Patent ID: 7155410

Claim:
A method for linking items in an electronic trading system, comprising: operating a network server to communicate with a plurality of workstations and to receive bids and offers for at least one item from at least one of the plurality of workstations, wherein at least one of a group consisting of 1) at least one of the plurality of workstations and 2) the network server, is adapted for: receiving a selection of a first item in a first market; receiving a selection of a second item in a second market; receiving at least one linking parameter that defines a relationship between the first item and the second item; receiving order information for an order for the first item; propagating order information for an order for the second item in the second market, the order information for the second item being based upon the order information for the first item and the linking parameter; and in response to identifying an order that matches at least a portion of the order for the second item, executing at least a portion of the order for the second item and propagating and executing a matching order for the first item, the matching order for the first item matching at least a portion of the order for the first item, in which the executing at least a portion of the order for the second item and propagating and executing a matching order for the first item occurs independent of interference from external sources, said interference comprising a new bid or a new offer.