ONLINE COMMODITIES TRADING SYSTEM WITH ANONYMOUS COUNTER BID/OFFER FUNCTION

摘要

An online trading system including a Bid/Offer (509) input interface for allowing users (501) to enter the terms of bids or offers for posting in the system anonymously without identification of the submitter; a Trading Summary (505) interface operable by users for displaying (503) an anonymous postings of bids and offers and for identifying a match of a bid and a counterpart offer, a Bid/Offer database for storing and retrieving data records of bids and offers submitted to the system, and a Counter Bid/Offer interface for allowing a user to retrieve the record for a selected bid or offer. The system allows users to remain anonymous while engaging in fine-tuned "negotiation" on terms through the countering procedure. The system is also useful for trading in commodities contracts which have a large number of predetermined terms for a contract. When a transaction is closed, the system automatically notifies the parties and generates a final contract (514).