Abstract: Method and apparatus for trading financial assets, such as foreign exchange and money market instruments, commodities and securities. The invention, which may be accessed over an interconnected data communications network, such as the Internet, using a standard Web browser, as well as via a proprietary user interface, receives customer requirements, automatically combines and organizes those requirements into a batch of orders according to a set of customer preferences, and displays the batch of orders to the customer, along with indicative or actual price quotes, such that the customer may select and process multiple orders and multiple requirements simultaneously. Orders are priced and booked automatically.

Abstract: A credit data processing system for controlling trades in an electronic trading system according to credit arrangements, comprising a computer-readable storage medium, an interface to an electronic trading system and a credit data processor. The computer-readable storage medium stores information representing the credit relationship network, including a plurality of credit entities in the network and a plurality of credit relationships existing between at least some of those credit entities. The system uses preferred counterparty rankings provided by the participating credit entities to determine and select the optimal credit paths to use for booking multiple-legged trades between credit entities even though the credit entities may not have a direct credit relationship.

Abstract: The present invention provides an order management and execution system and computer-implemented method for managing orders in an environment where the customer may utilize internal accounting and trading procedures that require filling a number of internal and external trading requirements for a number of internal and external trading accounts. The invention, which may be used in a variety of different trading contexts and for a variety of asset classes, automatically converts the internal trading requirements to external trading requirements and builds external orders, which are optionally netted and executed in the market using an asset trading execution system. Then the invention automatically converts the executed external requirements back to the appropriate internal requirements, records the internal requirements as filled, and optionally downloads the appropriate execution completion records to the customer's trading system.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for processing orders in a computerized asset trading system when the order contains trading requirements for trading accounts that do not map to trading accounts recognized by the provider trading system. The invention books trading requirements associated with the unrecognized trading accounts against a default trading account set up for the customer by the provider, thereby allowing the order to be processed instead of rejected merely because one or more of the customer-specified trading accounts has not yet been approved by the provider. The invention also allows providers to specifically block customer trading accounts, and to dynamically create approved trading accounts as they are needed so that subsequent transactions involving the previously unapproved trading accounts will be executed without using the default trading account. The invention also rejects orders for customer trading accounts that have been specifically blocked by the provider.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for managing financial transactions for multiple counterparties that allows traders, market makers, dealers, and prime brokers to negotiate with multiple liquidity providers simultaneously, and to receive and respond to transaction processing directives and settlement instructions in real time. The invention, which may be accessed over an interconnected data communications network, such as the Internet, using a standard Web browser, as well as via a proprietary user interface, automatically provides customers, traders, executing banks, funding banks, prime brokers and liquidity providers with up-to-date settlement and allocation details for previously-executed financial transactions as they are received.

Abstract: Systems and methods for executing trades on an interconnected computer network, such as the Internet, using a catalog of protocol-independent fundamental asset trading messages, called “gestures,” that support multiple higher-level trading protocols which characterize most asset trading transactions. Trading transactions requiring protocol-dependent workflows are composed from protocol-independent gestures selected from the catalogue of gestures and then passed one at a time to an online asset trading server. The online asset trading server transitions pending quotes and trades through a series of distinct states, based on the current state, the selected protocol-independent gestures it receives and a set of state transition rules, thereby implementing the higher-level protocol-dependent workflows.

Abstract: Apparatus and methods for use by a customer for trading assets, such as foreign exchange instruments, using a variety of trading protocols on an interconnected computer network, such as the Internet. The invention generates and displays easy-to-use, context-sensitive and meaningfully organized panels or windows containing visibly distinctive, user-activatible selectors and input controls the customer can manipulate to select and execute trades against the best available quotes as they are supplied by multiple providers. In a single-bank execution mode, the invention automatically determines the best quotes received from a multiplicity of providers and helps the customer submit a single-bank order to one of those providers. In a multi-bank execution mode, the invention automatically identifies and helps customers submit a best multi-bank order, which may comprise a combination single-bank orders split up among multiple providers who have each submitted quotes having insufficient sizes.

Abstract: Method and apparatus for managing financial transactions for multiple counterparties that allows traders, market makers, dealers, and prime brokers to negotiate with multiple liquidity providers simultaneously, and to receive and respond to transaction processing directives and settlement instructions in real time. The invention, which may be accessed over an interconnected data communications network, such as the Internet, using a standard Web browser, as well as via a proprietary user interface, automatically provides customers, traders, executing banks, funding banks, prime brokers and liquidity providers with up-to-date settlement and allocation details for previously-executed financial transactions as they are received.

Abstract: An electronic market calendar that identifies settlement dates, holidays, market-related events, and provides links to news, information and research materials, pertaining to certain transaction terms, currencies or territories. The invention displays or provides a market calendar in which each one of a plurality of calendar dates that corresponds to a settlement date, a market-related event date or a holiday is displayed in a visibly distinct manner from the rest of the calendar dates. The set of market-related events may include, for example, events such as national elections, publications of economic forecasts, releases of economic reports, monetary policy announcements, trade announcements, interest rate announcements, press releases, governmental hearings, federal open market committee meetings, financial summit meetings, or any other events related to the market in which the electronic market calendar is applied.