FEMARC Research Infrastructure

Databases: We have access to the Datastream set of Databases in real time via a live internet link with the host database in London. This covers markets from more than 40 countries providing economics series, share prices, derivatives and futures price series, company financial statement information, analyst's forecasts etc. This is probably the most comprehensive set of databases commercially available at an annual cost of $35,000.

We are a member of the ASIA-PACIFIC CAPITAL MARKETS RESEARCH FOUNDATION (ACMF) and the Securities Industry Research Centre of the Asia-Pacific (SIRCA). This is a collaborative research grouping of 26 Universities from Australia and New Zealand. Membership will give us access to very detailed market microstructure databases drawn initially from the Australian Stock Exchange and the Sydney Futures Exchange. These databases include real time trade-by trade information, plus the order flow in the case of the Sydney Stock Exchange data. The databases are soon to be augmented by additional datasets from other Stock Exchanges around the world. We also have limited access to the Memlab facility - a DEC 8400 Supercomputer, based at Sydney University, which is required to analyse the tetrabytes of data involved in these databases. SIRCA recently secured funding for CMRC in technology enabled markets.

Software available for work in finance and financial econometrics includes Excel, SPSSPC, plus a suite of programs for time series analysis including Microfit, PCGive, Eviews, Rats, Cats in Rats, GAUSS, plus Shazam for general econometric work.

Thus, FEMARC has access to excellent data-sources for research in finance and financial markets which probably match those available at most universities in Australia.

Accounting, Finance and Economics