LibGuides: Bloomberg Professional Introduction: Overview

Remote access during COVID-19

These guidelines are in effect while the CDVS lab is closed during the COVID-19 emergency measures at Duke. Forward questions to askdata@duke.edu. Fuqua students only should contact reference-librarians@fuqua.duke.edu

Have an Existing Bloomberg Terminal Login

Students with a pre-existing Duke Bloomberg Terminal Login can go to https://bba.bloomberg.net and try to log in with your prior credentials. There will be a multi-factor authentication option (e.g., a code sent via text).
If this doesn't work, you will need to register for another Bloomberg Terminal Login as described in the next section, through the https://portal.bloombergforeducation.com/register site.
The number of simultaneous users is limited to the number of terminals we have (comparable to using the physical Terminals in the lab), so you may need to wait until a Terminal I.D. is freed up.

Need to get a Terminal Login

Students needing a new Duke Bloomberg login need to register at https://portal.bloombergforeducation.com/register with their duke.edu email address. This is the same site that students use free BMC training module access for the fall of 2020, but you can ignore the BMC part and just access the “Terminal” option.
You then need to contact mark.thomas@duke.edu to get your status activated for “Terminal” access.
You then go back into the Bloomberg for Education site to go through an account creation wizard to create your Bloomberg Terminal Login. There will be a multi-factor authentication option (e.g., a code sent via text).
Once you've set up your new Bloomberg Terminal Login, you can then follow instructions for those with existing logins (above), going to the https://bba.bloomberg.net site.
Important: Your new Login will be separate from any earlier one you've had, so you won't have access to a previous Launchpad or other personalized settings.

Mediated search

If you don't need an account or just need assistance, we can do mediated searches for those with well-defined parameters (specific series or tickers; specific Bloomberg functions; defined time period). We can then provide you with a data extract. Contact askdata@duke.edu.

The Bloomberg Professional Service

Go to Instructions for Starting Bloomberg

Bloomberg Professional is the online financial data service founded back in 1981 by Michael Bloomberg, formerly the mayor of New York City.

The Data and Visualization Services Department of Perkins Library has three Bloomberg Terminals in the Brandaleone Lab for Data and Visualization Services in The/Edge on the first floor of the Bostock Library. The terminals are made possible with the generous assistance of the Duke Financial Economics Center in the Duke Department of Economics.

In the past, West Campus users would need to travel to the Ford Library at the Fuqua School of Business, which is also still available. This arrangement allows them to access the Bloomberg service whenever Perkins Library is open. The service is available only to Duke students, faculty, and staff.

Get Started

Instructions for starting Bloomberg
Help options
BPS <GO> Bloomberg Professional Service
This command goes to a resource center for short guides (cheat sheets) on different topics (list in left column)

What's in Bloomberg

Bloomberg Professional provides current and recent historical financial data on individual equities, stock market indices, fixed-income securities, currencies, commodities, futures, and foreign exchange for both international and domestic markets.

It also provides news on worldwide financial markets and industries as well as economic data for the countries of the world. Additionally, it provides company profiles, company financial statements and filings, analysts' forecasts, and audio and video interviews and presentations by key players in business and finance (the Bloomberg Forum).

The Bloomberg Excel Add-in is a tool that delivers Bloomberg data directly into an Excel spreadsheet for custom analysis and calculations.

Limitations of Educational License

Bloomberg for Education doesn't have the full functionality of the commercial version of Bloomberg Professional. For instance, there is a lag in stock quotes and data that makes it incompatible for real-time analysis or trading, it has more limited downloading capabilities, and of course there's no online trading.