Even though in these examples we use functions directly from the command line, the user does not need to know them by heart, since all of them can also be found/accessed through the database menus.
Example: We need the data about the value and the maturity distribution of outstanding debt of France.
To do this, we use the function DDIS (Debt Distribution):
We have already done a similar example for Apple Inc. in the Examples section of the Company Analysis chapter. A chart opens with values of debt outstanding by year. In this case we will not apply any filters, but they can be found in the outlined section on the left side of the page. We can see that the largest amount of bonds (worth around 250 billion EUR) matures in 2026.
On the right side we can observe that the total value of debt from 201 issues equals almost 2.5 trillion EUR. The average maturity of debt is 8.88 years.
A click on an individual bar from the chart displays a list of all bonds that mature in that year. By clicking on Export, an Excel file with displayed data gets downloaded, and its adjacent button Edit Columns allows us to customize the displayed columns in the table.
We can also click on an individual bond for additional information or on a column's name to sort according to that column's values.
Example: We want to observe recent changes in credit ratings of sovereign bonds.
We will use function CSDR (Sovereign Ratings), which presents a table of credit ratings from major agencies for all the countries.
Changes in ratings for the selected period are highlighted in colors according to the legend below the table. To change the length of this period, use the amber box on the right side above the table. From the table we can see that a few countries had their rating updated in the last 100 business days at the time of writing.
The table can also be sorted according to the last update of the ratings by clicking on the Last Update column title. We can observe that at the time of writing, Pakistan was the country to receive the most recent update.
Credit rating scales, definitions and their comparisons from different providers can be found by using the RATD (Ratings Definitions) function.
Example: We are interested in the gross domestic product (GDP) for the United States. Not only would we want to know the total GDP value, but also the individual values for the components in the GDP formula: GDP = C + I + G + (X - M).
Choose the function ECST (World Economic Statistics).
In the top-left corner we select United States. This can be done either by typing the country in the orange field or by searching it from the Browse button.
In the section on the left we click on the "+" button under National Accounts (GDP) and select Real GDP by Expenditure.
By clicking on the "+" and "-" icons next to the individual categories their sub-categories can be expanded or shrunk — in this case we only need the main categories from the GDP formula.
Using the Transformation drop-down list on the top-right side we can switch the display to values from percentage changes which are set by default.
To export the data to Excel (or PDF) we use the outlined button from the top-right part of the terminal:
Example: we are interested in interest rates for different maturities for Germany, meaning that we want to observe a yield curve for German government bonds. We also want to see a list of bonds used in its construction and check for Slovenian government bond spread over the German ones.
We are going to use function CRVF (Curve Finder) to find the yield curve for German government bonds.
A page opens where we can find a plethora of different curves to plot. Select Germany and then EUR German Sovereign Curve. The amber box above can be used to search for desired curves from the list.
Upon clicking on the selected curve, it appears in the Selected Curves section. We could include other ones as well, but let us go with just this one for now. On the bottom of the screen, click on Graph Selected Curves, which will draw the selected curve using the GC (Graph Curves) function.
The selected curve gets drawn. Chart customization works in a similar fashion as with other charts in the Charts section. The outlined red bar on top of the page can be saved for saving the chart (Actions -> Save as new chart), exporting it (Export -> Export Table will download it in an Excel file), customizing the display settings (Settings) etc.
The table presents the list of bonds used in drawing the curve. Clicking on a bond will show its historical yields.
To plot historical yields for the selected bond, function GY (Yield Chart) can be used.
Let us add the yield curve for the Slovenian government bonds using the amber box Add Curve or by clicking on Browse next to it to open again the function CRVF (Curve Finder) that we used earlier already.
Now both selected curves are drawn next to each other. The bottom part of the chart shows the spread of the Slovenian yield over the German one (the difference expressed in basis points).
Historical curves can also be compared visually to the current ones. By clicking on 1W and 1M buttons the curves from 1 week and 1 month ago will get drawn in the chart as well. Click on them again to remove them.
The Table option will in this case also include the data and spreads for bonds for all selected dates.
To display only historical yield curve of a specific date, we will therefore deselect any of the Last, 1D, 1W, 1M that are currently selected for display and enter the desired date in the Specific box.
Another thing that can be done is displaying historical yield movement for a chosen maturity. To do this, click on the point in the curve that represents this maturity.
The function that opens and is used for charting the historical yields for a certain maturity is called GCT (Graph Curve Tenors). The chart once more works in the same manner as we are used to.
Example: we want to observe the current spread (the difference in yields between bonds) of German versus USA 10-year bonds.
We will use the WB (World Bond Markets) function.
The landing page of the function shows a list of certain governments (the list can be changed from the red Settings button -> Customize Region List) and the data about their sovereign bond for the selected maturity (amber box). Move to the Spreads tab.
In the Spreads tab we can select the benchmark yield bond using the amber box Sell. According to our instructions we set it to United States and hence, the values in the table present the spreads versus USA government bonds.
We can click on any number in the table to open the chart of its past values. By clicking on the outlined chart symbol, a smaller chart interface of the spread appears (as a new window), while selecting the blue value in the Spd column, a more sophisticated version of the chart opens, where we can customize it according to our preferences.
The aforementioned simple chart that opens in a new window:
The more sophisticated chart (below) can be modified in a similar manner as described in the Charts section.
Example: let us find the sovereign credit default swap spread for Slovenia and compare it to the spreads of other countries. The spread of the CDS is expressed in basis points and refers to the price a buyer has to pay to insure the bond payouts (the buyer can also buy it for speculative purposes).
To obtain the data about sovereign CDS spreads, we can use function SOVR (Sovereign CDS Monitor).
Change the displayed countries from Standard to All from amber box on the top-left part of the screen.
Find Slovenia in the table and observe from the Spread column that current CDS spread for Slovenian government bonds equals to 40.37 basis points (or 0.4037%). Therefore, a buyer would have to pay around 0.40€ per year to insure every 100€ of Slovenian government debt with a 5-year maturity.
By clicking on the Spread column name, we can sort the countries by spread and see how Slovenia compares to other countries. The lower the spread, the higher the certainty from market participants that the bond's payoff will be completed.
Historical spread ranges can also be observed form the chart. Clicking on a number in the table opens a chart with its historical values. Upon clicking on the 40.37 value for Slovenia, a chart opens that shows that the CDS spread for Slovenian 5-year government bonds has been in a falling trend in the past year.
Example: we are interested in the date of the unemployment rate release for the United States and the expectations for the value published.
Economic calendar can be accessed from the ECO (Economic Calendars) function.
We are met with a table of upcoming releases. For each one we can see the date and time and the importance (in column R — the number of lit bars show how many people set up notifications for this release). We can also see the prior value, the expected value among analysts (column Surv(M)) and of course the actual value when it gets published. For unemployment rate the expectation is 3.5%, which is the same as the number published in the previous release.
By clicking on Unemployment Rate a chart opens with historical values of the selected economic indicator and related news — function ECOD (Economic Release Details). Click on Line Chart to operate with all of the functions for charting that GP (Line Chart) function allows. Instructions for charting can be found in the Charts section.
Example: we need the median forecast for Italian Household Consumption year-over-year growth for 2023.
To see the economic forecasts for a region, use function ECFC (Economic Forecasts).
We land on the page shown below. To change the region of displayed data, use the outlined amber box and either type in and select the desired one or use the Browse button and find it from there. Numerous economic indicators are presented in the table (the amount of data available depends on the selected region).
Besides historical data, forecasts are also shown for the next three years. By clicking on an individual indicator in the table, a page with more detailed forecasts opens. We can dig deeper into estimates and observe median, high, low estimate and more. In the bottom of the page, a list of analysts that contributed their estimates is presented.
We can read our median estimate from the table to be 0.9%.
To chart an indicator, go back to the Economic Forecasts landing page (by clicking <Back> (End on keyboard)) and select Chart from the red bar. In the Indicator section of the page that opens, select the indicators you want to visualize and the frequency of data in the top-right corner (yearly vs quarterly).
