matlab-access-datafeed

Datafeed Toolbox — Bloomberg, FRED, Haver Analytics, and LSEG Datastream

Access financial and economic data from four major providers through the MATLAB Datafeed Toolbox.

When to Use

User wants to connect to Bloomberg, FRED, Haver Analytics, or LSEG Datastream from MATLAB
User needs to retrieve market data (prices, history, real-time, reference data) via Bloomberg
User needs to retrieve economic time series from the St. Louis Fed (FRED)
User needs to fetch economic/financial time series from Haver Analytics databases
User needs to retrieve historical financial data from LSEG Datastream
User needs help choosing between interfaces within a provider (e.g., bloomberg vs blp vs bloombergHypermedia, haver vs haverview)
User is writing MATLAB code involving securities, economic indicators, or data provider connectivity

When NOT to Use

General financial modeling or portfolio optimization that doesn't involve data provider connectivity
Bloomberg Terminal keyboard shortcuts or Excel add-in questions (not MATLAB)
Datastream Excel add-in (not MATLAB)
Real-time streaming from LSEG (datastreamws is historical only)
Data sources not covered here (e.g., Yahoo Finance)

Provider Overview

Provider	Data Type	Interfaces	Reference
Bloomberg	Market data (equities, fixed income, derivatives, indices)	`bloomberg`, `blp`, `bloombergHypermedia`, `bloombergEMSX`	`references/bloomberg.md`
FRED	U.S. economic data (GDP, unemployment, CPI, interest rates)	`fredrs` (replaces obsolete `fred`)	`references/fred.md`
Haver Analytics	Global economic & financial data (macro, industry, surveys)	`haver`, `haverdirect`, `haverview`	`references/haver.md`
LSEG Datastream	Historical financial data (equities, indices, economics, expressions)	`datastreamws`	`references/datastreamws.md`

Quick Interface Selection

Bloomberg — see `references/bloomberg.md` for full API patterns

Windows Desktop/Terminal user → bloomberg (C++)
Need platform independence (Data License) → bloombergHypermedia
Server/cloud, no Terminal (BPIPE) → bloombergBPIPE
Existing blp users → migrate to bloomberg (same API, no Java needed)

FRED — see `references/fred.md` for full API patterns

Any platform → fredrs (requires R2026a+, API key)
fred is obsolete — do NOT use it

Haver Analytics — see `references/haver.md` for full API patterns

Windows with local data files → haver
Windows needing remote access → haverdirect
Non-Windows / server / cloud → haverview (REST API)

LSEG Datastream — see `references/datastreamws.md` for full API patterns

Any platform → datastreamws (REST API, requires Datastream credentials)

How to Use References

Before generating code for a specific provider, read the corresponding reference file for detailed API patterns, function signatures, gotchas, and examples:

Working with Bloomberg data → read references/bloomberg.md
Working with FRED economic data → read references/fred.md
Working with Haver Analytics data → read references/haver.md
Working with LSEG Datastream data → read references/datastreamws.md

Common Rules

Always use getSecret() for credentials and API keys — never hardcode secrets
All four providers require the Datafeed Toolbox
fredrs additionally requires R2026a or later
datastreamws available since R2018b
Bloomberg and Haver local interfaces (bloomberg, blp, haver, haverdirect) are Windows-only; cloud/REST variants (bloombergHypermedia, bpipe, haverview, fredrs, datastreamws) are platform-independent

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