Macro-Analysis Without A Bloomberg Terminal

The Bloomberg terminal is one of the most widely popular terminals for trading and for conducting fundamental analysis. Due to the institutional pricing of the software, it is often out of reach for the average home-based trader.

If you look to financial news networks and to any trading desk, the Bloomberg terminal (besides Reuters and a few others) is the most widely used. The Bloomberg terminal is mostly used among large financial institutions and especially for portfolio and execution analysis.

The costs don’t matter due to the sheer size and volume of trades done via the terminal.

The up-to-date news source, though, can put the average trader at a disadvantage. So how can a trader stay on top of the markets without access to a Bloomberg terminal or other news source provider?

What Type of Trader Are You?

To answer the question, you must first decide what type of trader you are and what trading strategy you use.

If you are an intraday trader, then no doubt you need to also focus on the ever changing macro-economic landscape. Trends take a lot of time to develop and thus the day-to-day economic news releases do not impact swing traders that much.

But it is a different story if you are a day trader/scalper. A 20-pip move can be quite big if you are trading on leverage with a large position. While one can argue that trading just based on technical analysis is good enough, the question is whether this is good enough to bring you consistent profits over time.

If you are a serious trader, then it is important that you build your set of tools in order to develop your own sense of the markets.

What Are The Alternatives to The Bloomberg Terminal?

For the average trader, there are some cheaper alternatives.

Unlike the expensive Bloomberg terminal which can cost upwards of $10,000 a month in fees, you can try out less expensive options instead. One of those is money.net, for example. The cost of this cheaper alternative to Bloomberg will only set you back $225 a month.

The Money.net terminal provides you with easy access to market news, price quotes in real time and access to historical data. It also includes some key aspects such as squawk box with live commentary in real time. The latter seems to be the most critical when it comes to day trading.

However, and similarly to Bloomberg, this platform has more features suited for equity research rather than for forex. But still, you do get some value for money.

On a technical analysis perspective, Tradingview.com has grown by leaps and bounds. For one, you are able to conduct advanced technical analysis such as spread charts.

You can also create overlays and comparisons along with a number of other things that were previously possible only from the Bloomberg terminal.

Economic Calendars and Google News Alerts

If spending $225 a month seems a bit excessive (and it can be for most traders), then a cheaper alternative is to follow the economic calendars. You can also set up your own Google news alerts for specific keywords.

For example, if you are trading EURUSD, you can set up news alerts for keywords such as EUR, euro, USD, dollar and so on. This way, you can get real-time alerts about any key developments in the markets.

You also get access to information and analysis of the market fundamentals.

Twitter is also a great, affordable way to access information. Simply head over to Bloomberg or CNBC.com and choose some financial journalists to follow. You can typically find their Twitter handles will at the end of each article. By following them, you can get notifications on the major fundamental news that takes place.

One of the things to bear in mind, however, is to not get an overload of information. This is quite often the case with the Bloomberg terminal as it constantly feeds in reports from across the globe.

Following too many people on Twitter or creating news alerts for too many keywords, could mean you end up being overwhelmed with information.

Free-of-Charge Alternatives?

For Orbex non-institutional traders (i.e. retail traders), a subscription-based terminal or service is not necessary.

Thousands of traders visit our blog on a daily basis to read up-to-date market data and receive the latest breaking news.

Not only will your macro-knowledge improve, but our review-based articles both on fundamental and technical analysis can help you understand what to expect from the financial markets.

If you are interested in useful forex trading information on the internet, look no further than our blog. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned trader, here you will find all the tools, news and tips to become a top trader.