Help > Frequently Asked Questions


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ABOUT OUR CONTENT

  1. Q. Why do sometimes I see a Headline and not hear it over the air? (broadcast)
    A. Sometimes our analysts determine that a story is low-priority or informational. Audio broadcasts are for high priority items only. Headlines may also be updated with additional textual information and not broadcasted.
  2. Q. How do I ask the analysts a question for research on demand?
    A. Please select the "Ask The Desk" tab and type your question. (You must apply for interactive rights which you can do from inside the Trade The News software.) Mind you Ask The Desk is only for items we have not covered yet. If there is a Headline you would like to talk with us about simply select the Headline in the News Module, hover over it, and type in your response. If we find your information useful or helpful we will award your account "points" (See Points system documentation)
  3. Q. Is our coverage Instant all the time?
    A. Yes 24 hours per day with the exception of Friday 15:00 EST to Sunday at 16:30 EST. During the weekend hours our updates are periodic however COMPLETE since during these hours nothing can be traded globally.
  4. Q. What does the shorthand in TTN headlines mean?
    A. YHOO: Reports Q4 $0.15 v $0.11e, R $1.40B v $1.41Be …means: Yahoo reports 4th Quarter earnings per share (EPS) of 15 cents versus(v) the 11 cent analyst consensus estimate (e), and reports revenues (R$) of $1.4 Billion versus the $1.41 Billion analyst consensus estimate (e).
  5. Q. I see letters surrounded by parentheses preceding stories and as a suffix to certain tickers, what do they stand for?
    A. These symbols are the TTN country codes. They will also be reflected as a suffix for certain stocks trading in other countries. The full listing is as follows: (AR) Argentina (AU) Australia (BE) Belgium (BR) Brazil (CA) Canada (CH) China (CL) Chile (CO) Colombia (CZ) Czech Republic (EU) European Union (FH) Finland (FR) France (GE)Germany (GR) Greece (HK) Hong Kong (HU) Hungary (IN) India (IR) Ireland (IT) Italy (IS) Israel (JP) Japan (KS) Korea (MA) Malaysia (MX) Mexico (NO) Norway (NV) Netherlands (NZ) New Zealand (PD) Poland (PH) Philippines (PO) Portugal (RU) Russia (SA) South Africa (SI) Singapore (SP) Spain (SW) Sweden (SZ) Switzerland (TH) Thailand (TT) Taiwan (TU) Turkey (UK) United Kingdom (US) USA (VN) Vietnam (VZ) Venezuela
  6. Q. Fair Value headlines. What do they mean?
    A. Example: S&P Fair Value +5.27 Buy program +6.52 Sell program +3.92 What this headline means is that the fair value spread between the futures market and cash market for today is 5.27 points. If the spread narrows to less than 3.92 points, sell programs will kick in to sell the cash market so that the spread goes back to its fair value. The opposite occurs when the spread gets too wide: buy programs kick in to buy the cash market. Each day the fair value spread narrows as the futures contract marches toward expiration. Then we roll to the next contract and the whole thing starts all over again
  7. Q. How do I log in to Trade the News?
    A. In order to log in to our service, you need to login in through our website. Under where it says Listen Live, all you need to do is insert your username and password then press the blue arrow and you will be redirected to the service.


NETWORK REQUIREMENTS

  1. Q. What port is required?
    A. We use a very compatible format. All connections choose available port for outbound requests and TCP port 80 for audio channels and and port 443 (HTTPS) inbound for text traffic.
  2. Q. How much bandwidth does each audio channel require?
    A. Our encrypted FM quality channels require 24Kb/sec per channel. Our transmission encoding was developed by us and is specific to trading room environments and is not compatible with any other "Player" technology.
  3. Q. I am an administrator and we only allow traffic on a per network basis. What is your network block?
    A. Our global network address space is 66.226.160.0 Subnet mask 255.255.224.0 "/19" or if running BGP via our ASN# 19128.
  4. Q. I think I am having a connectivity problem. How can I test to your network?
    A. Ping or trace route to 66.226.160.1. **Please note excessive ICMP traffic is filtered. DO NOT use this as a continual indication of our network performance or you may risk our Intrusion Detection System dropping your entire network.
  5. Q. Is your software compatible with Proxy Servers?
    A. Yes, we have tested compatibility with Linix Squid and Microsoft ISA Server the 2 most commonly installed proxy servers in Financial Services. (**See Top-10 #6 for additional notes about MSFT Proxy Server) However, your Network Administrator must have "SSL Tunneling" enabled or the software may not work properly. In general, all proxies have this enabled if you can purchase something via a secure transaction. Netadmins more information can be found about SSL Tunnels at: http://www.squid-cache.org/Doc/FAQ/FAQ-1.html#ss1.12
  6. Q. What does Error HTTP 302 mean when I try and play and Audio channel?
    A. This means your network administrator has implemented a "Content Filter" such as Websense which is redirecting then blocking the TTN Software request to our network. Please show this to your network admin and have them re-categorize our media as safe.
  7. Q. Does your software work with wireless connections?
    A. In short yes. Your wireless connection must be reliable for continuous use without issues. Our software is designed to intelligently recover from loss of signal. For Satellite internet connections you MUST use version 5.3 or Higher of TTN software. For use on "3G" wireless providers you must Disable "Venturi" compression optimization. Our data is already optimized and Venturi compression used by Verizon EVDO in the U.S. garbles our audio channels.
  8. Q. We have a Blue Coat proxy server and when we installed TTN software out of the box, the Audio module did not work. We had no audio broadcast at all. Why?
    A. The Blue Coat proxy server scans the content of every media stream by default. Since we broadcast our news in our proprietary audio format which is unknown to this proxy server, the proxy blocks the stream. In order to fix the problem your network administrator should turn off scanning the content from our servers. The best and easiest way to do that is to stop scanning from our whole TTN network. The block of our IP addresses is 66.226.160.0 /19
  9. Q. I use a Mac and Scrolling Headlines and other tabs are not functioning properly. What can I do to fix this problem?
    A. In the Safari browser a log in to our Newstation forwards you to www.tradethenews:80.com/NewsStation/. Delete ":80" from your URL so that the web address is www.tradethenews.com/NewsStation/ and press enter. Your scrolling headlines should now work. Using FireFox on a Mac should not yield this problem with your URL.


TOP 10 ANSWERS

  1. Q. What operating systems does it support?
    A. Windows 2000 and higher
  2. Q. My company does not allow media. May I use my Windows Media Player, Real Media, etc to listen to the broadcast?
    A. Our dedicated software system is a closed circuit encrypted audio format that is dedicated real-time and not compatible with any third party general media players. Please contact support if your network administrator needs assistance setting up to our network.
  3. Q. How reliable is this service? I am tired of learning to count on things that eventually fail.
    A. We have been broadcasting live every day since 1997. We were the first firm in the history of the Internet to broadcast live audio in 1996. In 2004 our system uptime was 99.9996% and 2003 99.9994% uptime.
  4. Q. 01/2005: I think my PC is loaded with spyware and adware and I just want to be sure it is clean? What do you recommend?
    A. Surprisingly, Microsoft has a new tool available for free that does the best job we have seen. It is called "Windows AntiSpyware" and from we have seen it does the best job of any removal and real-time protection product. You can download it free at www.microsoft.com
  5. Q. I receive an email or two daily and cannot read the file. What should I do?
    A. We publish all research in Adobe PDF format. This free reader is available at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html Please install and then open our email attachments.
  6. Q. Your feed cuts in and out and my Company is running ISA Server for our proxy server. What can be done to obtain 100% uptime?
    A. Use our web-based version. Microsoft ISA server is not a carrier class proxy solution and seems to have a tough time with peristant voice streams. The best solution is to create a "Do not filter" entry to our /19 net (For Details See entry under Network Requirements)
  7. Q. Initally I can login but I hear no sound only "Connecting to Server, reconnecting.."
    A. The problem is most likely your machine has 1 or more firewall or proxy software applications running. If you believe you have allowed all of your software to "Permit" our software then please check if you are running Windows XP-Service Pack 2. XP SP2 includes a firewall that blocks everything by default unless you change the properties to "Permit" Open your LAN connection properties to edit your Windows Firewall application permissions. Finally, review all other known proxy applications. Some examples of apps that proxy port 80 are pop-up blockers, ad-blockers, and some of these browser toolbars.
  8. Q. My sound is choppy or does not play at all but my local Sound Test works fine. What is wrong?
    A. Likely Problem is 2 sound Devices in the system: Your sound system may have two sound Devices installed on your machine which are conflicting with each other. Simply open your Control Panel then click on “Sounds & Audio Device Properties” then select the “Audio” tab then look carefully under “Sound Playback->Default Device” Check and see if there is more than one Device available. If so, select your physical sound card device, and then check “Use only Default Devices” at the bottom of this window. Click “Apply” then “OK” Finally, close your Trade The News and re-open it for clear sound.
  9. Q. My firm has very strict web security policies. Am I out of luck or are there other ways to access the service?
    A. No you are not out of luck. We offer 3 ways to obtain our service. Via web browser login with no install (Works in IE and Apple). Second, via speakerphone by dialing one our local access numbers in New York, Chicago, or London. Thirdly, via dedicated "hoot" line directly to your firm. Please consult your sales representative for the best delivery method.
  10. Q. Why do I sometimes see a Headline and not hear the news item over the air? (Broadcast)
    A. Sometimes we post informational items as a headline or update a previous story only. Broadcasts you hear over the air are for high-priority items only.


AUDIO PLAYER

  1. Q. How do I launch Audio player from the web-based platform?
    A. Within the password-protected website, you need to click on the light blue audio channels on the top left hand corner and press the plus sign to increase the volume. To test that the audio works, please click the live test channel
  2. Q. I am at a professional firm and each day my Audio channel only seems to play for little while and then stop and I cannot get it to work again for the day?
    A. This in all likelihood means your network administrator has you in a management group that restricts web browsing by "Quota" that has been set by them. Our audio network is extremely compatible but also appears as web browsing in some organizations. Please contact your proxy or firewall administrator and ask them to take you out of Quota for web browsing or to not "meter" anything to our network. If you require any back-up we are happy to speak to your Administrator directly to help them ensure the proper configuration. (See "Network Configuration" #3 above)
  3. Q. I am hearing a distorted noise when I turn on my audio player. What should I do?
    A. If you are hearing distorted sound or anything similar to it, the issue is most likely arising because your adobe flash player is not updated to the latest version. Please right click on the audio player and click the link that says About Adobe Flash Player. This will prompt you to Adobes website, where you should download the latest version of the flash player. Once downloaded, the audio should be working properly. If it still does not, please contact our support desk via email or phone.


MOZILLA NOTES

  1. Q. I use Mozilla and the software web installer never pop"s up?
    A. Mozilla by default blocks ALL Active-x controls which to install the software you will need to click on the "X" icon at the bottom of the download page to install the required software.


PORTFOLIO SET-UP

  1. Q. How do I set up a Portfolio?
    A. 1) Select Headline Tab – there are 3 sections on left side bar a)“Complete Headline View”, b)“Sector View” and c)“Portfolios”

    2) Under “Portfolios” Section click on “Configure”

    3) This will take you to the profile tab

    4) Click on “Create”: To create a new portfolio

    5) Under “General” Assign a name to your portfolio

    6) To Add Symbols a) click on “Add…” to add individual tickers b) click on “Add from File…” to upload an excel spread sheet. You can include up to 150 symbols in any single portfolio

    7) To Add Sectors: a) Select desired sector from available sectors b) Click “<<” Button to add sector to portfolio c) Click ”>>” to remove sector from portfolio

    8) To Add Keywords: List keywords separated by comma

    9) Select preferred notification method under “Alert Options”

    10) Click on “Apply” to save portfolio changes – such as “E-mail Alerts”

    11) Launch Portfolio Watch Window
  2. Q. How do I Launch a Portfolio Watch Window?
    A. 1)Select Headline Tab – there are 3 sections on left side bar a)“Complete Headline View”, b)“Sector View” and c)“Portfolios”

    2)Under The Portfolios Section click on “Watch Portfolios”

    3)Click on the desired portfolio -> new window will launch for selected portfolio

    4)To minimize side bar click “<<” next to “TradeTheNews.com” logo in top left hand corner


PORTFOLIO EMAIL ALERTS

  1. Q. Why do my emailed portfolio alerts appear delayed?
    A. TradeTheNews.com portfolio email alerts are a snapshot of an initial headline taken 2 minutes after the original post and are subject to revision without notice.
  2. Q. Why do my emailed portfolio alerts sometime appear different than the headline?
    A. TradeTheNews.com headlines are written and updated to illustrate a dynamic environment. When a story breaks the original headline and story window are often modified multiple times as details and new information filters out over time. Any updates that occur after the initial 2 minute window will not be included in a portfolio alert email. News analysts determine when a completely new headline (i.e. new portfolio email) is required based on time elapsed from the original story and the severity/quantity of any new information. It is recommended that portfolio emails are used in a complimentary fashion to that of basic headline and or audio service.