I've been trying to download the national interest rates for some countries. When i use Datastream, it only gives me the currency return (while i need yield).
Can someone please tell how to download the series. I do use the correct Mnemonic ( BBJPY3M SNGTB3M ADBR090 HKEFB3M). Should i use maybe Thomson instead?
I know this is kind of a nooby question, but i've been dealing with this over 2 hours now.
Help is highly appreciated!
There is no such thing as a single domestic "risk-free rate". At the very least, you need an investment horizon to be able to find the corresponding risk-free rate on a domestic interest rate curve. The curve itself is typically constructed out of an interpolation of government bond yields, which may or may not be "risk-free".
I don't have access to Datastream but Reuters codes tend to be similar across platforms.
For example, let's say you're looking at a 2-Year risk-free rate for the US and the Euro. Mnemonics will likely follow this pattern:
[cc][tt]T=RR
Where [cc] is the 2-digit country code [US and EU respectively].
[tt] the horizon, with M = Month and Y = Year. e.g. 3M, 2Y.
In the case in question you would be looking at pulling "US2YT=RR" and "EU2YT=RR". You will then need to pull a mid-yield for each of these tickers.
Bloomberg also provides a similar function.
