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Why is there no open source Financial Stock APIs?

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Re: Why is there no open source Financial Stock APIs?

#21
post #6

Grief, you any idea how much time I've spent _at banks_ trying to knock information into shape? There are _no_ good sources of this information. You take a feed from NYSE and I guarantee you'll find errors _on NYSE information_. The more complex the product, the more data points, the worse it gets. And I've only talked about static data. If you want to actually trade, it gets much, much, harder.

This brought back troubling memories of discovering that a non-trivial amount of the world's economic data seems to be shuttled around banks via batch-generated CSV files, only accessible via nightly FTP drops.

Moving large amounts of data around, that you don't need real time.

CSV is a grand solution, one that has a hell of a lot less over head than any other "api" that many HN readers would normally see.

Re: Why is there no open source Financial Stock APIs?

#22
post #13

I have never used this service so don't consider this an endorsement, however Alpha Vantage seems to fit your requirements (other than being open source, which I don't particularly understand anyways). http://www.alphavantage.co Their site says: We have one shared aspiration: democratizing access to institution-grade financial analytics. Alpha Vantage is one of our deliverables towards this purpose. It provides free…

yes that is great. But now with these replies I am getting curious to know how they provide something like this for free

I wonder if it's a front from a trading company and they look for hires there.

Re: Why is there no open source Financial Stock APIs?

#23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This brought back troubling memories of discovering that a non-trivial amount of the world's economic data seems to be shuttled around banks via batch-generated CSV files, only accessible via nightly FTP drops.

A lot of it has moved to SFTP/SCP the last few years.

Yes, but often you discover that the required semantics are those of a transactional queue.

Re: Why is there no open source Financial Stock APIs?

#24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well why should you be entitled to free data from a private corporation? Just because the exchange is open to the public to purchase on it doesn't mean their data has to be free. (just my 2 cents)

my perspective was if public traded I need to be exposed information as I see fit. In one form or another should they not disclose their details for a buyer or customer who is going to invest (potentially )

a strong point. kind of puts a dent in the efficient market hypothesis, and the glorious dream that traders believe in: that the market is somehow inherently democratic. how are we expected to believe in this if we don't have access to the information?

this asymmetry would seem to skewer emh.

-- but then again ... checking the prices at "nasdaqtrader" the idea that we don't have access seems like the myth. $14 a month for Nasdaq issues ( I guess that means quite a lot of stocks ), is only slightly more than my Spotify. And if you don't have the money to pay $14 you probably don't have the money to make much of a dent in the market anyway!

so what's the reality here? is data you can actually trade on that affordable or is it not?

Re: Why is there no open source Financial Stock APIs?

#25

Most financial market data comes with strict licensing models. To get data from NYSE, NADAQ, CME or most other exchanges you must sign the agreements. Selling this data to vendors, news networks or end consumers is a large portion of the exchange's revenue. The more granular or quickly you want the data, the more it will cost. In addition to paying for the initial data, you are not allowed to redistribute the data, i…

I never thought exchanges were making money by selling data.

Re: Why is there no open source Financial Stock APIs?

#27

How do firms like Fidelity , AmeriTrade get their information in real time ?

They pay for it.

And that's a can of worms. What are they paying for by the time they receive it. What is the physical point of receiving data? Which exchange is the data received from? Central data clearing house of data?

Real time is a concept that doesn't exist in live data. How real-time is a concept.

Re: Why is there no open source Financial Stock APIs?

#28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

my perspective was if public traded I need to be exposed information as I see fit. In one form or another should they not disclose their details for a buyer or customer who is going to invest (potentially )

a strong point. kind of puts a dent in the efficient market hypothesis, and the glorious dream that traders believe in: that the market is somehow inherently democratic. how are we expected to believe in this if we don't have access to the information? this asymmetry would seem to skewer emh. -- but then again ... checking the prices at "nasdaqtrader" the idea that we don't have access seems like the myth. $14 a mont…

case I would then make is spotify is selling private art ( music ) from a private seller to public for a fee. it is like you pay for watching a movie from a private distributor. Trade is like I invest money for their business. I need to be informed buyer is what I would say. But then it is not about affordability or about I would be able to make a dent in the market. i will be fine if i can make a dent in my pocket. it is about information and data which like you say investors believe is democratic in nature ( but which it sounds like is not )
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