Securities trading system with multiple levels of interest

• US 8,015,097 B2
• Filed: 05/17/2002
• Issued: 09/06/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/31/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BGC Partners Incorporated (BGC Group, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: BGC Partners Incorporated (BGC Group, Inc.)
• Inventors: Lawrence, David
• Primary Examiner(s): Kazimi; Hani M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ali; Hatem
• Application Number:
  US10/150,476
• Publication Number:
  US 20020188555A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,399 Days
• Field of Search: 705 35- 40
• US Class Current: 705/37
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/04 Trading; Exchange, e.g. stocks, commodities, derivatives or currency exchange
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 40/06 Asset management; Financial planning or analysis

Abstract

Disclosed is a securities trading program for trading individual lots of a security which can be run at a security trader'"'"'s computer station. The program generates a trading screen comprising a listing of multiple bids for the security, each bid having a price, as well as a listing of multiple priced offers for the security. The bid and offer listings are active, enabling the trader to hit any one of the displayed bids or take any one of the displayed offers, for example by selecting and clicking on a displayed bid or offer. In one embodiment, the bids and offers are arranged in side-by-side columns on the trader'"'"'s screen, helping the trader to rapidly overview the market for a particular security, and compare different, possibly competitive, securities by paging through level-of-interest windows for each security. The invention'"'"'s easily manipulated insights into market dynamics offers a sophisticated trader new opportunities to profitably exploit market niches, for example by browsing for attractive bids or offers on closely comparable securities.

Claims

1. An electronic trading system comprising at least one computing device, a memory thereof having stored therein a securities trading program for trading individual lots of a security, the trading program operable when executed to cause the system to:

receive a plurality of bids and offers for a security;

cause an interface screen to be displayed at a user computer station, the interface screen comprising;

a) a listing of multiple priced bids for the security, the bid listing comprising at least one bid having a best bid price and at least one off-best bid having a price lower than the best bid price; and

b) a listing of multiple priced offers for the security, the offer listing comprising at least one offer having a best offer price and at least one off-best offer having a price higher than the best offer price;

the bid and offer listings are to be displayed in an active form to enable the user to select a displayed bid and/or displayed offer at a price off the price of the best displayed bid and/or best displayed offer;

receive from the user a selection of at least one off-best bid or off-best offer, and instructions to execute the selected off-best bid or off-best offer; and

execute the selected off-best bid or off-best offer at, respectively, a price worse than the best displayed bid or best displayed offer.

2. The system according to claim 1 wherein the security to be traded is a fixed income security.

3. The system according to claim 2 wherein the security to be traded is a United States treasury bill, note or bond, a municipal bond or a corporate bond.

4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the program is designed to display the bid and offer listings in side-by-side vertical lists.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the program is designed to display the bid and offer listings with the bids in order of descending bid value and the offers in ascending order of offer value with the bid having the best bid price aligned in a row with the offer having the best offer price.

6. The system of claim 2 wherein:

the program is designed to display a par value of each bid or offer adjacent the bid or offer price.

7. The system of claim 2 wherein the program is designed:

to display the bid and offer listings in side-by-side vertical lists;

to display the bid and offer listings with the bids in order of descending bid value and the offers in ascending order of offer value, with the bid having the best bid price aligned in a row with the offer having the best offer price; and

to display a par value of each bid or offer adjacent the bid or offer price.

8. The system according to claim 1 wherein:

the program is designed to display bids and offers at prices off the best bid price and best offer price in an active form to enable the system to respond to activation of the screen area occupied by a bid or offer.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein:

the program is programmed to permit the user to select two or more of the off-best displayed bids or two or more of the off-best displayed offers, and to execute the selected off-best bids or offers simultaneously.

10. The system according to claim 9, wherein the two or more selected off-best bids or selected offers are at different price levels.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein:

the interface is designed to permit the user to select multiple of the displayed bids or offers simultaneously.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the program is designed to execute the two selected off-best offers simultaneously.

13. The system of claim 10, wherein:

the program is designed to execute the two selected offers in a sequence based on the prices of the offers.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein program is designed to execute the two selected offers in an ascending-price sequence.

15. The system of claim 10, wherein:

the program is designed to cause the system to compute and display an average price for the selected offers.

16. The system of claim 10, the program being further designed to cause the system to:

receive a selection from the user of a third of the displayed offers;

determine that a fourth offer has been received after receiving the selection from the user of the third offer, the fourth offer having a price better than the price of the third offer; and

cause a dialog window to be displayed at the user computer station, the dialog window comprising information regarding the fourth offer and at least one element for the user to accept and to ignore the fourth offer.

17. The system of claim 1, in which the program is further designed to cause the system to:

execute orders pending at prices at or better than the selected off-best bid or off-best offer in combination with the selected bid or offer.

18. The system of claim 17, in which the program is further designed to cause the system to:

execute the best bid or best offer as part of the combination.

19. A method, comprising the steps of:

displaying on a computer display to a user an interface screen comprising;

a) a listing of multiple priced bids for a security traded on an electronic trading system, the bid listing comprising at least one bid having a best bid price and at least one off-best bid having a price lower than the best bid price; and

b) a listing of multiple priced offers for the security, the offer listing comprising at least one offer having a best offer price and at least one off-best offer having a price higher than the best offer price;

the bid and offer listings are to be displayed in an active form to enable the user to select a displayed bid and/or displayed offer at a price off the price of the best displayed bid and/or best displayed offer;

receiving at an input device of the computer from the user a selection of at least one off- best bid or off-best offer, and instructions to execute the selected off-best bid or off-best offer; and

submitting the selected off-best bid or off-best offer to the electronic trading system at, respectively, a price worse than the best displayed bid or best displayed offer.

20. The method of claim 19 wherein:

the program is designed to display the bid and offer listings in side-by-side vertical lists.

21. The method of claim 19 wherein:

the program is designed to display the bid and offer listings with the bids in order of descending bid value and the offers in ascending order of offer value and wherein the bid having the best bid price is aligned in a row with the offer having the best offer price.

22. The method of claim 20 wherein the bid and offer listings comprise all bids and offers for the security known to the system.

23. The method of claim 19 wherein:

the program is designed to display bids and offers at prices off the best bid price and best offer price in an active form to enable the system to respond to activation of the screen area occupied by a bid or offer.

24. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the program is programmed to permit the user to select two or more of the off-best displayed bids or two or more of the off-best displayed offers, and to execute the selected off- best bids or offers simultaneously.

25. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the program is programmed to permit the user to select two or more of the off-best displayed bids or two or more of the off-best displayed offers, and to execute the two selected offers in a sequence based on the prices of the offers.

26. The method of claim 19, wherein:

the program is programmed to permit the user to select two or more of the off-best displayed bids or two or more of the off-best displayed offers, and to cause the system to compute and display an average price for the selected bids or offers.

27. The method of claim 19, in which the program is further designed to cause the system to:

execute orders pending at prices at or better than the selected off-best bid or off-best offer in combination with the selected bid or offer.

28. The method of claim 27, in which the program is further designed to cause the system to:

execute the best bid or best offer as part of the combination.