Database Guide: Bloomberg: Additional Details
Excel add-in
Bloomberg allows customized downloading to Excel. To access, the first time you must download the Excel add-in to the particular station you are using in the Library (instructions are located at each machine in the Trader's Pit.) Then use the standard Bloomberg functionality by going to Import Data > Real-Time / Historical > Historical End of Day.
An alternative and more flexible method is to create Bloomberg formulas in Excel yourself. You can augment the number of data fields available from the aforementioned Import Data function by instead creating formulas directly in Excel, as follows:
To find data for a single field for a single security, position =BDP(A2,B1) in B2, where A2 contains the security and B1 the field mnemonic.
To find data for multiple fields for a single security, position =BDP($A2,B$1) in B2, where A2 contains the security and B1 and across the field mnemonics. Then drag the lower right corner of B2 across all cells in the row to be populated.
To find data for multiple fields for multiple securities, position =BDP($A2,B$1) in B2, where A2 and down contain the securities and B1 and across contain the field mnemonics. Then drag the lower right corner of B2 down and across diagonally, to populate the columns and rows.
The list of field mnemonics is found using the Find Fields function.
Searching for Dead Companies
Select Equity tab. Search for the name of the ‘dead’ company. When the list is too long, you can limit the results by selecting a particular Trading Status, for example ‘Acquired’. In the list of results, click on the name of the security you think is the correct one. Then choose the DES (Security Description) to get more information about that particular security.
A 'dead' company is a company or corporation that is formally dissolved but has not yet completed distributing its assets. The assets of such a company can be used to further the goals of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Therefore, such a company can be sued under CERCLA.