Method and system for displaying and trading spreads

• US 7,542,941 B1
• Filed: 05/03/2006
• Issued: 06/02/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 08/28/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Trading Technologies International, Inc.
• Inventors: Cohen, Joel
• Primary Examiner(s): Kazimi; Hani M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): TINKLER, MURIEL S
• Application Number:
  US11/417,912
• Time in Patent Office: 1,126 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/00 Finance; Insurance; Tax strategies; Processing of corporate or income taxes
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange

Abstract

A trading application can receive price and quantity information for tradeable objects. The trading application can compute implied price and quantity information for spreads of the tradeable objects. Direct and indirect price and quantity information for the spreads can be displayed in a manner that shows the relationship with each other and with the price and quantity information for the tradeable objects.

Claims

1. A method for displaying spread information, the method comprising:

calculating a first type of spread between a first tradable object and a second tradable object, the first tradable object having a first identifier and the second tradable object having a second identifier;

receiving market data for the first and second tradable objects from an electronic exchange, wherein market data for the first tradable object comprises a highest bid price and a lowest ask price currently available for the first tradable object and the market data for the second tradable object comprises a highest bid price and a lowest ask price currently available for the second tradable object;

obtaining market data for the first type of spread, wherein the market data for the first type of spread comprises a highest bid price and a lowest ask price currently available for the first type of spread, and wherein the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first type of spread is calculated based on the market data for the first and second tradable objects;

displaying on a graphical user interface the first identifier for the first tradable object at a first location in a first column;

displaying on the graphical user interface the second identifier for the second tradable object at a second location in the first column, wherein the second location is adjacent to the first location in the first column;

displaying on the graphical user interface the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first tradable object at a third location in a second column, the second column being adjacent to the first column, wherein the third location is in horizontal alignment with the first location in the first column;

displaying on the graphical user interface the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the second tradable object at a fourth location in the second column, wherein the fourth location is in horizontal alignment with the second location in the second column;

displaying on the graphical user interface the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first type of spread at a fifth location in a third column, the third column being adjacent to the second column, wherein the fifth location is centered in horizontal alignment with the third and fourth locations in the second column to correlate the first type of spread to the first and second tradable objects; and

updating the highest bid price and the lowest ask price for each of the first tradable object and second tradable object, and re-calculating the first type of spread when new market data for the first and second tradable objects is received.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

displaying on the graphical user interface a bid quantity associated with the highest bid price and an ask quantity associated with the lowest ask price currently available for the first tradable object at a sixth location in the second column, wherein the sixth location is in horizontal alignment with the third location; and

displaying on the graphical user interface a bid quantity associated with the highest bid price and an ask quantity associated with the lowest ask price currently available for the second tradable object at a seventh location in the second column, wherein the seventh location is in horizontal alignment with the fourth location.

3. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

calculating a second type of spread between the first tradable object, the second tradable object, and a third tradable object, wherein the third tradable object having a third identifier;

receiving market data for the third tradable object from an electronic exchange, wherein market data for the third tradable object comprises a highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the third tradable object;

obtaining market data for the second type of spread, wherein the market data for the second type of spread comprises a highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the second type of spread, and wherein the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the second type of spread is calculated based on the market data for the first, second, and third tradable objects;

displaying on the graphical user interface the third identifier at a sixth location in the first column, wherein the sixth location is adjacent to the second location in the first column; and

displaying on the graphical user interface the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the second type of spread at a seventh location in a fourth column, the fourth column being adjacent to the third column, wherein the seventh location is horizontally aligned with the second location in the first column to correlate the second type of spread to the first, second, and third tradable objects, and to further correlate the second type of spread to the first type of spread.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising:

calculating a third type of spread between the first tradable object, the second tradable object, the third tradable object, and a fourth tradable object, wherein the fourth tradable object has a fourth identifier;

receiving market data for the fourth tradable object from an electronic exchange, wherein market data for the fourth tradable object comprises a highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the fourth tradable object;

obtaining market data for the third type of spread, wherein the market data for the third type of spread comprises a highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the third type of spread, and wherein the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the third type of spread is calculated based on the market data for the first, second, third, and fourth tradable objects;

displaying on the graphical user interface the fourth identifier at an eighth location in the first column, wherein the eighth location is adjacent to the sixth location in the first column; and

displaying on the graphical user interface the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the third type of spread at a ninth location in a fifth column, the fifth column being adjacent to the fourth column, wherein the ninth location is centered in horizontal alignment with the second and sixth locations in the first column to correlate the third type of spread to the first, second, third, and fourth tradable objects, and to further correlate the third type of spread to the first and second types of spreads.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

wherein market data for the first type of spread is obtained by calculating the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first type of spread using market data for the first and second tradable objects.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

wherein market data for the first type of spread is obtained by receiving from the electronic exchange the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first type of spread using market data for the first and second tradable objects.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

further comprising a region for entering orders for the first and second tradable objects.

8. A method for displaying spread information, the method comprising:

calculating a first type of spread between a first tradable object and a second tradable object, the first tradable object having a first identifier and the second tradable object having a second identifier;

receiving market data for the first and second tradable objects from an electronic exchange, wherein market data for the first tradable object comprises a highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first tradable object and the market date for the second tradable object comprises a highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the second tradable object;

obtaining market data for the first type of spread, wherein the market data for the first type of spread comprises a highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first type of spread, and wherein the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first type of spread is calculated based on the market data for the first and second tradable objects;

displaying on a graphical user interface the first identifier for the first tradable object at a first location along a first axis;

displaying on the graphical user interface the second identifier for the second tradable object at a second location along the first axis, wherein the second location is adjacent to the first location along the first axis;

displaying on the graphical user interface the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first tradable object at a third location along a second axis that is parallel and adjacent to the first axis, wherein the third location is in alignment with the first location along the first axis;

display on the graphical user interface the highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the second tradable object at a fourth location along the second axis, wherein the fourth location is in alignment with the second location along the first axis;

displaying on the graphical user interface the best highest bid price and the lowest ask price currently available for the first type of spread at a fifth location along a third axis, the third axis being parallel and adjacent to the second axis, wherein the fifth location is centered in alignment with the third and fourth locations and along the second axis to correlate the first type of spread to the first and second tradable objects; and

updating the highest bid price and the lowest ask price for each of the first tradable object and the second tradable object, and re-calculating the first type of spread when new market data for the first and second tradable objects is received.