Abstract: A method of authenticating an applicant. A history is obtained of transactions performed on an account held by the applicant and for which the applicant has been previously authenticated. The transaction history includes information about each transaction. The applicant is asked one or more questions relating to the information in the history. Answers to the one or more questions are received from the applicant, and a decision is made based on the received answers and the transaction history whether the applicant is authenticated. The applicant may be applying for enrollment in a service, and enrollment may be accepted or declined based on whether the applicant is authenticated. The account may relate to a payment instrument, and the authentication may be performed by an entity other than the issuer of the payment instrument.

Abstract: A system and method for facilitating consistent management of a repeatable contract audit, resolution and recovery process is disclosed. A methodology that tightly defines the contract audit, resolution and recovery events enables an audit team to evaluate supplier performance against a contract, ascertain the existing health of a contract, and identify opportunities to improve and/or re-engineer a contracting process. The method begins with a meeting with a client, followed by a meeting with the supplier, and progresses to a process review, data collection, and a data analysis, which results in recommendations that are presented to the supplier based on the findings of the audit team. The audit team then works with the supplier to resolve any issues identified by the data analysis.

Abstract: A method of identifying target businesses with above-average potential to achieve a selected financial performance target, in accordance with the principles of one embodiment of this invention comprises identifying a plurality of model businesses which have already achieved the selected financial performance target; identifying financial statistics common to the identified model businesses; and screening target businesses for the financial statistics common to the identified businesses. The financial statistics preferably include: at least one of historic annual sales, annual sales growth rates, and time since found to exceed selected annual sales thresholds, gross margins, SG&D, R & D expense, EBIDTA, cash flow from operations, market capitalization.

Abstract: A system has been disclosed which allows improved sexual interaction between two individuals who are in separate locations or between one user and computer game software. One component of the system measures the displacement of a fluid that occurs when an object is inserted into an orifice to create digital data, which data can be transmitted to a remote location or used in software on the local computer. Another component of the system responds to a data signal that is received from a remote location or generated on the local computer and generates thrusting movement of a phallic object which movement is related to said data signal.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for trading a tradeable object. One example apparatus includes a microprocessor, a graphical user comprising a first screen region having a plurality of locations in the first screen region, each location corresponding to a price level along a first axis and a time along a second axis. The apparatus also comprises a user input device for sending a command to initiate placement of a timed trade order, and an indicator being dynamically displayed in one of the plurality locations of the first screen region and corresponding to the timed order. In one example embodiment, the indicator dynamically moves over time relative to the second axis indicating a time until the order will be automatically sent to a computerized matching process.

Abstract: A method for providing an electronic payment system includes receiving, in conjunction with a purchase by a buyer using a personal computing device in the purchase of content, a mobile telephone number of the buyer. The electronic payment system transmits, to a mobile communications device of the buyer, information to which the buyer must respond to authorize the purchase. The electronic payment system causes, following receipt of a reply to the information sent to the buyer's mobile communications device, a monetary amount corresponding to the price to be paid for the content to be charged to a mobile subscriber account corresponding to the mobile telephone number of the buyer. Methods further include processing a payment for a purchase at a POS terminal at a retail location based upon entry of the mobile telephone number of the buyer into the POS terminal.

Abstract: A system and method for controlling a monetary account with one or more sub-accounts is described. A monetary account with an entity is established and an account user associated with the monetary account is identified. A sub-account with the entity is established, where the sub-account is associated with the monetary account and includes monetary funds transferred from the monetary account. At least one sub-account user associated with the sub-account is identified, where the at least one sub-account user is different from the account user. One or more controls, placed by the account user, are established on at least one of the sub-account and the at least one sub-account user. The at least one sub-account user is restricted from accessing monetary funds in the monetary account and the account user is permitted to access the sub-account.

Abstract: Techniques are described for dynamically generating recommendations for users, such as for products and other items. In at least some situations, the techniques include using multiple recommendation strategies, such as by aggregating recommendation results from multiple different recommendation strategies. Such recommendation strategies may have various forms, and may be based at least in part on data regarding prior interactions of numerous users with numerous items. In addition, information about current selections of a particular user may be gathered based at least in part on providing a GUI (“graphical user interface”) for display to the user that includes selectable information about numerous recommended items, and dynamically updating the displayed GUI with newly generated recommendations of items as the user makes selections of particular displayed recommended items (e.g.

Abstract: A method of tracking productivity and utilization information regarding an individual of an organization. The method including entering via an input device information regarding the individual into a database that: 1) identifies each direct task worked on by the individual during a session of work, 2) direct time applied to each of the identified direct tasks during the session of work, and 3) a number of units processed or completed for each of the identified direct tasks corresponding to each of the applied direct times. The method further including displaying on a display information regarding productivity and utilization for the individual based on the direct tasks, the direct times and the number of units that are present in the database.

Abstract: A mobile terminal capable of causing the user side to grasp whether or not a credit settlement service stops with a simple operation is provided. In the mobile terminal 10, validation and invalidation of a storage area within an IC chip assigned to an issuer application corresponding to one issuer are switched based on switching instruction information received from an issuer terminal 20 managed by one issuer. Then, when the issuer application starts, there is displayed in a lump whether or not the respective issuer applications are available on a display part 16, based on state information indicating whether or not the respective storage areas are validated. Therefore, in the mobile terminal 10, even if plural issuer applications are stored, it is possible to cause the user side to grasp which kind of the credit settlement service stops, with a simple operation of only starting a management application.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for chart pattern recognition and analysis. In one embodiment, a graphical interface is provided to enable a trader to select a portion of a chart to be used in the chart pattern analysis. The pattern of the selected portion of the chart could then be used to find one or more similar chart patterns in a user-defined timeframe, such as any future time period or a time period in the past. When a reoccurring chart pattern is found in any future time period, an alert signal can be generated to alert a user of a possibility of the chart pattern reoccurrence. Alternatively, chart pattern matches can be found in a time period in the past, and a set of studies can be applied to the found matches to generate a set of reoccurring indicator values. The reoccurring indicator values can be used in combination with the chart pattern to detect any similar chart patterns in the future.

Abstract: A commodity trust is provided by a Trustee for a particular commodity. Commodity shares are backed by the Trustee's custody of the actual commodity. For example, commodity shares are created and issued when a trust participant deposits an amount of the commodity with the Trustee or a custodian acting on behalf of the Trustee. After confirmation of the receipt of the commodity, an amount of commodity shares is issued by the Trustee, which is equal in value to the value of the commodity.

Abstract: A network device coalesces data received from an exchange, and provides a user with the opportunity to receive fewer, but up-to-date, data updates from an exchange when duplicate prices become available or a large volume of prices becomes available suddenly. Accordingly, the trader can be assured of receiving non-duplicated prices that are fed at a rate that is cohesive with that trader's connection speed. The present invention is designed to conserve on bandwidth thereby increasing the likelihood that bandwidth will be available to receive desirable market information.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for communicating and processing market data. The market data may comprise quotes, orders, trades and/or statistics. A messaging structure allows for adding, re-ordering and/or expanding data, within the printable character set of any language. One or more delimiters are defined and used to delimit data elements within the message structure. The data is interpreted based on templates which may be disseminated prior to the sending of messages and used as an abstraction so that the meaning of data need not be conveyed in the message.

Abstract: A method for processing payment for a purchase transaction includes enabling the provision of a first payments account to an accountholder and enabling a second payments account of the accountholder to be associated with the first payments account. A limit on the number of times the first payment account can be used for making purchase transactions within a determined time period is established. During a purchase transaction being made by the accountholder using the first account, information indicative of the first account and the purchase transaction is received. It is determined whether the limit on the number of times the first account has been used by the accountholder within the determined time period has been reached. When the limit on the number of times the account can be used in the time period has been reached, the second account of the accountholder is used for the purchase transaction.

Abstract: A method of managing all personal financial accounts is accomplished by providing an electronically accessible repository containing financial asset and liability account information. The repository may be electronically accessed by various access channels for reviewing the status of any account in the repository, transferring an external account into the repository, creating a new account in the repository, transferring account adjustments into and out of the repository, making account adjustments within the repository, closing or deleting an account within the repository, presenting a bill to the repository, and paying a bill from one or more accounts in the repository.

Abstract: A transaction process system (10) provides for data transactions between parties. In a credit card transaction, the parties are the merchant (20), acquiring bank (24), card association (34), issuing bank (14), and cardholder (12). A transaction processing center (30) is positioned between the acquiring bank and the card association. The transaction processing center provides data processing channels for message-based processing (72) and filed-based processing (76). The file-based processing uses an incoming queue (80) and outgoing queue (84) to simplify the interface. The transaction processing center also provides for currency conversions and account reconciliation on a per transaction basis. The transaction processing center uses a scheduler (160) to efficiently manage the data processing resources and an account reconciliation processor (200) to identify discrepancies and initiate corrective action.

Abstract: A method and system for performing monetary transactions across multiple source accounts. The method includes the steps of: determining whether a multi-source transaction is desired or required to complete a monetary transaction; selecting the specific source accounts to be accessed and debited to perform the monetary transaction; determining the amount of funds to be withdrawn from each of the source accounts; and communicating with the source accounts to (i) access the funds and (ii) determine whether adequate funds exist in each of the source accounts to perform the monetary transaction. When summed, the funds accessed from the multi-source accounts equal the total required to perform the monetary transaction. The final steps for completing the monetary transaction include approving the monetary transaction and transferring funds from the multiple source accounts to a single destination account.

Abstract: A system and method for using derived account identifiers. The derived account identifiers are associated with a single permanent account identifier. Each derived account identifier is associated with a communication channel or portable consumer device.

Abstract: A system for preventing on the job injuries comprising identifying a company which will benefit from the system and approaching the same with a business proposal. Once hired, a therapist evaluates the company's workplace environment and an initial physical state of a group of employees employed by the company; assesses data gathered during the evaluation; develops a corrective therapeutic program to address areas of concern identified during the assessment; implements the corrective therapeutic through instruction of the employees; and conducts periodic follow-up evaluations, adjusting the corrective therapeutic program as required until the outcomes of the system are achieved.