ABSTRACT
During my field studies, I was temporarily able to access Bloomberg Professional; this is a specialized financial information service for which one normally requires a personal licence. I was able to use it because one of the analysts had given me his access card and password when he left for vacation. It was evident to me that this access would allow me to enter the analysts’ world: I could watch the movements of exchange rates in ‘real time’, 1 I could see the news scrolling down on the screens, and I could follow the analysts’ comments on the intra-bank Bloomberg chat. For two days, I tried to use Bloomberg by imitating the other analysts. I selected certain FX rates as charts displayed on two of my four screens and then followed the exchange rate changes closely; I tried to select the news relevant for the markets; and I tried in particular to get into the markets by identifying feedback loops between information and price changes. Unfortunately, I later invalidated the access by repeatedly entering the wrong password. This produced considerable problems for the analyst who had given me his card. Since access is strictly personalized, the analyst had to call Bloomberg’s helpdesk, identify himself and request that his access be restored. On returning from his holidays, he literally had to wait for his account’s reactivation because there was not much to do without Bloomberg access. 2 He and his colleagues watch and work on their Bloomberg and/or Reuters screens the entire day, barely focussing their eyes on anything else. Some analysts even take lunches at their desks in order to ensure uninterrupted screen-presence. Analysts describe their workday as mainly consisting of ‘intensive screen time’.
