Interactive Brokers Troubleshooting

[RichKid]

I notice that I couldn't short the stocks I was once able to short. But if there are still shortable stocks, please post a list like RichKid described.

Guys, the list is available again now!

There are 128 stocks on the IB list for shorting (of 2076 tradeable ASX stocks), grab a copy now before it disappears, I haven't seen the list for weeks. Obviously the list is just a guide and availability may vary at the time you place your order. Looks like it was put up late yesterday. See the Interactive Brokers list here: http://individuals.interactivebrokers.com/en/trading/shortableStocks.php?ib_entity=llc

Here, for posterity, are the codes and company names of the 128 shortable stocks for Australia (apologies for the length):

ABB -- ABB Grain Ltd
ABC -- Adelaide Brighton Ltd
AEZ -- APN/UKA European Retail Property Group
AGK -- AGL Energy Ltd
AIO -- Asciano Group
AIX -- Australian Infrastructure Fund
ALL -- Aristocrat Leisure Ltd
AMC -- Amcor Ltd
AMP -- AMP Ltd
ANN -- Ansell Ltd
ANZ -- Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd
AOE -- Arrow Energy Ltd
ASX -- ASX Ltd
AUN -- Austar United Communications Ltd
AWC -- Alumina Ltd
AWE -- Australian Worldwide Exploration Ltd
AXA -- AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Ltd
BBG -- Billabong International Ltd
BBI -- Babcock & Brown Infrastructure Group
BBW -- Babcock & Brown Wind Partners
BCM -- Babcock & Brown Capital Ltd
BHP -- BHP Billiton Ltd
BJT -- Babcock & Brown Japan Property Trust
BLD -- Boral Ltd
BLY -- Boart Longyear Group
BSL -- BlueScope Steel Ltd
BWP -- Bunnings Warehouse Property Trust
BXB -- Brambles Ltd
CBA -- Commonwealth Bank of Australia
CCL -- Coca-Cola Amatil Ltd
CEU -- ConnectEast Group
CEY -- Centennial Coal Co Ltd
CFX -- CFS Retail Property Trust
CGF -- Challenger Financial Services Group Ltd
CMJ -- Consolidated Media Holdings Ltd
CNP -- Centro Properties Group
COH -- Cochlear Ltd
CPA -- Commonwealth Property Office Fund
CPU -- Computershare Ltd
CRG -- Crane Group Ltd
CSR -- CSR Ltd
CTX -- Caltex Australia Ltd
CWN -- CROWN LIMITED
CXC -- Coeur d'Alene Mines Corp
CXP -- Corporate Express Australia Ltd
DJS -- David Jones Ltd
DOW -- Downer EDI Ltd
DUE -- DUET Group
DXL -- Dyno Nobel Ltd
EHL -- Emeco Holdings Ltd
ERA -- Energy Resources of Australia Ltd
FCL -- Futuris Corp Ltd
FGL -- Foster's Group Ltd
FXJ -- Fairfax Media Ltd
GFF -- Goodman Fielder Ltd
GMG -- Goodman Group
GPT -- GPT Group
HDF -- Hastings Diversified Utilities Fund
HGI -- Henderson Group PLC
HVN -- Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd
IAG -- Insurance Australia Group Ltd
IGO -- Independence Group NL
IIF -- ING Industrial Fund
ILU -- Iluka Resources Ltd
IOF -- ING Office Fund
JBH -- JB Hi-Fi Ltd
JHX -- James Hardie Industries NV
JST -- Just Group Ltd
LGL -- Lihir Gold Ltd
LLC -- Lend Lease Corp Ltd
LNN -- Lion Nathan Ltd
LYC -- Lynas Corp Ltd
MAH -- Macmahon Holdings Ltd
MAP -- Macquarie Airports
MCG -- Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group
MCR -- Mincor Resources NL
MCW -- Macquarie CountryWide Trust
MDT -- Macquarie DDR Trust
MGR -- Mirvac Group
MGX -- Mount Gibson Iron Ltd
MIG -- Macquarie Infrastructure Group
MMG -- Macquarie Media Group Ltd
MND -- Monadelphous Group Ltd
MOF -- Macquarie Office Trust
MTS -- Metcash Ltd
NAB -- National Australia Bank Ltd
NCM -- Newcrest Mining Ltd
NWS -- News Corp
NXS -- Nexus Energy Ltd
ORG -- Origin Energy Ltd
ORI -- Orica Ltd
OSH -- Oil Search Ltd
OST -- OneSteel Ltd
PBG -- Pacific Brands Ltd
PEM -- Perilya Ltd
PMP -- Pacific Magazines Ltd
PNA -- Pan Australian Resources Ltd
PPX -- PaperlinX Ltd
QAN -- Qantas Airways Ltd
QBE -- QBE Insurance Group Ltd
QGC -- Queensland Gas Co Ltd
RMD -- Resmed Inc
SDL -- Sundance Resources Ltd/Australia
SEK -- Seek Ltd
SGP -- Stockland
SGT -- Singapore Telecommunications Ltd
SHL -- Sonic Healthcare Ltd
SKI -- Spark Infrastructure Group
SMY -- Sally Malay Mining Ltd
SRL -- Straits Resources Ltd
STO -- Santos Ltd
SUN -- Suncorp-Metway Ltd
TAH -- TABCORP Holdings Ltd
TCL -- Transurban Group
TEL -- Telecom Corp of New Zealand Ltd
TLS -- Telstra Corp Ltd
TOL -- Toll Holdings Ltd
TSI -- Transfield Services Infrastructure Fund
TSO -- Tishman Speyer Office Fund
UGL -- United Group Ltd
VPG -- Valad Property Group
WBC -- Westpac Banking Corp
WDC -- Westfield Group
WOR -- WorleyParsons Ltd
WOW -- Woolworths Ltd
WPL -- Woodside Petroleum Ltd
WTF -- Wotif.com Holdings Ltd
ZFX -- Zinifex Ltd

 

[IFocus]

G'day TH

Are you saying I can't apply on a paper application form?

Cheers

dutchie

Dutchie just went through the process once completed its all very simple as TH points out even if I made it hard work.

http://individuals.interactivebrokers.com/en/accounts/individuals/individualMain.php?ib_entity=llc

Really worth while IMHO the order type's run rings around any setup here and the platform has a simulator that shorted some stock for me last night.............

Any questions let me know.

Now to work out TWS

TH or any one could you put a screen shot up showing what your work space looks like. Just looking for some where to start.......

Some thing showing the future contacts that you watch would be realty handy.

 

[RichKid]

I agree with Ifocus, the benefits are great, although you still have to keep at them as things do go wrong form time to time. Still working on some issues atm.

The most immediate benefit is the saving in brokerage and fees, it has slashed my fixed costs. Commsuc isn't fleecing me like they used to as a result. Having said that, IB is not for everyone but if you are a frequent trader then they are probably the one for you.

One big benefit is that I can gain access to the US markets, something I've been trying to do for awhile due to the increased liquidity of most issues and the lower trading costs, not to mention the variety of markets. US eto's are the other drawcard but I'm still learning about options so I am content to get there at my pace at the moment. If not for IB I probably would not have this exposure. I tried via Commsec before but they were way too expensive.

 

[IFocus]

RH the brokerage cost is almost Un-Australian LOL way too cheap.

One thing new starters will find that generally due to small account sizes is that the difference between break even and their losses will generally be the cost of brokerage and slippage.

PS thanks for the link RH, attached text file if anyone wants it

 

[juw177]

Thanks Richkid. Glad it is back today.

 

[dclayw]

Is there a problem with IB this morning steve? Or is it my computer?

My orders arent accepting and graphs arent loading.

Maybe daylight saving hassles? (being not this weekend to change in sydney, but some computers are changing times anyway.)

And if it is you guys, any estimate on time to be fixed?

thx.

I've also been having some problems with Interactive Brokers this week. I'm in Brisbane but always have my PCs set to Daylight Savings Time. I didn't know that DS was extended for a week in NSW so I was caught out on that when my PCs automatically adjusted for DS. Applied the M$ fix for that but then TWS was still showing the time as if DS had finished (even after TWS restart). Had to update Java to fix that.

But now I'm having a backfill problem. Everything looks fine except backfilling the SPI only backfills to 10:50am for both yesterday and today. Nikkei and Kospi both backfill as normal. Very weird, I don't think there is a problem at my end. I use both Quotetracker and AmiBroker, both show the same when backfilling the SPI, i.e. no data for 09:50-10:50. Looks like a problem on IB side to me.

Anyone else seeing what I'm seeing.

 

[RichKid]

RH the brokerage cost is almost Un-Australian LOL way too cheap.

One thing new starters will find that generally due to small account sizes is that the difference between break even and their losses will generally be the cost of brokerage and slippage.

PS thanks for the link RH, attached text file if anyone wants it

My pleasure guys, I know how useful this is to me, (IB CS weren't very helpful , I think they tried to help but didn't understand how important a list is to a trader). (thx for the txt file attachment Ifocus, I left the list in the post as it's accessible via google for people that way in case the list goes down again).

That's right IFocus, so those newbies with small ac's who traded frequently and were slightly unprofitable or at breakeven while they were trading with commsuc would actually have been making a few thousand with IB...but that was in the bullmarket.

Cheap brokerage doesn't equal profitability unfortunately but, from a business point of view, money saved is money made in this case.

 

[IFocus]

I've also been having some problems with Interactive Brokers this week. I'm in Brisbane but always have my PCs set to Daylight Savings Time. I didn't know that DS was extended for a week in NSW so I was caught out on that when my PCs automatically adjusted for DS. Applied the M$ fix for that but then TWS was still showing the time as if DS had finished (even after TWS restart). Had to update Java to fix that.

But now I'm having a backfill problem. Everything looks fine except backfilling the SPI only backfills to 10:50am for both yesterday and today. Nikkei and Kospi both backfill as normal. Very weird, I don't think there is a problem at my end. I use both Quotetracker and AmiBroker, both show the same when backfilling the SPI, i.e. no data for 09:50-10:50. Looks like a problem on IB side to me.

Anyone else seeing what I'm seeing.

I ran charts out of TWS yesterday messing around and had the same problem thought it was me. Wasn't impressed with the TWS charts at all looks like AB or MS is the go.

I have Metastock Stock professional but AB EOD, looks like a AB upgrade sort of over MS.

 

[dclayw]

I ran charts out of TWS yesterday messing around and had the same problem thought it was me. Wasn't impressed with the TWS charts at all looks like AB or MS is the go.

I have Metastock Stock professional but AB EOD, looks like a AB upgrade sort of over MS.

You mean you had the same problem only seeing data backfilled back to 10:50am, rather then 09:50am. Did you see that also on MS. Are you still seeing the problem now.

I agree, TWS charts are not that good, they have improved an awful lot over the years though. Then again charting is not TWS's forte.

Steve from IB, can you comment on this "backfill" problem, which seems somehow related to daylight savings. It's easy to test ofcourse, just clear the chart and backfill the last couple of days.

Taiwan just opened, it backfills correctly too.

 

[Trembling Hand]

Guys IB has the Daylight savings times stuffed up for Oz this week. Their daytrading Fut margins aren't kicking in till 10:50.

I guess some one should start a trouble ticket in Acc Mgn. But I cannot be tossed. my data has been fine but I'm using NT and its storing the Tick data.

so I think thats where you trouble is coming from.

 

[IFocus]

You mean you had the same problem only seeing data backfilled back to 10:50am, rather then 09:50am. Did you see that also on MS. Are you still seeing the problem now.

There seemed to be a problem at one stage where the chart wouldn't display back to 09.50 then it did then it didn't like I said it could have been me.
As for MS your talking to a 2nd day user of IB, I will go straight to trying AB for charts some time this week.

As for Steve IB I remember he said some where we should put in a "ticket" or some thing like that for issues........

 

[dclayw]

OK, I've just escalated this dalylight savings problem with IB. Just wanted to make sure it wasn't me having the problem.

 

[CFD]

Guys, the list is available again now!

Here, for posterity, are the codes and company names of the 128 shortable stocks for Australia (apologies for the length):

An indication that the best time for shorting is over?

 

[Aussiejeff]

Hmmmm.

Just received this e-mail this morning... since I was one of the first batch to open an IB account here in Oz, all I can say is WTF?????!!!!

"Dear Trader:

IB is required by various Regulations to verify the identity of its customers by obtaining certain documents. The documents required for your account are listed below (Please note: you only have to send one document in each category. Also, IB cannot accept handwritten documents as proof of identity or proof of address):"

The request goes on to detail how to send .jpegs of driver's licence, bank statements etc via e-mail. I presume my account is now frozen until my already proven identity is "re-proven"?

Time to dump this lot methinks....


AJ

 

[RichKid]

Hmmmm.

Just received this e-mail this morning... since I was one of the first batch to open an IB account here in Oz, all I can say is WTF?????!!!!

"Dear Trader:

IB is required by various Regulations to verify the identity of its customers by obtaining certain documents. The documents required for your account are listed below (Please note: you only have to send one document in each category. Also, IB cannot accept handwritten documents as proof of identity or proof of address):"

The request goes on to detail how to send .jpegs of driver's licence, bank statements etc via e-mail. I presume my account is now frozen until my already proven identity is "re-proven"?

Time to dump this lot methinks....


AJ

Hi AJ

It appears that that's standard form now, alas. It does seem a bit risky though, I hope they have secure procedures for handling your personal information. Might be good to give them a call to see if there are alternatives.

There may be more about it in the other IB thread. See my mod note in the first post in this thread.

 

[Aussiejeff]

Hi AJ

It appears that that's standard form now, alas. It does seem a bit risky though, I hope they have secure procedures for handling your personal information. Might be good to give them a call to see if there are alternatives.

There may be more about it in the other IB thread. See my mod note in the first post in this thread.

Pheww!

Just spoke to US branch and resolved the *problem*. It appears I had an old *lapsed* account application (from sometime back in 2007) that had somehow been re-activated by IB's computer system! I quickly checked the account number referred to on the e-mail and sure enough it was slightly different to my current a/c number.

So, in the end the IB help desk person killed the old a/c application properly this time around and assured me that I didn't have to provide the details requested in their *rogue* e-mail!

Boy, bit of a shock to the system first up today I can tell you....

Relax now, Jeff lad... reeeeelaaaaxxxxx.....

 

[RichKid]

Pheww!

Just spoke to US branch and resolved the *problem*. It appears I had an old *lapsed* account application (from sometime back in 2007) that had somehow been re-activated by IB's computer system! I quickly checked the account number referred to on the e-mail and sure enough it was slightly different to my current a/c number.

So, in the end the IB help desk person killed the old a/c application properly this time around and assured me that I didn't have to provide the details requested in their *rogue* e-mail!

Boy, bit of a shock to the system first up today I can tell you....

Relax now, Jeff lad... reeeeelaaaaxxxxx.....

Too easy mate, have a good one, amazing what a helpful chat can do.

 

[julius]

When's the daylight saving issue going to be fixed?

I keep missing the opens because of it...sitting out on these higher opens is killing me

 

[elbee]

Appears to have been fixed yesterday. My ATS traded on open yesterday (but missed Tues) and today's data appears correct.

 

[julius]

Nope, data might be fixed but futures margins are still out...