NEW YORK-Wireless online financial information services are a hot item, judging from the flurry of recent announcements about new offerings in this category.
w-Trade Technologies, New York, said AT&T Wireless Services Inc.’s PocketNet Service will offer its new w-Trade Internet securities trading platform.
In its announcement, w-Trade Technologies cited Forrester Research projections that the number of online investing accounts will reach 3 million by the end of this year and 14.4 million by 2002. w-Trade also quoted Forrester as saying it expects the dollar value of assets managed online will rise to $688 billion by 2002, up from its current level of $120 billion.
w-Trade software provides the capability to deliver real-time market news, financial information and trade confirmations directly to traders. It can be customized to execute trades of most financial instruments, including stocks, bonds, options and mutual funds.
w-Trade Technologies said its system can be linked to just about any existing real-time price reporting feed, proprietary database and trade execution system. w-Trade also provides an off-the-shelf solution for building online trading Web sites as well as intranets on networked computers using private communication lines.
To provide a high degree of security, w-Trade Technologies said its software employs data encryption, device identification, packet-switched network technology and user authentication on several levels, including password and personal identification number.
At the intersection of Wall Street and Main Street, DataLink Systems Corp., San Jose, Calif., said it is targeting the estimated 380,000 American farmers and 25,000 brokers who are active followers of trading activity on the commodities and futures exchanges.
DataLink has introduced ComodityXpress, which it said is one of the first paging and personal communications services products that enables customers to receive real-time alerts of price movements from the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The “Intra-Day” feature of CommodityXpress soon will be available up to 21 hours daily, giving clients access to night trading data. This feature provides updates at up to 46 predetermined times within a 24-hour cycle, allowing customers to enter a desired commodity symbol and select for volume, price or daily change in that commodity. Real-time alerts are generated when the price for a given commodity exceeds a customer’s programmed setting for high or low price measurement.
Reuters America Inc., New York, has joined forces with several companies to provide real-time financial information to wireless customers.
Sierra Wireless Inc., Vancouver, B.C., has partnered with the company to provide Reuters MarketClip Windows CE users with a wireless connection to up-to-the-minute financial news and information. Reuters MarketClip uses wireless Internet Protocol Cellular Digital Packet Data technology, to which Sierra’s WirelessCEO modem solution allows access.
Reuters America also has teamed with Aether Technologies International L.L.C., Owings Mills, Md., and NovAtel Wireless Inc., San Diego, to provide users of the 3Com Corp. PalmPilot with wireless access to real-time information about U.S. equities.
NovAtel provides its Minstrel Wireless Internet Protocol modem, which is custom designed for the PalmPilot. Aether Technologies is an integrator of high-end wireless systems to provide real-time financial information to investors and members of the financial services industry.
Bell Atlantic Mobile, Bedminster, N.J., announced it will offer the Universal Trader software of Wireless Financial Services Inc., New York, for real-time financial information and trading capabilities for laptop computer users.
Using the Universal Trader software and BAM’s fully encrypted AirBridge CDPD network, brokers, traders and investors can obtain current stock quotes and news. They also can transmit and confirm orders to brokerage firms in less than six seconds.
