General
What is StockCentral?
How Much Does Membership Cost?
How do I change my StockCentral password and/or Account Information?
Who makes StockCentral?

Data
How current is the data?
Is the StockCentral data feed normalized?
What are the sectors and industry groups used in the datafeed?
Are the annual high and low prices for a company's fiscal year or calendar year?
How are revenues calculated for banks?
Does the data include analysts' estimates?
What are the differences in data available from Value Line, BI's Standard and Poors Stock Data Service, and StockCentral (ICLUBcentral)?

Using the StockCentral .SSG Files with our Window-based Desktop Software
How do I configure Investor's Toolkit 5 to use StockCentral data?
How do I configure Classic Plus to use the StockCentral Data?
Why do I get an error in Toolkit 5 when I download stock data from StockCentral?

 

GENERAL

What is StockCentral?"

StockCentral is an online community for individual investors and investment clubs. Currently undergoing a public beta test, StockCentral offers members a financial data service, web-based analysis tools, message boards, educational workshops, and discounts on ICLUBcentral software and services. For more information on StockCentral's origins, read our Manifesto.
Back to Top

How Much Does Membership Cost?

You can register for a 45-day free trial of StockCentral. After your free trial ends, StockCentral membership is $39.99 per year.
Back to Top

How do I change my StockCentral password and/or Account Information?

Just click on the "My Account" link in the upper right of the screen, and then follow the appropriate link. You can also change other information about yourself.
Back to Top

Who makes StockCentral?

StockCentral is developed, owned, and operated by ICLUBcentral Inc. We've been making software and tools for individual investors and investment clubs since 1989. Our "World Headquarters" is in Cambridge, MA in the heart of Harvard Square's historic College House.
Back to Top

 

DATA

How current is the data?

Presently, the StockCentral datafiles are generated weekly over the weekend, using data as of the close of the markets on Friday. Quarterly and annual data is updated as soon as is possible after the company files its Form 10-Q or Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. No preliminary data is included since no SSG software program is equipped to handle preliminary data in a datafeed.
Back to Top

Is the StockCentral data feed normalized?

Yes. The analysts at our data provider, Hemscott USA (a Morningstar Company), adjust net income as reported by the company on their Form 10-K or Form 10-Q to calculate fully-diluted, normalized, Earnings Per Share. This figure includes income from continuing operations, less any extraordinary gains/losses or other non-continuing special income or charges. The figure is calculated using diluted common shares outstanding (adjusted for the assumed conversion of all potentially dilutive securities, which may include convertible debentures, warrants, options, convertible preferred stock, etc.)

Look here for more information: Updates to StockCentral's Data Normalization - 08/13/07. Back to Top

What are the sectors and industry groups used in the datafeed?

Hemscott Data classifies companies into nine sectors. The following is the list of sectors and their member industry groups.
Back to Top

Basic Materials

Conglomerates

Consumer Goods

• Appliances
• Auto Manufacturers - Major
• Auto Parts
• Beverages - Brewers
• Beverages - Soft Drinks
• Beverages - Wineries & Distillers
• Business Equipment
• Cigarettes
• Cleaning Products
• Confectioners
• Dairy Products
• Electronic Equipment
• Farm Products
• Food - Major Diversified
• Home Furnishings & Fixtures
• Housewares & Accessories
• Meat Products
• Office Supplies
• Packaging & Containers
• Paper & Paper Products
• Personal Products
• Photographic Equipment & Supplies
• Processed & Packaged Goods
• Recreational Goods, Other
• Recreational Vehicles
• Rubber & Plastics
• Sporting Goods
• Textile - Apparel Clothing
• Textile - Apparel Footwear & Accessories
• Tobacco Products, Other
• Toys & Games
• Trucks & Other Vehicles
• Back to Top

Financial

• Accident & Health Insurance
• Asset Management
• Closed-End Fund - Debt
• Closed-End Fund - Equity
• Closed-End Fund - Foreign
• Credit Services
• Diversified Investments
• Foreign Money Center Banks
• Foreign Regional Banks
• Insurance Brokers
• Investment Brokerage - National
• Investment Brokerage - Regional
• Life Insurance
• Money Center Banks
• Mortgage Investment
• Property & Casualty Insurance
• Property Management
• REIT - Diversified
• REIT - Healthcare Facilities
• REIT - Hotel/Motel
• REIT - Industrial
• REIT - Office
• REIT - Residential
• REIT - Retail
• Real Estate Development
• Regional - Mid-Atlantic Banks
• Regional - Midwest Banks
• Regional - Northeast Banks
• Regional - Pacific Banks
• Regional - Southeast Banks
• Regional - Southwest Banks
• Savings & Loans
• Surety & Title Insurance
• Back to Top

Healthcare

• Biotechnology
• Diagnostic Substances
• Drug Delivery
• Drug Manufacturers - Major
• Drug Manufacturers - Other
• Drug Related Products
• Drugs - Generic
• Health Care Plans
• Home Health Care
• Hospitals
• Long-Term Care Facilities
• Medical Appliances & Equipment
• Medical Instruments & Supplies
• Medical Laboratories & Research
• Medical Practitioners
• Specialized Health Services
• Back to Top

Industrial Goods

• Aerospace/Defense - Major Diversified
• Aerospace/Defense Products & Services
• Cement
• Diversified Machinery
• Farm & Construction Machinery
• General Building Materials
• General Contractors
• Heavy Construction
• Industrial Electrical Equipment
• Industrial Equipment & Components
• Lumber, Wood Production
• Machine Tools & Accessories
• Manufactured Housing
• Metal Fabrication
• Pollution & Treatment Controls
• Residential Construction
• Small Tools & Accessories
• Textile Industrial
• Waste Management
• Back to Top

Services

• Advertising Agencies
• Air Delivery & Freight Services
• Air Services, Other
• Apparel Stores
• Auto Dealerships
• Auto Parts Stores
• Auto Parts Wholesale
• Basic Materials Wholesale
• Broadcasting - Radio
• Broadcasting - TV
• Building Materials Wholesale
• Business Services
• CATV Systems
• Catalog & Mail Order Houses
• Computers Wholesale
• Consumer Services
• Department Stores
• Discount, Variety Stores
• Drug Stores
• Drugs Wholesale
• Education & Training Services
• Electronics Stores
• Electronics Wholesale
• Entertainment - Diversified
• Food Wholesale
• Gaming Activities
• General Entertainment
• Grocery Stores
• Home Furnishing Stores
• Home Improvement Stores
• Industrial Equipment Wholesale
• Jewelry Stores
• Lodging
• Major Airlines
• Management Services
• Marketing Services
• Medical Equipment Wholesale
• Movie Production, Theaters
• Music & Video Stores
• Personal Services
• Publishing - Books
• Publishing - Newspapers
• Publishing - Periodicals
• Railroads
• Regional Airlines
• Rental & Leasing Services
• Research Services
• Resorts & Casinos
• Restaurants
• Security & Protection Services
• Shipping
• Specialty Eateries
• Specialty Retail, Other
• Sporting Activities
• Sporting Goods Stores
• Staffing & Outsourcing Services
• Technical Services
• Toy & Hobby Stores
• Trucking
• Wholesale, Other
• Back to Top

Technology

• Application Software
• Business Software & Services
• Communication Equipment
• Computer Based Systems
• Computer Peripherals
• Data Storage Devices
• Diversified Communication Services
• Diversified Computer Systems
• Diversified Electronics
• Healthcare Information Services
• Information & Delivery Services
• Information Technology Services
• Internet Information Providers
• Internet Service Providers
• Internet Software & Services
• Long Distance Carriers
• Multimedia & Graphics Software
• Networking & Communication Devices
• Personal Computers
• Printed Circuit Boards
• Processing Systems & Products
• Scientific & Technical Instruments
• Security Software & Services
• Semiconductor - Broad Line
• Semiconductor - Integrated Circuits
• Semiconductor - Specialized
• Semiconductor Equipment & Materials
• Semiconductor- Memory Chips
• Technical & System Software
• Telecom Services - Domestic
• Telecom Services - Foreign
• Wireless Communications
• Back to Top

Utilities

• Diversified Utilities
• Electric Utilities
• Foreign Utilities
• Gas Utilities
• Water Utilities

Back to Top

Are the annual high and low prices for a company's fiscal year or calendar year?

The annual high and low prices are for a company's fiscal year. They are derived from daily closing prices only, however, not from intraday high and low prices.
Back to Top

How are revenues calculated for banks?

Bank revenues are calculated as follows:

Net Interest Income Non-interest Income - Loan Loss Provisions = Revenue

This is the preferred method of calculating bank revenue. Back to Top

Does the data include analysts' estimates?

No. StockCentral will eventually publish its own Community Consensus Estimates(TM) based on the stock studies contributed to the site by members. Analysts Consensus Estimates (ACE) of long-term EPS growth have been pretty thoroughly discredited by the financial industry as being next to meaningless. David Dreman, author of "Contrarian Investment Strategies: The Next Generation" (Simon and Schuster, 1998), offers some statistics taken from a study of all companies followed by a minimum of four analysts--about 1,000 companies--over a 23-year period. Dreman suggests that analysts' estimates of earnings four quarters out were off by at least 5 percent 124 out of 125 times. And when the analysts were estimating five years out, the odds against their being right were 30 billion to one!
Back to Top

What are the differences in data available from Value Line, BI's Standard and Poors Stock Data Service, and StockCentral?

Our data service provides up to ten years of historical fundamental and price data for more than 7,700 publicly-traded U.S. companies. The data is used by all of our online tools, and is available in *.SSG file format, suitable for import into any of ICLUBcentral’s stock analysis software programs: Investor’s Toolkit, Stock Analyst and Classic Plus. Our data comes from Hemscott Data, a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. and a premier provider of financial data to web sites like Yahoo! Finance, Fortune.com, Money.com and more.

Value Line

• Cannot be imported into the software automatically, can only be entered by hand or pulled from site.
• Tracks about 1,500 companies in its main publication; companies are chosen based on ValueLine criteria. Other companies are included in less detail in supplementary subscriptions.
• Only counts operating Income. For example, selling old or defunct hardware is not considered regular income, and thus is not counted.
• Each tracked company has a written analysis of the business, including numerical ratings for Timeliness, Safety and Technical as well as estimates for the next five years. Each group is performed by a different analyst, which may lead to different data normalization.
• Data for a company is updated every thirteen weeks regardless of the timing of quarterly data being released.
• Cost to the individual is about $600.00 per year.

BI's Standard and Poors Stock Data Service (OPS):

• Can be imported into ICLUBcentral's Classic Plus, Investor's Toolkit, and Stock Analyst software.
• Tracks approximately 7,000 companies.
• Counts all income to the company. As opposed to ValueLine, Standard and Poors counts all money received as income.
• Tracked companies are not rated, judged or analyzed in any way.
• Releases preliminary quarterly and annual data before it is filed with the SEC. Users must update data frequently in order to download any revisions made by S&P to the preliminary data.
• Company prices are updated every day; all other company information is updated weekly (quarterly data my take some time to update in system, but timing is related to when figures are released, and company size, not a specific schedule).
• Cost to the individual is about 50.00 per year (included in price of BI membership) for online access through the BetterInvesting site.

StockCentral Data Feed

• Our data comes from Hemscott Data, a subsidiary of Morningstar, Inc. and a premier provider of financial data to web sites like Yahoo! Finance, Fortune.com, Money.com and more.
• Can be opened into ICLUBcentral's Classic Plus and Stock Analyst software. Data can be imported directly into Investor's Toolkit (version 5 or higher).Is also used directly in ICLUBcentral's Take Stock program.
  
• Tracks approximately 7,700 companies -- stocks trading on the New York, American, Nasdaq, and Over-the-Counter markets.
• Tracked companies are not rated, judged, or analyzed in any way.
• Company information and prices are updated weekly. Quarterly data my take some time to update in system, but timing is related to when figures are released, and company size, not a specific schedule.
• Quarterly updates do not use preliminary data. Only final data from a company's SEC filing is reported.
• Includes two essential fields not included in BI's S&P SDS -- percentage inside ownership and institutional holdings.
• Reports revenue for banking companies using this preferred formula:
  Net Interest Income Non-interest Income - Loan Loss Provisions = Revenue.
  OPS only uses Interest Income Non-interest Income.
  StockCentral's method of working with bank data prevents overstating the effect of the fluctuations in interest rates.
• Improved data normalization, taking into account not only special items, but other non-recurring events not regularly accounted for in ongoing operations.
• Cost to the individual is $39 per year, available through the StockCentral site. Membership also includes discounts for ICLUBcentral products, ticker-based message boards, and other benefits.

Back to Top

USING THE STOCKCENTRAL .SSG DATA FILES WITH OUR WINDOWS-BASED DESKTOP SOFTWARE

How do I configure Investor's Toolkit 5 to use StockCentral data?

You can view a short movie to learn how to configure your copy of Investor's Toolkit 5th Edition to use StockCentral's data files. Or, you can follow these instructions:

1. Open Investor's Toolkit.
2. Select Options > Preferences from the menu.
3. Click the File Locations tab.
4. Click the Select Data Subscription button at the top of the screen.
5. Select ICLUB Data File Subscription from the dropdown window at the top.
6. In the field that says "Email Address," enter your StockCentral user name (NOT YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS).
7. In the field that says "Password," enter your StockCentral password.
8. Click OK.
9. Click OK.

Now, enter a ticker symbol in the Ticker box in the main Toolkit toolbar and you can download SSG datafiles from StockCentral.com.
Back to Top

How do I configure Classic Plus to use the StockCentral Data?

Setting File Assocations
or how to get Classic Plus to just open the SSG file without any further fiddling

Microsoft Windows contains a list of file extensions and the programs used to read those files. For example, if you click on document.doc, the .doc tells Windows to open Microsoft Word. The files associated with Classic Plus do not, by default, open Classic Plus. Fortunately, Classic Plus has the ability to set itself as the default program to open .SDF, .SSG, .TXT, .CSV, and .PRC files.

To make Classic Plus the default program for these files:

• From the top menu, select OPTIONS > PREFERENCES.

• Select the FILE ASSOCIATIONS tab at the top of the new window.

• Check the boxes for each file type you want associated with Classic Plus.

• Click OK.

Palm Pilot users! The .PRC extension, in addition to standing for our Price Update files, also stands for PalmPilot Resources file. If you change the association to Classic Plus and attempt to install a Palm Pilot program, it will launch Classic Plus.

Back to Top

Why do I get an error in Toolkit 5 when I download stock data from StockCentral?

There are three possible explanations for why you receive an error message when downloading data into Toolkit 5:

I. The computer is not connected to the Internet.
II. The StockCentral username and password is not entered, incorrect, or simply not selected. I left out "expired" because you wouldn't be able to read this message without your StockCentral subscription!
II. There is a firewall blocking the connection.

SOLUTIONS:

I. If the computer is not connected to the Internet, you can not get Internet updates to the software or data from StockCentral. Please confirm that you are on the Internet by going to a new web site, then getting your data again.

II. To check your StockCentral username and password in Toolkit 5:

1. Go to Options > Preferences > File Locations > Select Data Subscription.
2. Select ICLUB Data File Subscription.
3. Enter your StockCentral username and password again, just in case there was a typo. Remember, enter your username, not your email address.

III. If you have personal firewall software on your computer, it might be interfering with the connection to the StockCentral database. Please check this by temporarily disabling your firewall. Many firewalls can be configured to accept connections from specific domains, in this case, iclub.com and stockcentral.com.

The answer to this problem is in two parts, the quick fix and the permanent solution. For the quick fix, you can disable your firewall temporarily. For the permanent solution, you will need to contact your firewall vendor to permanently allow connections to iclub.com. Tell the vendor, "I have a program that goes to the internet for data and [Norton Internet Security/Zone Alarm/etc] is blocking it. Please help me set up an exception so it is no longer blocked."

How to disable the most popular security programs:

Windows XP built-in firewall
1. Open your Control Panel and select Security Center.
2. Scroll to the bottom, and click on Manage settings for Windows Firewall.
3. Check Off (Not recommended)
For the permanent solution contact Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/pro/using/howto/networking/icf.asp

Norton Internet Security (NIS) or Norton Personal Firewall (NPF)
1. Open NIS or NPF by double-clicking the icon on your desktop.
2. Click Internet Status.
3. Click Current Status
4. To disable NIS or NPF, click the Disable button. To enable NIS or NPF, click the Enable button.
For the permanent solution, contact http://www.symantec.com/techsupp/

McAfee Personal Firewall
1. Click Stop McAfee Firewall to disable the software.
2. From the Welcome to McAfee Firewall screen, go to the Network Control Settings and select Allow All Traffic.
This works for most versions of the McAfee firewall. However, there are many versions, each with different steps to disable. You may need to contact McAfee directly if this does not apply. For the permanent solution, contact http://www.mcafeehelp.com

Zone Alarm
1. Right-click the Zone Alarm icon in the System Tray,and select Shutdown Zone Alarm.
For the permanent solution, contact http://www.zonelabs.com/store/content/support/techSupport.jsp

Earthlink Accelerator
1. Right-click the Earthlink Accelerator icon on the system tray next to the clock in the lower-right corner of your screen.
2. Select Disable Earthlink Accelerator.
For the permanent solution, contact http://support.earthlink.net/

Other Web Accelerators
While the Earthlink Accelerator is one of the more popular accelerator programs, the number of web accelerator programs available for free on the internet, or packaged with other software grows every day. If you are using a dial-up connection, you should check your computer for this sort of software. Most accelerators will show up in one of three places:
1. As part of a toolbar on your web browser. Even if your web browser is not active, the accelerator can still be running, so make sure to start your web browser and double-check.
2. In the lower right-hand corner of your computer screen, with other running programs. For Windows XP users, make sure to click Show Hidden Icons to make sure that all programs show up.
3. In the list of installed programs in the Start menu.
You should check all three of these places, as there is nothing to stop your computer from having more than one of this type of program installed. If you find anything with the word accelerator or web in the name in any of those three places, double-check if it is a web accelerator program. If it is, try disabling it and then using your program again.

Spybot
1. Open Spybot.
2. If you have a shortcut on your desktop, double click it. or click Start > All Programs > Spybot - Search & Destroy.
3. On the left side, click Immunize
4. There are two items that need to be turned off. The first item is the "bad" products that are being blocked. The second item is the Blocker Helper.
5. At the top of the screen, click the undo button. This will allow all "bad" products again.
6. In the Browser Helper section, uncheck the Enable permanent blocking of bad addresses in Internet Explorer box.
7. Select File > Exit. Spybot is now temporarily disabled.
For the permanent solution, contact http://www.spybot.info/en/support/index.html

Back to Top