Patent ID: 8671044

Claim:
A method comprising the steps of: at a server computer system that distributes market information to user computers of a trading system, transmitting bid and ask price information for an item for display on a computer display, for the computer display: to display the plurality of bid prices along a first axis and a plurality of ask prices along a second axis parallel to but not collinear with the first axis, the best bid and best offer being aligned with each other along a dimension perpendicular to the first and second axes at a first location in a portion of the a computer display in which bids and offers are displayed, including an indication of an inside market, being the best bid and best offer, among the bid and ask prices at the first aligned location; when the inside market changes from a first bid price and a first ask price to at least one of a second bid price and a second ask price, to display the indication of the inside market with best bid and best offer aligned with other in a second location also perpendicular to the first and second axes; and automatically by computer, in response to the change to the inside market, to shift the plurality of bid prices along the first axis of the computer display and the plurality of ask prices along the second axis of the computer display, the shifting being at a time and amount and in a direction to substantially continuously maintain the display location of the inside market at or near the first aligned location as the unexceptional state during a trading session, the first aligned location being within the central approximate one-third of the computer display's range for display of prices, the shifting being substantially continuous to appear visually smooth, and at substantially the same time as shifting the plurality of bid and ask prices, repositioning a pointer associated with an input device associated with the computer display such that the pointer remains pointing to a price previously pointed to prior to the change in the inside market.