Patent ID: 7577589

Claim:
A computer-implemented method of conducting a combinatorial exchange wherein combinatorial bids allow exchange participants to bid on multiple items with a single bid, the method comprising: (a) storing instructions in a computer storage, wherein said instructions, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to determine an allocation of bids in a combinatorial exchange; (b) storing in the computer storage a set of rules for processing of bids received in connection with the exchange, wherein said set of rules is distinct of the instructions of step (a); (c) storing in the computer storage from each of a plurality of exchange participants at least one bid of (1) a first bid type comprised of a quantity for each of one or more items and a single price for all the quantities of all of the items or (2) a second bid type comprised of a first item, a quantity or a range of quantities for said first item and a unit price for said first item; (d) storing in the computer storage a desired exchange objective; (e) determining via a processor operating under the control of the instructions of step (a) subject to a subset of the set of rules of step (b) and subject to the desired exchange objective if an allocation of the bids exists that is optimal for the type of exchange being conducted, wherein: if said allocation exists, it includes a subset of the bids, each first bid type included in said subset of the bids includes all of the items of the bid and at least part of the quantity of each item; each second bid type included in said subset of the bids includes the quantity or a quantity within the range of quantities for the first item; and (f) terminating the combinatorial exchange when the optimal allocation is determined to exist in step (e), otherwise repeat step (e) utilizing a different subset of the set of rules of step (b) for each iteration of step (e) until the optimal allocation is determined to exist.