Briefing.com Help Center

LIVE MARKET COVERAGE > BRIEFING.COM HELP CENTER

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Our FAQs contain answers to many common questions and issues with Briefing.com.
If you still can’t find an answer, don’t hesitate to contact us.

Content & Functionality

Q:	What content is found on the Live Market Coverage Section?
A:	The Live Market Coverage section contains all of our live market analysis and commentary. Here you’ll find all of our In Play pages, Stock Market Update and Live Headlines pages.
Q:	What is Live In Play?
A:	Live In Play is our award-winning, live coverage of news, data, earnings, and brokerage research and features objective commentary and analysis from over 30 expert analysts in a streaming format.
Q:	I notice many ticker symbols in In Play comments that are not associated with a "real" company. What are these?
A:	Briefing.com utilizes a number of "Custom Tickers" that enable our subscribers to easily follow pre-defined topics or trading calls. View our complete list of Custom Tickers now.
Q:	What do the different icons on Live In Play symbolize?
A:	View a list of icons for your reference.
Q:	How do I filter Live In Play content by comment type or by a portfolio?
A:	You can use portfolios or comment types to filter In Play pages across the site. After setting up a portfolio, visit the Live In Play page and click on the SELECT A FILTER drop down menu. Choose the portfolio you want or comment type(s) you want to filter by and click OK. For more details on how to set up portfolios, visit the My Portfolios section or view a short video tutorial now.
Q:	What does a Live In Play comment with a blue mark next to it mean?
A:	We tag a comment with blue when we feel it is particularly important, whether it’s a market-moving event or something that will move a stock or sector/industry dramatically.
Q:	Why are some earnings comments on Live In Play but not listed on the Earnings Calendar?
A:	Our earnings coverage consists of over 3000 stocks. In order to appear on our earnings calendar, a stock must have earnings estimates (have Wall Street coverage). We also use average daily volume and market cap as loose specifications as there are thousands of stocks that are illiquid or not relevant. However, we will post earnings comments to In Play that we do not cover if they trade and/or if the report looks interesting or has potential to move the stock.
Q:	What is a General Alert? How do I set it up?
A:	General Alerts are audio alerts associated with Premium Live In Play entries, these alerts are not associated with your portfolio tickers. Visit the Account Settings page and find the General Alerts section on the bottom left. Here you have options to turn on or off alerts for all Live In Play comments (bass guitar sound) or only Premium comments (gong sound).
Q:	What is Dual In Play?
A:	Dual In Play allows you to see two panes or instances of Live In Play in one spot. You can filter these panes so that the left pane and right pane display different content based specifically upon your needs. For example, suppose you wanted to follow the Healthcare sector and also follow a list of stocks. You could filter the left pane to display only entries related to the Healthcare sector and the right pane to only display entries related to the stocks in a Custom Filter you previously created.
Q:	What is Live Headlines?
A:	Live Headlines provides a snapshot of the 100 most recently updated Live In Play comments broken down into four main categories: overall In Play comments, original analysis and column-based commentary, as well as upgrades/downgrades, and earnings/economic updates.
Q:	Where can I find your premium Fundamental, Technical and ETF analysis?
A:	All of our premium, in-depth Fundamental, Technical and ETF analysis and research can be found in the INVESTING & TRADING IDEAS section.
Q:	What is Emerging Growth Stocks?
A:	Emerging Growth Stocks column combines fundamental and quantitative screens to uncover small, fast-growing companies that have the potential to become market leaders. For an in-depth look at the Emerging Growth Stocks column, watch a short tutorial now.
Q:	Where can I find in-depth Options analysis and strategies?
A:	Special Reports provides Strategies for profiting from various market-driven themes or events using stocks and/or options. For more details on the features of this column, watch a short tutorial now.
Q:	Where can I find in-depth analysis of upcoming IPOs?
A:	The Next Big Thing column provides in-depth analysis of upcoming IPOs and spin-offs, as well as secondary plays on highly-anticipated new issues. For more details, watch a short tutorial now.
Q:	Where can I find daily set-ups and your Focus List for the most liquid stocks in today’s market?
A:	Liquid Momentum features a Focus List of the 50 strongest, most liquid stocks in the market today. We identify intermediate-term trading set-ups in Small-cap stocks by using a fusion analysis idea generation system based on fundamental and technical indicators. For more details on the features of this column, watch the short tutorial now.
Q:	Where can I find scans that identify both Day and Swing trading opportunities?
A:	TA Page Scans features proprietary scans identifying both Day and Swing trading opportunities based upon specific technical criteria. For an in-depth look at how to use the TA Page Scans column to trade technical patterns, watch the recorded webinar hosted by our Senior Technical Analyst Scott Smith, CMT.
Q:	Where can I find your non-premium analysis and research of the markets, stocks and economy?
A:	The PERSPECTIVE section contains all non-premium commentary and analysis and does not require a premium subscription.
Q:	What kinds of Calendars do you offer?
A:	We offer a variety of calendars that include: Earnings Results – This calendar covers approximately 3,000 companies and featuring earnings release dates, conference call information, earnings/revenue estimates from Capital IQ and earnings/revenue actuals that are posted to the page live as they are reported. You can access historical earnings, guidance and upgrades/downgrades on each company on the calendar by selecting the “+” icon to the left of each company’s name. Upgrades/Downgrades - The Upgrades/Downgrades page provides equity upgrades, downgrades, reiterations, resumption and drops in coverage, as well as price target changes from Wall Street firms. Economic Events – See a calendar of dates, times, estimates, and results for major U.S. economic releases. Not only can you quickly and easily see releases for today and the current week, you can see out as far as 4 weeks in advance. The “Trading Impact” field is Briefing.com’s proprietary opinion on what type of impact the economic release will have on the markets. There are three ratings – Low, Medium, and High. Events and Conferences - This calendar provides a schedule of upcoming Analyst Meetings and Conference Calls for U.S. traded equities as well as Fed Speakers and Market Holidays. Please note that you must be a Briefing In Play Plus subscriber to add events from our calendar to your outlook calendar. For more details on how to add events to your Outlook calendar, watch a quick, step-by step tutorial. Earnings Guidance - The Guidance calendar provides guidance issued by companies – revenue, EPS, or both – for either future quarters or fiscal years. Also contained in this page are consensus estimates for EPS and/or revenue. See all calendar offerings by visiting the CALENDARS section.
Q:	When reporting earnings, what does “excluding non-recurring items” mean?
A:	This means that we’ve excluded extraordinary gains or losses that affect a company’s reported earnings but are not reflective of the ongoing operations of the company. These types of items don’t tend to be incorporated into analyst estimates, so the exclusion of certain non-recurring items helps give an apples-to-apples comparison to expectations. This also helps give a better picture of the company’s earnings from ongoing operations, which is what analysts tend to focus on when valuing a stock.
Q:	Why don’t you list all guidance on the Guidance Calendar?
A:	Only quantitative earnings or revenue guidance that we deem comparable to consensus will appear on the Guidance Calendar. Guidance for EBITDA, production, gross margins, etc. will not appear on the guidance calendar.
Q:	On the Earnings Calendar, what does ‘may not compare’ (“c”) mean?
A:	We report that earnings may not compare to consensus when there are any items (usually non-recurring in nature like a tax benefit, impairment/restructuring charges, etc.) that are included or excluded in the reported number that were not anticipated by the Street and do not match up with analyst estimates.
Q:	Where can I find the lockup expiration date of a recent IPO?
A:	Our IPO Calendar has detailed information on all recent IPOs including information on pricing, underwriters, quite periods, lock-up expiration dates and more.
Q:	Why are some features of my service grayed out or not accessible?
A:	This means that the service you subscribe to does not entitle you to the features or content you are trying to access. View a table that summarizes the differences between services for more details.
Q:	I just signed up and it looks like I have a pre-set landing page and content filters. What are these and how do I change them?
A:	Upon signing in for the first time, Briefing Trader and Briefing Institutional clients are defaulted to the Dual In Play page and see that the left pane displays all content and the right pane displays only Trader Calls (General Trading Calls, Intra-Day Trades and Scalp Trades). To change the pre-set filter on Dual In Play, click on the Select A Filter drop down menu under the timestamp on the right pane and uncheck the Trading Calls filter. To change your default landing page, visit the Account Settings page.
Q:	What is My Workspaces?
A:	My Workspaces allows you to create workspaces that you can customize to display your favorite content in the layout of your choice. For example, suppose you frequently visit Live In Play, Guidance, and Earnings Results on a daily basis. You can build/create a customized workspace that displays only these pages on one screen. You can take this one step further and filter the Live In Play pane by custom filter or comment type to further refine the content displayed.
Q:	What is a portfolio? How do I set one up?
A:	By creating a portfolio, you can customize and display the Briefing.com content that matters to you most. Once a portfolio is created, you then have the ability to choose alerts and set filters according to the tickers, sectors or industries on which your portfolio is based. You can create a maximum of 20 portfolios containing up to 500 tickers each. To create a portfolio, simply follow these steps: 1. Click on My Portfolios from the main navigation bar. 2. Click the GET STARTED button. 3. First, name your portfolio and select how you want to add your tickers. You can create your portfolio in one of two ways - by ticker or by automatically selecting all tickers in a particular Sector or Industry. Click SAVE & CONTINUE. 4. Add tickers manually by typing them in one at a time or alternatively, if you maintain your ticker list in a spread sheet or CSV file, you can simply copy and paste into the Add Tickers box. Once you have your list created in the Add Tickers box on the left, validate your tickers by clicking the Add button or the middle arrow. If you are satisfied with the list that has been moved to the Edit/Review box, click SAVE & CONTINUE. 5. If you chose to build your portfolio by Sector or Industry, simply select the Sector and Industry combinations you want and click SAVE & CONTINUE. 6. Finally, choose at least one of the alert options. You can choose to receive intraday email alerts as well as audio and/or visual alerts. You can also choose to disable all alert types and simply use your portfolio to filter our most popular pages. Click FINISH. Now you can filter Live In Play comments and various Calendars by any of your portfolios. You can also view a complete listing of all of your portfolios by visiting the View All Stories page. For a step-by-step tutorial, watch this short video now.
Q:	Where can I see a listing of all pages, content, and functionality available on your site?
A:	For a complete listing with links visit our Site Map.
Back to Top

Subscription

Q:	How do I change my email address, password or billing information?
A:	Visit the Account Settings page to make changes to your account.
Q:	I forgot my login information. Where can I find it?
A:	You can retrieve your login information here.
Q:	Can I have more than one e-mail address associated with my subscription?
A:	Yes, you can have a maximum of 3 e-mail addresses associated with your subscription, one of which will need to be designated as the primary. The primary e-mail address will be used for all Briefing.com communication.
Q:	I access Briefing from work and from home. Must I have two separate accounts?
A:	No. You will just need to log out from one computer before logging onto the site via another computer.
Q:	Can more than one person use my password?
A:	No. Briefing.com is a personal license. It gives access only to the individual subscriber. Group subscription rates are available for companies or individuals desiring access for more than one person. For more information, contact Briefing.com sales at sales@briefing.com or 312-670-4463 x234.
Q:	Does Briefing have corporate agreements with financial services firms?
A:	We have corporate agreements with many of the top buy and sell side firms. If you are a financial professional and are interested in licensing our service, please contact sales@briefing.com or 312-670-4463 x234.
Q:	Why are some features of my service grayed out or not accessible?
A:	This means that the service you subscribe to does not entitle you to the features or content you are trying to access. View a table that summarizes the differences between services for more details.
Q:	Who do I contact if I am having issues with my account or my service?
A:	Send an e-mail to service@briefing.com or call 800-752-3013 or 312-670-4463.
Back to Top

Billing

Q:	When will my free trial expire?
A:	Your free trial period varies by product and when you signed up for the trial. In most instances, if you register before or on the 21st of the month, your free trial will end on the last day of that month. If you register on or after the 22nd of the month, your free trial will end on the last day of the following month. However, some special promotions we offer have a specific free trial end date in which case, the above trial rule does not apply. Contact service@briefing.com for more information.
Q:	When will I be charged?
A:	Your card will be charged the first day of the month after your free trial period. During the free-trial period, a subscriber may cancel their subscription at any time, at no cost by sending an e-mail to service@briefing.com or calling 800-752-3013 during normal business hours (Monday thru Friday from 7:00 am to 4:00 pm CST).
Q:	I prefer to pay by check. How do I do this?
A:	Checks are accepted for annual subscriptions only. To set up this billing option, email service@briefing.com or call toll-free 800-752-3013 or 312-670-4463.
Q:	How do I make changes to my billing information?
A:	Please visit Account Settings to make changes to your billing information.
Q:	When I signed up I received a promotional discount on my service. How long is the pricing good for?
A:	Promotional pricing is good for one year for new subscribers only. After the one-year term, the rate will be increased to standard pricing.
Back to Top

Technical Issues

Q:	Who do I contact if I am having technical issues?
A:	If you are having technical issues and need additional assistance, please contact our Webmaster at webmaster@briefing.com call 800-752-3013.
Q:	Why am I getting an error message when I log in telling me that my username and password are already in use?
A:	Someone may be sharing your password. For your security, we restrict simultaneous logins. You will need to delete your login session to solve this issue, which you can do by following the "click here" link that appears within the error message that you receive when you try to log in with multiple sessions. Upon clicking this link it will take you to a screen confirming that your session has been deleted. If you continue to see this message, cookie files may be blocked by your browser. Cookies are text-files that are downloaded from websites and are used for webpage settings, shopping carts, and in this case, authentication. When your page is looking to update from the server, the server looks for that cookie to authenticate. If it is blocked, you will not get updates and may be flagged for username/password. Since you're already logged in, you get the error that your session is already in use. If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (note - Safari and Chrome browser settings are similar to Microsoft IE 6.0 and higher), try optimizing your browser via the steps below to see if that resolves your issue: Go to the Tools menu at the top of your browser. Scroll down to Internet Options. Click the Privacy tab. Click Sites button. Type www.briefing.com into the text-box and press Allow. Press OK. Press OK again on Internet Options page. You may have to login again for changes to take effect. Cookies can also be blocked by Toolbars installed on your browser or anti-spyware programs such as Zone-Alarm, Norton Internet Security, Ad-aware and others. Please make sure that Briefing.com is in your exception list for any of these programs.
Q:	I’m getting a security warning when I access your site. How can I prevent this?
A:	The security message is “Do you want to display secure and non-secure items.” To fix this click on Tools, Internet Options, select Security, select Custom level. Look for display mixed content. Select enable.
Q:	Which browser versions are compatible with Briefing.com?
A:	Our testing and user feedback have found that Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and higher, Firefox 2.0 and higher, Safari 3.0 and higher, as well as the new Chrome browser all work well. We do not recommend using Netscape as some versions will not support certain visual enhancements.
Q:	I’m signed up for email alerts but I’m not receiving them?
A:	Check your junk mail by opening your email inbox and click on the folder labeled Junk E-mail or Bulk email. If you still do not find the email alerts call us at 312-670-4463 x 263
Q:	I am not always seeing the latest headlines on Live In Play and/or my Live In Play does not seem to be updating. What's wrong?
A:	Most likely, your browser settings are not set up such that your browser is not checking for the latest pages. If you are using Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (note - Safari and Chrome browser settings are similar to Microsoft IE 6.0 and higher), perform the following steps: Go to the Tools menu. Select Internet Options. Press the Settings button in the middle of the first screen. Under Check for newer versions of stored pages, select Every visit to the page.
Q:	I am getting a blank page when I log in to Live In Play. Why is this happening?
A:	If you are using Internet Explorer, please click on the refresh button. If you are using Firefox, reload your page. If one or two refreshes/reloads do not address the issue, please make sure to close your browser and log back in again. You might also try clearing your cache on your PC.
Q:	When I try to access archived information on Live In Play, I get a pop-up blocker. What should I do?
A:	Pop-up ad blocking programs can affect how you view our content. Please disable your pop-up blocker and ensure that Briefing.com is an allowed site.
Q:	I do not hear any audio alerts, but I do hear other sounds on my system. What's wrong?
A:	You may not have your browser set up to play WAV files correctly. Please visit Microsoft's Windows Media Player page and install the latest version available for your operating system. Also, downloading Real Audio Player and other media software can interfere with your Internet browser's ability to play Windows audio files. There is an easy resolution for this. Go to your "Start" menu (at the bottom left corner of your screen) and click "Run". Type "wmplayer" and click "OK". Hit the "Alt" key on your keyboard. Click "Tools" (at top of Windows Media Player application) and scroll down to "Options". Click the "File Types" tab (in the back row of options).Check the box for "Windows audio file (wav)".Click "Apply", then click "OK". Close out the Windows Media Player and return to Briefing.com. Your Audio Alerts should function.
Q:	I hear a clicking sound whenever the page refreshes, any way to turn it off BUT leave the rest of the sound working for alerts and other programs?
A:	If you have a Windows operating system, do the following: Click the START button on your taskbar. Go to "Settings" and select "Control Panel". Double click the "Sounds" icon in Control Panel. In the "Events" box at the top, scroll down to Windows Explorer. Select "Start Navigation". In the "Sound" area, there is a drop-down box below "Name:". Click this drop-down box, go to the top of the list, and select [None].Click "OK". Close "Control Panel".
Q:	What is the gong sound that I keep hearing and how do I turn it off?
A:	That sound is a General Alert on Premium Live In Play comments – yellow highlighted entries only available in Briefing Professional, Briefing Trader, and Briefing Institutional services. To turn this off, engage the “Alerts” drop-down in the upper right of the page and select “Create/Edit Alerts”. You will be brought to a page entitled “Manage Alerts”. In the far right, choose “Turn Off General Alerts” and then click “Update”. Information about General Alerts can be found in the User’s Guide.
Q:	How can I export data from Briefing.com?
A:	Exporting our data is not a function of our subscription services. If you are interested in licensing our content in machine readable format, please contact David Beasley at dbeasley@briefing.com.
Q:	What is the best way to print information from Briefing.com?
A:	Click on File and Print
Q:	How do I access Briefing Mobile?
A:	On a supported device, using the web browser, navigate to http://mobile.briefing.com and log in using your Briefing.com username and password. Please note that you may only access the Briefing.com services on one device at a time.
Q:	What do I need to access Briefing Mobile?
A:	You need one of the following mobile devices (iPhone OS 3.0 or higher, Android 1.5 or higher, Palm web OS 1.0.3 or higher, Blackberry OS 4.6 or higher, Windows Mobile OS 6.1 or higher) and make sure that JavaScript and cookies are enabled. Briefing Mobile may work on other mobile devices however we are only providing support for devices listed above.
Q:	How can I tell which operating system my mobile device is running?
A:	iPhone On the home screen, select Settings. Select General. Select About. The Version has to be 3.0 or higher. If it’s not, upgrade it through iTunes by synchronizing your iPhone with your computer. You can get additional help from your local Apple or AT&T store. Android This is different for every phone, but all new Android phones ship with the latest software that is compatible with Briefing Mobile. Blackberry Options then About This needs to be version 4.6 or higher to work. If your Blackberry OS is version 4.5 or lower, you should contact your phone carrier to get the latest available version. In some cases, your carrier may not have 4.6 or higher available for your device. Windows Mobile For touch screen devices Tap Start, tap Settings, tap System, and then tap About. Note: System may appear as a tab at the bottom of the screen. The first line displays the name and version of the Windows Phone. This needs to be version 6.1 or higher .For non-touch screen devices Tap Start, tap Settings, and then tap About. Note: If you do not see Settings, tap All Programs, and then scroll the list of programs to find Settings. Note: If you do not see About on the Settings screen, tap More to display additional settings. This needs to be version 6.1 or higher.
Q:	How do I access Briefing.com services on my iPad?
A:	You can access Briefing.com by using Safari on your iPad and going to the main site www.briefing.com and login as normal. The other option is to use the http://mobile.briefing.com site to access only the live in play headlines.
Q:	How do I log into my account on my iPad?
A:	Please ensure that Java Script and Accept cookies are enabled in the Settings tab for Safari by doing the following: On the main screen select the settings setting app Select Safari. Scroll down to Java Script and select enable Cookies should be set to “accept from visited”
Q:	How do I scroll up and down on the iPad?
A:	Use two fingers at the same time on the iPad and it will allow you to scroll up and down.
Q:	Is there an app for the iPad?
A:	Currently there is no app available for iPhone or iPad.
Q:	Are there any features that do not work on the iPad?
A:	The Audio Alerts do not work on the iPad.
Q:	Are there any helpful iPad Tips?
A:	Tip 1: To zoom in quickly on a section of the iPad tap the screen twice. Tip 2: To Zoom out quickly on a section of the iPad tap the screen twice. Tip 3: On the Platinum service if you scroll down to the bottom of the screen and want to get back up to the top, tap the battery icon at the top of the screen and it will take you back to the top.
Back to Top