Subject: Quote.Com Digest V95 #10 From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
How the Web Was Won
Subject: Quote.Com Digest V95 #10 From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
Status: U

Quote.Com Digest           Mon, 15 May 95            Volume 95 : Issue 
10

 o  Options quotes now available
 o  Faster news headline loading
 o  The Spider's Web...
 o  Quote.Com contact information

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Subject: Options quotes now available From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
How the Web Was Won
Subject: Options quotes now available From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
Finally, options quotes are available at Quote.Com! We do not have complete coverage yet, and most of the features that we plan are not yet implemented, but there is enough now that options traders will find it useful. Best of all, for the current implementation there is no extra charge! We have quotes for options on stocks, indices, and futures -- for the U.S. exchanges only. This adds up to an extra 70,000 symbols, and the number will increase as we add exchanges. Right now you can only get quotes on individual instruments. The symbols for options are very complex. For a non-exhaustive rundown on the basic naming conventions, send this email message: To: services@quote.com Subject: info option_symbols or load http://www.quote.com/info/option_symbols.html. It is important to note that all stock and index options begin with a '+' and all futures options begin with a '-'. Also, Basic subscribers may add the options symbols to their portfolios just like any other symbol. Upcoming parts of our more comprehensive options subscription (price has not been set yet) will be: o Quote chains -- show prices on all strikes and deliveries o End-of-day updates, including Last, Bid, Ask, Volume, and Open Interest o Calculation of implied volatilities and the "greeks" We will get our Options subscription up and running as soon as possible. ------------------------------
Subject: Faster news headline loading From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
How the Web Was Won
Subject: Faster news headline loading From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
We have completely rewritten the way our news stories are handled internally. The result is that pages of news headlines come up much more quickly than before. Remember, all Basic subscribers may see news headlines for any stocks. The easiest way to do this is to ask for a quote on the stock, then click on the displayed symbol. This faster speed should help us increase our news offerings and also make them easier to use. ------------------------------ Subject: The Spider's Web... From: QuoteCom Staff <staff@quote.com> Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
Subject: The Spider's Web... From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
How the Web Was Won
Subject: The Spider's Web... From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
One the the aspects of the MarketScope service that is most valuable is the analysis by S&P's professionals. This issue we feature one of their "Special Studies". These studies are released on a regular basis, and are found in category 51. If you wanted to add it to your portfolio, you would add the symbol MSCOPE:51. Note: contrary to what is indicated in the piece below, MDY appears to be quoted on the NYSE. Also, there are two symbols for the S&P MidCap 400: $IDX and $MID.X. =============================== (5/4) The Spider's Web... Spiders are starting to multiply... SPDRs to be exact... For those of you who don't know about this instrument, SPDRs (Standard & Poor's Depositary Receipts) are a way to buy all the stocks in an S&P Index... This instrument has been available for the S&P 500 since January 29, 1993, and starting today, May 4, SPDRs for the S&P MidCap 400 will be traded on the American Stock Exchange under ticker symbol MDY... The hallmark of SPDRs is that you get diversification with very low management expenses (maximum expense ratio 0.30%)... So what advantages do SPDRs have over index funds... First, SPDRs trade as a stock, so this "passive" investment can be traded intra-day, margined and sold short... all things you can't do with an index fund. >From the account executive's point of view, these are funds that stay in the brokerage account. On a day to day basis, the price of MidCap SPDRs should sell for approximately 1/5 of the value of the MidCap index plus accrued quarterly dividends... A more important question is whether midcap stocks are worth investing in on a passive basis... The record is as follows: the MidCap index outperformed the S&P 500 in 1991, 1992, and 1993... The MidCap index underperformed the S&P 500 in 1994 and in the first four months of 1995. Overall, the index has outperformed the S&P 500 by a wide margin in the first 52 months of the MidCap's existence... There is also the theory that midcap stocks should be bought selectively but not indexed... The reasoning is that since midcap stocks don't get the same attention from Wall Street analysts it is possible to add value to returns by managing a portfolio and exploiting informational inefficiencies... I certainly hope that's true since we're in the business of picking stocks and adding value to customer returns... However, it's an open question that after adjusting for higher expenses, and perhaps higher amounts of portfolio risk whether one's returns through active management are actually higher... All we can say is that the MidCap 400 has risen over 85% since 12/31/90 and most actively managed funds have not risen by the same extent... By the way, the terms "S&P MidCap 400", "Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Depositary Receipts" and "MidCap SPDRs" are trademarks of The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc... PDR Services and the American Stock Exchange are licensed to use these trademarks under a licensing agreement... The trust is not sponsored or affiliated with Standard & Poor's or The McGraw-Hill Companies... So, if you don't already have information, you can receive a prospectus from the American Stock Exchange by calling 1-800-THE-AMEX. /David J.Braverman ============================= The easiest way to subscribe to the MarketScope service is at http://www.quote.com/register/reg-mscope.html. ------------------------------ Subject: Quote.Com contact information From: QuoteCom Staff <staff@quote.com> Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
Subject: Quote.Com contact information From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
How the Web Was Won
Subject: Quote.Com contact information From: QuoteCom Staff Date: Wed, 17 May 1995 05:45:09 -0700
o support@quote.com Technical support and billing problems o staff@quote.com Other administrative questions, answered by a human. o Address and telephone numbers: Quote.Com, Inc. 1005 Terminal Way, Suite 110 Reno, NV 89502-2179 +1-800-261-7740 (voice) +1-415-812-7740 (voice) +1-415-812-7741 (fax) +1-702-324-7129 (voice) +1-702-324-4325 (fax) ------------------------------ End of Quote.Com Digest V95 #10 ***************************** Return-Path: tonym%ix.netcom.com@interlock.mgh.com Received: from interlock.mgh.com (interlock.mgh.com [152.159.2.1]) by mailer.standardpoor.com (8.6.10/8.6.10) with SMTP id LAA01076 for ; Wed, 17 May 1995 11:46:35 -0400 Received: from ix2.ix.netcom.com by interlock.mgh.com with SMTP id AA10217 (InterLock SMTP Gateway 3.0 for ); Wed, 17 May 1995 11:48:27 -0400 Received: from by ix2.ix.netcom.com (8.6.12/SMI-4.1/Netcom) id IAA26646; Wed, 17 May 1995 08:47:06 -0700 Message-Id: <199505171547.IAA26646@ix2.ix.netcom.com>