Bloomberg

Bloomberg is a terminal-bound financial services platform that provides analysis and quotes for equities (stocks) and indices, company and economic data for the countries of the world, real-time and historical industry and market news, and advanced analytical and data functions. It is an industry standard in the financial services and investment banking industries. Higher education terminals - including Ithaca College terminals found in the Trading Room in the School of Business and in the Library (to the right in an office behind the New Books shelf)  do not include the trading module and market data is delayed by 15 minutes.

Creating an account

1. Start by hitting <GO> to get to the login screen
2. Click on Create a New Login
3. Fill out the form to create your own account, including a username and password
4. Keep your cell phone handy.  Bloomberg will text you a log-in authentication code that you will need to complete your account creation. 
5. Once you have submitted the form, you will receive a text almost immediately or a call within 5-10 minutes.
6. Login with your newly created login information and you are all set!

The Keyboard

Bloomberg has somewhat unique functionality that relies on shortcuts & mnemonics typically entered on a specialized Bloomberg keyboard.  It is largely a standard keyboard with specific commands marked by the colored buttons on the keyboard.  The Green, Yellow, and Red keys will all be used frequently.  Please note that the keyboard may look slightly different, but the important keys will have the same function.

RED KEYS

< CONN DEFAULT> Hit this key to be prompted for login information, or to quickly logout.

<CANCEL> This typically takes you to the Bloomberg support numbers.

GREEN KEYS

Green keys are action keys.  They tell Bloomberg that a request has been made.

<GO> works like the 'enter key' ‐ Hit it to activate any function.

<NEWS> brings up the headlines that are archived indefinitely.

<MENU> takes you to the MAIN menu or returns to previous menus that you were viewing. It works like a “back” button.

YELLOW KEYS

Yellow Keys define the markets. Every financial instrument or index in Bloomberg is accessed by using a ticker symbol and followed by a yellow market sector key (e.g., MSFT <EQUITY>)

Once you are logged in, you can start a search by typing in menu bar (blue arrow), the name of the company you are interested in or the ticker symbol. In this example we will use Microsoft (MSFT).

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To see any image in a separate and larger window, please use the following commands:

If you are on a Windows/PC machine: CTRL and right-click on image. Then: Open image in a new tab.

If you are on a Mac: CMD and right-click on image. Then: Open image in a new tab

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You will then see a menu of options such as the one below: We are interested in a Line Chart so we can choose that option.

Downloading From Screens

Note: Not all Bloomberg data can be exported.  Please contact the Bloomberg Help Desk with questions.

Output to Excel: If this command appears in the red bar within your screen, Bloomberg easily can download displayed data into Excel on the terminal.  Excel should open automatically.

The Export command in the gray menu bar is not an option.

Downloading via API/Excel Plug-In

Open Excel on the terminal and export data from Bloomberg through templates if preferred.  Within Excel, click on Bloomberg from the menu bar to explore options.

Create specific formulae, or choose a template and follow the prompts to specify the criteria for extraction.