Abstract:
Commission allocations in transaction management of auction-based trading for specialized items such as fixed income instruments. A plurality of workstations that are connected to a server, and a structured commission allocation protocol may be provided. 
     Through the workstations, the server and the commission allocation protocol, the systems and methods may allocate commissions or fees when trading securities at accelerated levels with minimal errors and costs, control commission elements during real-time trading, reward customers and brokers who participate in transactions, and distribute commission and transaction data in real time.

Description:
[0001]    This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/766,370, filed Apr. 23, 2010 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 8,306,903, which is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 10/345,466, filed Jan. 14, 2003 and now issued as U.S. Pat. No. 7,707,097 on Apr. 27, 2010, which are incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND 
       [0002]    This invention relates to the calculating and displaying of commissions relating to the trading of financial instruments. Specifically, this invention relates to the calculating and displaying of commissions charged for trading variable or fixed interest-rate-related instruments—e.g., United States Treasury Bonds, Notes, or Bills, United Kingdom Gilts, European government bonds, and emerging market debts, swaps, repos, etc. 
         [0003]    In non-electronic trading of interest-rate-related instruments, two classes of individuals are typically involved in the trading: traders and brokers. Typically, traders purchase or sell the securities or instruments. Brokers match traders acting as buyers to traders acting as sellers in order to facilitate the purchase or sale of the interest-rate-related instrument. The purchase, sale, or other transaction involving the interest-rate-related instruments is known, and referred to herein as a trade. 
         [0004]    Historically, one of the problems associated with this system was the lack of direct communication between the two traders transacting the trade of the interest-rate-related instrument. This lack of direct communication allows the broker to fictionalize one side of the trade to the counterparty on the other side of the trade. This fictionalization allows the broker to decrease the actual spread between a buy and a sell position while maintaining the positions of the parties as perceived by the parties themselves. 
         [0005]    For example, assume that a seller had taken a position that he would not sell a particular interest-rate-related instrument for less than $50 per instrument, while the buyer had taken a position that he would not pay for more than $48 per instrument. At this point in the negotiation, the seller may indicate to the broker that he would accept $49 per instrument while the buyer may indicate to the broker that he would pay $49 per instrument. Nevertheless, the broker may not communicate the respective communications to the respective counterparties. Rather, the broker may inform each counterparty that the other is steadfast in his respective position. Alternatively, the broker may indicate a slight movement, either to an offer to buy of $48.50 from the prospective buyer or to an offer to sell of $49.50 from the seller, or both. Whether the broker has only communicated the first, unchanged, offer or a slightly changed offer, the respective traders may transact the trade of the interest-rate-related instrument at a price other than the price they agreed to. In this particular example, the buyer may believe that he must pay $50 (or $49.50) while the seller may believe he will receive only $48.00 (or $48.50). The $2.00 (or $1.00) between the amount actually received and the actually amount actually paid in each trade becomes excess profits, for the broker over and above the known brokerage fee. Further compounding the problem may be that excess broker profits and the concomitant distortion of the true market price based on the excess profits, are concealed from the buyer and seller. 
         [0006]    A similar problem may exist in electronic trading of interest-rate-related instruments as well. In electronic trading, the trading logic used by the trading system or platform (which operates similarly to a voice broker in non-electronic trading) may not be fully disclosed by the system or platform. This lack of full disclosure by the electronic trading system prevents the customers (similar to traders in non-electronic trading) from being fully aware, until perhaps a much later time, of the brokerage charges being charged to them by the electronic trading system. 
         [0007]    It would be desirable to provide an electronic trading system and method for the trading of interest-rate-related instruments that fully and clearly discloses the brokerage fees charged to the customers. 
         [0008]    It would also be desirable to provide an electronic trading system and method for the trading of interest-rate-related instruments that fully and clearly discloses the brokerage fees charged to the customers in real time. “Real  time  should be understood to suggest immediacy, subject only to normal electronic processing delay and interruptions. Whether or not a user experiences a significant delay before receiving information or a response in real time (in this context) may depend upon the capabilities of the user&#39;s system, the server system and any intervening network, or the efficiency of an external data source. 
         [0009]    It would also be desirable to provide an electronic trading system and method for the trading of interest-rate-related instruments that informs the customers of the factors which form the basis for the calculation of the brokerage fees. 
         [0010]    It would also be desirable to provide an electronic trading system and method for the trading of interest-rate-related instruments that provides an opportunity to customers to influence the factors for the calculation of the brokerage fees charged to the customer. 
       SUMMARY 
       [0011]    In general, in a first aspect, the invention features an apparatus that displays commissions for a trade of an interest-rate-related instrument. A server has a server storage device; a server processor connected to the server storage device, the server storage device storing a server program for controlling the server processor. The server processor is operative with the server program to execute a trade of the interest-rate-related instrument between a first party and a counterparty. A plurality of workstations are each operative to communicate with the server. Each workstation has a workstation storage device; a workstation processor connected to the workstation storage device, the workstation storage device storing a workstation program for controlling the workstation processor. The workstation processor is operative with the workstation program to receive information relating to the interest-rate-related instrument, display a commission on the trade to the first party or the counterparty before, during, or after the execution of the trade, and to allow the first party or the counterparty to modify the trade information in order to influence the commission. 
         [0012]    In general, in a second aspect, the invention features a system that calculates and displays a commission for a trade of an interest-rate-related instrument between a first party and a counterparty. A server executes the trade and calculates the commission for the trade before, during, or after the execution of the trade. A plurality of workstations electronically display the commission and information relating to the trade of the interest-rate-related instrument to the first party or the counterparty, the server operative with at least one of the plurality of workstations to allow the first party or the counterparty to modify the information relating to the trade of the interest-rate-related instrument in order to influence the commission. 
         [0013]    In general, in a third aspect, the invention features a method for displaying commission information for a proposed trade of an interest-rate-related instrument to a customer trading in such an instrument. An interactive view region is displayed to the trader, the interactive view region which displays commission information. A bid or offer position on the interest-rate-related instrument is received from the customer. The bid or offer position is displayed to the customer in an interactive view region. The customer is allowed to modify the bid or offer position in order to influence a commission on the proposed trade. The bid or offer position and the commission are displayed to the customer in an interactive view region. The trade is executed. The commission on the trade is displayed in the interactive view region to the customer. 
         [0014]    Embodiments of the invention may include one or more of the following features. The system may include a clearing center coupled to the server, that causes the trade to be completed and cleared and that verifies that the trade is completed and cleared. The clearing center may be operative to communicate with the server. The clearing center may include a clearing storage device; a clearing processor connected to the clearing storage device, the clearing storage device that stores a clearing program for controlling the clearing processor. The clearing processor may be operative with the clearing program to cause the trades to be completed and cleared and to verify that the trades are completed and cleared. The server processor may include a commission calculation processor for calculating the commission for the trade. The server may include a commission calculation processor for calculating the commission for the trade; and a trade processor coupled to the commission calculation processor for executing and processing the trade. The server processor may be operative with the server program to calculate the commission for the trade before the execution of the trade. The server processor may be operative with the server program to calculate the commission for the trade substantially simultaneously as the execution of the trade. The server processor may include a trade processor for executing and processing the trade. The system may allowing the customer to modify the type of his commission agreement in order to influence the commission. The commission on the proposed trade may be calculated based on the bid or offer position. Each workstation may be adapted to display a bid or an offer on the interest-rate-related instrument to the first party or the counterparty in an interactive view region. The server may be adapted to arrange the information relating to the interest-rate-related instrument based on a predetermined protocol. The bid or offer position may be arranged to be displayed with respect to other bid and offer positions entered by other customers based on a predetermined protocol. The information relating to the interest-rate-related instrument may include the type of commission agreement pertaining to the first party and the counterparty. Calculating the commission may be based on the type of customer commission agreement. The information relating to the interest-rate-related instrument may include the type of interest-rate-related instrument. The information relating to the interest-rate-related instrument may include the bid or offer size. The calculating the commission is further based on the proposed bid or offer size. The information relating to the interest-rate-related instrument may include the dollar amount of the bid or offer on the interest-rate-related instrument. The commission may be calculated based on the dollar amount of the bid or offer. 
         [0015]    An electronic trading system and method may provide trading of interest-rate-related instruments that fully and clearly discloses the brokerage fees or commissions charged to the customers. 
         [0016]    An electronic trading system and method may provide for the trading of interest-rate-related instruments that fully and clearly discloses the brokerage fees or commissions charged to the customers in real time. 
         [0017]    An electronic trading system and method may provide for the trading of interest-rate-related instruments that informs the customers of the factors which form the basis for the calculation of the brokerage fees or commissions. 
         [0018]    An electronic trading system and method may provide for the trading of interest-rate-related instruments that provides an opportunity to customers to influence the factors for the calculation of the brokerage fees or commissions charged to the customer. 
         [0019]    To better appreciate the following details, the nomenclature is defined below. The illustrative examples herein, but not limited to them, all focus on fixed-income and fixed-income-related instruments, as well as the trading of these instruments—with the volume of a given trade delineated in, but not limited to, dollars—e.g., $25 million of 10-year Treasury Notes. 
         [0020]    The following terms are used with the associated definitions: 
         [0000]    
       
         
               
               
               
             
           
               
                   
                   
               
             
             
               
                   
                 Bid 
                 Dollar or yield amount bid to buy a 
               
               
                   
                   
                 security (issue) 
               
               
                   
                 Offer 
                 Dollar or yield amount offered to sell a 
               
               
                   
                   
                 security (issue) 
               
               
                   
                 Spread 
                 Difference between best bid(s) -- i.e., 
               
               
                   
                   
                 highest price limit for buy orders -- and 
               
               
                   
                   
                 best offer(s) -- i.e., lowest price limit for 
               
               
                   
                   
                 sell orders 
               
               
                   
                 Issue 
                 A single or selected class of interest-rate- 
               
               
                   
                   
                 related securities -- e.g., the most recently 
               
               
                   
                   
                 issued 10-year Treasury Notes. 
               
               
                   
                 Participant 
                 A person or controlling entity receiving 
               
               
                   
                   
                 data on trading and responding thereto. 
               
               
                   
                   
                 While the participant is often a terminal 
               
               
                   
                   
                 operator or broker acting on behalf of a 
               
               
                   
                   
                 customer (e.g., a trader), this is not the only 
               
               
                   
                   
                 arrangement. For example, the customers 
               
               
                   
                   
                 may interact as participants directly. Other 
               
               
                   
                   
                 arrangements are also possible. 
               
               
                   
                 Hit 
                 Accept a pending Bid 
               
               
                   
                 Take or Lift 
                 Accept a pending Offer 
               
               
                   
                 Size 
                 The number of issues of a particular 
               
               
                   
                   
                 bid/offer 
               
               
                   
                   
               
             
          
         
       
     
         [0021]    A computer-based data processing system for displaying and adjusting trade information as well as commission information relating to a trade may further calculate a commission based on the trade and display it, along with the trade and commission information to a user of such a system. The data processing system employs a plurality of trading workstations linked with a server for coordinated data flow and processing. The system may display the commissions on electronically executed trades of, preferably primarily although not necessarily, interest-rate-related instruments, and may include: a processor adapted to calculate a commission of a selected trade of such an instrument, workstations adapted to display the commission of the selected trade prior to, during, or after the execution of the trade. The workstations may also be adapted to display and allow the user to modify the factors relating to calculation of the commission. 
     
    
     
       DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0022]    The above and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which: 
           [0023]      FIG. 1  is a block diagram of a system. 
           [0024]      FIG. 2  is a block diagram of a workstation, a server, and a back office clearing center. 
           [0025]      FIG. 3  is a flow diagram of a process that may be used in the execution of a trade. 
           [0026]      FIG. 4  is another flow diagram of a process that may be used in the execution of a trade. 
           [0027]      FIG. 5  is a flow diagram of a process that may be used in the calculation of a commission pertaining to a trade. 
           [0028]      FIG. 6  is yet another flow diagram of a process that may be used in the execution of a trade. 
           [0029]      FIG. 7  is another flow diagram of a process that may be used in the execution of a trade. 
           [0030]      FIG. 8  is an illustration of an interactive view region that may be displayed to a user. 
           [0031]      FIG. 9  is an illustration of a dialog box that may be displayed to a user. 
       
    
    
     DESCRIPTION 
       [0032]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , exemplary system  100  may include one or more workstations  101 . Workstations  101  may be local or remote, and are connected by one or more communications links  102  to computer network  103  that is linked via communications links  105  to server  104 . Server  104  is linked via communications link  110  to back office clearing center  112 . 
         [0033]    In system  100 , server  104  may be any suitable server, processor, computer, data processing device, or combination of the same. Server  104  may be used to process and settle the executed trades, calculate commissions for potential trades as well as for actual trades, and provide information that may be used to display calculated commissions. 
         [0034]    Computer network  103  may be any suitable computer network including the Internet, an intranet, a wide-area network (WAN), a local-area network (LAN), a wireless network, a digital subscriber line (DSL) network, a frame relay network, an asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, a virtual private network (VPN), or any combination of any of the same. Communications links  102  and  105  may be any communications links suitable for communicating data between workstations  101  and server  104 , such as network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard-wired links, etc. 
         [0035]    Workstations  101  may be personal computers, laptop computers, mainframe computers, dumb terminals, data displays, Internet browsers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), two-way pagers, wireless terminals, portable telephones, etc., or any combination of the same. Workstations  101  may be used to enter into and proceed with trades, and display trade and/or commission information to users of system  100 . 
         [0036]    Back office clearing center  112  may be any suitable equipment, such as a computer, a laptop computer, a mainframe computer, etc., or any combination of the same, for causing trades to be cleared and/or verifying that trades are cleared. Communications link  110  may be any communications links suitable for communicating data between server  104  and back office clearing center  112 , such as network links, dial-up links, wireless links, hard-wired links, etc. 
         [0037]    The server, the back office clearing center, and one of the workstations, which are depicted in  FIG. 1 , are illustrated in more detail in  FIG. 2 . Referring to  FIG. 2 , workstation  101  may include processor  201 , display  202 , input device  203 , and memory  204 , which may be interconnected. Memory  204  may contain a storage device for storing a workstation program for controlling processor  201 . Processor  201  may use the workstation program to present on display  202  trade information relating to bids, offers, executed trades, and commission information to a user of workstation  101 . Furthermore, input device  203  may be used by the user to enter such bids and offers, modify them, and to enter into trades involving the interest-rate-related instruments. 
         [0038]    Server  104  may include processor  211 , display  212 , input device  213 , and memory  214 , which may be interconnected. Memory  214  may contain a storage device for storing trade information as well as commission information. The storage device further contains a server program for controlling processor  211 . Processor  211  uses the server program to transact the purchase and sale of the interest-rate-related instruments. Processor  211  may include commission calculation processor  215  that determines the commissions based on market conditions or other criteria that may relate to the commissions. Processor  211  may include trade processor  216  that executes and processes trades. 
         [0039]    Back office clearing center  112  may include processor  221 , display  222 , input device  223 , and memory  224 , which may be interconnected. Memory  224  may contain a storage device for storing a clearing program for controlling processor  221 . Processor  221  uses the clearing program to clear executed trades, thereby facilitating the transfer of securities resulting from the executed trades. Clearing executed trades may include exchanging currency for an instrument. 
         [0040]    Referring to  FIG. 3 , process  300  may be implemented on system  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . In process  300 , a user may place one or more bids and/or offers for a defined class of securities, at step  302 . The user may be the customer himself, a broker acting on behalf of the customer, or any other member of the group defined above as participants. 
         [0041]    The system may therefore receive the bid/offer positions entered by the user. Next, the commission for the potential trade may be calculated at step  304 , based on the received information. Commission calculation, which will be described in more detail in relation to  FIG. 5 , may be implemented by commission calculation processor  215 , shown in  FIG. 2 . At step  306 , the entered bid/offer positions may be displayed along with the calculated (albeit prospective) commission for the pending trade. A workstation display, such as element  202  of  FIG. 2 , may be used to display the bid/offer positions and commission information to the user, as will be discussed in more detail in  FIG. 8 . 
         [0042]    It should be noted that, in selected embodiments, payment of commission may be received only from the aggressing party—i.e., the party that either hits the bid or lifts the offer. In other embodiments, the commission may be received from each party involved in the transaction. 
         [0043]    The positions that are still pending, along with the commissions associated with each trade based on such positions, may be arranged and displayed in priority according to a predetermined protocol. A user may establish priority by placing a bid or offer at a select price and size. Priority may be based upon time of submission, price, size, or any other suitable criterion. By way of example, the highest bid may be displayed on the screen above other bids, and bids at the same price may be displayed in the time order in which they enter the system. 
         [0044]    Once the bid and offer positions are displayed on the workstations, they may be accepted by another user, or counterparty. Process  300  then determines whether any user has accepted a pending bid or offer at step  308 . Once a user has accepted a pending bid or a pending offer, the trade may be executed at step  310  and the commission pertaining to the executed trade may be displayed again to the user for confirmation. Trade processor  216 , shown in  FIG. 2  may be used to execute and process the trade at step  310 . If no customer accepts a pending bid or offer at step  308 , no trade will be executed and the display on the screen may remain the same unless a user places or changes a bid or offer at step  302 . 
         [0045]    Referring to  FIG. 4 , process  400  may be implemented on system  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2  as well. In process  400 , the user may place one or more bids or offers for a defined class of securities, at step  402 . The entered bid or offer positions may be arranged according to the predetermined protocol mentioned above, which may be implemented by server  104  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The bid or offer positions may also be displayed to the user on workstation  101  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The commission for the potential trade may then be calculated at step  404 , based on the received information, using commission calculation processor  215 , shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0046]    Next, process  400  may determine whether any user has accepted a pending bid/offer at step  406 . If no customer accepts a pending bid or offer at step  406 , no trade will be executed and the display on the screen may remain the same unless a user places or changes a bid or offer at step  402 . Once a user accepts a pending bid/offer, the trade may be executed at step  408  by trade processor  216 , shown in  FIG. 2 . The commission that is calculated based on the executed trade may be displayed to the user at step  408  as well. 
         [0047]    Commission calculation according to steps  304  or  404  of  FIGS. 3 and 4  may be implemented by process  500  shown in  FIG. 5 . Commission calculation processor  215 , shown in  FIG. 2 , may be used to run process  500 . Referring to  FIG. 5 , process  500  may start at step  501 . Process  500  may collect and record information relating to the calculation and allocation of the commission associated with the position entered by the user at step  502 . Such information may include the user commission agreement type, the specific type or class of instrument on which bids/offers were placed, the bid/offer size, and/or the dollar amount per bid/offer. 
         [0048]    Users may be classified according to their type of commission agreement at step  502 . For example, some users may have an agreement for a flat periodic rate (monthly, yearly, etc.) for their commissions. These users would be charged the same monthly or yearly rate regardless of the number of transactions they make. Such users may be classified as ones having a “Master Agreement.” Other users may have to pay a commission for each transaction they participate or, alternatively, in each transaction in which they aggress. Such users may be classified as ones having a “Transaction” type agreement. 
         [0049]    In addition, the instrument or instruments on which bids/offers are placed by a particular user are identified, at step  502 , according to whether they pertain to a particular class of financial instruments such as interest-rate-related securities, currencies, equities, and their derivatives, or whether they represent bonds, currency, stocks, options, etc. They may even be classified in more detail according to, for example, their year-to-maturity. Also, for each one of these instruments, the bid/offer size and dollar amount placed by a user may be recorded. Such trade information (or position-specific information), as well as other suitable commission information may be used to calculate the commission on the potential trade that may take place if the user were to hit/lift one or more pending bids/offers or, alternatively, have his bid hit or his offer lifted. 
         [0050]    At step  504 , the trade and commission information gathered in step  502  is used to determine the dollar amount of the commission that may be charged to the user. In some cases this dollar amount may be zero. For example, if the information recorded for a particular user reveals that the user has a master agreement for a fixed annual sum of money, then the marginal cost of a transaction will be zero unless a designated increment stated in the user&#39;s contract is specified. 
         [0051]      FIGS. 3 and 4  show commission calculation steps  304  and  404  occurring prior to the execution of the trade. In order for the commission to be fully and clearly disclosed to the user prior to the user hitting or lifting a pending bid or offer as shown in  FIG. 3 , commission calculation step  304  may take place prior to the execution of the trade. The same is not necessarily true with respect to  FIG. 4  because the commission need not be displayed until the trade is executed. However, there may be other advantages for step  404  to take place prior to steps  406  and  408 . Some of these advantages are discussed below. 
         [0052]    Although some users may not complete or fully engage in a transaction, they may still participate in some aspects of a trade. For instance, those users may post bids or offers, or browse through posted bids and offers in search of potential hits or lifts. In doing so, such users may provide the market with additional liquidity. Step  502  of  FIG. 5  may be used to characterize such users by gathering information relating to the potential transactions in which they may be considered participants. For example, the volume of bids and offers placed on a specific instrument by a particular user may be used as a measure of liquidity added to a rarely traded instrument, or may be an indication as to whether the user is a relatively new participant. Such user behavior may warrant an increase in the user&#39;s credit line or margin requirement, thereby benefitting the user. This type of determination is made possible through step  502  of  FIG. 5 . 
         [0053]    Referring to  FIG. 6 , commission calculation need not take place until the trade is executed. Process  600  of  FIG. 6 , which may be implemented on system  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 , starts at step  602 . At step  602 , the user may place one or more bids or offers for a defined class of securities. The bid and offer positions are displayed on the workstations at step  604  and may be accepted by the user at step  606 . If no customer accepts a pending bid or offer at step  606 , no trade will be executed and the display on the screen may remain the same unless a user places or changes a bid or offer at step  602 . Once a user accepts a pending bid or offer, the trade may be executed at step  608  by trade processor  216 , shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         [0054]    After the trade is executed, the commission on the trade may be calculated based on the instruments that were involved in the completed transaction at step  610 , and displayed to the user at step  612 . The commission calculation may be implemented by commission calculation processor  215  or  FIG. 2 , in accordance with process  500  of  FIG. 5 . Instead of identifying the type, size and dollar amount of instruments on which bids/offers were placed, however, the type, size, and dollar amount of instruments that were transacted in the executed trade are identified and recorded. 
         [0055]    It may however be more desirable to provide a method for electronically trading that fully and clearly discloses the commission charged to the users prior to the execution of the trade as shown in  FIG. 3 . In addition, it would be advantageous to inform the user about the factors that form the basis for the calculation of the commission, so that the user may have a better understanding of the process involved in allocating the commission, and so that he may influence such factors.  FIG. 7  illustrates a process that enables the user to view and/or control such factors. 
         [0056]    Process  700  of  FIG. 7  may be implemented on system  100  of  FIGS. 1 and 2 . The user may place one or more bid and/or offer for a defined class of securities, at step  702 . The user may also enter or change his trade information, commission information, or both. For example, the user may modify his type of commission agreement, at step  702 . 
         [0057]    As a security arrangement, each particular agreement may be associated with a code that may match the user&#39;s location and/or other identifying features. Furthermore, a particular commission agreement identifier may ensure that the user does not change his particular information to an agreement that is more beneficial to him. Thus, a double key may be set up between the trading system and the user whereby each party enters a particular code such that the commission agreement may not be changed by either party unilaterally. 
         [0058]    Next, the commission for the potential trade may be calculated at step  704 , based on the information entered by the user and identified by the system. Commission calculation may be implemented by commission calculation processor  215 , shown in  FIG. 2 , and in accordance with process  500  of  FIG. 5 . At step  706 , the entered bid/offer positions, trade information, and/or calculated commission may be displayed along with the user&#39;s commission information. A workstation display, such as element  202  of  FIG. 2 , may be used to display an interactive view region on which the bid/offer positions and commission information may be shown to the user. Such an interactive view region is illustrated in and discussed in conjunction with  FIG. 8 . 
         [0059]    After the positions and commissions are displayed to the user at step  706 , process  700  may determine whether any user hit/lifted a pending bid/offer at step  708 . After learning the potential commission that he may be charged, the user may choose to modify some of the information entered in order to influence the calculated commission. At step  708 , the user may be prompted as to whether the displayed trade information and/or commission information is accurate or acceptable. By not accepting or by choosing not to hit or lift any pending position, the user may be taken back to step  702  where he may enter or update his positions and/or commission information. For example, by changing his type of commission agreement and/or size of bids/offers, the user may reduce the total dollar amount of commissions charged to him or, alternatively, reduce the amount of commissions on a per contract basis. The user may also choose to place bids/offers on less liquid instruments. Participation in markets of less liquid instruments may also benefit the user by rewarding him for such participation, as described above. A workstation, such as element  202  of  FIG. 2 , may be used to display a dialog box that allows the user to enter/modify trade information and/or enter the changes relating to his commission information, as discussed above. Such a dialog box is illustrated in and discussed in conjunction with  FIG. 9 . 
         [0060]    Once a user has accepted a pending bid or a pending offer, the trade may be executed at step  710  and the commission pertaining to the executed trade may be displayed again to the user. Trade processor  216 , shown in  FIG. 2  may be used to execute and process the trade at step  710 . If no customer accepts a pending bid or offer at step  708 , no trade will be executed and the display on the screen may remain the same unless a user places or changes a bid or offer, or unless the user changes the trade and/or commission information at step  702 . 
         [0061]    Information relating to the positions placed by a user as well as the user&#39;s commission information may be provided to the user. Interactive region  800  illustrated in  FIG. 8  may display such information to the user on display  202  of workstation  101  of  FIG. 2 . Interactive region  800  may be customized by each user and may contain selectively configured screen regions  81 ,  82 , and  83 . Each region may be dedicated to a type of instrument being traded. For example, region  81  may relate to U.S. treasury securities, wherein subregion  810  is specific to 2-year treasury securities, subregion  812  to 5-year treasury securities, subregion  814  to 10-year treasury securities, etc. For each particular type of issue, the latest key trading indicators may be displayed within a subregion, such as: the bid, the offer, the bid/offer sizes, and the commission charged to the user. The user may customize the subregion to display other information, such as the latest settling price or the total volume traded by the particular user. The user may also mark each component within a particular subregion with a color, or in any other suitable manner, to indicate features of that component, facilitate viewing of each component, or both. Other information particular to treasury securities may also be displayed, such as: the issue date, the maturity date, the interest rate, the calculated yield, etc. The information displayed may be updated in real-time as the different instruments are traded. 
         [0062]    In addition, window  888  may display information that is specific to the user or that relates to the commissions he may be charged. Such information may include the user or customer identification number, the user&#39;s commission agreement type, whether or not the user is an aggressor in a particular transaction, the liquidity of the particular instrument selected by the user, the total volume of trades the user participated in or entered into, the current date and time, or other suitable information. 
         [0063]    In order to select a particular issue, the user may move box  801  to the desired area within a subregion through his keyboard, mouse, or any type of input device such as element  203  of workstation  101  depicted in  FIG. 2 . Once the user selects a particular issue, he may place or cancel one or more bid/offer on it, hit/lift a particular bid/offer, change his commission agreement, or simply move to a different issue again using the input device. For example,  FIG. 8  shows box  801  highlighting an offer to sell  200  issues of 5-year treasury notes at $100.22 each. This particular instrument is indicated to be highly liquid, and is not associated with a marginal commission because this particular user&#39;s commission agreement reflects a master type agreement. In this example, the treasury note bid and offer prices, as well as the commission on the trade, are expressed in real dollar amounts. Alternatively, the bid/offer prices may be expressed in terms of basis points. Also, the commission on any particular transaction may be expressed in terms of a percentage of a basis point or a percentage of the spread of the transaction. The user may select the manner in which such trade and commission information are displayed. 
         [0064]    As will be discussed in detail in the following, the user may transact any one of the instruments shown in  FIG. 8  by bidding for, offering, buying or selling the instrument shown within a particular subregion. Moreover, the user may build multiple transactions or a multi-legged transaction on the same instrument. For example, the user may bid for certain issues of 5-year treasury notes and offer certain issues of the same 5-year treasury notes for sale at a different time, hoping that price fluctuations relating to this particular instrument may be to his advantage. The user may use interactive region  800  to do so. The commissions on each of these transactions may be calculated, combined and displayed as a commission on a single multi-legged transaction in interactive region  800 . 
         [0065]    In order to bid for, offer, buy or sell an instrument shown within a subregion, the user may submit a trading command indicating the action to be taken using different methods. For example, the user may submit the trading command using a command-line interface, by moving box  801  of  FIG. 8  through his keyboard to any location within a particular subregion and manually enter a command line on his keyboard. The keyboard may also include buttons specifically designed to enter specific trade commands. Alternatively, the user may use a mouse or pointing device to move box  801  to a particular component within a specific subregion and press the button on the pointing device that is associated with a particular trade command. The user may alternatively use some combination of both a keyboard and pointing device to enter trade commands, particularly when building multi-legged transactions. In any event, the aforementioned keyboard and pointing device may be types of input devices provided to the user as part of an associated workstation, as depicted in  FIG. 2 . The user may use such an input device to modify at least some of the information displayed in window  888  of  FIG. 8  as well. 
         [0066]    In another embodiment, selecting a particular instrument displayed in interactive view region  800  may open a dialog box that is displayed to the user on the same screen. Such a dialog box is illustrated in  FIG. 9 . Dialog box  900  may be a graphical interface for submitting trading commands. Dialog box  900  may be opened automatically and/or manually before, during, and/or after a trade, and may allow the user to submit a trade command at any time. A dialog box may be dedicated to each type of instrument available in interactive view region  800  of  FIG. 8 , such that many dialog boxes may be open and kept open at any one time. Dialog box  900  may contain buttons and entry fields  902 - 946 . Buttons and entry fields  902 - 929  may be used to submit a bid command, an offer command, a buy command, or a sell command for an instrument corresponding to a particular subregion in  FIG. 8 . Buttons and entry fields  930  and  933  may be used to enter or change the user&#39;s commission agreement type. Box and buttons  942 - 946  may be used to change certain options available within dialog box  900 , and list a history of transactions. 
         [0067]    A particular set of buttons in dialog box  900  constitute a numeric keypad  902  that may provide buttons for numbers zero through nine, and may contain buttons for numbers ten, twenty-five, fifty, and one hundred or any other suitable or desirable values. Numeric keypad  902  may also contain a plus button (“+”), a minus button (“−”), a decimal point button (“.”), a backspace button (“BKS”), and a delete button (“DEL”). 
         [0068]    In addition, dialog box  900  may also provide the user with a buy button  904 , a sell button  906 , a cancel buys button  908 , a cancel sells button  910 , a bid button  912 , an offer button  914 , a cancel bids button  916 , a cancel offers button  918 , cancel all buttons  920 , cancel all for all instruments buttons  922 , a price entry field  924 , price up and down buttons  927 , bid price up and down buttons  923 , offer price up and down buttons  925 , a size entry field  926 , and size up and down buttons  929 . 
         [0069]    Referring to  FIG. 8 , when a user selects an offer for a 5-year treasury note—e.g., by clicking on box  801  or pressing enter while the box is positioned under the offer column within subregion  812 —dialog box  900  of  FIG. 9  may pop-up (if not already open), and a pointer that is being used by the user may be immediately redirected to offer button  914  to save the trader the time of repositioning the pointer to that location. The user may then use any of buttons and entry fields  902 - 929  to modify his trade and/or position or cancel any given orders. Otherwise, or if the user does not wish to change the offer price or any other information relating to this particular offer, the user may press on the offer button to confirm and submit the trade command. 
         [0070]    For example, assuming that the user wants to decrease the offer price to $100.20 with regards to the 5-year treasury note, he may press offer button  914  once and thereby cause offer price $100.22 (as illustrated in  FIG. 8 ) to appear in price entry field  924 . To decrease the offer price, he may press price down button  927 , or press offer price down button  925 . The user may then click on offer button  914  again to submit the offer. Alternatively, if the user does not want to alter the price, he may double click immediately on offer button  914 . 
         [0071]    Although the previous is an example of how a user may submit an offer to sell a particular instrument, the same features may be available in bidding for any instrument. Similarly, to buy or sell a desired number of issues of a particular instrument, buy and sell buttons  904  and  906  may be used, respectively, and in conjunction with size buttons  929 . 
         [0072]    Entry field  930  and buttons  933  of dialog box  900  may be used to change the user commission agreement. For example, if the user wishes to modify his commission agreement with respect to a particular instrument, he may bring up dialog box  900  by clicking anywhere within the subregion of  FIG. 8  that is associated with the instrument and browse through the commission agreement options available to him by scrolling from one type that appears in entry field  930  to another by pressing buttons  933 . The commission agreement implemented is the one displayed in field  930 . Alternatively, the user may select a type of commission agreement that will globally apply to all the trades he may effectuate by clicking on the “commission agreement” field in window  888  of interactive view region  800  shown in  FIG. 8 , thereby causing dialog box  900  of  FIG. 9  to appear, and selected his desired commission agreement type. 
         [0073]    However, as mentioned before, a double key may be set up between the trading system and the user whereby each party entering into a transaction may enter a particular code such that the commission agreement may not be changed by either party unilaterally. Also, the user&#39;s customer ID may be used to ensure that the user does not change his particular commission information at will. 
         [0074]    Dialogue box  900  of  FIG. 9  may also contain close on action box  942  which, when selected, may cause dialogue box  900  to close automatically when the user performs a certain action such as complete a bid, offer, buy or sale. Configure keypad button  944  may be used to reposition the buttons and entry fields on dialog box  900 , change the functions associated with these buttons and entry fields, or customize dialog box  900  according to the user&#39;s preferences. Finally, display history button  946  may cause a history list of order and trade entries to be displayed when pressed. 
         [0075]    Interactive view region  800  and dialog box  900  of  FIGS. 8 and 9 , respectively, may be altered to display position or trade information, commission information, or both, in accordance with any of processes  300 ,  400 ,  600 , and  700  of  FIGS. 3 ,  4 ,  6 , and  7 , respectively. A particular user may place or accept positions, change the factors that influence the commission charged to him, or both, as discussed above. 
         [0076]    For the convenience of the reader, the above description has focused on a representative sample of all possible embodiments, a sample that teaches the principles of the invention and conveys the best mode contemplated for carrying it out. Throughout this application and its associated file history, when the term “invention” is used, it refers to the entire collection of ideas and principles described; in contrast, the formal definition of the exclusive protected property right is set forth in the claims, which exclusively control. The description has not attempted to exhaustively enumerate all possible variations. Other undescribed variations or modifications may be possible. Where multiple alternative embodiments are described, in many cases it will be possible to combine elements of different embodiments, or to combine elements of the embodiments described here with other modifications or variations that are not expressly described. In many cases, one feature or group of features may be used separately from the entire apparatus or methods described. Many of those undescribed variations, modifications and variations are within the literal scope of the following claims, and others are equivalent.