology has improved over the past few years and has helped most traders understand the market conditions.   

However, the bottom line is that each some of these dealers would always claim that their individual trading platforms are the best in the industry as a matter of marketing ploy. The only requirement to assure investors and professional traders is that whatever medium of trading that each one uses there are three (3) things that must really be considered.

Namely:

1. A reliable and accurate source of price contributors
2. A direct real time delivery of information of breaking news worldwide.
3. And the timely execution of orders fully managed and controlled by the professional investors and portfolio managers.