Abstract: Trading processes are operative to route orders from order rooms to market processes, which process the orders according to respective market methodologies. The order routing strategy can be embodied in a decision table having rules with conditions and actions to be taken when the conditions are true. Accordingly, order rooms can readily configure and reconfigure trading processes.

Abstract: An order room creates a linked order comprising a list of orders. The order room instructs trading processes to perform market discovery for the orders in the linked order. The trading processes, as well as market processes, operate on a platform. If an objective function is satisfied within a threshold determined by the order room, the linked order is sent to a platform process, which executes the orders only if each of the orders can be executed at a specified price. Generally, before sending the linked order to the platform process, the order room instructs its trading processes to obtain short term options from market processes, and then sends the short term options to the platform process. The platform process can adjust the expiration time of the short term options to guarantee the execution prices of the orders in the linked order.

Abstract: Price setting for a security occurs by automatically engaging in a price discovery procedure before responding to a request for a current buy or sell price of the security to provide an automatically discovered price that is better than a book price. The book price is the best price in an order book including orders to buy or sell specified quantities of the security at respective prices, the lowest sell order price of the booked orders being the book sell price, the highest buy order price of the booked orders being the book buy order price. The price discovery procedure includes providing the book buy or sell price to at least one entity registered to participate in the price discovery procedure. The entity automatically provides an improved price relative to the book price based on a predetermined strategy that is determined independently of the strategies for other entities.

Abstract: Price setting for a security occurs by automatically engaging in a price discovery procedure before responding to a request for a current buy or sell price of the security to provide an automatically discovered price that is better than a book price. The book price is the best price in an order book including orders to buy or sell specified quantities of the security at respective prices, the lowest sell order price of the booked orders being the book sell price, the highest buy order price of the booked orders being the book buy order price. The price discovery procedure includes providing the book buy or sell price to at least one entity registered to participate in the price discovery procedure. The entity automatically provides an improved price relative to the book price based on a predetermined strategy that is determined independently of the strategies for other entities.

Abstract: Trading processes interact with each other through a market process. The trading processes and the market process all operate on a platform. When the market process determines that one of the trading processes is satisfying a condition, such as providing a best price for a side of the market, then the market process automatically notifies the trading process of a new contra-side best market price in advance of providing such notification to other trading processes.

Abstract: A market process records trades between trading processes. A preference rating from each trading process to all other trading processes that it has traded with is updated based on the recorded trade, such as by comparing the recorded trade with a metric and determining whether or not the trading process profited from the trade. The metric may be a market price for the item traded at a time subsequent to or prior to the trade. The updating may be performed by the market process after each trade or at predetermined times, or the updating may be performed by a platform process. A trading process can designate itself as anonymous, maintaining its confidentiality but still being subject to contra-party preference rating. The market process may use the contra-party preference ratings to determine whether a trade may occur between two trading processes.

Abstract: A trading process wishing to perform market depth discovery sends a trial order to a market process. The trading process and the market process are both operative on a platform. The market process receives the trial order and enters the trial order into its order book. When responding to market inquiries from trading processes, the market process ignores the trial order. At some point, the market process selects the trial order for pairing with an active contra-side order, as if the trial order was a regular order, and sends a pairing report for zero shares to the trading process that originated the trial order. The market process then removes the trial order from its order file, and pairs the regular orders in its order file such that their pairing priority is unaffected by the trial order.

Abstract: A trading process represents an order that it is handling at multiple market processes simultaneously. Each of the market processes and the trading process follow a two-phase commit protocol, wherein permission to execute the order is obtained from the process controlling the order, and then the order is executed. Accordingly, multiple executions of an order are prevented. The control process is typically the trading process that originated the order. However, in some market methodologies, the market process may assume control over the order. Permission to execute the order is explicitly given by a trading process. Permission to execute the order may be inferred after a market process determines that no other market processes have control over the order.

Abstract: Trading processes and market processes interact with each other on a platform. Each of the trading processes has a trading strategy embodied in a decision table. Each of the market processes has a market methodology that may employ a decision table in like manner as the trading processes. Accordingly, the trading processes and market processes are easy to configure. The decision table comprises rules having conditions and actions that are to be performed when the conditions are true.

Abstract: A trading process having a trading methodology selected by a user is operative to interact with market processes having respective market methodologies. The trading process and the market processes are supported on a platform that also supports platform processes for providing services to the trading processes and market processes. The trading processes interact with each other and with external markets through the market processes.

Abstract: A market process operates according to a market methodology that enables crowd price improvement relative to the prices in a stored order file during both price discovery and execution. The market process operates on a platform that also supports trading processes. The trading processes either are actively inquiring about market prices, have posted orders with the market process to be executed in due course, or have registered to be in the crowd of the market process and receive price improvement opportunities from the market process. During price discovery, an actively inquiring trading process can request crowd price improvement, and if the crowd provides an improved price, the active trading process must execute at the crowd provided price.

Abstract: Trading processes are operative to route orders from order rooms to market processes, which process the orders according to respective market methodologies. The order routing strategy can be embodied in a decision table having rules with conditions and actions to be taken when the conditions are true. Accordingly, order rooms can readily configure and reconfigure trading processes.

Abstract: A trading process automatically requests a short term option having a term of less than a minute, and sometimes less than a second, from a market process. The trading process and the market process both operate on a platform. The market process requests a platform service to set a timer to measure the expiration time of the short term option, and to notify the market process and the trading process at the expiration of the short term option. The short term option is particularly useful for a list of orders that must be executed, if at all, at a guaranteed price; in which case, the platform may adjust the expiration time of the short term options associated with the orders in the list to ensure that the orders in the list can be executed at particular respective prices.