Timezone logic

Timezone logic should be applied to things like trade date. Depending on where you are, the settlement date may be time zone dependent. For example, trading Australian futures in the UK.

Hooks

Make sure there is a full set of hooks and callbacks in the VBA style. Users can then override them to their hearts content.

Object.Validation - returns a list of errors.

Object.New - called on creation of a new object. Enables default values to be added.

Object.Save - called before persisting enabling values to be calculated.

Needs some more work building up a full list of call backs.

Should all forms have call backs?

Generic products

A generic product is a product that keeps moving forward in time as time itself moves forward.

For example, a 5 year swap used in building a yield curve.

This is very similar to an open repo or to a constant maturity swap, or even a call and notice account.

Command Line Interface

Allow a command line interface. Just as in Bloomberg a command line generates the appropriate screen already populated.

SWAP JPY 5Y LB 1.45

Templates and defaults

There should be the ability to load a template of default values. For example to load the defaults for a USD swap, or to load the defaults for a AUD swap.

The best way I can think of doing this is to have the values in a form saved as a template. That is as a list of properties. On loading, you clean the values, load up the properties and set them.

In some cases, the choice needs to be a little more sophisticated. Take a AUD swap. It is quarterly if the swap is less than or equal to three years maturity at inception. Over three years it becomes semi annual.

Here what happens is if a property is changed, say the currency, then the default properties are loaded and in some way overwrite the existing values. Perhaps the same could be true for the maturity?

UI Idea

Front has a nice feature that the text for a label changes from normal to italic when you change a field from the default.

Internal offerings

Interesting idea from Bloomberg's trading system. It is possible to set up an internal market for initial offerings.

For example, lets say you have bought a lot of a particular bond issue. It is on the books and you want to sell it off. Create an internal market, and allow the sales people to buy and sell from this pool.

Another reason why exchanges in a trading sytem are not just external exchanges.