Each month in this Journal, our technical support staff addresses issues of interest to many CSI subscribers in a question and answer format. 

Notice:
  The views and information expressed in this document reflect the opinions and experience of the author Robert C. Pelletier.  Neither CSI nor the author undertake or intend to provide tax advice or trading advice in any market or endorse any outside individual or firm.  All recommendations are provided for their informational value only.  Readers should consult competent financial advisors or outside counsel before making any software purchase or investment decision.  CSI does not stand behind or endorse the products of any outside firms.

Copyright (c) 2002 Commodity Systems Inc. (CSI).  All rights are reserved.

A. 
    Although our basic license fees and monthly rates are now lower, the cost for the specific package you received is likely to be higher on our new rate schedule. From the beginning of your subscription through September, your service has been equivalent to our new "Professional Edition" account. You have access to the full history for your market categories, whereas new Personal and Private subscribers receive only ten years with the option of buying more. Because of the value of the history you received and other substantial advantages, we are not retroactively reducing annual subscription costs. However, when you renew your subscription, you will pay the somewhat lower monthly rates and will continue to have access to unlimited historical data.

Q.
    Regarding the new License Agreement for Personal and Private users that allows me to process up to 59 futures markets for the base rate, how can I know the number of markets involved in my portfolios, MarketScanner and the API? Is anyone grandfathered in at the old unlimited quantities of futures markets?

A.
   Users of UA version 2.5.0 or higher will be notified on-line when they have gone beyond the 59 market limit. Users of earlier version will be billed automatically by mail for capturing market data beyond the 59-market limit. Users receiving the discounted pricing must use such a version of UA.

    To monitor your own usage, launch Unfair Advantage and notice the "CU = X SU = X" entries just below the Portfolio Manager at the left side of your screen. The "CU = " value stands for "Commodities Used" and effectively tells your market usage. For more information, hold your cursor over these values to view a larger tooltip window. It will show the number of "Futures"  (markets) used and how many are allowed under your current subscription. All Personal and Private subscribers, regardless of software version or date of subscription are subject to the 59-market limit.

Q.
   Do the forward delivery months of the London metals count as one commodity? What about day-only and combined-session series, do they count as one commodity? How are the many commercial paper and interest rate series counted, and those series that reflect the same market with different precision or conversion factors? What about redundant markets within different portfolios? 

A.
   Starting with UA version 2.5.2, such similar series are counted as one market each. For example, day-only CBT T-Bonds and combined-session CBT T-Bonds can both be in your portfolio, but they will count as just one market. Likewise, you can include all deliveries of London Aluminum with a count of a single market. When UA counts the number of commodities involved in user portfolios, the API and MarketScanner, it doesn't count duplicate or redundant entries.

Q. 
    I keep data in a few different formats for export files that I use with my analysis programs. Does the number of export formats I choose affect the total market count?

A.
    No. Just as our software disregards the specific number of contracts of a commodity you are processing, so, too, will it disregard the quantity and variety of output files.

Q.
    If I sign on for U.S. futures and also sign on for overseas futures, will I be able to analyze twice the stated limit (2 X 59)?

A.
    No. Our License Agreement allows for 59 markets per personal and private subscriber, not per market category. If you need to process more than this quantity, you might want to consider a "Professional" account, which is not subject to this limitation.

Q.
    I am eager to collect data for Single Stock Futures when trading for that market becomes active. Can you tell me how CSI plans to provide that service?

A.
    We plan to offer Single Stock Futures (SSF) as a separate category to futures, stocks, and funds when they commence trading. We expect to offer SSF as a market for say, IBM, GE, Home Depot, etc. There will likely be quarterly forward deliveries for each stock introduced with perhaps additional deliveries (contracts), spaced by one month for the nearest three months of the delivery cycle. Actual demand will decide how far forward future deliveries will be traded. The parent (cash) reference to the Single Stock Future would be the actual stock. Pricing details will be competitive, but are not fully determined at this time.

Q.
    I switched to a DSL service and am suddenly unable to complete a daily update with UA. The transmission appears to go through, but when all is said and done, no new data is added to my files. What's wrong?

A.
    This sounds like it could be a problem with your settings in relation to the new server. Here's how you can find out for sure: Using your web browser, go to the www.csidata.com/uadaily.html page of the CSI website, which asks you to enter your User ID, User Number and Starting Date. All three of these entries are displayed at the right side of UA's Communications Options screen. Enter them into the website exactly as shown, and then click the [Retrieve specified dates] button. You will be given the option of opening or saving the file. Select [Save]. When the "Save As" screen displays, navigate to the UA folder, and click [Save] to store the uadaily.pl file there. The website will download all appropriate data through the current date. When the transmission is complete, return to Unfair Advantage and select "Manual Database Distribute" from the Database menu. Your database should be updated.

    That's how it is supposed to go, and how it will proceed in the unlikely event this is NOT a network problem. If there is a problem with your network, an error message will most likely display in your browser, advising you of possible setting problems. Usually the changes are to the Advanced Settings of your Internet Options. In most cases, making the suggested revisions will solve the problem. If this does not correct your situation, please contact our Customer Support staff.