TradeTheNews Review – Is It Worth Paying for a News Service?

What is TradeTheNews?

Tradethenews.com is a finely-tuned financial news feed platform serving active traders and institutions with prompt market-moving data, analytics, stories and actionable ideas around-the-clock. Covering U.S. and global equities, bonds, commodities and FX markets, Tradethenews (TTN) provides a comprehensive one-stop shop for traders seeking just actionable news data without the fluff that’s so commonly injected into the larger commercial news feeds. Data is delivered via desktop platform with audio-squawk box and (onscreen) text as well as e-mail.

Launched in 1997, Tradethenews.com headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, was the first online service to offer live audio breaking news and analysis tailored specifically to traders and financial markets professionals in an interactive format. Since then, it has expanded global markets coverage to include US equity, Asia and European markets squawk box coverage and market intelligence. Customers can interact directly with the 24-hours TTN News Desk to inquire about any “strange” market moves.

TradeTheNews Pricing Options

TTN has a free trial available to new users. There are five-types of monthly subscription plans. Keep in mind, professional status users will incur higher fees. All plans provide access to the streaming news feed and standard research tools by selected geographic region. All membership plans are billed on a recurring monthly basis, unless cancelled.

Standard Equity Text-based Membership is $150-per month and includes the platform with U.S. headlines, e-mail reports, calendars, daily U.S., Asia and European market updates.

Premium 13F Radar Membership is $225-per month which includes the 13F Radar tool in addition to the Standard Equity features.

Pro Equity Membership is $350-per month and includes the Global Equity News Squawk box, “Ask the Desk” live research desk, evening briefing report and everything in the Premium 13F membership. This is the ultimate plan for highly experienced active traders.

Standard Macro/FX Membership is $85-per month and includes credit market and FX news headlines stream with the morning and weekly wrap-up reports.

Pro Macro/FX Audio Membership is $185-per month and includes the credit/FX audio squawk box, “Ask the Desk” live research, portfolio alerts and everything in the standard macro package.

TradeTheNews Features Breakdown

Which features you have access to depends on the type of membership plan you subscribe to. Below is a list of key features.

News Feed Dashboard

TradeTheNews is a news screener, meaning the value comes from the organization and delivery of the news (vs. original content that you may find on sites like Seeking Alpha and The Motley Fool).

The news headlines are streamed by applicable and associated stock and market symbols. Relevance, speed and accuracy are key here as TTN prides itself on delivering breaking news quickly along with quick analysis on potential market and price impacts. I love how TTN filters the news for relevant items that traders need. This selective mechanism helps traders make quick decisions on-the-fly to catch early price moves before it’s picked up by mainstream newsfeeds.

Users can customize the newsfeed headlines by selecting filters by sector or asset/market type. Users can also create customized portfolios that streams news by underlying stock symbols in the group.

Audio Squawk

The audio squawk is the quickest source for news and analysis hands down. Market moving information hits this channel moments before the news feed accompanied by real-time analytical insights. Audio is absorbed quicker than visual when it comes to trading. Just a few breaking news items can pay for the whole month. I prefer the audio squawk over the commercialized cable financial networks.

Interactive Live TTN News Desk

Members can direct questions directly to the live research desk at TTN, through the “Ask The Desk” feature. Often, the network of members can serve as a source for identifying price moves. The response is rather quick and serves as a great resource when you can’t find a ‘reason’ for a large price spike or drop.

13F Radar

This feature scans company filings documents that can have a material effect on the price including institutional transactions, insider buying and selling, activist transactions, quarterly and annual reports, material changes, organizational changes, debt structures and so forth.

Portfolio Alerts

Users can create portfolios of stocks and different assets, which will enable TFN to alert you when there’s news related to any of your holdings. This feature is all about the added convenience of having information pushed to you rather than trying to manually pull it. You can also opt to have e-mail and text alerts sent to you.

Daily Market Updates

Every morning TFN sends out a detailed newsletter with upcoming events, news and insights to get traders on the right track in terms of where the action is. I find several great trading ideas every week. Also, the analysis is easily digestible and truly helps me align with markets.  

Earnings and Events Calendar

This is very convenient for planning out your week ahead, especially during earnings season. Although you can get calendars from different free sites, it’s nice to have everything in one platform. I pay attention for key earnings reports, FOMC meetings and key economic reports like jobs, GDP, CPI, PPI and Chicago PMI (key inflation indicators).

Weekly Summary Report

This is a wrap-up of the week’s action. I don’t really use it much since I’m exhausted by the end of the week and intimately aware of the happenings. Still, it’s a nice recap in case you missed the action.

What Type of Trader TradeTheNews Is Best For

TradetheNews.com is best suited for seasoned active momentum traders that like to trade on breaking news intra-day. The news is delivered in a way that enables quick on-the-fly decision making. It’s also a great resource for portfolio traders as a one-stop resource for fundamental data. For the average retail trader, this may seem pricey but for an active trader that has had access to a Bloomberg terminal ($1600-per month), this is a bargain. You can also check out Benzinga Pro and see which platform you prefer.

Pros

• Audio Squawk Box delivers tradeable breaking news quickly
• Convenient one-stop shop for news and fundamental research
• Runs literally around-the-clock like a Bloomberg terminal feed
• Customized Portfolios let you filter the news you need
• Interactive research desk is prompt and helps explain sudden price moves.
• Market intelligence
• Interactive analysts
• Covering U.S. equities markets from 8:00 am EST to 4:30 am EST.
• 24-hour ask the news desk

Cons

• Price may be too expensive for newbies and less active traders/investors
• Need at least a whole monitor screen to take advantage of the tools