Note : Les descriptions sont présentées dans la langue officielle dans laquelle elles ont été soumises.
CA 02493950 2007-04-02
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TITLE: TRADING TOOLS FOR ELECTRONIC TRADING
Poll This application is a divisional of CA application no. 2,493,950, filed
April 17, 2003.
FIELD OF INVENTION
loom The present invention is directed to electronic trading. Specifically,
the present
invention is directed to tools for trading products that can be traded with
quantities and/or
prices.
BACKGROUND
[0003] Many exchanges throughout the world utilize electronic trading in
varying degrees to
trade stocks, bonds, futures, options and other products. These electronic
exchanges are based
on three components: mainframe computers (host), communications servers, and
the exchange
participants' computers (client). The host forms the electronic heart of the
fully computerized
electronic trading system. The system's operations cover order-matching,
maintaining order
books and positions, price information, and managing and updating the database
for the online
trading day as well as nightly batch runs. The host is also equipped with
external interfaces
that maintain uninterrupted online contact to quote vendors and other price
information
systems.
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-12-01
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pon Traders can link to the host through at least three types of
structures: high speed data
lines, high speed communications servers or the Internet. High speed data
lines establish
direct connections between the client and the host. Another connection can be
established by
configuring high speed networks or communications servers at strategic access
points
worldwide in locations where traders physically are located. Data is
transmitted in both
directions between traders and exchanges via dedicated high speed
communication lines.
Most exchange participants install two lines between the exchange and the
client site or
between the communication server and the client site as a safety measure
against potential
failures. An exchange's internal computer system is also often installed with
backups as a
redundant measure to secure system availability. The third connection utilizes
the Internet.
Here, the exchange and the traders communicate back and forth through high
speed data lines,
which are connected to the Internet. This allows traders to be located
anywhere they can
establish a connection to the Internet.
Roos] Irrespective of the way in which a connection is established, the
exchange participants'
computers allow traders to participate in the market. They use software that
creates
specialized interactive trading screens on the traders' desktops. The trading
screens enable
traders to enter and execute orders, obtain market quotes, and monitor
positions. The range
and quality of features available to traders on their screens varies according
to the specific
software application being run. The installation of open interfaces in the
development of an
exchange's electronic strategy means users can choose, depending on their
trading style and
internal requirements, the means by which they will access the exchange.
[0oos] The world's stock, bond, futures, options and other exchanges have
volatile products
with prices that move rapidly. To profit in these markets, traders must be
able to react
quickly. A skilled trader with the quickest software, the fastest
communications, and the most
sophisticated analysis can significantly improve the trader's own or the
trader's firm's bottom
line. The slightest speed advantage can generate significant returns in a fast
moving market.
In today's securities markets, a trader lacking a technologically advanced
interface is at a
severe competitive disadvantage.
[00071 Irrespective of what interface a trader uses to enter orders in the
market, each market
supplies to and requires from every trader the same information. The bids and
asks in the
market make up the market data and everyone logged on to trade can receive
this information
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if the exchange provides it. Similarly, every exchange requires that certain
information be
included in each order. For example, traders must supply information like the
name of the
commodity, quantity, restrictions, price and multiple other variables. Without
all of the order
information, the market will not accept the order.
pow In existing systems, multiple elements of an order must be entered
prior to an order
being sent to market, which is time consuming for the trader. Such elements
include the
commodity symbol, the desired price, the quantity and whether a buy or a sell
order is desired.
The more time a trader takes entering an order, the more likely the price on
which the trader
wanted to bid or offer will change or not be available in the market. The
market is fluid as
many traders am sending orders to the market simultaneously. In fact,
successful markets
strive to have such a high volume of trading that any trader who wishes to
enter an order will
find a match and have the order filled quickly, if not immediately. In such
liquid markets, the
prices of the commodities fluctuate rapidly. On a trading screen, this results
in rapid changes
in the price and quantity fields within the market grid. If a trader intends
to enter an order at a
particular price, but misses the price because the market prices moved before
the trader could
enter the order, the trader may lose hundreds, thousands, even millions of
dollars. The faster a
trader can trade, the less likely it will be that the trader will miss the
trader's price and the
more likely the trader will make money.
[00091 With the advent of electronic trading, it has become easier for a
larger number of
people to have access to participate in the market at any given time. Such an
increase in the
number of potential traders has lead to other changes, including a more
competitive market,
greater liquidity, rapidly changing prices, and other changes. Due to the
complexities that
these changes bring, it is increasingly important to have a system of making
the most accurate
and calculated trades possible in the most efficient manner. It is therefore
desirable for
electronic trading systems to offer tools that can assist a trader in adapting
to an electronic
marketplace, and help the trader to make trades at desirable prices.
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SUMMARY
molol The preferred embodiments relate to a system and method for automatic
repositioning
of market information in a graphical user interface.
pail] In accordance with a first aspect, a method for automatically
positioning information
related to a commodity on a graphical user interface is provided. The method
includes
receiving market information relating to the commodity from an electronic
exchange. The
market information may include a number of items of interest that are
associated with a price.
The method displays an information display region, which has a number of
locations arranged
such that each location corresponds to a price level along at least a portion
of a static price
axis. The method also displays a number of indicators, at a first time. Each
indicator is
associated with an item of interest and each indicator is displayed in one of
the locations in the
information display region. The method further includes automatically
repositioning the static
price axis upon detecting a predetermined condition so that the number of
locations of the
information display region corresponds to a different portion of the static
price axis at a
second time. In this manner, the indicators are moved to a new location in the
information
display region that corresponds to the price level on the static price axis
that is associated with
that indicator.
[00121 In accordance with a second aspect, a method for automatically re-
positioning market
information relating to a commodity on a graphical user interface is provided,
where the
method includes displaying a plurality of items of interest comprising market
information in
relation to a static scale in a trading interface. At least one item of
interest from the plurality
of items of interest is identified as a basis for automatically positioning
the plurality of items
of interest. The display on the trading interface is updated as the market
information changes,
causing one or more of the plurality of items of interest to move in relation
to the static scale.
The method then automatically re-positions the plurality of items of interest
in response to the
identified item of interest.
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BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] FIG, 1 illustrates the network connections between multiple exchanges
and client sites;
ppm FIG. 2 illustrates screen display showing the inside market and
the market depth of a
given commodity being traded;
[0015] FIG. 3 illustrates an alternative display, having bid and ask
quantities displayed in
association with a static price scale, that may be used in accordance with
preferred
embodiments;
loom FIG. 4 illustrates the display at a later time showing the movement of
values when
compared to FIG. 3;
ram FIG. 5 illustrates a display with parameters set in order to
exemplify the trading
method;
[atun FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating one process for display and trading
using the displays
of FIGs. 3 through 5;
loam FIG. 7 illustrates a Last Traded Quantity marker in accordance with a
preferred
embodiment, and further illustrates color coding of the Last Traded Quantity;
[0020] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the transfer of multiple data feeds between
an exchange
and a client;
[0021] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a disruption in one of the data feeds shown
in FIG. 8;
[0022] FIG. 10 illustrates a display showing the aggregated working quantities
in a market for
a user's buy and sell orders;
[0023] FIGs. 11A and 11B are displays showing a dynamic indicator;
loom FIGs. 12A and 12B are displays showing "arrow" cells that may be used to
view items
of interest outside the current display;
[0025] FIGs. 13A and 13B are displays showing examples of thermometer
indicators to
illustrate the quantity of buy and sell interest in a market;
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Room FIGs. 14A and 14B are displays illustrating auto scalper indicators;
[0027] FIGs. 15A and 15B are displays showing an embodiment in which a user
may select
the price level reasonability check feature through a dialog box, and a
display showing a
measure of reasonability in relation to the Last Traded Price, respectively;
loom FIG. 16A is a display showing the display of the last traded price and
inside market for
use with the automatic grid centering feature of a piefelied embodiment and
FIG. 16B is a
display showing how a user may select and manipulate the automatic grid
positioning feature;
[0029] FIG. 17 is a display showing a user's current working sell quantities
and working buy
quantities and additional criteria used for implementing the "drag and drop"
feature of a
preferred embodiment;
[0030] FIG. 18 is a display showing the working quantities of a user in
addition to the user's
average working buy price and average working sell price;
[0031] FIGs. 19A and 19B are displays showing the function of the highlight
midpoint re-
centering feature of a preferred embodiment; FIG. 19C is a sample GUI options
dialog box in
which the highlight midpoint re-centering feature can be activated according
to one
embodiment of the present invention;
[0032] FIG. 20A is a display showing how blank spots are color-coded according
to one
embodiment; FIG. 20B is a display of a sample GUI options dialog box in which
a user can
activate the color coding feature of FIG. 20A;
room FIG. 21 is a display showing how the average price of a trader's open
position is
indicated according to one embodiment of the invention; and
[nom FIG. 22 is a display showing one embodiment of a consolidation control
icon in
accordance with a preferred embodiment.
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DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0035] As described with reference to the accompanying figures, trading tools
in accordance
with various preferred embodiments are provided to, among other things,
facilitate fast and
accurate order entry. Certain of the trading tools work particularly well with
a trading display
that shows working orders and/or bid and ask quantities, or other market
information,
displayed in association with a static price scale or axis. An example of such
a trading display
is illustrated in Figures 3 through 5. It is to be understood that, in this
context, static does not
mean immovable, but rather means fixed in relation. For example, with a static
price scale,
the scale itself may be movable, but the prices represented remain fixed in
relation to each
other, subject to consolidation or expansion as described below. Trading
applications that
generate different trading displays may alternatively be used.
[0036] In a preferred embodiment, one or more of the trading tools described
herein is
implemented on a computer or electronic terminal. The computer is able to
communicate
either directly or indirectly (using intermediate devices) with one or more
exchanges to
receive and transmit market, commodity, and trading order information. The
computer or
terminal is able to interact with the trader and to generate contents and
characteristics of a
'trade order to be sent to the exchange. A trading application allows for a
trader to view
market data, enter and cancel trade orders and/or view orders. The scope of
the present
invention is not limited by the type of terminal or device used, and is not
limited to any
particular type of trading application. Rather, the trading tools may be
implemented on any
existing or future terminal or device with the processing capability to
perform the functions
described herein.
[0037] As used herein, the word "commodity" refers simply to a thing that is
an object of
trade. It includes anything that can be traded with a quantity and/or price.
Examples of such
objects include, but are not limited to, all types of traded financial
products, such as, for
example, stocks, options, bonds, futures, currency, and warrants, as well as
funds, derivatives
and collections or combinations of the foregoing. The commodity may be "real,"
such as
objects that are listed by an exchange for trading, or "synthetic," such as a
combination of real
commodities that is created by the user.
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[00381 Further, the specification may refer to a single click of a mouse as an
example of a
single action of the user for input and interaction with the terminal display.
In order to allow
actions to be taken in the shortest amount of time, a preferred embodiment of
the trading
application responds upon depressing the mouse button, rather than waiting for
the up click.
While this may describe a preferred mode of interaction, the scope of the
present invention is
not limited to the use of a mouse as the input device or to the click of a
mouse button as the
user's single action. Rather, any action by a user, whether comprising one or
more clicks of a
mouse button or other input device, such as a keyboard, joystick or touch
screen, may be
considered the single action of the user_
[0039] An electronic trading system may be configured to allow for trading in
a single or in
multiple exchanges simultaneously. Connections for an example of such a system
are
illustrated in FIG. 1. This illustration shows multiple host exchanges 101-103
connected
through routers 104-106 to gateways 107-109. Multiple client terminals 110-116
for use as
trading stations can then trade in the multiple exchanges through their
connection to the
gateways 107-109. It should be noted that the trading tools of the preferred
embodiment are
not limited to any particular network architecture, but rather may be applied
with utility on
workstations or other client devices in any network that can be used for
electronic trading.
pool When an electronic trading system is configured to receive data from
multiple
exchanges, ills preferable to translate the data from each exchange into a
format that may be
displayed using a graphical user interface. For the example shown in FIG. 1,
an application
program interface ("Tr API" as depicted in the FIG. 1) translates the incoming
data formats
from the different exchanges to a common data format. This translation
function of a
preferred embodiment may be disposed anywhere in the network, for example, at
the gateway
server, at the individual workstations or at both. In addition, storage
elements at the gateway
servers, the client workstations, and/or other external storage may cache,
buffer, or store
historical data, such as order books that list the user's active orders in the
market; that is,
those orders that have neither been filled nor cancelled. Information from
different exchanges
can be displayed in one or in multiple windows at the client workstation.
Accordingly, while
reference is made through the remainder of the specification to a single
exchange to which a
trading terminal is connected, the scope of the invention includes the ability
to trade, in
accordance with the trading methods described herein, in multiple exchanges
using a single
trading terminal.
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[ow] A commercially available trading application that allows a user to trade
in a system
like that shown in FIG. 1 is X_TRADER from Trading Technologies
International, Inc. of
Chicago, Illinois. X_TRADER also provides an electronic trading interface,
referred to as
MD_TRADER114, in which working orders and/or bid and ask quantities are
displayed in
association with a static price scale. The preferred embodiments, however, are
not limited to
any particular product that performs the translation, storage and/or display
functions.
[0042] Several preferred embodiments include the display of "market depth"
and/or allow a
user to view the market depth of a commodity and to enter orders with a single
input, such as
the click of a computer mouse button. As used herein, market depth is
represented by the
available order book, including the current bid and ask quantities and their
associated prices.
In other words, subject to the limits noted below, market depth is each
available pending bid
and ask quantity, entered at a particular price, in addition to the "inside
market." For a
commodity being traded, the inside market is the highest bid price and the
lowest ask price.
For embodiments relating to a display that includes market depth, interfaces
as shown in
Figures 2 and 3 are exemplary. Other trading applications that are capable of
displaying
market depth are suitable alternatives, unless otherwise noted. Furthermore,
the preferred
embodiments are not limited to an electronic trading application that displays
market depth,
but can be utilized with any electronic trading application.
[0043] Generally, the exchanges send price, order and fill information to the
gateways 107-
109. The trading application, for example X_TRADER , processes this
information and
maps it to positions in a theoretical grid program or any other comparable
mapping technique
for mapping data to a screen. The physical mapping of such information to a
screen grid, for
display on a client device like the client devices 110-116, may be done by any
technique
known to those skilled in the art. The present invention is not limited by the
method used to
map the data to the screen display.
[0044] The system's ability to fully display the market depth typically
depends on how much
of the market depth the exchange provides. Some exchanges, for example, supply
an infinite
market depth, while others provide no market depth or only a few orders away
from the inside
market. The user can preferably also choose how far into the market depth to
display on the
trader's screen. For example, the user may only want to have displayed the
market depth
within a predetermined number of ticks away from the inside market.
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100451 FIG. 2 illustrates an electronic trading interface.
This display and system is just one example
of a type of trading system that may incorporate one or more aspects of the
present invention.
The display shows the inside market and the market depth of a given commodity
being traded.
Row 1 represents the "inside market" for the commodity being traded which is
the best
(highest) bid price and quantity and the best (lowest) ask price and quantity.
Rows 2-5
represent the "market depth" for the commodity being traded. In one preferred
embodiment,
the display of market depth (rows 2-5) lists the available next-best bids, in
column 203, and
asks, in column 204. The working bid and ask quantity for each price level is
also displayed
in columns 202 and 205 respectively (inside market - row 1). Prices and
quantities for the
inside market and market depth update dynamically on a real time basis as such
information is
relayed from the market.
[0046] In the screen display shown in FIG. 2, the commodity (contract) being
traded is
represented in row 1 by the character string "CDHO". The Depth column 201 will
inform the
trader of a status by displaying different colors. Yellow indicates that the
program application
is waiting for data. Red indicates that the Market Depth has failed to receive
the data from the
server and has "timed out." Green indicates that the data has just been
updated. The other
column headings in this and all of the other figures, are defined as follows.
BidQty (Bid
Quantity) at column 202: the quantity for each working bid; BidPrc (Bid Price)
at column
203: the price for each working bid; AskPrc (Ask Price) at column 204: the
price for each
working ask; Ask Qty (Ask Quantity) at column 205: the quantity for each
working ask;
LastPrc (Last Price) at column 206: the price for the last bid and ask that
were matched in the
market; and Last Qty (Last Quantity) at column 207: the quantity traded at the
last price. Total
at column 208 represents the total quantity traded of the given commodity.
100471 The configuration of the screen display itself informs the user in a
more convenient
and efficient manner than many existing systems. Traders gain an advantage by
seeing the
market depth because they can see trends in the orders in the market. The
market depth
display shows the trader the interest the market has in a given commodity at
different price
levels.
loon] Another type of display system and related trading method which may be
used in
conjunction with the preferred embodiments is described in detail in PCT
Publication No.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
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WO 01/065403, filed March 2, 2001.This method ensures fast and accurate
execution of trades
by displaying information, such as market depth or working orders, in
association with an axis
or scale of static prices. One embodiment using this type of display system
displays the
market depth on a vertical plane, which fluctuates logically up or down the
plane as the
market prices fluctuates. The invention is not limited to any particular
display ¨ the
information could be displayed on a horizontal plane, n-dimensionally or in
any other fashion.
This allows the trader to trade quickly and efficiently. An example of such a
display is
illustrated in the screen display of FIG. 3.
[00491 In a fast moving market, where varying price levels are trading (i.e.
bids and offers
entering the market are being matched at different prices), it is beneficial
that the trader be
able to quickly enter orders and quickly see and analyze market information.
Displays of the
type illustrated in FIG. 3 allow the trader to quickly enter orders at
specific price levels by
clicking next to a static price level, displayed as a static column in a
preferred embodiment
and to quickly and easily see information such as working orders. The static
prices can be
displayed in any matter, including in a row, on any angle, or n-dimensionally,
without
departing from the invention. It also is possible for the static price values
to not be displayed,
instead displaying just the market depth levels, working orders, or other
information relative
to one another along a scale or axis representing particular prices using
particular colors or
using other methods.
loom The display shown in FIG. 3 provides an order entry system, market grid,
fill window
and summary of market orders in one simple window. Such a condensed display
simplifies
the trading system by entering and tracking trades in an efficient manner.
This system
displays market depth in a logical, vertical fashion or horizontally or at
some other convenient
angle or configuration. A vertical field is shown in the figures and described
for convenience,
but the field could be horizontal or at an angle or n-dimensionally. The
system further
increases the speed of trading and the likelihood of entering orders at
desired prices with
desired quantities. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the display
is a static
vertical column of prices with the bid and ask quantities displayed in
vertical columns to the
side of the price column and aligned with the corresponding bid and ask
prices.
[0051) Bid quantities are in column 300 labeled BidQ and ask quantities are in
column 302
labeled AskQ. The representative prices for the given commodity are shown in
column 304,
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where the prices are static and inclement in "ticks," where a tick is the
minimum change in a
price value that is set by the exchange for each commodity. The prices can be
displayed as
ticks, as multiples of ticks or in any other fashion. In the embodiment shown
in FIG. 3, the
column does not list the whole prices (e.g. 95.89), but rather, just the last
two digits (e.g. 89).
Other price display conventions may alternatively be used, as long as the
requisite price
information is conveyed to the user. hi the example shown, the inside market,
cells 306, is 18
(best bid quantity) at 89 (best bid price) and 20 (best ask quantity) at 90
(best ask price). In
the preferred embodiment of the invention, these three columns 300, 302, and
304 are shown
in different colors so that the trader can quickly distinguish among them.
[0052] The values in the price column are static; that is, they do not
normally change
positions unless a re-centering command is received (discussed in detail
later). The values in
the Bid and Ask columns 300 and 302, however, are dynamic; that is, they move
up and down
(in the vertical example) to reflect the market depth for the given commodity.
The LTQ
column 308 shows the last traded quantity of the commodity. The relative
position of the
quantity value with respect to the Price values reflects the price at which
that quantity was
traded. Column 310 labeled VW (Executed/Working) displays the current status
of the
trader's orders. The status of each order is displayed in the price row where
it was entered.
For example, in cells 312, the number next to S indicates the number of the
trader's ordered
lots that have been sold at the price in the specific row. The number next to
W indicates the
number of the trader's ordered lots that are in the market, but have not been
filled ¨ i.e. the
system is working on filling the order. Blanks in this column indicate that no
orders are
entered or working at that price. In cells 314, the number next to B indicates
the number of
the trader's ordered lots that have been bought at the price in the specific
row. The number
next to W indicates the number of the trader's ordered lots that are in the
market, but have not
been filled ¨ i.e. the system is working on filling the order.
[0053] Various parameters are set and information is provided in column 316.
For example,
"10:48:44" in cell 318 shows the actual time of day. The Land R fields in cell
120 indicate a
quantity value, which may be added to the order quantity entered. This process
is explained
below with respect to trading under this system. Below the L and R fields, in
cell 322, a
number appears which represents the current market volume. This is the number
of lots that
have been traded for the chosen commodity. Cell 324, "X 10", displays the Net
Quantity, the
current position of the trader on the chosen commodity. The number "10"
represents the
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trader's buys minus sells. Cell 326 is the "Current Quantity"; this field
represents the quantity
for the next order that the trader will send to market. This can be adjusted
with right and left
clicks (up and down) or by clicking the buttons which appear below the Current
Quantity in
cells 328. These buttons increase the current quantity by the indicated
amount; for example,
"10" will increase it by 10; "1H" will increase it by 100; "1K" will increase
it by 1000. Cell
330 is the Clear button; clicking this button will clear the Current Quantity
field. Cell 332 is
the Quantity Description; this is a pull-down menu allowing the trader to
chose from three
Quantity Descriptions. In one embodiment, the pull-down menu is displayed when
the arrow
button in the window is clicked. The window includes NetPos, Offset and a
field allowing the
trader to enter numbers. Placing a number in this field will set a default buy
or sell quantity.
Choosing "Offset" in this field will enable the 1/R buttons of cell 320.
Choosing "NetPos" in
this field will set the current Net Quantity (trader's net position) as the
trader's quantity for his
next trade. Cell 334 are +1- buttons; these buttons will alter the size of the
screen ¨ either
larger (+) or smaller (-). Cell 336 is used to invoke Net 0; clicking this
button will reset the
Net Quantity (cell 332) to zero. Cell 338 is used to invoke Net Real; clicking
this button will
reset the Net Quantity (cell 322) to its actual position. It is to be
understood that the preferred
embodiments are not limited to a trading application that displays these
particular buttons.
Preferably, the buttons displayed and any parameter, such as quantity, that is
set by those
buttons are customizable or selectable by the user.
100541 The inside market and market depth ascend and descend as prices in the
market
increase and decrease. For example, FIG. 4 shows a screen displaying the same
market as that
of FIG. 3, but at a later interval where the inside market, cells 400, has
risen three ticks. Here,
the inside market for the commodity is 43 (best bid quantity) at 92 (best bid
price) and 63
(best ask quantity) at 93 (best ask price). In comparing Figures 3 and 4, it
can be seen that the
price column remained static, but the corresponding bids and asks rose up the
price column.
100551 As the market ascends or descends the price column, the inside market,
working
orders, last traded price and/or quantity, or any other item that may be of
interest might go
above or below the price column displayed on a trader's screen. Usually a
trader will want to
be able to see the inside market to assess future trades. The system addresses
this problem
with a positioning feature. With a single click at any point within the gray
area, 342 in FIG. 3,
below the "Net Real" button, the system will re-position the inside market on
the trader's
screen. As an alternative, this positioning feature may be programmed to be
triggered by
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clicking in any area of the display. Also, when using a three-button mouse, a
click of the
middle mouse button, irrespective of the location of the mouse pointer, will
re-position the
inside market on the trader's screen. As noted above, the display
alternatively may be re-
positioned based on other items of interest beside the inside market.
[0056] The same information and features can be displayed and enabled in a
horizontal or
other fashion. Just as the market ascends and descends the vertical scale in
this preferred
embodiment, shown in Figures 3 and 4, the market will move left and right in
the horizontal
display. The same data and the same information gleaned from the dynamic
display of the
data is provided. It is envisioned that other orientations can be used to
dynamically display
the data and such orientations are intended to come within the scope of the
present invention.
[0057] The specific features of the embodiment of a display as shown in
Figures 3 and 4 are
exemplary of one embodiment of a screen display that can be used with the
present invention.
The present invention is in no way limited, however, to a screen display that
utilizes each of
these features.
pow Placing Trade Orders
[0059] Next, trading commodities, and specifically, the placement of trade
orders using a
representative display of the type shown in FIG. 3 is described. Using the
display and trading
method, a trader would first designate the desired commodity and, if
applicable, the default
quantities. The trader can then trade by positioning an icon and indicating an
action, for
example with a click of the right or left mouse button. The term "click" may
refer to a "half-
click" or button down event for any action depending upon the user's and/or
system designer's
requirements or preferences.
[0060] The following equations are used by this exemplary system to generate
trade orders
and to determine the quantity and price to be associated with the trade order.
The following
abbreviations are used in these formulas: P = Price value of row clicked (in
ticks), R = Value
in R field, L = Value in L field, Q = Current Quantity, Qa = Total of all
quantities in AskQ
column at an equal or better price than P. Qb = Total of all quantities in
BidQ column at an
equal or better price than P, N = Current Net Position, Bo = Buy order sent to
market and So =
Sell order sent to market.
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[0ow] Any order entered using right mouse button
Bo = (Qa + R)P (Eq. 1) If BidQ field clicked.
So = (Qb + R)P (Eq. 2) If AskQ field clicked.
[0062] Orders entered using the left mouse button
[0063] If "Offset" mode chosen in Quantity Description field then:
Bo = (Qa + L)P (Eq. 3) If BidQ field clicked.
So = (Qb + L)P (Eq. 4) If AskQ field clicked.
[0064] If "number" mode chosen in Quantity Description field then:
Bo = QP (Eq. 5)
So = QP (Eq. 6)
[0065] If "NetPos" mode chosen in Quantity Description field then:
Bo = NP (Eq. 7)
So = NP (Eq. 8)
pow Orders also can be sent to market for quantities that vary
according to the quantities
available in the market; quantities preset by the trader; and which mouse
button the trader
clicks. Using this feature, a trader can buy or sell all of the bids or asks
in the market at or
better than a chosen price with one click. The trader also could add or
subtract a preset
quantity from the quantities outstanding in the market. If the trader clicks
in a trading cell ¨
i.e. in the BidQ or AskQ column, the trader will enter an order in the market.
The parameters
of the order depend on which mouse button the trader clicks and what preset
values the trader
set.
[0067] Using the screen display and values from FIG. 5, the placement of trade
orders using
the display and trading method is now described using examples. A left click
on the 18 in the
BidQ column 500 will send an order to market to buy 17 lots (quantity # chosen
on the
Quantity Description pull-down menu cell 502) of the commodity at a price of
89 (the
corresponding price in the Prc column 504). Similarly, a left click on the 20
in the AskQ
column 506 will send an order to market to sell 17 lots at a price of 90.
pow Using the right mouse button, for example, an order would be sent
to market at the
price that corresponds to the row clicked for the total quantity of orders in
the market that
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equal or better the price in that row plus the quantity in the R field 508.
Thus, a right click in
the AskQ column 506 in the 87 price row will send a sell order to market at a
price of 87 and
a quantity of 150, where 150 is the sum of all the quantities 30, 97, 18 and
5. The quantities
30, 97 and 18 are all of the quantities in the market that would meet or
better the trader's sell
order price of 87. These quantities are displayed in the BidQ column 500
because this column
represents the orders outstanding in the market to purchase the commodity at
each
corresponding price. The quantity 5 is the quantity pre-set in the R field
508.
pow Similarly, a right click in the BidQ column 500 at the same price
level of 87 would
send a buy limit order to market for a quantity of 5 at a price of 87. The
quantity is
determined in the same manner as above. In this example, though, there are no
orders in the
market that equal or better the chosen price ¨ there are no quantities in the
AskQ column 506
that equal or better this price. Therefore, the sum of the equal or better
quantities is zero
("0"). The total order entered by the trader will be the value in the R field
508, which is 5.
[0070] An order entered with the left mouse button, for example, and the
"Offset" option
chosen in the quantity description field 502 will be calculated in the same
way as above, but
the quantity in the L field 510 will be added instead of the quantity in the R
field 508. Thus, a
left click in the BidQ column 500 in the 92 price row will send a buy order to
market at a
price of 92 and a quantity of 96. The quantity 96 is the sum of all the
quantities 45, 28,20 and
3. 45, 28 and 20 are all quantities in the market that would meet or better
the trader's buy
order price of 92. These quantities are displayed in the AskQ column 506
because this
column represents the orders outstanding in the market to sell the commodity
at each
corresponding price. The quantity 3 is the quantity pre-set in the L field
510.
[0071] The values in the L or R fields 510, 508 may be negative numbers. This
would
effectively decrease the total quantity sent to market. In other words, in the
example of a right
click in the AskQ column 506 in the 87 price row, if the R field 508 was -5,
the total quantity
sent to market would be 140 (30 + 97 + 18 + (-5)).
[0072] If a trader chose the "NetPos" option in the quantity description field
502, a right click,
for example, would still work as explained above. A left click would, for
example, enter an
order with a price corresponding to the price row clicked and a quantity equal
to the current
Net position of the trader. The Net position of the trader is the the trader's
current position on
the chosen commodity. In other words, if the trader has bought 10 more
commodities than the
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trader has sold, this value would be 10. NetPos would not affect the quantity
of an order sent
with a right click.
[0073] If the trader chose a number value in the quantity description, a left
click would send
an order to market for the current quantity chosen by the trader. The default
value of the
current quantity will be the number entered in the quantity description field,
but it could be
changed by adjusting the figure in the current quantity field 502.
[0074] An embodiment of the system also allows a trader to delete all of his
working orders
with a single click of either the right or left ymouse button anywhere in the
last traded quantity
(LTQ) column 512 (this functionality can be provided in any general area of
the screen as well
or as an alternative). This allows a trader to exit the market immediately. An
embodiment of
the invention also allows a trader to delete all of his orders from the market
at a particular
price level. A click with either mouse button in the Executed/Working (E/W)
column 514
will delete all working orders in the cell that was clicked. Thus, if a trader
believes that
previously sent orders at a particular price that have not been filled would
be poor trades, the
trader can delete these orders with a single click.
[0075] A process for placing trade orders using the display and trading method
as described
above is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 6. Prior to placing a trade order, the
system provides
preliminary fields for the input of data, such as the selection of a customer
profile, the order
quantity, and the maximum trade quantity. Once these preliminary fields are
entered and the
trader indicates the desire to place a trade order, the system will determine
whether the trader
performed the necessary actions to conduct a trade. For example, the invention
will determine
if the mouse pointer was positioned over a tradable cell when the attempt to
click trade was
performed. If it is determined that a viable trade was requested, the system
will create and
send a limit order to the exchange at a quantity and price based on the
preliminary settings and
market prices. The system affords a trader the opportunity to change the order
quantity preset
buttons. The default quantities for these power buttons are 1, 5, 10, 20, 50,
and 100.
However, in this preferred embodiment the trader can alter any or all of these
default
quantities by performing a right click on each specific button and manually
entering a
different number quantity.
[0076] In step 600, the trader has the display on the trading terminal screen
showing the
market for a given commodity. In step 602, the parameters are set in the
appropriate fields,
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such as the L and R fields and the Current Quantity, NetPos or Offset fields
from the pull-
down menu. In step 604, the mouse pointer is positioned and clicked over a
cell in the display
by the trader. In step 606, the system determines whether the cell clicked is
a tradeable cell
(i.e. in the AskQ column or BidQ column). If not, then in step 608, no trade
order is created
or sent and, rather, other quantities are adjusted or functions are performed
based upon the cell
selected. Otherwise, in step 610, the system determines whether it was the
left or the right
button of the mouse that was clicked. If it was the right, then in step 612,
the system will use
the quantity in the R field when it determines the total quantity of the order
in step 614. If the
left button was clicked, then in step 616, the system determines which
quantity description
was chosen: Offset, NetPos or an actual number.
room If Offset was chosen, then the system, in step 618, will use the quantity
in the L field
when it determines the total quantity of the order in step 614. If NetPos was
chosen, then the
system, in step 620, will determine that the total quantity for the trade
order will be the current
NetPos value ¨ the net position of the trader in the given commodity. If an
actual number
was used as the quantity description, then, in step 622, the system will
determine that the total
quantity for the trade order will be the current quantity entered. In step
614, the system will
determine that the total quantity for the trade order will be the value of the
R field (if step 612
was taken) or the value of the L field (if step 618 was taken), plus all
quantities in the market
for prices better than or equal to the price in the row clicked. This will add
up the quantities
for each order in the market that will fill the order being entered by the
trader (plus the L or R
value).
[0078] After either steps 614, 622 or 620, the system, in step 624, determines
which column
was clicked, BidQ or AskQ. If AskQ was clicked, then, in step 626, the system
sends a sell
limit order to the market at the price corresponding to the row for the total
quantity as already
determined. If BidQ was clicked, then, in step 628, the system sends a buy
limit order to the
market at the price corresponding to the row for the total quantity as already
determined. The
process described above is merely one embodiment and the present invention is
not limited to
this particular process or to any process.
[0079] One commercially available product that incorporates display screens of
the type
illustrated in Figures 2 and 3 is sold under the brand name X_TRADER by
Trading
Technologies International, Inc., of Chicago, Illinois. Display screens of the
type illustrated in
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FIG. 3 are sometimes referred to herein as MD_TRADERTm-style displays. As
discussed
above, however, the trading tools of the preferred embodiments can be used
with virtually any
electronic trading application, unless otherwise noted.
[ocetn Given the foregoing information regarding graphical user interfaces for
electronic
trading and their use, a number of trading tools will now be described. One or
more of these
trading tools may be incorporated into a trading application, for example, to
assist the trader
and improve the efficiency and timeliness of trading.
[0081] Last Traded Quantity Marker
[oon] The "Last Traded Quantity Marker," in accordance with a preferred
embodiment,
provides an indication of the Last Traded Quantity (LTQ). In a display that
includes dynamic
market information that is associated with a static price scale, such as the
MD_TRADERTm-
style display, the LTQ marker may move up and down the LTQ column as an
associated LTQ
price changes. One form of a LTQ marker 700 is shown in FIG. 7, where both a
numerical
value and a color or shading are used. For consecutive trades at the same
price, the LTQ
marker 700 may show, for example, either i) a cummulative quantity for all
consecutive trades
at the Last Traded Price, or ii) the quantity of only the most recent trade at
the Last Traded
Price. The accumulation of the total quantity for multiple LTQ occurrences is
typically
gateway (i.e. exchange) dependant. Most gateways, however, will accumulate the
quantity.
For gateways that do not accumulate the LTQ, a trading application, such as
the application
program interface illustrated in FIG. 1, may convert the LTQ into a cumulative
indicator, if
desired.
[0083] Generally, as long as a contract continues to trade at the same
specific price, the LTQ
will accumulate. When a contract trades at a new price, the marker may move
beside that
price and the quantity displayed inside the indicator box and will reflect the
quantity of the
last trade only. Should a contract trade at a price where a previous contract
traded, the
indicator will return to that price level, and the indicator box will again
display the quantity of
that last trade only (it will not add the newly traded quantity to the
quantity that was displayed
the last time the marker resided at this price). The indicator, located in the
LTQ column 702,
does not simply display the number of the last traded quantity. Rather, the
marker also, by
residing next to the price (in the price column 704) at which the last
contract traded, indicates
to the user the price at which that trade occurred. The LTQ marker 700 is
preferably, but not
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necessarily, associated with the corresponding last traded price 706. It is
not necessary that
numerical values for a price or quantity be associated with the marker.
[0om] In accordance with a preferred embodiment, therefore, the LTQ marker 700
is a visual
indicator of the last traded quantity. Any type of marker may be used as long
as it may be
recognized by the user as an indicator of quantity. Other indicators, such as
color or a
graphical indicator, like a sliding scale, thermometer-type scale or
speedometer-type scale,
may alternatively be used as a marker. The graphical indicators may, but are
not required to,
include associated numerical values. In further alternatives, however,
combinations of
indicators may be used to illustrate characteristics of an item of interest,
like the LTQ. For
example, the quantity itself may be presented numerically or graphically, and
color may be
used with the quantity indicator to illustrate a trend, such as increasing or
decreasing volume
or rate of change in volume, or increasing or decreasing price associated with
the LTQ. In
addition, although described in the preceding few paragraphs as a marker for
the LTQ, these
types of markers may alternatively be used for any item in the user interface
that may be of
interest to the user.
[00as] In addition, when the user interface is configured to display a
consolidated static price
scale, for example as described below under the heading Consolidation Control
Icon, the LTQ
cell 708 may be subdivided into price consolidation increments and a LTQ
marker may be
shown, for example, as a horizontal line, within the corresponding subdivision
of the LTQ cell
708. The position of the graphical indicator, which in this example is a
horizontal line, within
the LTQ cell 708 provides a visual indication of the price within the
consolidated range at
which the last traded quantity changed hands.
tows] Color Coding of Markers
[0087] As noted above, items of interest in the user interface may be color
coded or
highlighted using color or gray scale shades. In a preferred embodiment, the
user interface is
of the type shown in FIG. 3 having market data associated with a static price
scale, such as the
MD_TRADERTm interface, and color is used with the LTQ marker to provide a
visual
distinction between, for example, an increase or decrease in the price value
associated with the
Last Traded Quantity (LTQ) from the price value associated with the previous
LTQ. In
MD_TRADERTm, the LTQ may be presented as a highlighted cell in the LTQ column
702, as
shown in FIG. 7, which is displayed at a level that corresponds to the Last
Traded Price (LTP)
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706. In a preferred embodiment, the highlighted cell changes colors based on
the market's
price movements. For example, a LTQ cell 710 may be displayed with a
background that is
one color, such as blue, when the change in price associated with the LTQ is
an increase from
the price associated with the previous LTQ 708. Whereas a LTQ cell 712 may be
displayed
with a different colored background, such as red, when the change in price
from the previous
LTQ 708 decreases.
glow In addition, color may provide additional information about items of
interest, like the
LTQ. For example, when the conunodity at issue has yet to have been traded
during that
current trading session, the LTQ column 702 may be shown in a particular
color, such as gray,
and may remain that color until a quantity has been filled. When a quantity
has been filled,
the cell displaying the first LTQ for that session may be highlighted in a
particular color, such
as green, signifying neither an up nor down tick from the previous LTQ.
Subsequent fills will
result in the LTQ cell being highlighted, for the preceding examples, in
either a blue or a red
color, unless the price level does not change from one trade to another, in
which case the cell
will remain green until there is a change in the price of the LTQ.
10089] This benefits a trader in that the display of, and the color
designation(s) for, the LTQ
provides a visual reference of the market's price movements, status or trends,
thereby
permitting a trader to quickly absorb additional information, such as the
direction of the
market's activity. As a result of seeing the changes in the price of the last
traded quantities, a
trader can more easily determine market status and trends, thereby enhancing
the likelihood of
the trader entering orders and having those orders filled at desirable prices.
[0ogo] The color-coding of the LTQ appears as a colored cell (e.g., 700, 708
and 710) in the
LTQ column 702 and corresponds to the price row of that traded quantity. By
default in one
preferred embodiment, the colored cell will appear in blue when the LTQ ticks
upward in
price from the previous LTQ, will appear in red for instances when the LTQ
ticks downward
in price from the previous LTQ, and will appear in green for instances when
the price level
remains the same from one trade to the next. While these preferred colors are
the default
settings in one embodiment, the trading application preferably allows a trader
to change color
designations in accordance with the trader's own preferences. In addition,
while certain
embodiments have been described with reference to color being applied to a
cell, the
invention is not limited to embodiments in which color is applied to a cell.
For example,
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color may be applied to any graphical indicator, such as the horizontal line
used as a LTQ
marker in the preceding section, to illustrate a property of the item of
interest.
[0091] Overlay of Different Price Feeds
[0092] In one embodiment, the trading application provides an "Overlay of
Different Price
Feeds." The trading application may be X_TRADER , referenced above, or any
other
commercially available product adapted as described herein. In many instances
a particular
commodity is only traded at a particular exchange. In other instances,
however, a commodity
may be traded at multiple exchanges. This is one instance when a user may be
interested in
simultaneous information from different price feeds, i.e. feeds from different
exchanges in
regard to a particular commodity. As another example, Eurex offers both an
inside market
stream and a market depth stream. Generally, the inside market stream is
faster than the
market depth stream. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the different
streams,
whether from a single exchange or multiple exchanges, are used by the trading
application to
populate and display information about the commodity in a trading window.
[0093] A number of exchanges offer multiple price streams, but these exchanges
often supply
only those feeds that are requested by the trader. Each trader may request,
for example, a
stream of all of the quantities currently available in the market for a
specific commodity,
known as market depth, or the trader may request to receive only the inside
market prices,
where the inside market is the highest buy price and the lowest sell price at
which there is
quantity available for that commodity. This is also known as the best buy and
best sell prices.
Many traders are focused on these best prices, and therefore do not desire a
stream of a
market's depth. Thus, several exchanges cater to user preferences by offering
different price
feeds, while also benefiting by saving on bandwidth for traders who wish to
receive only an
inside market stream.
loom When using the 'overlay' feature, the system preferably displays all of
the information
that it receives, and the display continuously updates the cells. By
accepting, or having the
ability to accept, multiple feeds or streams, the trader is provided with
greater security in
knowing that if one feed should become slower or unavailable, the other feed
will continue to
update market information.
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moss] FIGs. 8 and 9 show a network 800 for the transfer of data from an
exchange 802 to the
client terminal 804 via parallel feeds carrying a first and a second price
packet 806 and 808,
respectively, through a router 810 and a Gateway 812. The client terminal 804
is running a
trading application, such as X_TRADER , which presents data carried by the
feeds to a user.
When a disruption in one of the feeds, referred to as a "hiccup" or lost data,
occurs in the
network, as shown at 814 in FIG. 9, packets from the top feed are prevented
from feeding into
the trader's display. A disruption, as the term is used herein, is not limited
to a situation in
which data is permanently lost, but rather is used generically to also cover
instances when data
is corrupted, slow or otherwise delayed. Without an auxiliary feed in
instances of lost data, the
display would be void of prices, and opportunities for trading could be lost.
Without an
auxiliary feed in instances of slow or delayed data, trading decisions would
be made based on
out of date information.
[0098] Although illustrated as a disruption 814 occurring between the gateway
812 and the
client terminal 804, the feed may be disrupted at any point from the exchange
802 to the client
terminal 804. Because of the parallel feed, the display of current information
is not
interrupted, regardless of the cause of the disruption. Moreover, the parallel
feed allows the
user to take advantage of speed differences between two feeds and displays the
best available
information to the user. It should be noted that, although the streams are
illustrated as
originating from one exchange 802, the streams may alternatively originate at
different
exchanges. In addition, while two feeds are typically sufficient, the
preferred embodiments
are not so limited, and information from more than two feeds may be
simultaneously
displayed.
[0097] In one embodiment of the invention, the 'Overlay Different Price Feeds'
can be
enabled or disabled by adding or removing a check in a 'Use Inside Market
Prices' box in the
a Properties dialog box. Other techniques for enabling this feature may
alternatively be used.
Where multiple feeds are being monitored and displayed, the trading
application may provide
the user with options for deciding which feed's data will be displayed in
instances where the
data from the feeds is not the same. For example, in instances where the feeds
originate at
different exchanges, the user may choose to display the best prices from the
different feeds.
As a further example, where the feeds originate at the same exchange,
information from the
most recent packet may be displayed, regardless of which feed carried the last
displayed
packet. Other alternatives will be apparent upon reviewing the foregoing.
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[00981 Display of Aggregated Working Quantities
(0099) Another preferred embodiment provides a trader with a display of the
aggregated
quantities being worked in the market for a trader's buy and sell orders. A
trader's total
working quantities represent the total unfilled quantities of all the orders
that the trader
currently has entered but have yet to be filled in the market. For example,
the trading
application may display the total working buy quantities and the total working
sell quantities
for the specific commodity being traded and for the specific trader who
entered those
quantities in the market. FIG. 10 shows, as an example, a display for a trader
who has
separate working sell quantities of 14, 13, and 1 (at 1000), and separate
working buy
quantities of 5, 1, 15, 3, and 1 (at 1002). While this example utilizes an
MD_TRADERTm-
style trading interface, any type of trading interface may alternatively be
used. The trading
application calculates the sum of the trader's working sell quantities (14 +
13 + 1 = 28) and
the sum of the trader's working buy quantities (5 + 1 + 15 + 3 + 1 = 25) and,
in this example,
displays the aggregated quantities in cells 1004. The aggregated working
quantities may be
displayed in any manner or location that is helpful to the user. In another
variation of this
embodiment, the user may click directly on either the aggregated buy or sell
quantity display
cells to delete the working quantities displayed in those cells.
mom The display of a trader's aggregated working quantities in cells 1004
benefits a trader
in that it provides the total exposure from the trader's working quantities.
Although the
display is dynamic, in that order quantities are continuously updated as new
orders are entered
and others are filled, the display of quantities at different market prices is
limited by the size
of the display screen. Thus, it is possible for a trader to have working
quantities of which the
trader is not aware at prices that are not visible in the display window. The
aggregated
working quantities display helps to alleviate this drawback by showing a
trader the cumulative
total of the trader's buy and sell working quantity. If the display shows
anything but a zero,
the trader will know that the trader currently has an unfilled working
quantity in the market.
won In the preferred embodiment, the display of aggregated working quantities,
as shown
in cells 1004 in FIG. 10, is presented to the user in conjunction with buttons
that may be
actuated by the user. As noted above, the user may use an input device, such
as a mouse, to
click the buttons 1006, 1008, thereby deleting the working orders associated
with the
displayed aggregated working quantities. One button 1006 displays the
aggregated buy
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working quantity. The other button 1008 displays the aggregated sell working
quantity. The
aggregated totals that appear on each button 1006, 1008 are calculated from
the non-
aggregated working quantities as displayed in a working quantities column
1010, as shown in
FIG. 10. In both the working quantities column 1010 and the aggregated
quantity buttons
1006, 1008, the buy quantity is highlighted, in a preferred embodiment in a
color, such as
blue, and the sell quantity is highlighted, in a preferred embodiment in a
different color, such
as red. The user preferably has the option of whether to display the
aggregated quantity
buttons via, for example in MD_TRADERTm, the properties settings window. The
quantity
buttons appear by default for new sessions. Of course, aggregated working
quantities may be
displayed by any trading application, as an alternative to the type of display
illustrated in FIG.
10.
room] Dynamic Indicator
[00103] Another preferred embodiment provides the user with the ability to
paste a dynamic
indicator for display in relation to, for example, a static price scale. In
one embodiment, a
first dynamic indicator column is displayed adjacent to the bid quantity
column, and a second
dynamic indicator column is displayed adjacent to the ask quantity column. The
dynamic
indicator may be applied to a dynamic indicator column from a spreadsheet,
such as Microsofem
EXCEI7, or other third party charting or analytical software, to furnish the
user with a visual
indicator of, for example, a specific price. The display screen may, for
example, be an
MD_TRADERTm-style display generated by the X_TRADER trading application,
although
other trading applications and trading interfaces may alternatively be used.
roma] The dynamic indicator is pieferably associated with market information.
In a ineferred
embodiment, the dynamic indicator is associated with a price, although it may
alternatively be
associated with any other item of interest to the user. Color coding may he
applied to the
dynamic indicator.
onto] When used, for example, with an MD_TRADERTNI-style display, a dynamic
indicator
may be associated with a specific price, as set by a trader using the third
party software, and
displayed in relation to a static price scale. If the dynamic indicator is
associated with a price
that is outside of the viewable area of the trader's display, it preferably
becomes viewable on
the screen when the associated price comes into view. Although a preferred
embodiment of
Date Regue/Date Received 2022-12-01
the invention involves copying and pasting to and from a spreadsheet, other
methods of
transferring information may also be used.
[00106] Use of this particular embodiment is initiated when a trader enters or
pastes a value
into a spreadsheet 1100. For example, the value may be a specific price that
the trader wants
to monitor, or it may be a dynamic price that includes an attached
calculation. The indicator is
not limited to use with prices, but alternatively may be used for any item of
interest on the
trader's display. In the price example, once the value is entered in the
spreadsheet, the trader
copies the desired price cell(s) from the spreadsheet and pastes the cell(s)
in one of the dynamic
indicator columns 1102 of the screen, as shown in FIG. 11A. Upon pasting the
cell(s) in the dynamic indicator column, a display marker, also referred to as
a dynamic
indicator 1104, highlights a cell in the indicator column 1102 that
corresponds to the price
calculated in the spreadsheet or other software.
[00107] The marker may be anything that is suitable to serve as an indicator
for the trader,
including, for example, graphical symbols and colors. Thus, although FIG. 11A
shows an
entire highlighted cell 1104, the marker may alternatively be color-based,
such as a highlighted
or colored foreground, background, border or portion of the cell. It is not
necessary that the
dynamic indicator occupy an entire cell. For example, in instances where the
trading interface
includes a static price scale, and the price scale is consolidated, it may be
desirable to locate
the dynamic indicator at a position within a cell that corresponds to a
specific price. In
addition, the marker may mark a range of prices. Preferably, the type of
marker is selectable
by the user.
[00108] Preferably, a link is established from the pasted cell to the
spreadsheet 1100 from
which the cell(s) was copied. The link gives the trader the ability to change
the copied value
in the spreadsheet 1100, resulting in a related change in the pasted value in
the dynamic
indicator column 1102. In one embodiment, this may be a two-way link between
the trading
interface and the third party software, or may link market data from the
trading window, such
as LTP or any other item of interest, into the spreadsheet or other third
party software. Any
suitable type of data exchange protocol may be used to embed information from
the third
party software or to link the dynamic indicator to the third party software.
For example,
Microsoft OLE 2.0 may be used to perform these functions when using Microsoft
WindowsTM
applications as the third party software. In a preferred embodiment, Microsoft
OLE is utilized
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to provide a link between a dynamic indicator and a cell from a Microsoft
EXCEL
spreadsheet. Data exchange protocols in general, and linking and embedding
techniques in
particular, are well known to those skilled in the art.
pouan The meaning of the pasted dynamic indicator, and whether there is a
dynamic
calculation attached, is preferably at the decision of the individual trader.
For example, the
trader may want the dynamic indicator to represent a 'Fair Value Analysis'
(average price).
This would calculate the average price at which the specific commodity traded
throughout the
day. The trader would copy and paste the cell, with the attached calculation,
into the dynamic
display column. As the average price changed with each newly filled quantity,
the dynamic
indicator would move up or down the indicator column in conjunction with the
appropriate
price. When that indicator would move to a price viewable on the screen, the
trader then
could see a visual indicator of the 'Fair Value' price, and the trader could
choose to enter
quantity if the trader so desired. Although illustrated with reference to the
'Fair Value' price,
it is to be appreciated that any calculation may alternatively be used.
Rollo] As noted above, the dynamic indicator may also appear in only a portion
of the cell.
The dynamic indicator may be highlighted, for example, in a different color
than the
remainder of the cell or the surrounding cells, or may be displayed in time-
alternating colors
to create a flashing effect. The dynamic indicator may be presented as a
highlighted or
colored line within a cell. The portion of the cell in which the dynamic
indicator appears may
be selected to convey additional information, such as a price that falls
between prices in a
static price scale, for example when price consolidation is utilized. FIG. 11B
illustrates a
dynamic indicator column 1102 in which a dynamic indicator is shown by
highlighting only a
portion of a cell 1110.
Form The dynamic indicator benefits a trader in that the trader is provided,
for example, with
the ability to monitor price movements of the trader's own designation,
whether those
movements are of the last traded price, the 'Fair Value', or any other
designated item of
interest. By seeing the visible dynamic indicator associated with the trader's
designated item
of interest, the trader has a better opportunity to enter quantities at prices
that are desirable. In
addition, the trader can paste a dynamic indicator while continuing to enter
other quantities
throughout the trading session, and the indicator will continue to update as
long as the session
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is open. Thus, the trader may find that a desirable price, as shown by the
indicator, is available
in the market long after the trader originally copied and pasted the indictor.
Furthermore, the
dynamic indicator may decrease the time it takes for the user to analyze
market data by
providing the user with a visual cue.
[00112] The display of the highlighted dynamic indicator, the color of which,
in instances
where color is used, may be selected by the trader through, for example, a
properties window,
appears in the buy and/or sell dynamic indicator columns on the display. The
indicators can
be moved to various locations on the display. Of course, more than one dynamic
indicator
may appear in any dynamic indicator column. In one embodiment that utilizes
the
MD_TRADERTm-style display, the dynamic indicator columns appear by default to
the
immediate left and right of the buy and sell quantity columns, respectively,
as shown in FIG.
11A. It is not necessary, however, that an entire column, row or other display
element be
devoted to display of a dynamic indicator. The dynamic indicator may
alternatively be
applied in the display on a cell-by-cell basis or may overlay other displayed
information.
[00113] Out of Range Indicator
[00114] In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the graphical user
interface for a trading
application provides an indication that an item of interest is outside the
viewable range of the
display. The trading application may be X_TRADER , referenced above, or any
other
commercially available product adapted as described in this section.
Preferably, the out of
range indicator also provides a user the ability to cause the display to shift
up or down so that
the user may view the item(s) of interest that lie outside of the viewable
area. Examples of
items of interest include, but are not limited to, the user's working orders
and market depth
information, such as quantities and prices.
[0olls] In one embodiment, the out of range indicator is an arrow or similar
pointing icon,
which will indicate to the user that an item of interest lies outside the
viewable area and
further indicates the direction in which the viewable area needs to move to
display the item of
interest. Preferably, the viewable area will scroll or jump to the item of
interest when the user
clicks on or otherwise actuates the pointing icon. Each time the out of range
indicator is used,
the display may shift to the closest item of interest outside of the viewable
area. As an
alternative to jumping to the next item of interest, the display may shift row-
by-row, column-
by-column, price-by-price, or may jump to a new level based upon a selected
item of interest.
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[0oils] For example, as shown in FIG. 12A, quantities are entered (and are
viewable on the
display) at sell prices of 109225, 109250, 109400, etc. If 109525 is the next
highest price for
which quantity is entered, but that quantity is beyond the viewable area, the
trader can use an
out of range quantity indicator, illustrated in this example as an 'up arrow'
1200 function, to
shift the display up so that the quantity is viewable. Each ensuing use of the
'up arrow' 1200
function will result in the display of the next highest sell price for which
quantity is entered in
the market.
[001171 Continuing with this example, the same general principles apply when
employing the
'down arrow' 1202 function. Specifically, in FIG. 12A, quantities are viewable
on the trading
screen at the buy prices of 108975, 108875, 108825, etc. If 108650 is the next
lowest buy
price for which quantity is entered in the market, then the trader could use
the 'down arrow'
1202 function to display that quantity. Each ensuing use of the 'down arrow'
1202 function
results in the display of the next lowest buy price for which quantity was
entered in the
market.
Rolle] By using the out of range indicator (e.g., 1200, 1202), which in this
example indicates
out of range market quantities, the trader can essentially view the entire
market depth provided
by an exchange. The display of the entire market depth may be limited, for
example, by the
size of the user's display screen, or the user's preferences about the amount
of market
information that is displayed at any one time. Due to these constraints, it is
possible that there
may be items of interest, such as market depth or working orders, that the
user cannot see.
The out of range indicator not only alerts the user to the existence of an out
of range item of
interest, but also ensures that all such information is viewable via, for
example, the 'up arrow'
1200 and 'down arrow' 1202 function.
[001191 When items of interest fall outside the viewable range, the trading
application
preferably generates cells, for example each with an arrow pointing up or
down, as
appropriate, at the top and/or bottom of the column related to the item of
interest. The arrow
cells are preferably enabled only when an item of interest, like a quantity
entered in the
market, falls outside of the viewable area. If no items of interest fall
outside the viewable area,
in one embodiment of the invention, the cells are inactive and may be
presented on the display
in a solid color without an arrow. As an alternative to the use of buttons
with pointing icons,
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a preferred embodiment allows a user to scroll the market data in a desired
direction using a
mouse wheel or other user input device.
[00120] As noted above, the out of range indicator may alternatively, or in
addition, be used to
alert the user to out of range working orders. In this example, each time the
indicator is used,
the display preferably shifts to the user's next working order in the market
that is outside of
the viewable area. For example, as shown in FIG. 12B and evidenced by the
working
quantities present in the working quantities column, a trader has quantities
entered (and
viewable on the display) at sell or offer prices of 109200, 109250, and
109300. If 109550 is
that trader's next highest price for which quantity is entered, but that
quantity is beyond the
viewable area, the trader can use the indicator, in this example an 'up offer
arrow' 1204
function, to shift the display up so that the quantity is viewable. Each
ensuing use of the 'up
offer arrow' 1204 function results in the display of the trader's next highest
offer price for
which quantity is entered in the market. As stated above, the display
alternatively may shift
row-by-row, column-by-column, price-by-price, or may jump to a new level based
upon a
selected item of interest.
[00121] The same general principles may apply in regard to working buy orders,
by employing
a 'down bid arrow' 1206 function. For example, in FIG. 11B the trader has
quantities entered
and viewable on the trading screen at the buy or bid prices of 109025, 109000,
108975,
108875, and 108825. If 108650 is that trader's next lowest bid price for which
quantity is
entered in the market, then the trader could use the 'down bid arrow' 1206
function to display
that quantity. Each ensuing use of the 'down bid arrow' 1206 function results
in the display of
that trader's next lowest bid price for which the trader has quantity entered
in the market.
Regardless of which arrow is being used, the screen will shift to quantities
that the trader has
entered in the market.
[00122] By using the out of range indicator (e.g., 1200, 1202, 1204 and 1206),
the trader
preferably may view information related to all of his or her working orders.
This indicator
reduces the potential for missed and forgotten opportunities or exposure by
ensuring that all of
the user's working orders are viewable via the 'up offer arrow', the 'up bid
arrow', the 'down
offer arrow' and 'down bid arrow' functions. The pointing icons, or arrow
buttons, discussed
above may be located at the top and/or bottom of any column of interest, or to
the left and/or
right side of any row of interest, that includes data that falls outside of
the viewable range,
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including for example working orders that fall outside the viewable range.
Other uses for the
out of range indicator will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon
reviewing this detailed
description. Although described above with reference to pointing icons and/or
arrow buttons,
any type of indicator may alternatively be used as long as it is capable of
indicating to the user
that there is information outside of the viewable range.
[00123] 'Thermometer' Indicator
[00124] In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the trading application
provides a display
to the user illustrating the volume of buy and sell quantities, in proportion
to each other, in a
logical, dynamic manner. The trading application may be X_TRADER , referenced
above, or
any other commercially available product adapted as described in this section.
In one
embodiment, which is advantageously used in a trading application that
displays price along a
vertical axis, like X_TRADER , the 'thermometer' indicator generates one or
more narrow,
vertical display columns 1300, 1302 ("thermometers"), located in proximity to
the quantity
columns as shown in1FIGs. 13A & 13B. The thermometers 1300, 1302 may or may
not be
associated with a numeric display of the total number of buy and sell orders
in the market for
a particular commodity. When there is quantity available in the market, the
thermometers
1300, 1302 are preferably shaded in a manner that coincides with the
percentage of buy verses
sell quantities in the market. For example, if the buy and sell quantities in
the market are
equal, meaning that 50% of the quantity is buy quantity and 50% is sell
quantity, then both
thermometers 1300, 1302 are shaded 50%, as shown in FIG. 13A. In alternative
embodiments, thermometer indicators may represent a relationship between any
two items of
interest to the user. Although vertical bars are shown in the illustrations,
it should be
understood that any visual indicator may alternatively be used, as long as the
indicator is
capable of conveying the appropriate information to a user.
[00125] These thermometer columns are preferably adjustable in that the user
may move the
thermometer columns to various locations on the display as logic or user
preference dictate.
One preferred location, when the thermometer indicator is to represent the
volume of buy
quantities in relation to the volume of sell quantities, is immediately to the
left of the buy
quantity column and to the right of the sell quantity column. In this
embodiment, the display
of the thermometers may begin at the mid-point of the prices displayed on the
screen. For
example, in FIGs. 13A and 13B, the mid-point is between the prices of 90 and
85. The buy
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quantity thermometer descends from the mid-point to the lowest price displayed
on the screen
(45), and the sell quantity thermometer extends to the highest price displayed
(130).
[00126] As noted above, the two thermometers show the quantity available in
the market, with
one thermometer each for the buy quantities and the sell quantities. In the
illustrated
embodiment, both thermometers extend from the mid-point price that is
currently on the
user's display. The buy thermometer preferably reaches to the lowest price
displayed, while
the sell thermometer preferably extends to the highest price displayed. The
thermometer for
the buy quantity descends from the top of the thermometer as the percentage of
buy quantity
increases. The thermometer for the sell quantity rises from the bottom of the
thermometer as
the percentage of sell quantity increases. If either the buy or sell quantity
is larger than the
other, the thermometers will reflect this difference based on the amount of
the disparity. FIG.
13B, for example, reflects a scenario where 95% of the quantity in the market
is buy quantity
and 5% of the quantity in the market is sell quantity. Therefore, the buy
thermometer 1304 is
shaded a great deal more than the sell thermometer 1306 to represent the
disparity. Although
described with reference to a thermometer indicator, any type of graphical
indicator may
alternatively be used to present the user with information about an item of
interest. An
alternative to displaying graphical indicators, like thermometers, is to
display the market depth
numerically, such as an aggregated sell quantity and an aggregated buy
quantity, or as a
percentage or ratio between buys and sells.
[00127] The thermometer indicator benefits a trader by showing the disparity
of buy verses sell
quantity in the market, thereby providing the trader with a tool to help
decide whether to enter
orders to buy or sell. For example, if there is a higher percentage of buy
quantity in the
market, then a greater number of the traders may want to buy, whereas if there
is a greater
percentage of sell quantity in the market, then a greater number of traders
may want to sell. A
trader can therefore deduce that with a greater percentage of buy quantity in
the market, the
trader may have a higher chance of having the trader's sell order filled at a
desirable price if
the trader were to enter such a sell order. If the percentage of sell quantity
was higher in the
market, the trader may have a greater chance of having the trader's buy order
filled at a
desirable price.
[00128] Auto Scalper
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[0om] In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the trading application
provides a
way to automatically enter offsetting orders. The trading application
preferably is
X_TRADER , using an MD_TRADERTm-style display. Scalping is a term that is well
known
in the trading of commodities and it refers to a trading technique in which
the trader trades for
relatively smaller gains over a short period of time. In this embodiment, the
trading
application facilitates scalping by providing the user with an automatic order
entry
mechanism, embodiments of which are further described below. Preferably,
automatic
scalping is activated based on a user input, such as simultaneously pressing
the control key
and the scroll wheel on the user's mouse to manipulate a pair of indicator
bars in the form of
horizontal lines. Other actuating mechanisms may alternatively be used,
including for
example using a dialog box generated by the trading application or by
actuating a scalping
icon displayed on the user interface.
[00130] For this embodiment in which a mouse input is used to position
parallel horizontal
lines, the indicator bars define a price range where buy and sell quantities
may be
automatically entered when a similar such quantity is manually entered and
filled. More
specifically, this feature automatically enters sell quantities when a
trader's manually entered
buy quantity is filled. Likewise, this feature will automatically enter buy
quantities when a
trader's manually entered sell quantity is filled. The indicator bars move in
relation to a static
scale or axis representing prices. In a preferred embodiment, the indicator
bars span the buy
column, the sell column, and the price column, and they begin together at the
mid-point of the
prices displayed on the trader's display screen. In FIG. 14A, that mid-point
1400 is between
the prices of 90 and 85. When the trader enables this embodiment and scrolls
the wheel on the
trader's mouse up, the indicators move further apart, leaving a greater number
of prices within
the range of the indicator bars 1402. When the trader scrolls the wheel down,
the indicator
bars move closer together (nearer to the mid-point), reducing the number of
prices within the
indicator columns, as shown in FIG. 14B.
Rolm] The order that is automatically entered is preferably for the same
quantity as the
trader's last buy or sell fill. Additionally, the order that is automatically
entered is entered at a
particular price or prices, depending on the preferences and/or practices of
the trader, within
the range of the indicator bars. In one embodiment, the order that is
automatically entered is,
in the case of a sell order, at the lowest price above the inside market
within the range of the
indicator bars, and in the case of a buy order, at the lowest price within the
range of the
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indicator bars. Alternatively, the order that is automatically entered, may be
at a price or
prices calculated pursuant to any algorithm. For example, the quantity ordered
may be evenly
spread among the prices above (in the case of a sell order) or below (in the
case of a buy
order) the inside market and within the range of the indicator bars. The
preferred
embodiments are not limited to any particular technique for determining the
price or prices at
which the automatic order is entered. In a preferred embodiment, the user may
set the rules
for exactly how a duplicate order or orders are sent (whether at the best
price or some other
price).
[00132] For example and as shown in FIG. 14A, the indicator bars 1402 are set
with the
highest price at 110 and the lowest price at 65. The inside market, as
indicated by the black
line, is a buy price of 100 and a sell price of 105. If a trader using the
automatic scalper enters
quantity in the buy column and that quantity is filled, in one embodiment the
system will
automatically enter a duplicate quantity in the sell column at the lowest
price above the inside
market and within the range of the indicator bars, which in this example would
be a sell price
of 105.
[00133] A trader's position may be defined as the difference between the total
quantity of the
commodities bought and quantity of the commodities sold, and the trader is
considered to
have a long position when the quantity bought is greater than the quantity
sold and a short
position when the quantity sold is greater than the quantity bought. The more
quantity the
trader owns, the longer the trader's position will be. Conversely, the more
quantity the trader
sells, the shorter the trader's position will be. It may be desirable to have
neither a long nor
short position, referred to as a closed position, at the end of each day's
trading session. If the
buy quantity that the trader has entered in the market is filled, thus giving
the trader a long
position, the system, if actuated by the user, may automatically enter a
duplicate sell quantity,
which when filled will close the trader's position. Likewise, if the sell
quantity that the trader
has entered in the market is filled, the system may automatically enter a
duplicate buy
quantity, which when filled will close the trader's position. The automatic
scalper
automatically and, preferably, immediately enters a duplicate buy or sell
quantity, which when
filled will close the trader's position, preventing the trader from carrying a
long or short
position for an extended period of time.
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[00134] In an alternative embodiment, the automatic scalper embodiment may be
used to set
one range, using, for example, indicator bars, for buying quantity and another
range for selling
quantity, at the same time. For this embodiment, the automatic scalper
automatically quotes
both sides (buy and sell) within the ranges determined by the user. In another
alternative
embodiment, multiple automatic scalping ranges, using different pairs of
indicator bars, may
be active in a single trading window. For this embodiment, the different
ranges may be
distinguished by using, for example, different colors for the different pairs
of indicator bars.
[00135] Price Level Reasonability Check
[00136] In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the trading
application provides a
user with the ability, referred to as the Price Level Reasonability Check
("PLRC"), to prevent
the entry of any order in the market at a price that is a specified number of
ticks away from the
Last Traded Price (LTP), or at a price that is a specified percentage
different from the LTP. A
tick can be anything, but is generally used in this detailed description as
the minimum change
in a price value that is set by the exchange for each commodity (e.g., $.01,
$.05, $.10, or any
other value). The trading application may be X_TRADEle, referenced above, or
any other
commercially available product adapted as described in this section. The PLRC
may be
enabled and configured by either a user, such as a trader or an administrator.
For systems in
which an administrator enables the PLRC, the PLRC may be applied uniformly to
all client
terminals on a network, or it may be adjusted on a case-by-case basis, thereby
accounting, for
example, for the experience level of the trader.
[00137] The PLRC may preferably be enabled on a commodity-by-commodity basis.
For
example, in FIG. 15A, a trader has entered a value of five to designate the
maximum number
of ticks from the LTP at which the trader is willing to enter an order in the
market. As shown
in FIG. 15B, the market for the commodity being traded has a tick value of
five. Therefore, as
dictated by the LTP of 90, the tick increment of five, and the PLRC value of
five, should the
trader choose to sell the commodity, the trader can enter an order at a price
of 90, 85, 80, 75,
70, and/or 65. As shown in FIG. 15B, 90 is the last traded price, and the
prices of 85, 80, 75,
70, and 65 are the sell prices that are less than or equal to five ticks away
from that LTP. If
the trader attempts to sell quantity at a price of 60 or below, the trader
would be restricted
from doing so because the price is beyond what the trader's PLRC value will
allow. The same
trader could buy the commodity at a price of 90, 95, 100, 105, 110, and/or
115. Each of these
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prices is within five ticks (the PLRC value) of the LTP. If a trader attempts
to buy quantity at
a price of 120 or higher, the trader would be restricted from doing so because
the price is
beyond what the trader's PLRC value will allow. The PLRC function may
alternatively allow
a trader or administrator to enter a percentage instead of a number of ticks
to designate the
maximum deviation from the LTP at which the user is allowed to enter orders in
the market.
[00138] ill an alternative embodiment, the trading application may provide a
volatility adjusted
PLRC function. In this embodiment, the PLRC dynamically increases or decreases
the
number of ticks (or percentage) away from the LTP within which a user may
enter orders.
The increase/decrease, which may be set by the user or a system administrator,
is preferably
based on volatility. For example, a trader may set the trading application to
dynamically
increase the PLRC by a specified amount if the volatility is greater than a
specified amount.
[00139] The inclusion of the PLRC function limits the possibility of the
trader having the
working quantity filled at less desirable prices. The inside market is those
prices, for which
there is quantity available in the market, that are considered the best buy
and sell prices
available. The best buy price is the highest buy price that has quantity in
the market, while the
best sell price is lowest sell price that has quantity in the market.
Generally, the LTP will be at
or near to that inside market. The LTP is used as the center price from which
the PLRC
begins and allows quantity to be entered at a limited number of price levels
either above or
below that LTP level.
mum In one preferred embodiment, where the trading application is X_TRADER ,
the
PLRC is preferably enabled through the 'Options' display, an example of which
is shown in
FIG. 15B, by checking the "Price Level Reasonability Check" option box 1500
and then
entering a value in the adjacent box 1502, designating the number of ticks
that quantities can
be filled beyond the last traded price value. Although the PLRC is described
with reference to
setting a boundary on acceptable prices for working quantities, the same
technique may be
used to constrain many other trading activities, such as the quantity
associated with any order
or to limit the total quantity being quoted by any individual user.
Implementation of these
variations is analogous to the implementation of PLRC described above and
those skilled in
the art can implement the variations based on this detailed description.
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100141] Group Positioning and Automatic Grid Positioning
mom] In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the trading application
may re-
position any item of interest within the trading interface. In one embodiment,
the trading
application tracks the market's activity by automatically centering, for
example, the inside
market or the Last Traded Price ("LTP") on the display with respect to a
static axis or scale of
prices. Preferably, any other item of interest in the trading interface may
serve as the basis for
positioning information within the display.
[00143] The trading application preferably is X_TRADER , using an MD_TRADERTm-
style
display. In a preferred embodiment, the LTP is displayed in the LTP column and
is indicated
by a highlighted cell directly next to the price cell corresponding to the
most recently filled
quantity. The LTP cell preferably also contains an indication of the quantity
of the most recent
fill. The inside market is indicated by a line spanning both the buy and sell
columns and is
positioned between the highest buy price at which there is quantity currently
in the market (the
best buy price) and the lowest sell price at which there is quantity currently
in the market (the
best sell price).
pow] Preferably, a user may designate any item of interest as the basis for
the positioning
function, such that, upon positioning, the item of interest will be moved to a
predetermined
location on the user's display. Automatic positioning may be triggered either
by a timer, or by
monitoring movement of the item(s) of interest about the display. Two items of
interest to
many traders are the inside market and the LTP. Thus, in one embodiment, the
user may
select one of these items for automatic re-positioning. When either the
highlighted LTP cell or
the inside market line is outside of the viewable area of a trader's display,
or is more than a
predetermined distance away from a location on the display, the LTP cell or
the inside market
line will automatically be placed at a predetermined location on the display.
In a preferred
embodiment, automatic positioning parameters may be selected by the user from
the 'Options'
display. The user may choose, for example, whether to re-position the display
after a
designated number of seconds, when the LTP is a designated number of cells
from the top or
bottom of the trader's display screen, or when the inside market is a
designated number of
cells from the top or bottom of the trader's display screen.
mous] In addition, a trading application may present multiple trading windows
to the user
simultaneously. In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the automatic
positioning tool
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may be applied globally to any number of open trading windows. Preferably, a
dialog box or menu item
may be used to enable the user to group or link, for purposes of re-
positioning, any number of trading
windows. In accordance with one embodiment, at least one of the linked trading
windows (or
commodities) becomes the master, and the other linked trading window(s) (or
commodities) will be
repositioned whenever the master trading window (or commodity) is re-
positioned. For example, one of
the trading windows (or commodities) may be designated by the user as the
master trading window (or
commodities) by selecting "reposition all," or any similar designation, from a
menu or dialog box. This
may have the effect of re-positioning all open trading windows when the master
trading window (or
commodity) is re-positioned. The user may choose to have one or more trading
windows ignore the re-
positioning command by selecting "ignore," or any similar designation, from
the menu or dialog box. This
group re-positioning feature may be used in conjunction with the automatic
repositioning tool or with
manual re-positioning (such as through the click of a center mouse button or
the use of any input device).
Other techniques for grouping trading windows will be apparent to those
skilled in the art upon review of
this detailed description.
[00146] In a preferred embodiment, the positioning tool serves to center the
item of interest (such as the
LTP or the inside market) on the display. As shown in FIG. 16A, the LTP is
displayed in the LTP column
1602 and is indicated by a highlighted cell 1600 (the color of which may be
designated by the trader).
This cell 1600 appears next to the price cell 1604 corresponding to the most
recently filled quantity. The
inside market is indicated by a solid line spanning both the buy 1608 and sell
1610 columns, and is
between the highest buy price at which there is quantity currently in the
market and the lowest sell price
at which there is quantity currently in the market. FIG. 16B is a display
showing how a trader may select
and manipulate the automatic grid centering feature, Although presented in
FIGs, 16A and 16B as being
applied to a scrolling vertical scale, it should be understood that the
preferred embodiments are not so
limited. Rather, automatic positioning may be applied regardless of the
direction of movement or the
number of dimensions in which information is displayed.
[00147] As quantities are entered and filled in the market, the LTP and inside
market change to indicate
the price of the last filled quantity and the most recent best buy and sell
prices. In a volatile market, a
large number of quantities can be filled in a relatively short period of time,
resulting in a continuous
fluctuation of the LTP and inside market. The LTP and the inside market are
two indicators that a trader
may use to understand at what prices other traders find a commodity to be most
desirable. A trader may
use automatic positioning to always have a
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visual reference of where the market is trading, increasing the likelihood of
entering quantities
and having those quantities filled at desirable prices. In addition, automatic
positioning may
be used in conjunction with manual positioning. In other words, it is
preferable that by
enabling automatic positioning, the user is not thereby precluded from
manually re-
positioning the display.
won Highlight Mid-Point of Last Re-Position
(00149] In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a trader may emphasize the
mid-point of
prices and/or quantities entered in the market at the time of the last re-
position event.
Preferably, a re-position event centers the display around the inside market,
where the inside
market is the highest buy price and the lowest sell price for the commodity
being traded for
which there is quantity in the market, or alternatively, a re-position event
may center the
display at any price and/or quantity, if so desired. Furthermore, a re-
position event does not
need to center on any particular price, but may ensure that a particular
price, or other item of
interest, is positioned at a predetermined location, or within a range of
locations, on the
display.
mom] In the preferred embodiment, the mid-point is designated by a bold line
that spans the
columns of the display screen, or in another embodiment, the mid-point may be
designated by
a color, arrow, text, and so forth. Preferably, the exact location of the mid-
point line is
dependent on the number of the price rows that are displayed between the best
buy and best
offer price rows (at which quantity is available) at the time of the last re-
center event.
Alternatively, the location of the mid-point line may be dependent on the
quantities of a
portion, or all, of the buy and sell orders, or may be dependent on the
combination of price
and quantities of the portion or all of the buy and sell orders. In yet
another alternative, a bold
line representing a particular price level may be displayed in association
with any item of
interest to the user, to thereby adjust the content of the trading interface
to the user's preferred
range.
[00151] Of course, markers other than a line may alternatively be used. For
example, like
many of the foregoing embodiments, the marker may be highlighting, a color or
a graphical
indicator disposed upon the display at the desired location. According to this
embodiment, a
trader may benefit from the visual representation of the discrepancy between
the best bid and
offer prices currently in the market.
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tooiszi According to the preferred embodiment, when the number of price rows
between the
best bid and best offer price rows (where quantity is entered) is an even
number (or zero), the
mid-point line is displayed between the middle values, with these being the
highest buy (bid)
price and the lowest sell (offer) price that are displayed in the window. For
example, in FIG.
19A, the best bid price is 75 and the best offer price is 100. In this
example, the display for
the product is traded in ticks in increments of 5. As a result, the prices
that are displayed
between the best bid and best offer prices are 80, 85,90 and 95. Because the
total number of
prices between the best bid and best offer is an even number, the mid-point
line 1900 is
displayed between the highest bid price of 85 and the lowest offer price of
90. Other methods
may alternatively be used to determine the mid-point of an even number of
rows, cells or
columns.
[001531 In addition, according to the preferred embodiment, when the number of
price rows
between the best bid and the best offer prices (where quantity is entered) is
an odd number,
the mid-point line is displayed in the top of the cell that signifies the
middle price value of the
prices displayed between the best bid and best offer prices. For example, in
FIG. 19B, the
best bid price is 85, and the best offer price is 105. The display for the
product being traded
ticks in increments of 5. As a result, the prices that are displayed between
the best bid and the
best offer are 90,95 and 100. Because the total number of prices between the
best bid and
best offer is an odd number, the mid-point line 1902 is displayed above the
price row of 95
because 95 signifies the middle price value of the prices displayed between
the best bid and
best offer prices. It should be understood that the mid-point line 1902 may be
displayed
below or in the middle of the price row of 95 to indicate the middle price
value. Other
methods may alternatively be used to determine the mid-point of an odd number
of rows, cells
or columns.
1001541 While the preferred embodiment utilizes an MD_TRADERTm-style display
with a
vertical static price axis or scale, this trading tool may be utilized with
any display in which
market information, such as bids, asks and/or working orders, are displayed
relative to a static
scale or axis of prices. It is not necessary that the scale or axis be
vertical or even two-
dimensional. Rather, the market information may be displayed horizontally, at
an angle, n-
dimensionally, or in any other fashion.
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[0ons] The display of the mid-point line may be enabled through an 'Options'
display, an
example of which is shown in FIG. 19C, by clicking the box 1906 directly to
the left of the
'Highlight Midpoint of Last Re-center' option. Other techniques known to those
skilled in the
art, such as selecting this tool from a menu, may alternatively be used. Also,
highlighting the
mid-point may be applied to a variety of applications where the trader would
like to highlight
a midpoint that corresponds to prices and/or quantities, or any other item of
interest.
[00155] Drag and Drop of Working Quantities
[00157] In accordance with another preferred embodiment, the trading
application permits the
trader to change the trader's working orders by dragging and dropping working
quantities
from one price level to another price level vis-à-vis a static price scale or
axis. The trading
application preferably is X_MADER , using an MD_TRADERTm-style display. When
using
an MD_TRADERTm-style display to drag and drop a working order, in one
embodiment, the
trader clicks on an active cell within the working quantity column. This
activates the drag and
drop feature and allows the trader to manipulate the cell by moving the cell
on the trader's
trading screen. Such a manipulation is commonly referred to as "dragging" the
chosen data.
Prior to releasing the mouse button, a trader drags the working order by
moving the cursor to a
new cell in the working quantity column. The trader then releases or "drops"
the data in a new
cell. In a preferred embodiment, the ability to drag and drop working orders
as described
herein is an option that may be turned on or off by the user for each
individual trading
window.
[ams] At the point the data is dropped, the previous quantity may be deleted
from the original
price and a new quantity entered at the price associated with the cell in
which the new
working quantity was dropped. The quantity displayed in either the buy or sell
column that
corresponds to the traders working quantity also moves to the newly selected
price level when
the drag and drop function is performed. Any approach may be used to change
the user's
working orders. For example, rather than resulting in the deletion of an
existing working
order and the entry of a new working order, a single cancel and replace, as
known to those
skilled in the art, may be used to change the user's working orders.
[00159] The ability to drag and drop working quantities, as displayed in the
working quantities
column, can be used by a trader who is not satisfied with the current price at
which such
quantity is entered in the market. The trader is given the capability of
changing the price level
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at which the trader's quantity is entered without having to both delete and re-
enter the
quantity, resulting in a valuable time savings by simply dragging and dropping
that quantity.
[ocriso] Preferably, the drag and drop feature makes it possible for a trader
to move the entire
working quantity of a single cell from one cell to another cell in the working
quantity column
when that quantity actually consists of multiple orders. For example, if a
trader's working
quantity is 30 at the price of 102.54 (1700), as shown in FIG. 17, that
quantity may actually
consist of three separate 10-lot orders, where a lot consists of multiple
quantities that are
traded together. Should the trader drag and drop that working quantity to the
price of 102.57,
the entire quantity of 30 (all three lots) will move cohesively to the new
price level. Although
the quantities were entered separately, once entered, they are treated as a
cohesive whole.
gam] The ability to drag and drop an entire quantity, regardless of the number
of orders
associated with that quantity, benefits a trader in that the trader does not
need to constantly
change the trader's quantity setting. The trader also does not have to repeat
the drag and drop
action for each order. For example, a trader may be trading at a quantity of
10, and therefore
every time the trader enters a quantity in the market, the trader is entering
a 10-lot order. If the
trader wants to enter a quantity of 30, the trader can either change the
quantity setting or click
in the appropriate cell three times, thus entering three separate 10-lot
orders in the market.
Should the trader choose to drag and drop the working quantity from one price
level to
another, all of the working quantity associated with the cell and price level
at which the drag
and drop is performed will be moved to the new price level. As a result, the
trader does not
have to perform three separate drag and drop actions and valuable time can be
saved, which
could help to ensure that the quantities are entered and filled at their
intended prices.
[00182] The display of a trader's working quantity appears in the working
quantity column in a
cell that corresponds to the price at which the quantity was entered. The
display of the trader's
working quantity remains visible on the trading screen until the quantity
entered is completely
filled, at which time the display of that specific working quantity will be
removed from the
working quantity column, or the order is canceled or deleted. In one
embodiment of the
invention, the cell in which the working quantity is displayed includes a 'W'
followed by a
value that indicates the quantity that is currently working in the market. The
cell also contains
a 'B' or an 'S' followed by a value that indicates how much of the original
working Buy or
Sell quantity has been bought or sold. Although described with reference to a
working
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quantity column, the embodiments are not limited to trading interfaces that
display working
quantities in a column, but rather the teachings of this section may be
applied to any type of
display of working quantities.
100163] In one preferred embodiment of drag and drop, nothing changes with
respect to a
user's pending working orders until the user releases the mouse button, keypad
or other input
device over the desired location on the trading interface. This feature allows
the user to
maintain his/her place in the trading queue for the earlier entered order. In
an alternative
embodiment, the new order is entered as soon as the mouse icon comes to rest
in an
appropriate area of the trading interface.
(00164] Another alternative embodiment allows drag and drop of working
quantities when
price consolidation is enabled. Any appropriate algorithm may be used to
allocate the new
order(s) over the consolidated price range. For this embodiment, the user
preferably may
select, such as through the use of a dialog box, the desired allocation
algorithm. For example,
all the "dropped" orders may be entered at one price, such as the price shown
on the
consolidated scale, or the working quantity may be equally distributed over
the consolidation
range associated with the location where the orders are dropped, or each
working order may
be moved by the increment on the consolidated price scale between their
original location and
the location at which the orders are dropped.
[0om] Yet another alternative provides a user with the ability to enable
automatic
modification of the quantity of the order entered at the location where the
working order is
dropped. For example, as noted above, working orders may remain working until
the input
device (e.g. mouse button) is released. In this case, a working order may be
filled or partially
filled during the drag and drop process. Preferably, the user may select, such
as through a
dialog box, what will happen to the "dropped" order in this situation. For
example, if the
working order is filled during drag and drop, the user may prefer that no new
order be entered
at the new price. Or, if the working quantity is partially filled, the user
may prefer that only
the remaining quantity be entered at the new price. In this manner, the
"dropped" order may
be automatically modified in accordance with user preference.
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[ooms] Average Price of Working Quantities
(00167) In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a display shows the average
price for a
trader's working buy and sell quantities that are entered in the market. A
trader's working
quantities represent the unfilled quantities of all the orders that the trader
currently has
entered, but not filled in the market. Preferably, the display shows the
average price of the
total working buy quantities and the average price of the total working sell
quantities for the
specific commodity being traded and for the specific trader who entered those
quantities. For
this embodiment, the average working prices may be displayed using, for
example,
highlighting, color, or a graphical indicator associated with a static price
scale or axis, if such
a scale or axis is displayed. The display may or may not include the actual
numerical value of
the average price.
mum In an alternate embodiment, a distribution of the prices for the trader's
working buy
and/or sell quantities that are entered in the market is displayed. In this
alternative
embodiment, the average price might also be displayed in or around the
displayed distribution
of the prices. It should also be understood that the average price and/or the
distribution of
prices may be displayed in a text format, displayed in a color format (e.g., a
color indicator),
displayed in a graphical format (e.g., using text and color), and so on.
[0011391 For example, FIG. 18 shows a screen for a trader who has two working
buy quantities
at the market price of 96, eight working buy quantities at a price of 95, and
two working buy
quantities at a price of 94 (1800). Preferably, the average price of those
working buy
quantities is calculated by dividing the total price of the working quantities
from the sum of
the quantities and that average will be displayed as described below. In the
preferred
embodiment, the average price of the working buy quantities is calculated as
follows
(although, the average price may be calculated using other known types of
statistical and/or
numerical analysis):
[00170) Total Price of Working Buy Quantities / Total Buy Quantity = Average
Price of
Working Buy Quantities:
((2 x 96) + (8 x 95) + (2 x 94)) / (2 + 8 + 2) = 95
(192 + 760 + 188) / 12 = 95
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1140 / 12 = 95
[001711 Preferably, the same calculation is utilized to determine the average
price of the
working sell quantities. Using the illustration from the example above, FIG.
18 also shows a
screen for a trader who has four separate working sell quantities at the
market price of 101,
two working sell quantities at a price of 100, and four working sell
quantities at a price of 99
(1802). The average price of the working sell quantities are displayed as
described herein and
that price is calculated as follows:
[00172] Total Price of Working Sell Quantities / Total Sell Quantity = Average
Price of
Working Sell Quantities:
((4x 101) + (2 x 100) + (4 x 99)) / (4 +2 + 4) = 100
(404 + 200 + 396) / 10 = 100
3005 / 10 = 100
1001731 Preferably, the calculation of the average price of the working
quantities is on a
contract-to-contract basis, meaning that separate average prices are
calculated and displayed
for each separate commodity in which the trader has working quantity entered.
[00174] Preferably, the display of the average price and/or distribution of
prices of a trader's
working buy and sell quantities can be used to compare the trader's average
price against all
other current buy and sell quantities entered in the market for the commodity.
This function
can benefit a trader by helping to ensure that the trader is trading at the
most desirable prices.
[00175] In the preferred embodiment, the display of the average price for a
trader's working
quantities appears as two separate cells within the display ¨ one displaying
the average buy
price 1804 of the trader's working sell quantities and the other the average
sell price 1806 of
the trader's working buy quantities. In the preferred embodiment, the average
buy price is
displayed at the bottom of the working quantities column and the average sell
price 1806 is
displayed at the top of that column, as shown in FIG. 18. Moreover, in the
preferred
embodiment, the price in the average sell price cell is highlighted in red and
the price in the
average buy price cell is highlighted in blue. Although, it should be
understood that the
average sell price and the average buy price can be displayed anywhere on the
screen, and the
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average sell price and average buy price may be displayed textually, in any
color, both
textually and in a color, and so forth.
[00176] Coding of Blank Spots
prim In accordance with a preferred embodiment, cells in the buy and sell
columns of the
display that correspond to prices at which there is no quantity entered in the
market are
visually distinguished from those cells at which such quantity is entered. The
buy and sell
price levels for which there is not corresponding quantities are designated as
"blank spots"
2000, and in the preferred embodiment appear in a different shade than
populated cells as a
means of providing a better visual representation of where the market is
trading, as shown in
FIG. 20A. The blank spots 2000 may appear in a lighter shade or darker shade
than populated
cells, a different color, or a different texture such as hatching from those
cells where there is
quantity entered. Preferably, as new quantities are entered into the market,
and existing
quantities are filled and removed from the market, the blank spots 2000 change
accordingly.
In addition, it is preferable that the user be able to select the manner in
which blank spots are
displayed.
[00178] According to an embodiment, a trader may benefit in that the visual
difference
between buy and sell cells that contain quantity, verses those that do not
contain quantity,
makes it easier for the trader to quickly recognize whether quantities are
available in the
market at a particular price. Thus, a trader interested in buying quantity has
an enhanced
display of where such quantity is available, and a trader interested in
selling quantity can more
easily gauge where other traders are selling the commodity.
[00179] In the preferred embodiment, color coding may appear in the buy and
sell columns of
the display at price levels at which there is no quantity currently in the
market. The buy and
sell cells that correspond to these price levels appear in a visually
different manner than those
cells at which such quantity is entered. Color coding may be enabled through a
'Color Code
Blank Spots' field of an 'Options" display, shown in FIG. 20B, by checking the
box 2002
immediately to the left of the blank spots option.
loom In another preferred embodiment, color coding and/or shading may be
applied not only
to cells without quantity, but also to cells in which the quantity falls below
a threshold.
Preferably, the threshold may be set by a user or an administrator. In
addition, the user may
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set different thresholds either within one trading window or across multiple
trading windows.
When different threshold levels are utilized, it is preferable that each
threshold value be
assigned a distinct color so that the user may quickly recognize the meaning
of the color
coding.
[0oun] Display of Net Price of Open Position
[00182] In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a trader is provided with a
display of the
net price of the working buy and sell orders. A visual indicator such as text,
color, a
combination of text and color, or a graphical indicator is used to highlight
to the trader the net
price of working buy and sell orders. The graphical indicator may take any
form, including a
line or even a colored pixel.
[lms] In one embodiment, it may be useful to display the net price open
position, where a
position is the difference between the number of orders bought (a long
position) and the
number of orders sold (a short position). A trader's position is open when the
number of
orders bought or sold is not equal. If these orders are equal, the trader's
position is considered
closed. When orders, are traded on an exchange, it is possible for a trader to
receive multiple
fills, for multiple quantities, and at different price levels for the
quantities that make up the
trader's orders. This feature incorporates the price levels of these multiple
fills to determine
the net price at which the fills occurred. The trader can then use this net
price to gauge
whether trading out of a position would result in a realized gain, loss, or
scratch (neither a
gain nor a loss).
[00184] To determine the net price of a trader's open position, this
embodiment divides the
total price of the quantity that has been filled by the total number of orders
either bought or
sold (a.k.a. the trader's current position). For example, a trader who
purchased 10 contracts of
a commodity (4 @ 99, 2 @ 100, and 4 @ 101) would have a long 10 position,
meaning that
the trader would need to sell 10 contracts in order to close the trader's
position. The net price
of the trader's filled quantity would be 100, and would calculated as follows:
[00185] Total price of Filled Quantity/Current Position = Net Price of the
Open Position
=
(4 @ 99 + 2 @ 100 + 4 @ 101) / 10 = 100
(396 = 200 = 404) / 10 = 100
(1000) / 10 = 100
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[00186] Based on the calculation above, the value of 100 is displayed as the
trader's net price
. of the trader's open position. The net price can be displayed in one of
several manners, which
include, without limitation, a box 2100 around the net price's price level
cell as shown in FIG.
21, a separate column for the display of the net price, a box across the net
price's price level,
or a distinguishing color for the net price. If a particular trader has a long
position as the
result of buying quantity, any additional quantity that is bought will cause
the net price of the
trader's open position to be re-calculated. Preferably, should that trader
sell quantity, the
trader's position will change but the net price that is displayed will remain
constant. Any
additional buy quantity will subsequently change both the trader's position
and the net price of
that position, while all subsequent sell quantity will adjust the trader's
position only, and will
do so only until the position is closed. Should a trader begin a trading
session with a short
position as a result having the sell quantity(s) filled, all of the trader's
subsequent sell quantity
will change both the position and the net price of the trader's open position
when such sell
quantity is filled. Any buy quantity that has been filled will not change the
net price, but will
instead affect only the position and only until that position has been closed.
As a result, it will
be easier for a trader to gauge where (at what price) the trader needs to buy
or sell when the
net price of the trader's long position is only allowed to increase as the
position increases and
the net price of the short position is only allowed increase as the position
becomes shorter.
[001871 A trader may benefit in that the visual representation of the net
price of the trader's
open position reduces or eliminates the need to mentally calculate such a
price when,
depending on the market's volatility, the price may change repeatedly. A
trader who has had
consecutive buy quantities filled will have a long position and will see a
display signifying the
net price of that long position. Any sell quantities that are filled will not
be calculated into
that net price. Likewise, a trader who has consecutive sell quantities filled
will have a short
position and will see a display signifying the net price of that short
position. Any buy
quantities that are filled will not be calculated into that net price. The
trader benefits from
such a feature in that the trader will always have a display of the net price
of the trader's
primary position (either of all of the trader's buy quantities or all of the
trader's sell
quantities), which will therefore provide the trader with a better indication
of the price level at
which the trader needs to buy or sell additional quantities to make a profit
and close the
position. Alternatively, the average price of the trader's open position may
be calculated
based upon both buy and sell orders filled.
48
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
CA 02493950 2007-04-02
Kelm The marker indicating the net price may be anything that is suitable to
serve as an
indicator for the trader, including, for example, graphical symbols, numbers
and/or colors.
Thus, although FIG. 21 shows a cell 2100 surrounded by a colored, shaded or
highlighted box,
the marker may alternatively be graphical, or numerically displayed elsewhere
on the user
interface. It is not necessary that the marker occupy an entire cell. For
example, in instances
where the trading interface includes a static price scale, and the price scale
is consolidated, it
may be desirable to locate the marker at a position within a cell that
corresponds to a specific
price. Preferably, the type of marker is selectable by the user.
mum Consolidation Control Icon
[001901 In accordance with a preferred embodiment, a trader may consolidate
price
information, or other useful information, by a control icon that is displayed
to the user on the
same interface that is used for trading.
In the embodiment described herein,
the control icon is preferably presented to the user on the same screen that
is used for trading,
thereby allowing the user to maintain his or her view of the market
information as the control
icon is adjusted.
[won In a preferred embodiment, the control icon is a slide control 2200,
shown in FIG. 22,
which can be dragged from left-to-right or right-to-left, but in alternate
embodiments may
include a dial that can be turned in the clockwise or counter-clockwise
direction or any other
control icon that may be actuated through the graphical user interface of the
trading
application. According to the preferred embodiment where price information may
be
consolidated through the slide control 2200, when the slide control 2200 is
dragged to the far
left, the display presents numbers in a one-tick, or uncompressed,
progression. Price
information may also be displayed in another manner besides ticks (such as
currency),
depending on the manner in which each exchange provides the price information
and user's
preferences. As the slide control 2200 is moved to the right, the control
consolidates the
prices and any other associated values (e.g., bid/ask quantities, working
orders, etc.), thereby
displaying values that become progressively more consolidated the further the
slide control
2200 is moved to the right, and resulting in the display of prices in
multiples of ticks.
49
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
Preferably, each increment of the control icon may be selected by the user,
such as through a dialog box
or any other means known to those skilled in the art.
[0192] Although described with reference to a vertical price scale that is
subject to consolidation, the
preferred embodiments are not limited to consolidating a price scale, nor are
they limited to consolidating
a vertical display element. Rather, any numerical sequence is subject to
consolidation, regardless of its
orientation or number of dimensions. The preferred embodiments allow user
selectable consolidation
through an icon presented on the user interface.
[0193] The consolidation of price information by adjusting a control icon
benefits a trader in that it
quickly allows for a greater number of prices and/or associated values such as
bid/ask quantities and
working orders to be displayed at any given time. Thus, a trader has a greater
chance of not only seeing a
majority, if not all, of the quantity entered at those prices, but the trader
also has a greater spectrum of
prices in which to enter the trader's own quantities.
[0194] Description of Various Embodiments
[0195] In some embodiments, there is provided a method of displaying
information relating to a
commodity on a graphical user interface, the method including: displaying, on
the graphical user
interface, market information from an exchange relating to the commodity, the
market information
including a plurality of items of interest, wherein at least one of the items
of interest is order information
that is displayed in association with an axis representing prices; displaying
a visual indicator in
association with the axis, the visual indicator being associated with a
particular item of interest from the
plurality of items of interest; and updating the display with updated market
information.
[0196] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the particular item of
interest is a last traded quantity value associated with the commodity. The
last traded quantity value may
be displayed in association with a last traded price, the last traded price
being located on the axis. The
visual indicator may include at least one of a numerical value, a graphical
indicator, and a color-coded
cell. The visual indicator may provide an indication of a cumulative quantity
for all consecutive trades at
a last traded price. The visual indicator may be color-coded to provide an
indication of a change in price
associated with the last traded quantity as the display is updated.
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
[0197] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the visual indicator
is color-coded to provide additional information about the item of interest.
The visual indicator may be
presented in a first color on the graphical user interface when a price
associated with the item of interest
increases as the display is updated, and the visual indicator is presented in
a second color when the price
associated with the item of interest decreases as the display is updated. The
item of interest may be
selected from the group including a last traded quantity, a last traded price,
an inside market, a working
order, an aggregated working quantity, an average price of working orders, a
net price of working orders,
and a price for which no quantity is displayed.
[0198] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the visual indicator
is a dynamic indicator. The graphical user interface may include at least one
dynamic indicator column
that is displayed in association with the axis. The dynamic indicator may be a
color-coded cell within the
at least one dynamic indicator column. The dynamic indicator may be embedded
from a software
application. For example, it may be that the software application is a
spreadsheet application and the
method further includes linking the dynamic indicator to a cell in the
spreadsheet application. The cell
may, for example, contain an equation or a number. It may be that the step of
linking the dynamic
indicator to the cell causes a location of the dynamic indicator to change
when a value associated with the
cell changes. IT may be that the step of linking the dynamic indicator to the
cell causes market
information associated with the dynamic indicator to be displayed in the cell.
[0199] k some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the foregoing,
the visual indicator
includes at least one cell within the graphical user interface in which an
average price of working orders is
displayed. The at least one cell may include a first cell that displays an
average working buy price. The at
least one cell may also include a second cell that displays an average working
sell price.
[0200] lin some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the graphical user
interface includes a plurality of cells and the visual indicator occupies at
least a portion of one of the
plurality of cells.
[0201] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the method may
further include the step of placing an order for the commodity using the
graphical user interface.
[0202] A processor may be programmed with a set of instructions to perform the
aforementioned noted.
51
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
[0203] A storage medium may contain a set of instructions that, when executed
by a processor, perform a
method in accordance with the foregoing.
[0204] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method of displaying information
relating to a commodity on a graphical user interface, the method including:
displaying, on the graphical
user interface, market information from an exchange relating to the commodity,
the market information
including order information that is displayed in association with an axis
representing prices; and
displaying a marker on the graphical user interface in relation to the axis,
the marker providing an
indication of a last traded quantity value for the commodity.
[0205] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method of displaying information
relating to a commodity on a graphical user interface, the method including:
displaying, on the graphical
user interface, market information from an exchange relating to the commodity,
the market information
including order information that is displayed in association with an axis
representing prices; and
displaying a marker on the graphical user interface in relation to the axis,
the marker including at least
one dynamic indicator that is associated with a software application.
[0206] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the method may
further include the step of updating the information in the software
application based upon the market
information.
[0207] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the graphical user
interface may include at least one dynamic indicator column that is associated
with the axis and the
marker is displayed within at least one dynamic indicator column.
[0208] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the dynamic
indicator may be associated with a specific price on the axis.
[0209] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the dynamic
indicator may be color-coded to provide information to a user.
[0210] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method of monitoring a
commodity on an exchange using a graphical user interface, the method
including: displaying, on the
graphical user interface, market information from an exchange relating to the
commodity, the market
52
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
information including order information that is displayed in association with
an axis representing prices;
and displaying a marker on the graphical user interface, the marker providing
an indication of an average
price of working quantities for the commodity.
[0211] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method of displaying information
relating to a commodity on a graphical user interface, the method including:
displaying, on the graphical
user interface, market information from an exchange relating to the commodity,
the market information
including items of interest including at least one bid quantity and at least
one ask quantity that are
displayed in association with an axis representing prices; displaying a visual
indicator in association with
the axis, the visual indicator being associated with a particular item of
interest; and updating the display
with updated market information.
[0212] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method of displaying information
relating to a commodity on a graphical user interface, the method including:
displaying information
relating to an inside market for the commodity, the inside market being
displayed in association with a
price axis; displaying at least a portion of the market depth for the
commodity in association with the
price axis; and displaying a marker in association with the price axis,
wherein the marker represents
information relating to the commodity.
[0213] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method of displaying market
information relating to a commodity on a graphical user interface, the method
including; displaying
information relating to a plurality of orders for the commodity; and
displaying an indicator representing
information about the commodity; wherein the information relating to the
plurality of orders and the
indicator are displayed on the graphical user interface in relation to a
common axis of prices.
[0214] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the information
relating to a plurality of orders may include at least one working order
entered by the user.
[0215] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the method may
further include the step of placing an order for the commodity using the
graphical user interface.
[0216] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
computer readable medium
having program code recorded thereon for execution by a processor to perfolin
a method of displaying, on
a user interface, information relating to an object of trade, the method
including: displaying, on the
53
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
graphical user interface, market information from an exchange relating to the
object, the market
information including items of interest including at least one bid quantity
and at least one ask quantity
that are displayed in association with an axis representing prices; and
displaying a visual indicator in
association with the axis, the visual indicator being associated with a
particular item of interest.
[0217] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
processor programmed with a set
of instructions to perform a method of displaying information on a user
interface regarding a commodity,
the method including: displaying information relating to a plurality of orders
for the commodity; and
displaying an indicator representing information about the commodity; wherein
the information relating
to the plurality of orders and the indicator are displayed on the graphical
user interface in relation to a
common axis of prices.
[0218] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
workstation including a graphical
user interface for displaying information about a commodity, the workstation
including: means for
displaying, on the graphical user interface, market information from an
exchange relating to the
commodity, the market information including order information that is
displayed in association with an
axis representing prices; and means for displaying a marker on the graphical
user interface in relation to
the axis.
[0219] In some embodiments, the aforementioned workstation may further include
means for placing an
order for the commodity.
[0220] In some embodiments providing a workstation in accordance with the
foregoing, the order
information may include a best bid price and a best ask price. The order
information may also include a
bid quantity associated with the best bid price and an ask quantity associated
with the best ask price.
[0221] In some embodiments providing a workstation in accordance with the
foregoing, the marker may
represent a last traded quantity value.
[0222] In some embodiments providing a workstation in accordance with the
foregoing, the means for
displaying a marker may include a color monitor.
[0223] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method for automatically
positioning information related to a commodity on a graphical user interface,
the method including:
54
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
receiving market information relating to the commodity from an electronic
exchange, the market
information including a plurality of items of interest, each item of interest
associated with a price;
displaying an information display region including a plurality of locations
arranged such that each
location corresponds to a price level along at least a portion of a static
price axis; displaying a plurality of
indicators at a first time, each indicator associated with an item of interest
and each indicator being
displayed in one of the plurality of locations in the information display
region corresponding to a price
level that is associated with the item of interest; and automatically
repositioning the static price axis upon
detecting a predetermined condition such that the plurality of locations of
the information display region
corresponds to a different portion of the static price axis at a second time;
wherein each of the plurality of
indicators is moved to a new location in the information display region that
corresponds to the price level
on the static price axis that is associated with that indicator.
[0224] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the predetermined
condition may include a time period defining a time between each automatic
repositioning.
[0225] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the method may
further include the step of selecting a particular item of interest as a basis
for repositioning wherein the
step of automatically repositioning further includes repositioning the static
price axis such that the price
level associated with the particular item of interest corresponds to a
particular location of the information
display region at the second time.
[0226] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the method may
further include the step of automatically repositioning results in the price
level associated with the last
trade of the commodity corresponding to the locations of the bid and ask
display regions that are
positioned substantially in the center of the bid and ask display regions.
[0227] A computer readable medium may have stored therein instructions to
execute a method in
accordance with the foregoing.
[0228] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method for automatically re-
positioning market information relating to a commodity on a graphical user
interface, the method
including; displaying a plurality of items of interest including market
information in relation to a static
scale in a trading interface; identifying at least one item of interest from
the plurality of items of interest
as a basis for automatically positioning the plurality of items of interest;
updating the display on the
Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
trading interface as the market information changes, whereby one or more of
the plurality of items of
interest moves in relation to the static scale; and automatically re-
positioning the plurality of items of
interest in response to the identified item of interest.
[0229] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method for repositioning
information related to a plurality of commodities on a graphical user
interface, the method including:
receiving market information relating to a first commodity, the market
information including a plurality
of items of interest, each item of interest associated with a price ;
receiving market information relating to
a second commodity, the market information including a plurality of items of
interest, each item of
interest associated with price; displaying a first information display region
associated with the first
commodity and including a plurality of locations arranged such that each
location corresponds to a price
level along at least a portion of a first static price axis at a first time;
displaying a second information
display region associated with the second commodity and including a plurality
of locations arranged such
that each location corresponds to a price level along at least a portion of a
second static price axis at the
first time; displaying a first plurality of indicators, each indicator
associated with an item of interest
related to the first commodity and each indicator being displayed in one of
the plurality of locations of the
first information display region corresponding to a price level that is
associated with the item of interest;
displaying a second plurality of indicators, each indicator associated with an
item of interest related to the
second commodity and each indicator being displayed in one of the plurality of
locations of the second
information display region corresponding to a price level that is associated
with the item of interest;
receiving a command to reposition one of the information display regions; in
response to the repositioning
command, repositioning the first and second static price axes such that, at a
second time, each of the first
plurality of indicators is moved to a new location in the first information
display region that corresponds
to the price level on the first static price axis associated with the
indicator and each of the second plurality
of indicators is moved to a new location in the information display region
that corresponds to the price
level on the second static price axis associated with the indicator.
[0230] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method for repositioning
information related to a plurality of commodities on a graphical user
interface, the method including:
receiving market information relating to a plurality of commodities, the
market information including a
plurality of items of interest, each item of interest associated with a price;
displaying a first view of a
plurality of indicators, each indicator representing an item of interest
associated with one of the
commodities and each indicator being displayed in association with a first
portion of one of a plurality of
static price axes, wherein each static price axes corresponds to a different
commodity; linking a plurality
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Date Recue/Date Received 2022-04-29
of commodities; selecting a master commodity ; in response to receiving a
command to reposition the
master commodity, repositioning each static price axis that corresponds with
one of the linked
commodities such that a second view of the plurality of indicators
representing items of interest
associated with the linked commodities is displayed wherein the such plurality
of indicators are displayed
at different locations.
[0231] In another aspect of the present application, there is described a
method for presenting
information on a user interface, where the information relates to a commodity,
the method including:
displaying the information on the user interface; determining whether a re-
position event has occurred;
when the re-position event occurs, determining a mid-point based on the
information; and displaying an
indicator at the mid-point.
[0232] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the information may
be displayed in a grid including rows and columns, and each row of the grid is
associated with a price
level on a static price axis.
[0233] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the mid-point may
correspond to one-half of a distance between a highest bid price and a lowest
offer price.
[0234] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the mid-point may
depend upon an item of interest.
[0235] In some embodiments providing a method in accordance with the
foregoing, the re-position event
may include centering the information on the user interface around an inside
market.
[0236] Conclusion
[0237] It should be understood that the above description of the preferred
embodiments, alternative
embodiments, and specific examples are given by way of illustration and not
limitation. For example, the
features described herein could be incorporated into a variety of displays.
Many changes and
modifications within the scope of the present embodiments may be made without
departing from the spirit
thereof, and the present invention includes all such changes and
modifications.
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