Datastream Demonstrates Impressive Data

 by Paul Maurer, MBA1
Two Fridays ago, representatives from Datastream International were at the Michigan Business School demonstrating their on-line service. Hoping to convince B-school researchers and Kresge Library personnel of its versatility, Todd Eisner of Datastream ran through many of the on-line service's features.
Datastream International is an on-line service that provides historic and current time series data for Equities, Stock & Bond Indices, Economics, Exchange & Interest Rate, Fixed Income Instruments, and Futures & Options. The amount of data that one may retrieve through the service is impressive. Up to 25 years of data for more than 36,000 equities from 52 countries are available in addition to some 60,000 economics series starting from as early as 1950 for over 140 countries. Users may also look up financial statements and annual report information for hundreds of companies. There are more than 12,000 stock and bond indices from 42 countries from sources including Morgan Stanley International, Financial Times International and J.P. Morgan.
However, the database service is noticeably weak on North America bond information and U.S. equity options. The company's historical rootings in Europe are probably the most likely cause. Nevertheless, Datastream assured the attendees of the demonstration that by June of this year, the service will be as complete as any other on-line financial service, including Bloomberg, Factsat, and Citibase.
Unlike other on-line services, Datastream International does not include news, is confined to information as recent as the day before, and tends to be used more by research analysts than by traders. Datastream claims to provide superior service to its users and boasts an impressive list of University subscribers. Among them are Stanford University, Harvard University, and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
Perhaps the most impressive characteristic of Datastream International's on-line service is its ease of use. The Windows software can be installed on any standard PC to retrieve data from a mainframe computer in London. Connection can be made via the Internet or a telephone line. Once the data has been downloaded to the PC, it can be manipulated quite easily. There are special features to export the data to spreadsheet software (e.g. Excel) and to write macros to collect specific groupings of information. The user can also display data right from the software in a variety of graphical formats and can run over 20 different types of statistical analysis on the data.
Established in 1965, Datastream International has 20 offices in 12 countries including New York, Boston, and San Francisco. They hope to have similar success in the U.S. as has been enjoyed in the European market. With a new office soon opening in Washington D.C., it is obvious that they are serious about tapping further into the U.S. market, especially business schools.

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