Patent ID: 7818238

Claim:
A method comprising: contracting for sale of a first quantity of financial instruments on a maturity date in exchange for a price, at least one of the price and the first quantity reflecting a predetermined floor price and being at least partially dependant on a market price of the first quantity of financial instruments at a delivery date, the delivery being to an entity; delivering, in accordance with the step of contracting, a second quantity of the financial instruments at a time prior to the maturity date to the entity, wherein the second quantity is less than the first quantity; receiving value for the second quantity of financial instruments from the entity, the value reflecting a present value of the predetermined floor price calculated at a time prior to the delivery date, the step of receiving value being in accordance with the step of contracting; calculating a maturity settlement using a programmed computer, the step of calculating comprising accounting for the first quantity of financial instruments and accounting for the second quantity of financial instruments; and receiving compensation, the compensation comprising a difference between a ceiling price and the floor price for the second quantity of financial instruments if a market price of the second quantity of financial instruments at the delivery date is greater than the ceiling price, zero if the market price of the second quantity of financial instruments at the delivery date is less than the floor price, and a difference between the market price of the second quantity of financial instruments at the delivery date and the floor price for the second quantity of financial instruments if the market price of the second quantity of financial instruments at the delivery date lies between the ceiling price and the floor price for the second quantity of financial instruments.