Automated system for conditional order transactions in securities or other items in commerce

A conditional order transaction network that electronically matches or compares buy and sell orders for a plurality of items from the same or divers equity markets based upon conditions set fort within the order, including a price represented as an algorithm with constraints thereon, the conditional order transaction network comprising:

• a variable number of trader terminals for entering an order for an item in the form of an algorithm with constraints thereon that represent a willingness to transact, where the price is the dependent variable of the algorithm within the constraints and dynamically changing price of another item is an independent variable, the price as a dependent variable being continuously changeable responsive to changes in price of the independent variable, the algorithm representing a buy or sell order;
• controller computer means coupled to each of the trader terminals over a communications network and receiving as inputs, each algorithm with its corresponding constraints;
• and
• a device for matching or comparing, in accordance with the constraints and conditions, algorithmic buy/sell orders with algorithmic or non-algorithmic sell/buy orders and simultaneously executing a trade of said items in the same or diverse equity markets as a single electronically matched trade.

A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium for matching or comparing buy and sell orders for a plurality of items based upon conditions set forth within the order, including a price represented as an algorithm with constraints thereon, a source code for the program having a plurality of segments comprising:

• a segment for processing data from a variable number of trader terminals for entering an order for an item in the form of an algorithm with constraints thereon that represent a willingness to transact, where the price is a dependent variable of the algorithm within the constraints and dynamically changing price of another item is an independent variable, the price as the dependent variable being continuously changeable responsive to changes in price of the independent variable, the algorithm representing a buy or sell order;
• and
• a segment for a controlling a computer coupled to each of the trader terminals over a communications network and receiving as inputs,
• a) each algorithm with its corresponding constraints and
• b) an external price feed depicting prices of various items and contracts from external multiple data sources which may be used as an independent variable of the algorithm or an input to a constraint variable, the source code further comprising,
• a segment for matching or comparing, in accordance with the constraints and conditions, algorithmic buy/sell orders with algorithmic or non-algorithmic sell/buy orders through the use of the external multiple data sources, and
• a segment for simultaneously executing a trade of said items in the same or diverse equity markets as a single electronically matched trade.

A computer data signal embodied in a carrier wave having a plurality of source code segments comprising:

• a segment for processing data from a variable number of trader terminals for entering an order for an item in the form of an algorithm with constraints thereon that represent a willingness to transact, whom dynamically changing price is a dependent variable of the algorithm within the constraints and price of another item is an independent variable, the price as the dependent variable being continuously changeable responsive to changes in price of the independent variable, the algorithm representing a buy or sell order, and
• a segment for a controlling a computer coupled to each of the trader terminals over a communications network and receiving as inputs,
• a) each algorithm with its corresponding constraints and
• b) an external price feed depicting prices of various items and contracts from external multiple data sources which may be used as an independent variable of the algorithm or an input to a constraint variable, the sources code further comprising,
• a segment for matching or comparing, in accordance with the constraints and conditions, algorithmic buy/sell orders with algorithmic or non-algorithmic sell/buy orders through the use of the external multiple data sources, and
• a segment for simultaneously executing a trade of said items in the same or diverse equity markets as a single electronically matched trade.

A conditional order transaction network that matches or compares buy and sell orders for a plurality of items based upon conditions set forth within the order, including the price represented as an algorithm with constraints thereon, the conditional order transaction network comprising:

• a variable number of trader terminals for entering an order for an item in the form of an algorithm with constraints thereon that represent a willingness to transact, where the price is a dependent variable of the algorithm within the constraints and dynamically changing price of another item as an independent variable, the price as the dependent variable being continuously changeable responsive to changes in price of the independent variable, the algorithm representing a buy or sell order;
• each trader terminal being programmable by a user to establish a preferred data display format, and translation circuitry for processing different incoming data formats into said preferred format;
• controller computer means coupled to each of the trader terminals over a communications network and receiving as inputs, each algorithm with its corresponding constraints;
• and
• a device for matching or comparing, in accordance with the constraints and conditions, algorithmic buy/sell orders with algorithmic or non-algorithmic sell/buy orders and simultaneously executing a trade of said items in the same or diverse equity markets as a single electronically matched trade.

A conditional order transaction network that electronically matches or compares buy and sell orders for a plurality of items from the same or diverse equity markets based upon conditions set forth within the order, including the represented as an algorithm with constraints thereon, the conditional order transaction network comprising:

• a variable number of trader terminals for entering an order for an item in the form of an algorithm with constraints thereon that represent a willingness to transact, where price is the dependent variable of the algorithm within the constraints and dynamically changing price of another item is an independent variable, the price as the dependent variable being continuously changeable responsive to changes in price of the independent variable, the algorithm representing a buy or sell order;
• and
• controller computer means coupled to each of the trader terminals over a communications network and receiving as inputs, each algorithm with its corresponding constraints;
• means for matching, in accordance with the constraints and conditions, algorithmic or non-algorithmic buy orders with algorithmic or non-algorithmic sell orders, one of the conditions being the requirement that two or more items are tradable contemporaneously as a contingent trade of those respective items;
• and
• simultaneously executing a trade of said items in the same or diverse equity markets as a single electronically matched trade responsive to changes in price of said another item is the independent variable.