Swap cross system and method

Abstract

To provide a swap cross device. [Solution] A device that, upon receiving instructions for a swap contract, publicly announces the potential cross of the swap contract to all multiple market participants in the trading venue, inputs first information indicating the passage of time in a first period into the user interface, disables the function on the user interface for sending a request for a cross during the first period, inputs second information indicating the passage of time in a second period after the first period into the user interface, enables the function on the user interface for sending a request for a cross during the second period, determines that for either of the two parties, there is no price in the market better than the price of the request for a cross, determines that there is a price in the market equal to the price of one of the two parties which has a higher temporal priority than the request for a cross, and facilitates the execution of a cross between the two parties.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Cross - Reference to Related Applications This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 895,397, filed on October 24, 2013, and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 941,165, filed on February 18, 2014, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

[0002] Field Some embodiments relate to transactions.

Background Art

[0003] The market matches bids and orders for trading in financial instruments. Swap contracts enable rate - based trading for traders.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following should be understood as embodiments, not as claims.

[0005] A. A device comprising one or more processors and one or more non-temporary media, wherein, when executed by the one or more processors, the device causes the device to receive instructions for a swap contract from a market participant, and in response to receiving the instructions for the swap contract, causes a plurality of market participants to announce a potential cross of the swap contract, and in response to receiving the instructions for the swap contract, intentionally compels the market participants to expedite a period of intentional delay, after the period of intentional delay has elapsed, the market participants' A device that stores a number of commands for facilitating the aforementioned request for a cross in a WAP contract, for receiving the aforementioned request for a cross from the market participant, for confirming the price and quantity of the aforementioned request for a cross, for determining that a better price for the aforementioned request for a cross for either of the two parties does not exist in the market, for determining that the same price for the aforementioned request for a cross for one of the two parties exists in the market with better time priority than the aforementioned cross, and for facilitating the execution of the aforementioned cross between the two parties at the aforementioned price and quantity.

[0006] A.2. The apparatus of claim A, wherein allowing acceleration includes allowing it during a limited time, and the request for a cross is received during the limited time. A.3. The apparatus of claim A, wherein the instruction for the swap contract includes a ticker symbol confirming a clearing house to be used for a transaction comprising the swap contract, and accelerating execution includes accelerating execution using the clearing house. A.4. The apparatus of claim A, wherein allowing acceleration includes allowing it during a limited time, and the apparatus is controlled to receive a second instruction for the swap contract from the market participants for the same duration as the time before the limited time ends, to re-announce the potential cross of the swap contract to the plurality of market participants in response to receiving the second instruction for the swap contract, and to continue allowing acceleration for additional time after the limited time in response to receiving the second instruction for the swap contract.

[0007] B. A device comprising one or more processors and one or more non-temporary media, wherein the one or more non-temporary media, when executed by the one or more processors, causes the device to receive instructions for a ticker symbol of a swap contract from a market participant, the ticker symbol confirms a clearing house for use in the swap contract, causes a plurality of market participants to announce a potential cross of the swap contract in response to receiving the instructions for the ticker symbol, intentionally compels the market participants to facilitate a request for a cross in the swap contract during a period, allows the market participants to facilitate a request for a cross in the swap contract after the period of intentional delay has elapsed, receives the request for a cross confirming the ticker symbol, the request for a cross confirms the price, quantity and two parties, determines the clearing house based on the ticker symbol, and facilitates the execution of the cross using the clearing house.

[0008] B.2. The apparatus of claim B, wherein allowing a facilitation includes allowing it during a limited time, and the request for the cross is received during the limited time. B.2. The apparatus of claim B, wherein the apparatus is configured to determine, with better time priority than the cross, that the same price for the request for the cross for one of the two parties exists in the market, and facilitating the execution includes facilitating the execution of the cross between the two parties at the price and the quantity. B.3. The apparatus of claim B, wherein allowing a facilitation includes allowing it during a limited time, and the apparatus is controlled to receive a second instruction of the ticker symbol from the market participants for the same duration as the time before the limited time ends, to re-announce the potential cross of the swap contract to the plurality of market participants in response to receiving the second instruction of the swap contract, and to continue allowing a facilitation for an additional time after the limited time in response to receiving the second instruction of the swap contract. B.4. The apparatus of claim B, wherein the apparatus compares the prices and controls to determine that a better price exists in the market for fulfilling at least a portion of the demand for the cross for at least one of the two parties, and that facilitating the execution of the cross includes facilitating the execution of the at least portion at the better price. B.4.1. The apparatus of claim B.4, wherein facilitating the execution includes facilitating the execution with at least one party and other parties different from either of the two parties. B.4.2. The apparatus of claim B.4, wherein facilitating the execution includes facilitating the execution between the two parties.

[0009] C. A device comprising one or more processors and one or more non-temporary media, wherein, when executed by the one or more processors, the device causes the device to receive a first instruction for a swap contract from a market participant, and in response to receiving the first instruction for the swap contract, causes a plurality of market participants to announce a potential cross of the swap contract, and in response to receiving the first instruction for the swap contract, causes the market participants to facilitate a request for a cross in the swap contract during a first time, and after the first time of intentional delay has elapsed, allows the market participants to facilitate a request for a cross in the swap contract during a second time, and before the second time the first time ends, the market participants A device that stores a plurality of instructions, which cause the device to receive a second instruction of the swap contract, and in response to receiving the second instruction of the swap contract, cause the plurality of market participants to re-announce the potential cross of the swap contract, and in response to receiving the second instruction of the swap contract, cause the device to allow the market participants to facilitate the request for the cross in the swap contract during the second time after receiving the second instruction, such that the total time of facilitating the request for the cross permitted by the market participants includes twice the second time based on the first and second instructions of the swap contract, and causes the device to receive the request for the cross from the market participants, the request for the cross confirms the price, quantity and the two parties, and facilitates the execution of the cross.

[0010] C.2. The apparatus of claim C, wherein the apparatus receives a third instruction of the swap agreement from the market participants when a second time has elapsed twice the time since the first instruction of the swap agreement was received, and in response to receiving the third instruction of the swap agreement, re-announces the potential cross of the swap agreement to the plurality of market participants, and in response to receiving the third instruction of the swap agreement, allows the market participants to facilitate the request for the cross in the swap agreement during the second time after receiving the third instruction, such that the total time of facilitating the request for the cross permitted by the market participants includes three times the time based on the first, second and third instructions of the swap agreement. C.2. The apparatus of claim C, wherein the apparatus is configured to determine, with better time priority than the cross, that the same price for the request for the cross for one of the two parties exists in the market, and that facilitating the execution includes facilitating the execution of the cross between the two parties at the price and the quantity. C.3. The apparatus of claim C, wherein the instruction of the swap agreement includes a ticker symbol to confirm a clearing house for use for a transaction comprising the swap agreement, and facilitating execution includes facilitating execution using the clearing house. C.4. The apparatus of claim C, wherein the apparatus compares the prices to determine that a better price exists in the market for fulfilling at least a portion of the request for the cross for at least one of the two parties, and facilitating execution of the cross includes facilitating execution of the at least portion at the better price. C.4.1. The apparatus of claim C.4, wherein facilitating execution includes facilitating execution with at least one party and other parties different from either of the two parties. C.4.2. The apparatus of claim C.4, wherein facilitating execution includes facilitating execution between the two parties.

[0011] A device comprising one or more processors and one or more non-temporary media, wherein the one or more non-temporary media, when executed by the one or more processors, stores a plurality of instructions causing the device to receive a request to announce a potential cross of a swap agreement between two parties; to transmit an announcement to the market in response to receiving the request to announce; to adjust an interface to indicate a countdown of the announcement period; to control the interface to prevent the submission of a request for cross during the announcement period; to adjust the interface to indicate the end of the announcement period; to adjust the interface to indicate a countdown of a submission period, which is the period during which a request for cross is permitted to be submitted, in response to the end of the announcement period; to adjust the interface to permit the submission of the request for cross during the submission period; to receive a request to submit the request for cross to the market via the interface during the submission period; and to transmit the request for cross of the swap agreement to the market in response to receiving the request to submit the request for cross during the submission period.

[0012] D.1. The apparatus of claim D, wherein the apparatus is controlled to receive a change via one of the two parties' interfaces during the filing period, and the request for a cross directs the changed party to substitute one of the two parties. D.2. The apparatus of claim D, wherein the apparatus is controlled to receive a request to extend the filing period by at least the same duration as the announcement period before the filing period ends, to submit a second request to announce during the filing period which is at least the same duration as the announcement period before the filing period ends, and to transmit the second announcement to the market and extend the filing period in response to the second request. D.3. The apparatus of claim D, wherein the announcement includes a ticker symbol for use in a transaction including the swap agreement to confirm a clearing house. D.4. The apparatus of claim D, wherein controlling the interface to prevent the submission of the request for cross during the announcement period includes disabling a button, and adjusting the interface to allow the submission of the request for cross during the submission period includes enabling the button. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of the example device. [Figure 2] This is a diagram of an example interface. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example method according to several embodiments. [Figure 4] This figure shows an example method according to several embodiments. [Figure 5] This figure shows an example method according to several embodiments. [Figure 6] This figure shows an example method according to several embodiments. [Figure 7] This figure shows an example symbolic structure according to several embodiments. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0014] Exemplary Embodiments Financial instruments may be traded through a trading device. The trading device may facilitate matching, exchange, clearing, tracking, calculation, and / or other actions that may assist in the establishment of a market for the financial instrument. One example of a financial instrument that may be traded is a forward contract. Such a contract may grant one party certain rights from the other party in the future in exchange for some present costs. Another example of a financial instrument that may be traded is a swap contract. Such a contract may grant one party payments at a first interest rate and the other party payments at a second interest rate. For example, the first party may be granted a variable interest rate and the second party may be granted a fixed interest rate.

[0015] Figure 1 illustrates an exemplary trading apparatus 100, which may be part of several embodiments. It should be understood that this trading apparatus is given as a non-limiting example, and that other embodiments may have several desired configurations. The exemplary trading apparatus comprises an electronic market 101, a broker 103, a clearing house 105, a first party 107, and a second party 109.

[0016] The first party 107 and the second party 109 may reach a negotiated agreement to conduct a transaction in the swap. For example, in the swap exchange, the first party may agree to take the US 3-month LIBOR floating rate plus 25 base points, and the second party may agree to take the US Treasury 5-year fixed rate. The parties may agree to conduct a transaction in a contract having a conceptual value of $1 million (such a conceptual size may be set by agreement, by exchange, by clearing house, by supervisor, by parties, and / or by some preferred alternative). The parties may agree to conduct a transaction in a number of such contracts. This negotiation may be conducted via an electronic messaging system, via an auction or bidding system, via direct voice negotiation, and / or by some preferred method. In some embodiments, the first party and / or the second party may notify the broker 103 of the negotiated agreement.

[0017] In some embodiments, the first party may notify the broker of its desire to trade in a swap, and the broker may arrange a negotiated agreement with the second party. For example, this may be done by looking at the order book for matching orders, by calling interested parties, or by placing orders in a matching engine queue to find matches. It should be understood that various methods for negotiating an agreement may be used in various embodiments.

[0018] Broker 107 may determine the parameters for the swap exchange for the negotiated agreement between the first and second parties (for example, by receiving some or all of the parameters from the parties or the matching venue, by negotiating some or all of the parameters for the parties, by defining some or all of the parameters). The parameters may include size, price, contract, parties, and / or clearing house for use in the transaction. For example, the first party may confirm the contract, price, size, clearing house, and second party to the broker (for example, via electronic communication, by telephone, in person, etc.).

[0019] A broker may submit information about a desired transaction to an electronic market to facilitate the execution of the transaction. For example, a broker may request a market rate for a contract from the market. After a period of several requested delays, the broker may submit a request for a cross to the market. The broker may submit such information via electronic communication with the market to confirm the parameters of the requested cross. Figure 2 illustrates an exemplary GUI that may be used to submit information to the market for a swap transaction. The broker may notify the first party and / or the second party of the results of the attempted execution. The broker may operate a computing device via an electronic market to facilitate the transaction of the swap contract. Information may be received by and / or transmitted from such a device for facilitating such transactions, as described herein. The computing device may track and maintain the information to enable a display such as the display in Figure 2. One exemplary broker may include a BGC partner.

[0020] The electronic market 101 may comprise one or more computing devices that function as a matching facility for goods. Such computing devices may execute instructions on a non-transitory medium to enable the trading of swap contracts. The market may list swap contracts for trading. The market may permit bids and offers to be entered in a swap transaction. The market may permit requests for quotes for swap contracts to be entered. The market may permit requests for crosses for swap contracts to be entered with the announcement limitations described herein. The market may maintain an order book for orders in swap contracts. The market may match orders for trading in swap contracts. The market may facilitate the execution of trading in swap contracts (e.g., via a clearinghouse 109). The electronic market may also permit the trading of one or more other financial instruments such as futures contracts. One exemplary electronic market may include ELX.

[0021] For example, the market may list swap contracts for trading. The listing may be publicly transmitted and viewable via an interface of a computing device. Orders for both sides of a swap contract may be received by the market. The market may match orders (e.g., when orders have the same price). The market may match orders in FIFO, proportional, and / or other formats. The market may transmit information about orders that match to a clearinghouse so that the clearinghouse may execute the trade. The market may notify the parties to the trade of the match and / or execution of the trade. The market may maintain information about one or more order queues. For example, orders to buy may be maintained in a buy queue in price and time priority, and orders to sell may be maintained in a sell queue in price and time priority. Orders at a matching price (e.g., via a clearinghouse) may be matched, and the orders may be executed to effectuate these matched orders.

[0022] As another example, the market may receive support for the parties to desire to trade a swap. The market may first announce what is publicly desired before trading in the swap takes place. For example, a request for a price may be submitted to the market. In response to receiving the request, the market may publicly announce the requested price. After some time (e.g., 5 seconds) has elapsed, the parties desiring to trade together may be permitted to do so. In some embodiments, the broker of the parties may be enabled to submit a request for a cross after some time (e.g., 25 seconds) during a period after the period. In other embodiments, the market may handle the first submission as a request for a cross after the period has elapsed excluding a second submission from such a broker.

[0023] If an order at a better price (e.g., higher or lower depending on whether the party is selling or buying) is available at the end of the period for either of the parties requesting the cross (e.g., it is available before the request for the price is announced, or before it is received during the period, and is still pending at the end of the period), the better order may enter the requested cross. If there is a remaining size after the order of the interloper (the one coming in) is filled, the remaining size may be crossed at the requested cross, and / or the remaining order may be canceled. If no such better order is available, the requested cross may be made, and the exchange (e.g., via the clearinghouse 109) may facilitate the requested trade. Such interloper capabilities may assist in ensuring that the best price is achieved for the parties to the trade.

[0024] The clearing house 109 may have one or more computing devices that enable the repayment and / or settlement of transactions. The clearing house may receive information confirming transactions (e.g., from the market in accordance with a match) and may input one or more contracts to facilitate transactions. For example, the clearing house may input a single swap contract between the first and second parties in a swap contract transaction. As another example, the clearing house may input a swap contract with the first party and a second swap contract with the second party. The contracts may have a feeling between the first and second parties, but the clearing house may, in reality, be an intermediate party between the two parties. One exemplary clearing house may include an LCH.

[0025] Some embodiments may use several clearing houses. Parties submitting information to the exchange may verify the clearing house to be used (for example, a broker may verify the clearing house with the exchange). If no clearing house is verified, the exchange may use a default clearing house. A listing of a swap agreement may, as part of the listing, verify the clearing house to be used for the swap agreement. In some embodiments, swap agreements may all have the same parameters but use different clearing houses. Some implementations may treat listings of such swaps as fungible and may resolve the clearing house issuance in several different ways (e.g., using a preferred clearing house, using a cheaper clearing house, etc.). Other implementations may treat listings of such swap agreements as non-fungible. A database may map listings to clearing houses. A recent example illustrates a technique in which part of the ticker symbol may represent a clearing house. The market may read portions of such listings to determine which clearing house to use for executing transactions.

[0026] In some embodiments, the parties may be required to have a contract in appropriate place with the clearing house in order to enable the use of the clearing house. The market may require the parties to identify that they have such a contract in appropriate place before permitting a transaction using the clearing house. The clearing house may receive information from a market that confirms the transaction to be made (e.g., as a formatted electronic message) and which may include the parties to the transaction. The clearing house may verify that the parties have a contract properly signed at the clearing house. The clearing house may notify the market that the parties have been properly permitted. The clearing house may notify the market, broker, and / or the parties that a transaction has occurred. The market may notify the parties and / or the broker that a transaction has occurred. If the parties do not have a contract in appropriate place and are required to have one, the clearing house may refuse the transaction by notifying the parties, broker, and / or the market that the transaction will not be permitted. A market receiving such a notice may forward the notice to the parties. A broker may track at the clearing house that they have been authorized to use a bill of exchange to facilitate the processes that the parties are engaged in in their transaction.

[0027] In some embodiments, the market may require that the broker has authorization to trade on behalf of the parties. The market may require that the broker identify that he or she has such authorization. For example, the broker may be required to submit a copy of his or her authorization to trade to the market before authorizing the broker to submit an order on behalf of his or her client.

[0028] It should be understood that the example in Figure 1 is given only as a non-limiting example. Other embodiments may take other forms and / or include other components. For example, in some embodiments, no broker may be used, and rather the parties may participate in the market directly. Some embodiments may include an exchange, a venue for non-exchange trading, a matching engine, a broker computing device, a market with self-repaying features, and / or some other desired components.

[0029] Figures 3, 4, and 5 illustrate exemplary methods that may be carried out in several embodiments. Such methods may be carried out by a market such as market 101 and / or by a user computing device (e.g., via a broker interface program that communicates with the market to submit information).

[0030] As shown in Figure 3, some embodiments may receive instructions for a swap agreement from a market participant. Instructions may be received by the market from a broker (or a party that is a market participant). Instructions may include an announcement of the requested cross. Instructions may confirm two interest rates (e.g., a fixed rate and a variable rate). For example, a 7-year semi-annual bond may be confirmed as a fixed rate, and US 3-month LIBOR may be confirmed as a variable rate. Instructions may confirm a clearing house for use. For example, instructions may confirm LCH as the clearing house. Such information may be submitted by the broker or a party by using an interface such as one illustrated in Figure 2.

[0031] In some embodiments, the instructions for a swap agreement may include instructions for a ticker symbol that identifies the clearing house used for the transaction in the swap agreement. Figure 4 illustrates a method that includes such a ticker symbol. Figure 7 is an example layout of such a ticker symbol.

[0032] As shown in Figure 3, in some embodiments, the potential cross of a swap contract may be announced to multiple market participants in response to receiving instructions for the swap contract. For example, the potential cross may be issued by the market for participants to view. The information may be sent to each of the multiple participants to confirm several aspects of the potential cross. The request may confirm the term of the contract being traded. For example, the clearing house, fixed-rate portion, and variable-rate portion of the contract being traded may be confirmed in the market listing. A listing structure that may be used is shown in Figure 7. The listing may be determined and issued in response to receiving instructions from the market. The announcement may include announcing several characteristics of the cross, such as the identity of the contract. In some embodiments, only such identity may be revealed. In other embodiments, more information about the cross being announced (e.g., parties, size, etc.) may be revealed.

[0033] As shown in Figure 3, some embodiments may require the market to expedite the process of facilitating a request for a cross in the swap contract during the period, in response to receiving instructions for the swap contract. In some embodiments, a request for a cross may only be permitted to be made if it is received after the request to be issued for the exchange rate has been generated, and / or only determined to be made. A request for a cross may be required to act or submit within a period following the issuance of the request for the exchange rate (e.g., within 25 seconds, within 5 seconds, within 1 minute, within 5 minutes, within 30 minutes, within 1 hour, within 1 day, etc.). In some embodiments, a GUI interface such as in Figure 2 may disable the submit button until after the period has elapsed. Some embodiments may include enabling the ability to submit a request for a cross after the announcement of the request for the exchange rate, in response to the elapsed period. It should be understood that "after the announcement" means some or all of the following: for example, after the market has received the announcement, after the announcement has been sent to the market, after the market has processed it, and / or after the market has made a public announcement.

[0034] As shown in Figure 3, some embodiments may allow market participants to facilitate requests for crosses in swap contracts after a period of intentional delay has elapsed. For example, the GUI may enable permission for submission. Some embodiments may restrict all time except for the period after the announcement period. For example, the announcement period may last for 1 millisecond, 1 second, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 30 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes, 1 hour, 1 day, etc. (For example, requests for crosses may be generated, and the time thereafter may be counted as the announcement period). After the announcement period, the ability to request a cross, and / or the ability to determine the requested cross, may be enabled for a period of several hours (e.g., 5 seconds, 25 seconds, 1 minute, 1 hour, etc.).

[0035] As shown in Figure 3, several embodiments may receive a request for a cross from the market, the request for a cross confirming the price and quantity. The market may decide that the request will be generated within a permitted period (e.g., 25 seconds after the announcement period has ended). The market may then decide that the request will be generated within the permitted period. The market may refuse to decide that a request will not be generated within the permitted period. The request for a cross may confirm the price, size, and / or the parties to the contract. For example, the request for a cross may confirm that the first and second parties wish to engage in a trade with a variable size of 60 base points, exceeding a threshold for 50 contracts, with a conceptual value of $1 million. The conceptual value may be the standard value by the exchange. Such a request may be received from the broker and / or the parties to the trade (via the use of an interface as shown in Figure 3).

[0036] The market may assign a numerical identifier to the announced cross. When a request for a cross is received, it may be required to have a numerical identifier that matches the one assigned to the requested rate in order to confirm that the appropriate announcement has been made. Other embodiments may not include such limitations. For example, a broker may announce a cross for a particular contract and then, in some embodiments, change the parties and / or size of the cross from the original intent. In some embodiments, a broker may be limited to a single cross per announcement and / or may be allowed to make several crosses during a permitted period. A scheme that limits crosses to one announcement may give the market a correct view of the activity in the cross before the cross is executed. A scheme that allows several crosses per announcement may allow faster rates for crosses for observers.

[0037] As shown in Figure 3, some embodiments may determine that a better price for the cross request for either of the two parties does not exist in the market. Also, as shown in Figure 3, some embodiments may determine that the same price for the cross request for one of the two parties exists in the market, with a better time priority than the cross. These decisions may be a single decision, similar decisions, and / or different decisions.

[0038] In such cases, having the same price is treated as a worse order. This can disrupt the standard price and time priority standards. For example, if an interloper order has the same price but was pending before the requested cross, the requested cross may be executed even though the standard price and time priority mechanisms match the interloper order (because it was pending first).

[0039] On the other hand, the market may observe orders for contracts received before and after the announcement until the request for the cross is received and / or acted upon. If an order is pending which has a better price than the price of the requested cross for either party to the requested cross, the order may be used to realize at least a portion of the requested cross rather than the specifically negotiated cross confirmed by the request for the cross.

[0040] For example, a requested cross may be received with a premium of 60 base points on the variable side and requesting 15 contracts. An order may be received during the announcement period, asking for the fixed side and offering a premium of 59 base points for 3 contracts. The market may match the requested cross, which gives the variable interest rate side of the cross a better deal of 3 out of 15 requested contracts, with that of the 59 base points order.

[0041] In some embodiments, the fixed-rate side of the requested cross may be left with three unrealized contracts. The twelve remaining contracts may be matched in the requested cross. In other embodiments, the twelve remaining ones requested by the variable-rate side, and all fifteen requested by the fixed-rate side, may remain unrealized. Schemes for partially matching orders may allow for earlier fulfillment of orders. Schemes for canceling unrealized orders allow the parties to control all of these orders and ensure that partially realized orders do not get stuck. In some embodiments, the parties to the requested cross may confirm the handling of some of the unrealized orders and act in accordance with such confirmed handling.

[0042] If no such better-priced order exists, the requested cross may be treated as a block transaction. In some embodiments, a request for a cross may be treated as a block transaction if it exceeds a threshold size (e.g., one or more contracts, ten or more contracts, 100 or more contracts, 1000 or more contracts, 10000 or more contracts, etc.).

[0043] As shown in Figure 3, some embodiments may facilitate the execution of crosses between two parties for price and quantity. Some embodiments may facilitate the execution of requests for crosses between two parties, and through a confirmed clearing house at the price and size confirmed by the requested cross. The clearing house may receive information to execute such transactions (and / or transactions that decide to make transactions including, for example, interroppers and transactions including parties at lower sizes). The clearing house may execute the transactions accordingly.

[0044] The parties may be notified of the results of market, broker, and / or clearing house demands for rates and / or cross demands.

[0045] It should be understood that the illustrative methods are given only as non-limiting examples. Other embodiments may include other actions.

[0046] The methods in Figures 4 and 5 include elements similar to those in the method in Figure 3. These methods may be combined in part or in whole, and / or in some combination with the method in Figure 6 or other elements described herein.

[0047] In the method of Figure 4, the method includes receiving instructions for the ticker symbol of the swap contract from a market participant, the ticker symbol confirming the clearing house used for the transaction in the swap contract. The method of Figure 4 does not explicitly include discovering the absence of an interloper order, as is included in the method of Figure 3. This discovery occurs in some but not others. As described elsewhere, such a discovery may affect the method by which the requested cross (e.g., price, interloper order used, partially, etc.) is executed.

[0048] For example, a single submission may be made rather than separate submissions of the announcement and the request for the cross. The single submission may be handled by the market such that the requested cross is determined after the announcement has been made and the period of the announcement has passed. In such an embodiment of a single receipt, the requested cross may be given the same time priority as when it was submitted, and / or the cross may be given the last time priority of the period of the announcement for the purpose of matching the interloper. This may help to minimize the time between the end of the period of the announcement and the execution of the cross, for example, because the cross may be executed automatically as if it had been received the moment the period of the announcement ended, rather than waiting during the submission of the cross. In some such executions, rather than determining the cross immediately after the announcement, such instructions may be made to ensure that the cross should be determined at some time (e.g., some time after the period of the announcement, some time after the notice has been received). This allows the submitter to introduce some delay between the period of the announcement and the determination of the cross when such delay is desired (e.g., to stimulate human activity, to allow time to cancel, etc.).

[0049] As another example, some embodiments may include various types of orders. One exemplary type of order may include all types or no types of orders. In such an order, the requested cross may indicate that these parties desire all completed orders or none of them. In such a situation, if the cross has no interlopers, it runs as a standard. However, if there are interlopers that would match one side of the cross, the order may behave differently. For example, if there is a sufficient quantity of incoming orders to satisfy all of the first side of the cross, one or more of those orders may be used to satisfy the first side of the cross. However, if there is not a sufficient quantity of orders to satisfy that side of the cross, the cross may not run because it cannot be fully completed. The same rule may apply to the second side of the cross under such a type of order. Using such a rule, the parties may ensure that the cross has realized orders for both parties.

[0050] Other orders may include market order crosses. Such orders may indicate that the requested cross is not only at a preferred price but also that the parties are willing to execute the cross at market prices. In such a situation, if there is no interloper, the cross may be executed as described above. If there is an interloper, the cross may be executed not at a preferred price but at the price of the original interloper between the parties to the cross. Using such an order, the parties can guarantee that they will execute the cross with each other, but they cannot guarantee the price of such a cross.

[0051] Other types of crosses may include limit order crosses. Such limit order crosses may have additional levels of protection on one or more sides of the cross compared to market order crosses. In such orders, the limit may be priced at the market price. Therefore, if the market price is considerably far from the preferred price, the standard interloper rules described above may be applied. This restriction may be in either direction and / or only one direction of the price from the preferred price. This limit may protect one or both parties to the cross from a cross at a price far from the expected price. If there is an interloper and the market price is within the limit, the cross may be executed as a market order cross.

[0052] Examples of market and limit crosses are given with respect to preferred prices, but other embodiments may use prices based on several pricing mechanisms (e.g., intermediate, last executed crosses, etc.).

[0053] The market may receive these or other forms of crosses, and may determine the method by which such crosses should be matched (e.g., what the price is with or without one or more interlopers) based on the duration of the form of the cross and the presence of several interlopers. Other types may be combined in several desired combinations (e.g., all or zero limit order crosses).

[0054] In further examples, in some embodiments, if an interloper exists and matches one side of the cross, there may be an extra demand for the other side of the cross that has not been realized. In some embodiments, the extra demand may be converted into an pending order. In other embodiments, the extra demand may be canceled.

[0055] As further examples show, the duration of an announcement may have various characteristics. For example, in some embodiments, payment may be required to make an announcement. Such payment may deter constant or frivolous announcements. The broker may be commissioned by the market to make an announcement. In some embodiments, such commission may occur if there is no cross after the announcement. In some embodiments, such commission may occur after several announcements (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 100). In some embodiments, such commission may occur after several announcements (e.g., 1, 2, 5, 10, 100) without a cross. The market or other entities, such as the broker's computing device, may track such information and apply the commission as desired.

[0056] In some embodiments, each submitted cross may be required to be paired with a unique announcement. In other embodiments, the announcement may allow several crosses to be made during the subsequent period. In some such embodiments, if an announcement is made by a broker, it may be understood to be effective for all entities in the market and / or all members of the trading entity (e.g., all brokers working on behalf of the trader making the announcement) until the end of the period (e.g., 25 seconds after the announcement). During this time, someone may submit a cross without further announcement.

[0057] In some embodiments, a user may want to have the ability to submit a cross as quickly as possible. Therefore, a user (such as a broker or other trader like an algorithmic trading computer) may maintain a set of continuous announcements. For example, given that an announcement period is 5 seconds and the permitted submission period after the announcement period is 25 seconds, a user may maintain a chain of announcements to measure as follows: Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary way in which a chain of continuous announcements may be made. A first announcement may be made to start the chain. The first submission period may begin after the 5-second period of the first announcement. Other announcements may be made for 20 seconds of the first submission period. Thus, the second announcement period may begin during the last 5 seconds of the first submission period. Thus, when the first submission period ends after 25 seconds, the second announcement period may also end and the second submission period will begin. Similarly, a third announcement may be made when this second submission period is 5 seconds from the end. This cycle may continue until a cross is submitted. Thus, the window for submission may remain open for the submission of crosses. This embodiment, combined with an embodiment of cost per announcement, may result in higher costs for keeping the window open at all times than for using the announcement window only when a cross is specifically desired.

[0058] In the method shown in Figure 5, the method begins in the same manner as in the method shown in Figure 3. The method does not explicitly include a clearing house as in the method shown in Figure 4, but it may include such a clearing house and ticker symbol. The method ends without explicitly checking the interroper or explicitly using the confirmed clearing house, but in some embodiments, some of these may be done.

[0059] The method in Figure 5 includes the first time period before the end of the second time period, during which a second confirmation of the swap agreement is received from the market participant. The first time period may correspond to the announcement period described above. The second time period may correspond to the submission period described above.

[0060] The method in Figure 5 includes re-announcing the potential cross of the swap agreement to multiple market participants in response to receiving a second confirmation of the swap agreement. Such re-announcement may be similar to the initial announcement. Some embodiments do not include or require such re-announcement.

[0061] The method in Figure 5 involves allowing market participants to facilitate cross requests in the swap contract during a second period following the receipt of the second instruction, such that the total time for facilitating cross requests permitted by market participants in response to receiving the second instruction of the swap contract includes a second period twice as long, based on the first and second instructions of the swap contract. This corresponds, for example, to allowing a 50-second opening for submissions in the example of the 25-second submission window described above. A number of continuous announcements may be made in this manner to open the submission period for the same length as desired, according to desired market parameters.

[0062] In some embodiments, when a cross is submitted, the announcement may be marked as used so that no further crosses can be submitted from the announcement. A new set of announcements may be requested to submit other announcements. Such a set may be similar to the set described above that keeps the submission window open. In some states, crosses may be submitted during the time between the announcement period and the submission period. In such states, both the previous announcement and the announcement that triggered the period may be marked as used. In other embodiments, only the previous announcement may be marked as used. Thus, the period of the most recent announcement may still trigger a submission period when it has passed. Thus, when a new set of announcements begins, it may start based on previously submitted announcements. Thus, the period of the first announcement in the second set may be effectively shorter than 5 seconds, since it started as part of the previous set of announcements.

[0063] In some embodiments, the broker's device may track such actions and provide such announcements in order to generate the possibility of such functionality by recording events, displaying interface information, and providing information (e.g., to the market). For example, the broker or other trader may instruct the computing device to keep the announcement window open. The device may operate to provide announcements to keep the window open until a time other than that illustrated (e.g., until a cross request is instructed). In some embodiments, the market may facilitate such functionality by making such announcements and tracking such information on behalf of the broker.

[0064] In some embodiments, the amount of time a set of announcements may continue to remain open and make announcements (e.g., 2, 5, 10, 100, 2000, etc.) may be limited. Such limitations may be established by the market and / or broker. In some embodiments, an interruption may be requested to be taken after such a quantity of announcements (e.g., a new set to start over the entire duration of the announcement, some period of time during which no announcements are requested (e.g., 5 seconds, 10 seconds, 1 minute, 1 hour, etc.)). In other embodiments, a commission may occur after a number of such thresholds for additional announcements in the set.

[0065] It should be understood that examples of periods of 5 and 25 seconds may be given non-limitingly. Other embodiments may include several desired times, and those skilled in the art will understand the methods to which such examples would be applied.

[0066] In some embodiments, the algorithm's trader may be a user of such a market to engage in trading. Such an algorithm may be configured to open and / or close a set of announcements when a match is deemed likely. For example, such an algorithm may determine an opportunity in the future to engage in a cross over a period of time of some length. If the opportunity exceeds a certain threshold (e.g., 50%, 90%, etc.), the algorithm may, accordingly, initiate a set of announcements. If the algorithm then decides to engage in a cross, it may submit an immediately available cross, which is after the initial announcement period of the set of announcements. This may reduce delays for the algorithm. On the other hand, if the algorithm decides that the opportunity falls below the threshold, the set of announcements may be closed (e.g., without further announcements being submitted in the set). This may reduce the cost in embodiments that commission announcements.

[0067] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a GUI interface that may be used in several embodiments to facilitate the submission of requests for crosses. As shown, the interface includes an announcement button that allows a broker to submit a request for a rate to begin an announcement period. The timeline shows the current status of the trade submission. For example, the red section / leftmost section may indicate that requests for crosses are not available. When such functionality is blocked, the cross submission button may be disabled. After the timeline has elapsed through this first period, the blue section / second section may be achieved. During this second section, requests for crosses may be submitted. During this second period, the cross request button may be enabled. When the second period ends, the request for cross submission functionality may be disabled again. The interface may allow input of parameters for the trade (e.g., price, size, parties, clearing house, etc.). In some embodiments, the parameters may be set outside of such an interface (e.g., the default clearing house for the broker may be set elsewhere). As illustrated, the interface includes a cross-submit button that allows the broker to submit a request for cross-completion with parameters defined during the second period.

[0068] It should be understood that the display in this example is not limiting, and other embodiments may have other interfaces.

[0069] Figure 6 illustrates exemplary methods that may be used to facilitate the functionality of an interface in several embodiments. Such methods may be performed by and / or using a computing device, for example, an electronic marketplace and / or a broker's computer device, or a computer device of another market participant.

[0070] As illustrated, the method of Figure 6 may include receiving a request to announce a potential cross between two parties. Such a request may be received, for example, in response to clicking the announce button in the interface of Figure 2. As illustrated, the method of Figure 6, in response to receiving a request for an announcement, includes transmitting the announcement to the market, adjusting to show a countdown for the announcement period, and controlling the interface to prevent the submission of a request for a cross during the announcement period. For example, a broker's computer may transmit the request for an announcement to the market. As another example, the interface of Figure 2 may be controlled and / or adjusted so that a progress bar shows a countdown for the announcement period and the cross submission button is deactivated (e.g., grayed out). The transmission may include transmitting a ticker symbol confirming the requested clearing house.

[0071] As illustrated, the method in Figure 6 may include adjusting the interface to indicate the end of the announcement period, adjusting the interface to show a countdown of the submission period which is the period during which requests for crosses are permitted to be submitted, depending on the end of the announcement period, and adjusting the interface to allow the submission of requests for crosses during the submission period. For example, the interface in Figure 2 may be adjusted so that the cross submission button is activated, the countdown of the cross submission period is shown (e.g., as a progress bar), and the announcement timer is hidden (e.g., as a progress bar exceeding a threshold). Examples after these adjustments are shown in Figure 2.

[0072] As shown in the illustration, the method in Figure 6 may include receiving requests in order to submit requests for cross-marketing via an interface during the submission period. For example, the user may click a cross-submit button.

[0073] As illustrated, the method in Figure 6 may include sending a request for crossing a swap contract to the market in response to receiving a request to submit a request for crossing during the submission period. For example, a broker's computer may send a request for crossing to an electronic market via a network.

[0074] In some embodiments, a user of the interface may generate changes to one or more parties before submitting a request for a cross. In some embodiments, the interface may be used to establish an open submission period. For example, a user may use the interface to request an extension to the submission time. Such a request may be received with sufficient time to generate subsequent requests, as in the various examples of submission time extensions adjacent elsewhere (for example, with respect to Figure 5). The computing device may submit additional requests to announce potential crosses to the market in order to facilitate keeping the submission window open for the extended time. This may continue for a number of cycles as requested (for example, until a cross is submitted).

[0075] It should be understood that not all elements of this method are implemented in every embodiment. For example, an announcement timer may be omitted, a submission timer may be omitted, adjustments regarding the cross-submission button may be omitted, and / or other elements may differ as required.

[0076] Figure 7 illustrates an example of a listing format that the market may use to list swap contracts. In response to receiving requests for the market and / or other instructions that may prompt the listing or issuance of contracts, the market may list or issue contracts for trading. To list contracts, the market may use a standardized symbolic format that allows traders to easily identify the listed contracts. The format may include contract parameters so that traders can quickly understand what is listed without needing further information. The market may use a standardized symbolic format to determine the symbols for the listings.

[0077] For example, the standard indicates that the symbol starts in the clearinghouse indicator to be used following the break. The example break is -. Next, the symbol includes a section for the fixed interest rate portion. The fixed interest rate portion section confirms the period and interest rate type for the fixed interest rate portion. The information for these two portions is separated by a break in the form of _. The symbol then includes a section for the variable interest rate portion. The variable interest rate portion section confirms the frequency and interest rate for the variable interest rate side of the transaction. The information for these two portions is separated by a break in the form of _. The fixed and variable interest rate portions are separated by a break in the form of "_v_".

[0078] The clearing house portion, which may be one character, is the size. The period portion of the fixed-rate portion may be two characters in size. The interest rate type portion of the fixed-rate portion may be two characters in size. The frequency portion of the variable-rate portion may be two characters in size. The interest rate portion of the variable-rate portion may be three characters in size. For example, L-7Y_sb_v_3M_USL may indicate that the LCH clearing house is used for a SWAT with a fixed-rate portion based on a 7-year semi-annual bond and a variable-rate portion based on US 3-month LIBOR.

[0079] The market may receive ticker symbols as part of an order, and in addition, requests for crosses or for standards, as shown in Figure 7. The market may analyze the ticker symbols to determine the elements of the method for executing the transaction. For example, the market may compare a portion of the clearing house tables with the clearing house to determine which clearing house to use in order to facilitate the execution of the cross.

[0080] It should be understood that this illustrative format is not limiting, and other embodiments may include other formats. For example, the size, position, and / or break characters may be modified in some embodiments.

[0081] Other embodiments do not require the use of such a ticker format at all. In such embodiments, the requirements for crossing, the instructions for the swap agreement, etc., may be confirmed by several methods as desired, or not by any such method at all. For example, the clearing house may be confirmed separately, negotiated separately, etc. In yet another embodiment, the clearing house may be treated as a fungible object or an insignificant part of the listing.

[0082] Some embodiments describe events that respond to timers, time, and / or triggers. For example, a time or trigger may occur when a transmission (e.g., a transmission to the duration of an announcement) takes place at the time of receiving a request (e.g., receiving a request to make an announcement) and / or when progress ends (e.g., when the announcement is transmitted to another, received by another, or made public). One example of such a time starting or an event being triggered is given non-limitingly, and it should be understood that this time may start or an event may be triggered as desired in some instances of such instances. Also, some embodiments describe events that may be requested to occur after the end of a duration or the end of an event. The occurrence of such an event may include sending a request for occurrence, progress of such a request, and / or receiving such a request. One description of such timing should likewise be understood non-limitingly.

[0083] Various methods, systems, and interfaces are given only as non-limiting examples. Examples may be combined in several ways. Examples may take several orders, exclude some elements, or include some additional elements as desired.

[0084] Section IX, described below, provides a guide for interpreting this application.

[0085] I. Terminology The term “product” means any machine, manufacture and / or composition unless otherwise explicitly defined.

[0086] The term "process" means any process, algorithm, method, or similar unless explicitly defined elsewhere.

[0087] Each process (whether called a method, algorithm, or otherwise) essentially comprises one or more steps, and therefore every reference to a “step” or “steps” of a process has an inherent antecedent in the mere description of the process or in the mere description of the term “process” or similar term. Thus every reference to a “step” or “steps” of a process in a claim has a sufficient antecedent.

[0088] The term “invention” and similar terms mean “one or more inventions disclosed in this application” unless otherwise expressly defined.

[0089] The terms “an embodiment,” “embodiment,” “embodiments,” “the embodiment,” “the embodiments,” “one or more embodiments,” “some embodiments,” “certain embodiments,” “one embodiment,” “another embodiment,” and similar terms mean “one or more (but not all) embodiments of the invention,” unless otherwise explicitly defined.

[0090] The term "modified form" in this invention means an embodiment of the present invention unless explicitly defined elsewhere.

[0091] In the description of an embodiment, any reference to "another embodiment" does not imply that the embodiment being referred to is mutually exclusive with another embodiment (for example, an embodiment described before the embodiment being referred to), unless otherwise explicitly stated.

[0092] The terms "including," "comprising," and their variations, unless explicitly defined elsewhere, mean "including, but not necessarily limited to," or "comprising." Therefore, for example, the sentence "The portfolio includes red and blue widgets" means that the portfolio includes red and blue widgets, but may also include other things.

[0093] The term "consisting of" and its variations, unless explicitly defined elsewhere, means "including and limited to these." Therefore, for example, the sentence "The portfolio consists of red widgets and blue widgets" means that the portfolio includes red widgets and blue widgets, but does not include anything else.

[0094] The term "compose" and its variations mean "to constitute a component of, to constitute a part of, or to constitute a member of." Therefore, for example, the sentence "The red widget and the blue widget constitute the portfolio" means that the portfolio includes the red widget and the blue widget.

[0095] The term "to exclusively constitute" and its variations mean "to exclusively constitute a component of," "to be the sole component of," or "to be the sole member of," unless explicitly defined elsewhere. Therefore, for example, the sentence "The red widget and the blue widget exclusively constitute the portfolio" means that the portfolio consists of the red widget and the blue widget (i.e., nothing else).

[0096] The singular forms of the terms "a," "an," and "the" mean "one or more" unless explicitly specified elsewhere.

[0097] The term "multiple" means "two or more" unless explicitly defined elsewhere.

[0098] The term “in this specification” means “in this application, including everything that may be incorporated by reference,” unless otherwise expressly provided.

[0099] The phrase “at least one of” means one or any combination of one or more of the things (such as a list of things) when such a phrase modifies multiple things, unless otherwise explicitly specified. For example, the phrase “at least one of a widget, a car, and a wheel” means any of (i) a widget, (ii) a car, (iii) a wheel, (iv) a widget and a car, (v) a widget and a wheel, (vi) a car and a wheel, or (vii) a widget, a car, and a wheel. The phrase “at least one of” does not mean “one of each of” the multiple things when such a phrase modifies multiple things.

[0100] Numeric terms such as "one" and "two" mean the quantity indicated by the term when used as a cardinal number to indicate a quantity of something (e.g., one widget, two widgets), but they do not mean at least that quantity indicated by the term. For example, the phrase "one widget" does not mean "at least one widget," and therefore the phrase "one widget" does not include, for example, two widgets.

[0101] The phrase "based on" does not mean "based solely on" unless explicitly stated elsewhere. In other words, the phrase "based on" can mean both "based solely on" and "based at least on". The phrase "based at least on" is equivalent to the phrase "based at least partially on".

[0102] The terms “represent” and similar terms are not mutually exclusive unless explicitly defined elsewhere. For example, the term “represent” does not mean “represent only” unless explicitly defined elsewhere. That is, the phrase “the data represents a credit card number” encompasses both “the data represents only a credit card number” and “the data represents a credit card number, and the data also represents other things.”

[0103] The term "therefore" is used herein only to precede a clause or set of other words that express only the intended result, purpose, or consequence of what is explicitly stated before the term "therefore." Thus, when the term "therefore" is used in a claim, the clause or other words that the term "therefore" modifies do not impose any further specific limitations on the claim, nor do they otherwise limit the meaning or scope of the claim.

[0104] The term "e.g." and similar terms mean "for example" and therefore do not limit the term or phrase they describe. For example, in the sentence "A computer transmits data (e.g., instructions, data structures) over the internet," the term "e.g." explains that "instructions" are an example of "data" that a computer can transmit over the internet, and further explains that "data structures" are an example of "data" that a computer can transmit over the internet. However, both "instructions" and "data structures" are merely examples of "data," and other things besides "instructions" and "data structures" can also be "data."

[0105] The terms “each” and similar terms mean “considered individually.” Therefore, when two or more things have “each” characteristics, each of them has its own unique characteristics, and these characteristics may differ from one another, but do not have to. For example, the phrase “Each of the two machines has its own function” means that such a first machine has a function, and such a second machine also has a function. The function of the first machine may or may not be the same as the function of the second machine.

[0106] The term "that is" and similar terms mean "that is," and therefore limit the term or phrase they describe. For example, in the sentence "A computer transmits data (i.e., instructions) over the internet," the term "that is" explains that "instructions" are "data" that a computer transmits over the internet.

[0107] A numerical range should include all and some of the numbers within that range. For example, the range "1 to 10" includes integers (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, ... 9) and non-integers (e.g., 1.1, 1.2, ... 1.9) from 1 to 10.

[0108] If two or more terms or phrases are synonymous (for example, due to an explicit statement that the terms or phrases are synonymous), then an example of one such term / phrase does not imply that another example of such term / phrase must have a different meaning. For example, if a statement expresses that the meaning of “including” is synonymous with “including, but not limited to,” then the mere use of the phrase “including, but not limited to” does not imply that the term “including” means anything other than “including, but not limited to.”

[0109] II. Making a decision (judgment, identification) The term “determining” and its grammatical variations (e.g., determining a price, determining a value, identifying an object that meets a certain criterion) are used in a very broad sense. The term “determining” encompasses a wide variety of actions and therefore “determining” can include calculating, calculating, processing, deriving, investigating, examining (e.g., examining a table, database or other data structure), finding out, and so on. Furthermore, “determining” can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory), and so on. Furthermore, “determining” can include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, and so on.

[0110] The term “determining (judging, specifying)” does not imply certainty or absolute precision; therefore, “determining (judging, specifying)” may include estimating, predicting, forecasting, guessing, averaging, and similar actions.

[0111] The term "deciding (judging, identifying)" does not imply that mathematical processing must be performed, that numerical methods must be used, or that algorithms or processes must be used.

[0112] The term "making a decision (judgment, identification)" does not imply that any specific device must be used. For example, a computer does not necessarily have to perform the act of making a decision (judgment, identification).

[0113] III. Format of the text If the limitation of the first claim includes one or more features (for example, a limitation such as "at least one widget" includes one or more widgets), and if the second claim dependent on the first claim uses the definite article "the" to refer to that limitation (for example, "the widgets"), this does not imply that the first claim includes only one feature, nor does it imply that the second claim includes only one feature (for example, "the widgets" may include both one and more widgets).

[0114] When ordinal numbers (such as "first," "second," "third," etc.) are used as adjectives preceding a term, the ordinal number is used simply to indicate a particular characteristic, for example, to distinguish that particular characteristic from another characteristic described by the same or similar term (unless otherwise explicitly specified). For example, "first widget" may be called so simply to distinguish it from, for example, "second widget." Thus, the mere use of the ordinal numbers "first" and "second" preceding the term "widget" does not indicate any other relationship between the two widgets, nor does it indicate any other characteristic of either or both widgets. For example, the mere use of the ordinal numbers "first" and "second" before the term "widget" does not (1) indicate that one widget comes before or after the other in order or position, (2) indicate that one widget occurs or operates before or after the other in time, or (3) indicate that one widget is ranked higher or lower than the other in terms of importance or quality, etc. In addition, the mere use of ordinal numbers does not prescribe a numerical limitation on the features identified by the ordinal numbers. For example, the mere use of the ordinal numbers "first" and "second" before the term "widget" does not indicate that there must no longer be two widgets.

[0115] Where a single device, article, or other product is described herein, multiple devices / articles (whether they work together or not) may be used as alternatives to the single device / article described. Thus, a function described as being possessed by one device may be possessed by multiple devices / articles (whether they work together or not) as alternatives.

[0116] Similarly, where multiple devices, articles, or other products are described herein (whether they work together or not), a single device / article may be used as an alternative to the multiple devices or articles described. For example, multiple computer-based devices can be replaced by a single computer-based device. Thus, various functions described as being possessed by multiple devices or articles can, as an alternative, be possessed by a single device / article.

[0117] The functions and / or features of a single device described can be embodied as alternatives by one or more other devices that are described but not explicitly described as having such functions / features. Therefore, other embodiments do not necessarily have to include the described device itself, but rather may include one or more other devices that would have such functions / features in those other embodiments.

[0118] IV. The examples and terminology disclosed are not limiting. Neither the title of the invention (as stated at the beginning of the first page of this application) nor the abstract (as stated at the end of this application) should ever be interpreted as limiting the scope of the disclosed invention, nor should they be used to interpret the meaning of any claim, nor should they be used to limit the scope of any claim. The abstract is included in this application simply because it is required under Section 1.72(b) of the U.S. Patent Law Enforcement Rules.

[0119] The title and headings of the sections of this application provided herein are for convenience only and should not be construed as limiting the disclosure.

[0120] Many embodiments are described in this application and presented for illustrative purposes only. The embodiments described are not, and are not intended to be, restrictive in any sense. The invention disclosed herein is broadly applicable to many embodiments, as is readily apparent from this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will recognize that the disclosed invention can be practiced in various forms of modification and alteration, such as structural, logical, software, and electrical modifications. Certain features of the disclosed invention may be described in relation to one or more specific embodiments and / or drawings, but it should be understood that, unless expressly provided elsewhere, such features are not limited to their use in the one or more specific embodiments or drawings in which they are described.

[0121] While embodiments may be disclosed as including several features, other embodiments of the invention may include fewer features than all such features combined. Thus, for example, a claim may describe fewer features than the entire set of features in the disclosed embodiments, and such a claim shall not include any features beyond those explicitly described in the claim.

[0122] None of the embodiments of the process or product elements of the methods described herein constitute the claimed invention, are essential to the claimed invention, or occupy the same position as the claimed invention, unless expressly stated herein or expressed in the claims.

[0123] The preamble to any claim described shall only describe the purpose, benefit, and possible uses of the claimed invention, and such preamble shall not limit the claimed invention.

[0124] This disclosure does not describe every single embodiment of the invention word for word. Furthermore, this disclosure is not a list of features of the invention that must be present in every embodiment.

[0125] Not all disclosed embodiments are necessarily covered by the claims (including all pending, amended, patented, and revoked claims). Furthermore, embodiments may (but not necessarily) be covered by several claims. Therefore, if a claim (whether pending, amended, patented, or revoked) describes a particular embodiment, this does not mean that the scope of other claims does not cover that embodiment.

[0126] Devices described as being in communication with each other do not need to be in continuous communication with each other unless explicitly specified elsewhere. Rather, such devices only need to transmit to each other when necessary or desirable, and in practice, they can refrain from exchanging data for most of the time. For example, a machine in communication with another machine via the internet does not need to transmit data to the other machine for long periods (e.g., several weeks at a time). Furthermore, devices in communication with each other can communicate directly or indirectly through one or more intermediaries.

[0127] Descriptions of embodiments using certain components or features do not imply that all such components or features are necessary, nor do they imply that any of such components / features are necessary. Rather, various optional components are described in order to illustrate the wide variety of possible embodiments of the invention. Unless otherwise explicitly stated, no component / feature is essential or required.

[0128] Process steps, algorithms, or similar elements may be described or requested in a particular order, but such processes may be configured to operate in different orders. In other words, any order or sequence of steps that may be explicitly described or requested does not necessarily imply a requirement that the steps must be performed in that order. The steps of the processes described herein may be performed in any possible order. Furthermore, some steps may be performed concurrently, even though they are described or implied to occur non-concurrently (for example, because one step is described after another). Moreover, the description of a process by drawing does not imply that the described process excludes other variations and modifications of that process, that any of the described processes or steps thereof are necessary for the invention, or that the described processes are preferred.

[0129] A process may be described as comprising multiple steps, but this does not imply that all or any of the steps are preferred, essential, or required. Various other embodiments within the scope of the described invention include other processes that omit some or all of the steps described. Unless expressly specified elsewhere, no step is essential or required.

[0130] A process may be described in isolation or in relation to other products or methods, but in embodiments, a process may interact with other products or methods. For example, such interaction may include linking one business model to another. Such interaction may be provided to improve the flexibility or desirability of the process.

[0131] A product may be described as comprising multiple components, aspects, qualities, properties, and / or features, without indicating that any or all of them are desirable, essential, or necessary. Various other embodiments within the scope of the described invention may include other products that omit some or all of the multiple components described.

[0132] A list of items (whether numbered or unnumbered) does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive unless explicitly stated otherwise. Similarly, a list of items (whether numbered or unnumbered) does not imply that any or all of the items cover any category unless explicitly stated otherwise. For example, the list "computers, laptops, PDAs" does not imply that any or all of the three items in that list are mutually exclusive, nor does it imply that any or all of the three items in that list cover any category.

[0133] A list of items (whether numbered or unnumbered) does not imply that any or all of the items are equivalent to or easily interchangeable with one another.

[0134] All embodiments are illustrative and, in some cases, do not imply that the present invention or any of its embodiments have been created or performed.

[0135] V. Computing Those skilled in the art will see that the various processes described herein can be implemented, for example, by appropriately programmed general-purpose computers, specialized computers, and computing devices. Typically, a processor (e.g., one or more microprocessors, one or more microcontrollers, one or more digital signal processors) receives instructions (e.g., from memory or a similar device), executes those instructions, and thereby executes one or more processes defined by those instructions. Instructions can be embodied, for example, in one or more computer programs, i.e., one or more scripts.

[0136] "Processor" means one or more microprocessors, central processing units (CPUs), computing devices, microcontrollers, digital signal processors or similar devices, or any combination thereof, regardless of architecture (e.g., chip-level multiprocessing / multicore, RISC, CISC, microprocessors with uninterlocked pipeline stages, pipeline processing configurations, simultaneous multithreading).

[0137] Therefore, a description of a process is similarly a description of the apparatus for executing the process. The apparatus for executing the process may include, for example, a processor and appropriate input and output devices for executing the process.

[0138] Furthermore, programs implementing such methods (and other types of data) can be stored and transmitted in various formats using various media (e.g., computer-readable media). In some embodiments, wired circuits or custom hardware can be used instead of, or in combination with, some or all of the software instructions that can implement the processes of various embodiments. Thus, various combinations of hardware and software can be used instead of software alone.

[0139] The term “computer-readable medium” means any medium, any combination of any medium, or various mediums that are involved in providing data (e.g., instructions, data structures) that can be read by a computer, processor, or similar device. Such mediums can take many forms, including, but are not limited to, non-volatile mediums, volatile mediums, and transmission mediums. Non-volatile mediums include, for example, optical or magnetic disks and other persistent memory. Volatile mediums include dynamic random-access memory (DRAM), which typically constitutes main memory. Transmission mediums include coaxial cables, conductors, and optical fibers, and wires comprising a system bus coupled to a processor. Transmission mediums include or can transmit sound waves, light waves, and electromagnetic radiation, such as those generated during radio frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) data communications. Common forms of computer-readable media include, for example, floppy disks, flexible disks, hard disks, magnetic tapes, any other magnetic media, CD-ROMs, DVDs, any other optical media, punch cards, paper tapes, any other physical media having a pattern of holes, RAM, PROMs, EPROMs, FLASH-EEPROMs, any other memory chips or cartridges, and any other media that can be read by a computer or carrier waves as described below.

[0140] Various forms of computer-readable media may involve sending data (e.g., sequences of instructions) to a processor. For example, data may (i) be transmitted from RAM to a processor, (ii) be sent over a wireless transmission medium, (iii) be formatted and / or transmitted in accordance with many formats, standards or protocols such as Ethernet® (or IEEE 802.3), SAP, ATP, Bluetooth® and TCP / IP, TDMA, CDMA and 3G, and / or (iv) be encrypted to ensure privacy or to prevent tampering by any of the various methods known in the art.

[0141] Therefore, a description of a process is similarly a description of a computer-readable medium that stores a program for performing the process. The computer-readable medium can store (in any suitable format) the appropriate program elements for performing the method.

[0142] Just as a description of the various steps in a process does not indicate that all described steps are essential, an embodiment of the apparatus may include a computer / computing device capable of performing some (but not necessarily all) of the described process.

[0143] Similarly, just as a description of the various steps in a process does not indicate that all described steps are essential, embodiments of computer-readable media for storing a program or data structure include computer-readable media for storing a program that, when executed, causes a processor to perform some (but not necessarily all) of the described process.

[0144] When a database is described, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that (i) alternative database structures to the described database structure can be readily used, and (ii) other memory structures other than databases can be readily used. Any description or explanation of any sample database presented herein is an exemplary configuration for the representation of the stored information. Any number of other configurations other than those proposed by tables, for example, as described in drawings or elsewhere, can be used. Similarly, any described entry in a database represents only exemplary information. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the number and content of entries may differ from those described herein. Furthermore, regardless of the depiction of a database as a table, data types described herein can be stored and manipulated using other formats (including relational databases, object-based models, and / or distributed databases). Similarly, various processes as described herein can be implemented using object methods or behaviors of a database. Furthermore, databases can be stored locally or far away from devices accessing the data in such databases, in known forms.

[0145] Various embodiments may be configured to operate in a network environment including a computer that is in communication with one or more devices (for example, via a communication network). The computer may communicate with the devices directly or indirectly via any wired or wireless medium (e.g., the Internet, LAN, WAN or Ethernet®, Token Ring, telephone lines, cable lines, wireless channels, optical communication lines, commercial online service providers, electronic bulletin board systems, satellite communication links, or any combination thereof). Each of the devices may comprise a computer or other computing device, such as one based on an Intel®, Pentium®, or Centrino® processor adapted to communicate with the computer. Any number and type of devices may be in communication with the computer.

[0146] In one embodiment, a server computer or centralization may not be necessary or desirable. For example, in one embodiment, the present invention can be implemented on one or more devices without centralization. In such embodiments, any function described herein as being performed by a server computer, or data described as being stored on a server computer, can instead be performed by one or more such devices or stored on one or more such devices.

[0147] When describing a process, in one embodiment, the process may operate without any user intervention. In another embodiment, the process may involve some human intervention (e.g., the steps are performed with or with human assistance).

[0148] VI. Continuing Application This disclosure provides to those skilled in the art a practical description of several embodiments and / or inventions. Some of these embodiments and / or inventions may not be claimed in this application, but may nevertheless be claimed in one or more continuation applications claiming priority to this application.

[0149] The applicant intends to file an additional application to seek patent protection for subject matter that has been disclosed and made available for implementation but is not claimed in this application.

[0150] VII.Abandonment Numerous references to a particular embodiment do not constitute a rejection or denial of additional, different embodiments, and similarly, references to descriptions of multiple embodiments, all of which include a particular feature, do not constitute a rejection or denial of embodiments that do not include that particular feature. A clear rejection or denial in this application shall begin with the phrase "does not include" or "cannot be performed."

[0151] [Note 1] It is a device, One or more processors, The device comprises one or more non-temporary media, and the one or more non-temporary media, when executed by the one or more processors, We receive instructions for swap agreements from market participants. Upon receiving the aforementioned instructions of the swap agreement, the market participants announce the potential cross of the swap agreement, In response to receiving the aforementioned instructions of the swap agreement, intentionally coercing the market participants to facilitate requests for crosses in the swap agreement during the period, After the aforementioned period of intentional delay has elapsed, the market participant shall be permitted to expedite the request for cross in the swap agreement, The market participant receives the request for cross-trading, and the request for cross-trading confirms the price and quantity. A better price for the cross for either of the two parties is determined to be not available in the market. Rather than prioritizing time over the aforementioned cross, it is determined that the same price for the aforementioned request for the cross for one of the two parties exists in the market. To facilitate the execution of the cross between the two parties at the aforementioned price and quantity, Multiple instructions are stored, Device. [Note 2] The apparatus of Appendix 1, wherein allowing the facilitation includes allowing it during a limited time, and the request for cross is received during that limited time. Device. [Note 3] The apparatus of Appendix 1, wherein the instruction of the swap agreement includes a ticker symbol for use in a transaction comprising the swap agreement, and facilitating execution includes facilitating execution using the clearing house. Device. [Note 4] The apparatus of Appendix 1, wherein allowing acceleration includes allowing it for a limited time, and the apparatus, During the same amount of time prior to the end of the aforementioned limited time, the market participant receives a second instruction of the swap agreement. Upon receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the multiple market participants are again notified of the potential cross of the swap agreement. In response to receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the acceleration will continue to be permitted for an additional period after the limited time, Device. [Note 5] The apparatus as described in Appendix 1, wherein the market participants include a broker. Device. [Note 6] It is a device, One or more processors, The device comprises one or more non-temporary media, and the one or more non-temporary media, when executed by the one or more processors, The market participants provide instructions for the ticker symbol of the swap agreement, and the ticker symbol is used in the swap agreement to confirm the clearing house for trading. Upon receiving the aforementioned instructions of the aforementioned ticker symbol, multiple market participants are prompted to announce the potential cross of the swap agreement, In response to receiving the instructions of the ticker symbol, intentionally coercing the market participants to make demands for crosses in the swap agreement during the period, After the aforementioned period of intentional delay has elapsed, the market participant shall be permitted to expedite the request for cross in the swap agreement, The request for the cross confirming the ticker symbol is received, and the request for the cross confirms the price, quantity, and two parties. Based on the aforementioned ticker symbol, the clearing house is determined, To facilitate the execution of the cross using the aforementioned clearing house, Multiple instructions are stored, Device. [Note 7] The apparatus of Appendix 6, wherein allowing the facilitation includes allowing it during a limited time, and the request for cross is received during that limited time. Device. [Note 8] The apparatus of Appendix 6, the apparatus, With a better time priority than the aforementioned cross, it is determined that the same price for the aforementioned request for the cross for one of the two parties exists in the market, and facilitating the execution of the cross is configured to include facilitating the execution of the cross between the two parties at the aforementioned price and quantity. Device. [Note 9] The apparatus of Appendix 6, wherein allowing acceleration includes allowing it for a limited time, and the apparatus, During the same period of time prior to the end of the aforementioned limited time, the market participant receives a second instruction of the ticker symbol. Upon receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the multiple market participants are again notified of the potential cross of the swap agreement. In response to receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the acceleration will continue to be permitted for an additional period after the limited time, Device. [Note 10] The apparatus of Appendix 6, the apparatus, Comparing the aforementioned prices, it is determined that a better price exists in the market for fulfilling at least a portion of the aforementioned requirements for the cross for at least one of the two parties. To facilitate the execution of the cross, control to include facilitating the execution of at least some of the crosses at the better price. Device. [Note 11] The apparatus of Appendix 10, wherein facilitating execution includes facilitating execution by at least one party and other parties different from any of the two parties, Device. [Note 12] The apparatus of Appendix 10, wherein facilitating execution includes facilitating execution between the two parties, Device. [Note 13] It is a device, One or more processors, The device comprises one or more non-temporary media, and the one or more non-temporary media, when executed by the one or more processors, The market participants received the first instruction for the swap agreement. Upon receiving the first instruction of the swap agreement, the market participants announce the potential cross of the swap agreement, In response to receiving the first instruction of the swap agreement, intentionally coerce the market participant in making a request for a cross in the swap agreement during the first time period, After the first time of intentional delay has elapsed, allow the market participants to expedite the request for cross in the swap agreement during the second time, The first time period ends before the second time period, and the market participant receives the second instruction of the swap agreement. Upon receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the plurality of market participants will re-announce the potential cross of the swap agreement, In response to receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the total time that is the facilitation of the request for a cross permitted by the market participant is to include twice the second time based on the first and second instructions of the swap agreement, allowing the market participant to facilitate the request for a cross in the swap agreement during the second time after receiving the second instruction. The market participant receives the request for cross, and the request for cross confirms the price, quantity, and the two parties. To facilitate the execution of the aforementioned cross, Multiple instructions are stored, Device. [Note 14] The apparatus described in Appendix 13, the apparatus, When a second time equal to twice the time elapsed since receiving the first instruction of the swap agreement, the market participant receives a third instruction of the swap agreement. Upon receiving the third instruction of the swap agreement, the multiple market participants are again notified of the potential cross of the swap agreement. In response to receiving the third instruction of the swap agreement, the total time that is the facilitation of the request for a cross permitted by the market participant is such that the facilitation of the request for a cross by the market participant is permitted during the second time after receiving the third instruction, such that the total time that is the facilitation of the request for a cross permitted by the market participant is such that the second time is three times the first, second and third instruction of the swap agreement. Device. [Note 15] The apparatus described in Appendix 13, the apparatus, With a better time priority than the aforementioned cross, it is determined that the same price for the aforementioned request for the cross for one of the two parties exists in the market, and facilitating the execution of the cross is configured to include facilitating the execution of the cross between the two parties at the aforementioned price and quantity. Device. [Note 16] The apparatus of Appendix 13, wherein the instruction of the swap agreement includes a ticker symbol for use in a transaction comprising the swap agreement, and facilitating execution includes facilitating execution using the clearing house. Device. [Note 17] The apparatus described in Appendix 13, the apparatus, Comparing the aforementioned prices, it is determined that a better price exists in the market for fulfilling at least a portion of the aforementioned requirements for the cross for at least one of the two parties. To facilitate the execution of the cross, control to include facilitating the execution of at least some of the crosses at the better price. Device. [Note 18] The apparatus of Appendix 17, wherein facilitating execution includes facilitating execution by at least one party and other parties different from any of the two parties, Device. [Note 19] The apparatus of Appendix 17, wherein facilitating execution includes facilitating execution between the two parties, Device. [Note 20] It is a device, One or more processors, The device comprises one or more non-temporary media, and the one or more non-temporary media, when executed by the one or more processors, To receive a request announcing a potential crossover of swap agreements between the two parties, Upon receiving the request to announce, the system will cause an announcement to be sent to the market, adjust the interface to indicate a countdown of the announcement period, and control the interface to prevent the submission of requests for cross-promotion during the announcement period. Adjust the interface to indicate the end of the announcement period, adjust the interface to indicate a countdown of the submission period, which is the period during which a request for cross is permitted to be submitted, depending on the end of the announcement period, adjust the interface to permit the submission of the request for cross during the submission period, During the aforementioned submission period, the interface will receive a request to submit the request for cross to the market. In response to receiving the request to submit the request for crossing during the aforementioned submission period, the market shall transmit the request for crossing the swap agreement. Multiple instructions are stored, Device. [Note 21] The apparatus described in Appendix 20, the apparatus, During the aforementioned submission period, the change is received through one of the two parties' interfaces, and the request for cross is controlled to designate the changed party as the substitute for one of the two parties. Device. [Note 22] The apparatus described in Appendix 20, the apparatus, If, before the aforementioned submission period ends, a request is received to extend the aforementioned submission period for at least the same amount of time as the aforementioned announcement period, Before the aforementioned submission period ends, submit a second request which will be announced during the submission period, which is at least the same duration as the aforementioned announcement. In response to the second request, control the sending of a second announcement to the market and the extension of the submission period. Device. [Note 23] The device of Appendix 20, wherein the announcement includes a ticker symbol for confirming a clearing house, for use in a transaction including the swap agreement. Device. [Note 24] The device of Appendix 20, wherein controlling the interface to prevent the submission of the request for cross during the announcement period includes disabling the button, and adjusting the interface to allow the submission of the request for cross during the submission period includes enabling the button. Device.

Claims

1. It is a device, Equipped with one or more processors in the trading venue, The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: Intentionally pressuring market participants to encourage demands for cross-trading in swap agreements, Having received instructions for the swap agreement from the aforementioned market participant, Upon receiving the aforementioned instructions of the swap agreement, the potential cross of the swap agreement will be publicly announced to all of the multiple market participants at the venue of the transaction. In response to receiving the aforementioned instructions of the swap agreement, First information indicating the passage of time during the first period is input into the user interface of the market participant. During the first period, disable the function on the user interface for sending the request for cross, The user interface of the market participant is input a second piece of information indicating the passage of time in a second period following the first period. During the second period, enable the function on the user interface for sending the request for cross, During the second period, the market participant receives the request for cross, the request for cross identifies the two parties, price, and quantity. For either of the two aforementioned parties, if they determine that there is no market price better than the price requested for the cross, Determined that a price equal to the price of one of the two parties, which has a higher time priority than the aforementioned demand for cross, exists in the market, To facilitate the execution of the cross between the two parties at the aforementioned price and quantity, Device.

2. The aforementioned promotion is permitted for a limited period, and the aforementioned request for cross is received for the limited period. The apparatus according to claim 1.

3. The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: Before the end of the second period, the market participant receives the second instruction of the swap agreement for a period of the same length as the first period. Upon receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the multiple market participants publicly re-announce the potential cross of the swap agreement, In response to receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, after the end of the second period, the acceleration will continue for an additional period of time. The apparatus according to claim 1.

4. It is a device, Equipped with one or more processors in the trading venue, The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: Intentionally pressuring market participants to encourage demands for cross-trading in swap agreements, The market participant provides instructions for the ticker symbol of the swap agreement, the ticker symbol identifying the clearing house used for the transaction of the swap agreement. Upon receiving the aforementioned instructions of the aforementioned ticker symbol, the potential cross of the swap agreement will be publicly announced to all of the multiple market participants in the venue of the transaction. In response to receiving the aforementioned instructions for the ticker symbol, First information indicating the passage of time during the first period is input into the user interface of the market participant. During the first period, disable the function on the user interface for sending the request for cross, The user interface of the market participant is input a second piece of information indicating the passage of time in a second period following the first period. During the second period, enable the function on the user interface for sending the request for cross, During the second period, the request for a cross identifying the ticker symbol is received, and the request for a cross identifies the price, quantity and two parties, Based on the aforementioned ticker symbol, the clearing house is determined, It is determined that a price equal to the price of one of the two parties, which has a higher temporal priority than the aforementioned cross, exists in the market. Using the aforementioned clearing house, facilitate the execution of the cross between the two parties at the aforementioned price and quantity. Device.

5. The aforementioned promotion is permitted for a limited period, and the aforementioned request for cross is received for the limited period. The apparatus according to claim 4.

6. The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: Before the end of the second period, the market participant receives a second instruction for the ticker symbol for a period of the same length as the first period. Upon receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the multiple market participants publicly re-announce the potential cross of the swap agreement, In response to receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, after the second period, the acceleration will continue for the additional time, The apparatus according to claim 4.

7. The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: Compared to the aforementioned price, it is determined that a better price exists in the market that satisfies at least part of the aforementioned requirement for a cross to at least one of the two parties, Facilitating the execution of the aforementioned cross includes facilitating the execution of at least a portion of the aforementioned cross at the aforementioned better price, The apparatus according to claim 4.

8. Facilitating the aforementioned execution includes facilitating execution by at least one of the parties and another party different from either of the two parties, The apparatus according to claim 7.

9. It is a device, Equipped with one or more processors in the trading venue, The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: Intentionally pressuring market participants to encourage demands for cross-trading in swap agreements, Having received the first instruction of the swap agreement from the aforementioned market participant, Upon receiving the first instruction of the swap agreement, the potential cross of the swap agreement is publicly announced to all of the multiple market participants in the venue of the transaction. In response to receiving the first instruction of the swap agreement, First information indicating the passage of time during the first period is input into the user interface of the market participant. During the first period, disable the function on the user interface for sending the request for cross, The user interface of the market participant is input a second piece of information indicating the passage of time in a second period following the first period. During the second period, enable the function on the user interface for sending the request for cross, At the first time prior to the end of the second period, the market participant receives the second instruction of the swap agreement. Upon receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the potential cross of the swap agreement shall be publicly re-announced to all of the multiple market participants in the venue of the transaction, In response to receiving the second instruction of the swap agreement, the market participant is permitted to facilitate the request for crossing the swap agreement during the second time period after receiving the second instruction, such that the total time during which the market participant is permitted to facilitate the request for crossing the swap agreement includes twice the time of the second period based on the first and second instructions of the swap agreement. The market participant has received the request for cross, and the request for cross will include the price, quantity, and identification of the two parties, Determined that an equal price exists in the market for the cross of one of the two parties, which has a higher time priority than the aforementioned cross, To facilitate the execution of the cross between the two parties at the aforementioned price and quantity, Device.

10. The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: When twice the second period has elapsed since receiving the first instruction of the swap agreement, the market participant receives a third instruction of the swap agreement, Upon receiving the third instruction of the swap agreement, the market participants are again notified of the potential cross of the swap agreement. In response to receiving the third instruction of the swap agreement, the market participant is permitted to facilitate the request for crossing the swap agreement during the total duration of the second period after receiving the third instruction, such that the total duration of the second period includes three times the duration of the second period based on the first, second, and third instructions of the swap agreement. The apparatus according to claim 9.

11. The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: It is determined that a better price exists in the market, compared to the aforementioned price, that satisfies at least part of the aforementioned demands for a cross to at least one of the two parties, Facilitating the execution of the aforementioned cross includes facilitating the execution of at least a portion of the aforementioned cross at the aforementioned better price, The apparatus according to claim 9.

12. It is a device, Equipped with one or more processors in the trading venue, The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: Having received a request to announce a potential crossover of swap agreements between the two parties, Upon receiving the aforementioned request to announce, Send an announcement to the market, The interface is adjusted to indicate a countdown of an announcement period during which the functionality of the interface for submitting requests for cross-use is disabled, and a submission period after the announcement period during which the functionality of the interface for submitting requests for cross-use is enabled. During the aforementioned submission period, a request is received to transmit the request for cross-marketing via the aforementioned interface. In response to receiving the request to send the request for crossing during the aforementioned submission period, the request for crossing the swap agreement is sent to the market. Determined that an equal price exists in the market for the cross of one of the two parties, which has a higher time priority than the aforementioned cross, To facilitate the execution of the cross between the two parties at the price and quantity of the aforementioned request for the cross, Device.

13. The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: During the aforementioned submission period, the change of one of the two parties is received through the interface, and the request for cross designates the changed party in place of the other of the two parties. The apparatus according to claim 12.

14. The one or more processors are configured to control the following processes: If, before the aforementioned submission period ends, a request is received to extend the aforementioned submission period for a period equal to at least the same as the aforementioned announcement period, Before the aforementioned submission period ends, send a second request to announce during the aforementioned submission period for a period at least equal to the aforementioned announcement period. In response to the second request, a second announcement is sent to the market and the submission period is extended. The apparatus according to claim 12.

15. The transmission of the request for cross via the interface is prevented by disabling the button during the announcement period and permitted by enabling the button during the submission period. The apparatus according to claim 12.

Images