By: Bob Haegele
July 16, 2021Investors looking to succeed must incorporate fundamental analysis into their strategies. In our Benzinga Pro review, we highlight the benefit of setting aside a budget to gain access to Benzinga Pro.
One of the big advantages of the Benzinga Pro pricing scheme is access to the squawk box. These ubiquitous audio interface systems were once found on every trading floor in the world. Today, they’re available as part of the digital revolution. If you pay for a Benzinga Pro subscription, you’ll gain access to their version of the squawk box.
Let’s take a look at what it is and how to use it.
What is a Squawk Box?
Not every investor knows what a squawk box is. The fact is they are nothing more than an audio system designed to disperse important market information and economic factors to anyone who wants to listen.
Historically, they were also used to provide recommendations on buying, holding, and selling. Squawk boxes vary heavily in quality, but Benzinga Pro’s squawk box is one of the best, even if it doesn’t offer 24-hour coverage.
How to Use the Benzinga Pro Squawk Box
Benzinga Pro broadcasts from 6 am to 6 pm EST every day. Listeners gain access to market developments, including exclusive announcements, volume spikes, option alerts, and rumors. These slivers of information can be used in any way an investor wants.
Assuming you already have a Benzinga Pro subscription, here’s how to tune in:
- Step One – Look to the left side of your interface and hover your mouse over the squawk icon.
- Step Two – Click to connect. The platform allows you to pause and play at will within the platform.
- Step Three – Wait for the indicator lights. Green means both you and the Benzinga Newsdesk are connected. Grey means you’re not connected and will need to manually press the play button.
It’s that simple. It’s fully integrated into the platform and if it’s broadcasting you can access the Benzinga Pro squawk box at the click of a button. Take note, this is a live audio stream, not a podcast, so there’s no option to rewind and access the previous day’s broadcasts.
Why Use an Audio Squawk?
There are many reasons to use an audio squawk to help you make your next trades. The main reason is convenience. If you have limited monitor space or you don’t have the time to trawl through the headlines, an audio squawk gives you key information quickly.
Most traders choose to let their audio squawk play on in the background. Since Benzinga Pro focuses more on the main headlines of the day, rather than unconventional investments, you can filter through the noise quickly and get up to date.
With a Benzinga Pro subscription, you can get the news you want immediately. As long as the broadcast is live, you’ll hear the latest news in seconds, rather than waiting for news outlets to write up an article.
In short, if you’re someone who incorporates fundamental analysis into your investment strategy, an audio squawk should be considered essential.
Is Fundamental Analysis the Right Way to Trade?
The problem with any squawk box is recommendations are made by other traders. For this reason, the quality of squawk boxes varies heavily. Anyone can set up a squawk box to make trading recommendations.
So, is using fundamental analysis from Benzinga Pro the right way to trade? After all, 90% of new and seasoned traders are losing money in the markets hand over fist.
Firstly, we need to ask what the purpose of fundamental analysis is. In most cases, technical analysis is designed for day traders and swing traders. Fundamental analysis is designed to help you figure out long-term market trends, whereas short-term investors often trade exclusively from charts and graphs.
Does that mean day traders and swing traders shouldn’t take into account fundamental analysis at all?
Of course not. One of the advantages of tuning into the Benzinga Newsdesk is notifications of block trades or block orders.
These trades are transactions involving large quantities of securities, usually outside of the open markets. A block trade is considered to be a trade of a minimum of 10,000 shares or $200,000 worth of bonds.
Understanding block trades and how they change the markets impacts every type of trader. For this reason alone, we highly recommend turning on the Benzinga Pro squawk box.
The Bottom Line
While the squawk box is a relatively minor feature on Benzinga, it’s just one of many that can help you to stay abreast of the latest market developments.
It is just one reason why we believe the Benzinga Pro pricing structure does offer value for money to serious traders.
If you want to try out the platform for free, you can get a 14-day free trial with Benzinga now by clicking on this link.
