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FFcal - Plot News indicator

  • #121
  • Jul 5, 2007 6:02am Jul 5, 2007 6:02am
Quoting Kurka Fund
A little code snippet to go with this great indicator....
Plot_News is actually a very basic indicator. All it does is plot Wingding objects defined in a file (News.CSV) using a few filters. The usefulness of the output lies not with the indicator itself, but with the content in the News.CSV, and the way that it can (now) be generated automatically by FFcal.EXE

Spindrift, Kurka – thanks for enhancing the functions within the indicator. I don’t expect that I will ever add to the original Plot_News.MQ4 myself, which means that you guys can continue to develop your own enhancements without any of us having to worry about somehow merging everybody’s work into a single, “official” version.

I’m currently working on v1.09 of FFcal.EXE which fixes a couple of minor problems, and also allows the FF calendar to be output in CSV (and possibly XML) formats. Version 2 is still a way off, as I’m trading a live account now, which absorbs much of my focus and energy.

David
  • #122
  • Edited 1:19am Jul 9, 2007 1:07am | Edited 1:19am
I am continuing my R&D on version 2. The aim is to have additional Wingdings objects print under news events, and when the mouse cursor is hovered over them, the floating help will display the broker's spreads, for the charted pair, at (for example) 15 second intervals.

The following is my proposed approach. If there is a simpler or better way of achieving this, I'm open to workable suggestions.

1. The first step is for the user to specify which pairs he wants to collect the spread data, for any given currency. For example, for news events relating to EUR, you might want to collect spreads on the pairs EURUSD, EURGBP, EURJPY, etc. You could also specify how often spreads are to be collected, e.g. every 15 seconds.

2. FFcal.EXE will use this data, along with its News Events History, to automatically output a text file of date/times, and currency pairs for which spreads are to be collected, e.g.

EURUSD, 22/06/2007, 14:30 – 14:40
EURGBP, 22/06/2007, 14:30 – 14:40
EURJPY, 22/06/2007, 14:30 – 14:40
EURUSD, 25/06/2007, 16:45 – 16:55
EURGBP, 25/06/2007, 16:45 – 16:55
EURJPY, 25/06/2007, 16:45 – 16:55
etc

3. There will need to be an indicator, e.g. SpreadCollector.MQ4, which is attached to any one pair. This must be running continuously (like a trading robot EA), or at least at the times whenever spread collection is required. It will read the file created in step 2, collect the spreads using the MarketInfo(“currency pair”, MODE_SPREAD) function, and output a new file, with the spreads every 15 seconds, something like:

EURUSD, 22/06/2007, 14:28, 2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,5,6,6,6,9,8,4,4,5,4,4,4,4,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2

[NOTE: As far as I know, it's not possible to gain the spread data from the existing MT4 history files. They contain the Open, Low, High and Close BID prices only, for a given time frame, e.g. every 15 mins for the M15 history file].

4. FFcal.EXE will read the file(s) created in step 3, and (at the user's option) add the necessary items to the News.CSV file.

5. The Plot_News.MQ4 indicator, in its current form, will automatically pick up these extra News.CSV items and plot them accordingly, underneath the relevant news objects. So the floating help would read something like:

EURUSD spreads 14:28 – 14:40 (every 15 sec)
2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,5,6,6,6,9,8,4,4,5,4,4,4,4,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2,2

I plan to plot this as a separate object, since (1) it doesn't need to be repeated for each news event, where there are multiple events occurring at the same time; and (2) the two allowed help description lines for news events are already used. Obviously, unlike the news events, the data (spreads) will differ for each currency pair chart.


This whole process may appear cumbersome. However, I would point out:
Step 1 is a one-time initial set-up, and only needs repeating if/when the user wants to change the spread collection options.
Step 2: this could be automatically actioned every time FFcal.EXE grabs the FF calendar to get the news events, so it happens completely transparently, without the need for any additional user input.
Step 3: this indicator need be attached to only one chart (pair). Once attached, MT4 could be left to run continuously.
Step 4: this would logically be actioned whenever FFcal.EXE outputs the News.CSV file: again no additional user input required.
Step 5: Plot_News is already attached to the chart to show the news events: again, no additional user input.

As I said, that's my current approach. If there is a simpler or better way of achieving this, I'd appreciate any helpful suggestions.

If anybody can see any major pitfalls as to why this approach can't possibly work, or otherwise thinks that the whole idea is not worth implementing, please advise also.

Many thanks
David
  • #123
  • Edited 4:39am Jul 9, 2007 2:22am | Edited 4:39am
Version 1.09 allows output, in addition to News.CSV, to a file in XML, CSV (Excel-compatible) or Report Columns format. Only news events (i.e. not auxiliary items) are output. These are filtered by the same parameters, i.e. Currency (Wingdings character), by Impact, by Date Range, and/or by text in the Description. So, for example, you could output only high impact events for the GBP between Jan 1,2007 and May 31,2007 containing the text 'BOE' in the description.
The new options appear in a separate panel near the bottom of the screen:

No: causes no additional file to be output (i.e. News.CSV only)
XML: causes an XML "stub" file to be output.
Tab: causes a tab-separated CSV file to be output.
Char: causes a CSV file to be output, where you specify two field separator characters:

  1. First character is (e.g.) comma, semicolon, pipe, etc, to separate fields.
  2. Second character (optional, leave empty if not required) is (e.g.) double quote, to enclose all fields.

Cols: causes a text file to be output, with data in evenly spaces report columns, including column headings.

D.Fmt: the format to be used for outputting the dates, consists of 2 characters.

  1. First character: D = ddmmyyyy; M=mmddyyyy; Y= yyyymmdd.
  2. Second character: the separator, e.g. a slash, hyphen or dot.

Example: M– causes dates to be output in mm–dd–yyyy format.

Path\filename: enter the full path and the name (up to 99 characters permitted, field pans left/right as necessary) of your desired output file.
If you omit the pathname, the file is created in the same folder as you installed the EXE.
Output will create a new file, overwriting any already existing file of the same name.

[NOTE: all of these new parameters remain 'sticky', from one run to the next, and are also included in any profiles that you save].

To import the calendar into Excel:
1. Choose "Tab" format and Y/ as the date format, and make sure your output filename has a .CSV extension. Press Enter to create the output file.
2. In Windows Explorer, double-click on the output file to load it into Excel.
3. Highlight all data in column A, and then choose Excel's Data > Text to Columns menu option, and specify Tab as the delimiter (it should be the default).
4. Change cell widths and formats to suit.

Version 1.09 also includes a set of additional buttons ('139', '140', '141', etc) to allow individual currencies to be reset to their default values with a single click.

The bug discovered by Rorieu in post #125 has also been fixed.


INSTALLATION

If installing for the first time, you need to:
1) install the base system as per post #63 in this thread; then
2) upgrade to version 1.06, by following the instructions in post #102; then
3) unzip the ZIP attached to this post (#131), overwriting the existing FFcal.EXE file.

If you already have v1.06, v1.07 or v1.08 installed, you need only perform step (3). The ZIP below contains only the FFcal.EXE file, so you won’t overwrite any changes you've made to your Events History.

Again, I must point out that while I have firewalls and anti-virus operating on my PC config, by downloading and running the software, you agree to do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. My config allows testing on Win-98 and Win-XP Pro only.

David

Attached File(s)
File Type: zip ffcal109.zip   618 KB | 1,054 downloads
  • #124
  • Jul 11, 2007 12:33am Jul 11, 2007 12:33am
Hi, David,

Is it possible that your FFcal indicator implements the sound alert function we discussed in seperate thread?
Then we may have a sort of all-in-one solution, i.e.: visual and audio:

Just a recommendation.

Cheers.
凹凸 only
  • #125
  • Jul 11, 2007 10:28am Jul 11, 2007 10:28am
Quoting Samuri
Is it possible that your FFcal indicator implements the sound alert function we discussed in seperate thread?
Then we may have a sort of all-in-one solution, i.e.: visual and audio:
Hi Samuri

I agree that both visual and audio would be nice. Unfortunately, the Plot_News indicator is designed to plot (past and future) events rather than provide a timed countdown to the next event. Derk Wehler's calendar (http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=19293) does this, and I don't see any point going to a lot of work in trying to copy what has already been done. There's no reason why you couldn't run both indicators simultaneously on the same chart(s), if you want to.

Best wishes
David
  • #126
  • Jul 14, 2007 3:27am Jul 14, 2007 3:27am
Quoting hanover
I am continuing my R&D on version 2. The aim is to have additional Wingdings objects print under news events, and when the mouse cursor is hovered over them, the floating help will display the broker's spreads, for the charted pair, at (for example) 15 second intervals.

......

If anybody can see any major pitfalls as to why this approach can't possibly work, or otherwise thinks that the whole idea is not worth implementing, please advise also.

Many thanks
David
Hi David

Thanks again for all the hard work you're putting into your Plot News process. The information it provides is really useful and saves me a lot of time when trying to determine the potential effect of each pending news release.

Regarding the display of broker spread information, my only doubt is that it seems like a lot of effort to achieve something that may be of limited use. Forex Factory already gives an assessment of the potential impact of each report and I notice that this changes over time, presumably based on actual effect. I'm probably missing the point somewhere, though, and would be happy to be enlightened to the potential benefits.

I was wondering if it would be possible to include the "prior number" revisions in the News database. I've recently been trying to assess the impact of revisions and have been thinking along the lines of: what would the consensus have been if the prior number had been what it's now been revised to? This does seem to help to explain some of the price movements.

Another thing that I think might be useful would be if the numbers given in the text, i.e. actual, consensus, prior, (prior number revision ), could be converted to numeric values. Amongst other things, this would allow a "deviation from expectation" to be calculated, which could incorporate the revisions. Come to think of it, I could probably put something into the MT indicator to extract the numbers from the text, if you don't think it's worth doing earlier in the process.

Regards,
Greg
  • #127
  • Jul 15, 2007 3:57pm Jul 15, 2007 3:57pm
Hi Spindrift

Quoting Spindrift
Regarding the display of broker spread information, my only doubt is that it seems like a lot of effort to achieve something that may be of limited use. Forex Factory already gives an assessment of the potential impact of each report and I notice that this changes over time, presumably based on actual effect. I'm probably missing the point somewhere, though, and would be happy to be enlightened to the potential benefits.
Thanks for the feedback. Given that there’s been no other response – for or against – in the 6 days since I posted the question, and there would be a significant amount of development work involved, perhaps I should abandon the idea. It seemed like a worthy cause to begin with, but like you say, I wonder if this kind of tool is really going to help anybody trade more profitably, which is (of course) the ultimate objective.


Quoting Spindrift
I was wondering if it would be possible to include the "prior number" revisions in the News database. I've recently been trying to assess the impact of revisions and have been thinking along the lines of: what would the consensus have been if the prior number had been what it's now been revised to? This does seem to help to explain some of the price movements.
I assume you’re referring to the number that “hides behind” the little yellow arrow on the FF calendar, and pops out when the mouse cursor is hovered over the arrow? If so, I’ve just checked the HTML, and it’s not too difficult to grab it. Only problem is it would mean modifying the Event History’s database structure, which would mean that everybody who wanted to upgrade to the next revision (1.10 supposedly) would need to have their Event History overwritten by the new structure, thereby losing any timezone alterations they might have made previously (including daylight saving adjustments). I guess that’s really not a problem, as any “dissenters” would be perfectly at liberty to stay with v1.09. So I could implement that one.


Quoting Spindrift
Another thing that I think might be useful would be if the numbers given in the text, i.e. actual, consensus, prior, (prior number revision ), could be converted to numeric values. Amongst other things, this would allow a "deviation from expectation" to be calculated, which could incorporate the revisions. Come to think of it, I could probably put something into the MT indicator to extract the numbers from the text, if you don't think it's worth doing earlier in the process.
I’ve been forced to run with the lowest common denominator, to accommodate the values that include non-numeric characters (e.g. ‘B’ for billion, X-Y for BOE minutes, etc). However, if we’re going to modify the structure, it’s not too much effort to add 4 further numeric fields for ‘actual’, ‘forecast’, ‘previous’, and ‘revised from’. All non-numeric data would be stripped from these fields, which means that BOE minutes, for example, would simply show as 0.00. But I’m curious to know how/where you’re going to do your calculation (in Excel? or MT4?), since v1.09 now allows export of the Events database in a wide number of formats, and you could use functions/formulae in Excel to do the stripping, and then the calculations. If you’re looking to do the calculations in MT4, then the values still need to be output to News.CSV as part of the description string, but I guess we could output 4 more values to the end of each News.CSV line. But it would be just as easy to extract the numbers from the text, as you suggest…. perhaps that is simplest? Let me know what you think.

David
  • #128
  • Jul 16, 2007 3:59am Jul 16, 2007 3:59am
Quoting hanover
Hi Spindrift

I assume you’re referring to the number that “hides behind” the little yellow arrow on the FF calendar, and pops out when the mouse cursor is hovered over the arrow? If so, I’ve just checked the HTML, and it’s not too difficult to grab it. Only problem is it would mean modifying the Event History’s database structure, which would mean that everybody who wanted to upgrade to the next revision (1.10 supposedly) would need to have their Event History overwritten by the new structure, thereby losing any timezone alterations they might have made previously (including daylight saving adjustments). I guess that’s really not a problem, as any “dissenters” would be perfectly at liberty to stay with v1.09. So I could implement that one.
Yes, that's what I was referring to. I think it's definitely worth including as it does seem to have an effect on the eventual price movement.

Quoting hanover
I’ve been forced to run with the lowest common denominator, to accommodate the values that include non-numeric characters (e.g. ‘B’ for billion, X-Y for BOE minutes, etc). However, if we’re going to modify the structure, it’s not too much effort to add 4 further numeric fields for ‘actual’, ‘forecast’, ‘previous’, and ‘revised from’. All non-numeric data would be stripped from these fields, which means that BOE minutes, for example, would simply show as 0.00. But I’m curious to know how/where you’re going to do your calculation (in Excel? or MT4?), since v1.09 now allows export of the Events database in a wide number of formats, and you could use functions/formulae in Excel to do the stripping, and then the calculations. If you’re looking to do the calculations in MT4, then the values still need to be output to News.CSV as part of the description string, but I guess we could output 4 more values to the end of each News.CSV line. But it would be just as easy to extract the numbers from the text, as you suggest…. perhaps that is simplest? Let me know what you think.

David
I haven't really explored the CSV file but just glancing at it now suggests that the resultant spreadsheet would be the most sensible place to convert the text and play with the numbers. There seems to be a limited number of non-numeric qualifiers and I guess it would be possible to apply some logic to ensure the conversions are sensible. I'll have a play around with it and see if I can create a macro to do the conversion. Does the CSV generation take account of the "Show only on relevant currency charts" tick box?

Cheers,
Greg
  • #129
  • Jul 16, 2007 8:20pm Jul 16, 2007 8:20pm
Quoting Spindrift
Does the CSV generation take account of the "Show only on relevant currency charts" tick box?
No. Events for all currency pairs get output to both the XML/CSV and also News.CSV
All this parameter does is alter the 5th entry output that's output to each line of News.CSV
If unchecked, the 5th entry is output as "ALL"
If checked, the 5th entry is output to "USD", "GBP", etc - whatever ccy the FF calendar has the event pegged for. Plot_News.MQ4 then takes over and plots this on relevant charts only, e.g. if "USD", then all charts for which USD is one of the currencies in the pair.

Thanks for your responses, Greg.

Cheers
David
  • #130
  • Jul 20, 2007 6:51am Jul 20, 2007 6:51am
Version 1.10 makes the enhancement originally requested by Spindrift in post #134. The “Revised From” value is now extracted from the FF calendar, added to the Events History database, and output to both the News.CSV file, and all other outputs added in v1.09 (XML, CSV, etc).

When news events are plotted on the MT4 charts, the second description line now reads something like: (e.g.)
A: 2.2% | F: 1.8% | P: 3.4% | R: 3.3%
Where A=actual, F=forecast, P=previous, R=revised from
(corresponding to the values in the FF calendar)

You will need to re-import all of the earlier weeks’ data from FF calendar in order to import the “Revised From” values.

Note that all of the Actual, Forecast, Previous and Revised From values continue to be output in alphanumeric format, allowing embedded alphabetic characters. To perform calculations on these, I suggest exporting to Excel, and using formulae/macros/search-and-replace to strip out the non-numeric characters.


VERY IMPORTANT NOTE - READ BEFORE INSTALLING

Version 1.10 upgrades the structure of the Events History database. If you choose to upgrade to v1.10, your Events History database will be completely overwritten, to accommodate the “Revised From” value. This means that any modifications you may have previously made, including fixes to the event times to align them to your time zone (including daylight saving), would need to be re-input.

If the “Revised From” value is unimportant to you, and having to re-input all of the modifications would be a real nuisance, then I suggest that you do not install this upgrade, i.e. continue to run v1.09. No other enhancements have been made.


INSTALLATION

If installing for the first time, you need to:
1) install the base system as per post #63 in this thread; then
2) upgrade to version 1.06, by following the instructions in post #102; then
3) unzip the ZIP attached to this post (#138), overwriting the existing FFcal.EXE file, and also your Events History database (CALENDAR.*).

If you already have v1.06 or later installed, you need only perform step (3).
Again, I must point out that while I have firewalls and anti-virus operating on my PC config, by downloading and running the software, you agree to do so AT YOUR OWN RISK. My config allows testing on Win-98 and Win-XP Pro only.

David
Attached File(s)
File Type: zip FFcal110.zip   810 KB | 894 downloads
  • #131
  • Jul 20, 2007 7:24pm Jul 20, 2007 7:24pm
OK, for anybody who wants to upgrade to v1.10, but also keep their existing Events History data, I've written a file conversion EXE, and attached it to this post. If you've already taken the steps in post #138, and overwritten your Events History, then I'm afraid you're too late (sorry!).

Otherwise, provided that you're still running v1.09, here's what you need to do:

1. Create a backup folder (let's call it "X"), and copy the following files into it, from the folder that you originally created for FFcal.EXE (let's call this folder "Y"):
CALENDAR.DAT
CALENDAR.K01
CALENDAR.K02
CALENDAR.K03
FFcal.EXE

2. Instead of proceeding as in post #138, unzip the attached ZIP into folder "Y". (The ZIP contains only the new FFcal.EXE v1.10, and also a CONVERT1.EXE file conversion EXE).

3. Run (double click on) the EXE called CONVERT1.EXE. Fingers crossed, this should convert your existing Events History to the new structure. (Hence you only need to do this once). You should see a progress counter flash briefly on your screen, and then disappear.

4. Now simply run FFcal.EXE as per normal. If the conversion was successful, it should be happy with the new structure.

If you get an error message in either of steps 3 or 4, then simply copy the backups you made in step 1, from folder "X" back into folder "Y", overwriting the counterpart files. That way, at the very least you're back to where you first started.

The worst that can happen (if you don't have a backup) is that you lose all of the data in your Events History.
This can always be re-built, several weeks at a time if necessary, from the FF calendar.

As always, proceed at your own risk; I take all care but no responsibility

David
Attached File(s)
File Type: zip FFcal110a.zip   863 KB | 850 downloads
  • #132
  • Jul 21, 2007 4:13am Jul 21, 2007 4:13am
David

That's great - thanks!

Greg
  • #133
  • Jul 29, 2007 2:01am Jul 29, 2007 2:01am
I have just noticed that the Experts tab shows the following:
'2007.07.29 08:26:16 Plot_News_v1_07_2: invalid handle 0 in FileClose'

Is this serious?

I do not know enough about programming to eliminate the error.
  • #134
  • Jul 29, 2007 4:31am Jul 29, 2007 4:31am
Quoting gifog
I have just noticed that the Experts tab shows the following:
'2007.07.29 08:26:16 Plot_News_v1_07_2: invalid handle 0 in FileClose'
Gifog, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Spindrift, I've checked the code and I think this is caused by the NewsCapture file being opened conditionally:
if (buildNewsCSV)
but being closed unconditionally. Hence, if the condition is not being met, an attempt is being made to close the file before it is opened. I leave it to you to confirm, and fix the code if/how you see fit.

Note to everybody: I don't believe that this is a serious error, and would also point out that it pertains to Plot_News_v1_07_2 only.

David
  • #135
  • Jul 30, 2007 3:42am Jul 30, 2007 3:42am
Quoting hanover
Gifog, thanks for bringing this to our attention.

Spindrift, I've checked the code and I think this is caused by the NewsCapture file being opened conditionally:
if (buildNewsCSV)
but being closed unconditionally. Hence, if the condition is not being met, an attempt is being made to close the file before it is opened. I leave it to you to confirm, and fix the code if/how you see fit.

Note to everybody: I don't believe that this is a serious error, and would also point out that it pertains to Plot_News_v1_07_2 only.

David
Sorry about that! Attached is a version of Plot_News_v1_07_2 that checks to see if the file has been opened before trying to close it.

Cheers,
Greg
Attached File(s)
File Type: mq4 Plot_News_v1_07_2.mq4   22 KB | 564 downloads
File Type: ex4 Plot_News_v1_07_2.ex4   18 KB | 496 downloads
  • #136
  • Jul 30, 2007 12:03pm Jul 30, 2007 12:03pm
Quoting Spindrift
Sorry about that! Attached is a version of Plot_News_v1_07_2 that checks to see if the file has been opened before trying to close it.
No need to apologise. You are doing such excellent work in making this available - and this speedy response once again just proves that. Thank you very much.
  • #137
  • Jul 31, 2007 5:05am Jul 31, 2007 5:05am
Attached is version V1.07.3 of the indicator, which combines all the features of previous versions (amended in some cases) and adds a few new things, as follows:

1) The logic to create the file of price movements around the news releases has changed as follows:-
i) OHLC values are output based on the timeframe of chart; i.e. you get preReleaseBars before the report, the report bar and postReleaseBars after the report;
ii) each bar's set of values is output as a row, which facilitates the use of Excel's stock chart creation if required (a small OHLC candle chart can be created in Excel for each selected report);

2) There's a new parameter - useDateFilter, which works in conjunction with dateFilter (i.e dateFilter only active if this parameter set to TRUE)

3) A new icon is displayed showing pip movement in the time period set by new parameters preNewsStart and preNewsEnd. Time span displayed takes into account new parameter - chartAheadGMT. Calulation is (closing price of bar preNewsEnd bars ago) minus (open price of bar preNewsStart bars ago).

4) A new parameter markOnly, which is used in conjunction with the filters, marks the reports that would have been left after application of the filter but leaves all the reports on the chart.

I think that's about it. The main purpose of these changes is to try and get a handle on how the price moves before each news release and to assess whether the difference between the previous and the forecast moves the price predictably.

I keep hearing words to the effect that the "expectations have been priced in" and I would like to find out when this happens.

Cheers,
Greg
Attached File(s)
File Type: mq4 Plot_News_v1_07_3.mq4   26 KB | 724 downloads
File Type: ex4 Plot_News_v1_07_3.ex4   19 KB | 652 downloads
  • #138
  • Jul 31, 2007 7:18am Jul 31, 2007 7:18am
Quoting Spindrift
The main purpose of these changes is to try and get a handle on how the price moves before each news release and to assess whether the difference between the previous and the forecast moves the price predictably.
Sounds great. Thanks for all the hard work.
  • #139
  • Jul 31, 2007 7:40am Jul 31, 2007 7:40am
Quoting Spindrift
Attached is version V1.07.3 of the indicator
Has anybody worked out an EA for this indicator - any version? I am thinking of doing this, and want to avoid duplication of effort.

To this indicator one would have to add some other technical indicator(s) of course, or even the actual news using that little green button that appears 7 minutes prior to news. Any suggestions how one could get that actual news with that green button into the EA?
  • #140
  • Aug 1, 2007 8:27am Aug 1, 2007 8:27am
Quoting gifog
Has anybody worked out an EA for this indicator - any version? I am thinking of doing this, and want to avoid duplication of effort.

To this indicator one would have to add some other technical indicator(s) of course, or even the actual news using that little green button that appears 7 minutes prior to news. Any suggestions how one could get that actual news with that green button into the EA?
As far as I know, no one has tried to create an EA from this indicator.

Regarding getting the released numbers into the EA, your best bet may be to ask Hanover if it's possible to make a version of the BuildNews.csv process that could be set to run continuously and update news.csv every "so many" seconds. You could then write your EA to wait until the numbers were present on the relevant object before trying to do something. You would have to find a way of stripping the numbers from the text. This shouldn't be too difficult as the values are pretty well delimited.

The big question is what are you going to do once you've got the numbers? I've been trading a live account, for the last 8 months or so, using proprietary software to click my buy or sell buttons depending on the numbers. This has worked pretty well up until just lately when the increased broker spreads (47 pips on my broker on the latest NZ interest rate statement!) have made it nigh on impossible to make a profit. The software I was using got the numbers much more quickly than could ever be achieved using the FF Calendar. For this reason, I think your only "after announcement" option is to assess the numbers and trade on a retrace from the spike. I reckon, in most cases, FF will be updated quickly enough to allow this type of trading.

It'll be interesting to see what can be achieved.

Cheers,
Greg
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