Terrorist Attacks Close U.S. Markets, Shut Down Many Businesses
Bloomberg
By David Wilson
New York, Sept. 11 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. financial markets came to a standstill and businesses across the country shut after planes hijacked by terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center and crashed into the Pentagon. The death toll may exceed that of the 1941 surprise attack on Pearl Harbor that killed 2400 people.
U.S. stock markets didn't open and remained shut for the day, as did commodities and futures exchanges in New York and Chicago. Treasury bonds, oil and gold rose in European trading after the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history.
Offices in lower Manhattan, and throughout the city and country, were evacuated. Closures occurred at buildings such as the Sears Tower in Chicago, the John Hancock Tower in Boston, the USX Building in Pittsburgh, the World Trade Center in Dallas, and the Transamerica Building in San Francisco. AT&T Corp., the biggest U.S. long-distance company, closed all domestic offices. General Motors Corp., the biggest automaker, evacuated its headquarters in Detroit.
Security increased at companies such as Electronic Data Systems Corp., the country's second-largest provider of computer services; Sunoco Inc., the largest oil refiner on the U.S. East Coast, and Texas Instruments Inc., a producer of semiconductors used in two-thirds of the world's mobile phones.
The attack may have killed as many as 10,000, Fox News reported, citing Virginia Representative Jim Moran.
New York Evacuations
``We've restricted access to all our locations to employees only,'' said Tom Mattia, a spokesman for EDS. The Plano, Texas- based company does business in 55 countries, and has 127,000 employees worldwide.
In New York, thousands of people streamed out of buildings and walked north along the East Side and West Side highways. Many were covered in white and gray soot.
Before the Trade Center's twin towers collapsed -- one toppled at 10 a.m., the second at 10:28 a.m. -- witnesses saw bodies flying out of the windows. ``I will never get rid of that sight,'' said Tom Russo, chief legal officer at Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
Lehman and American Express Co. evacuated headquarters at the World Financial Center, across the street from the Trade Center. All staff at Credit Suisse First Boston at 5 World Trade Center were safely evacuated, according to a memo that the firm distributed to employees.
Indefinite Closings
Some 150,000 to 200,000 people pass through the complex on a typical weekday, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. The total includes 40,000 who work there and 50,000 taking PATH trains that connect New York and New Jersey.
``I am sure I have lost some friends,'' said Peter Godsoe, chief executive of Bank of Nova Scotia, on a conference call with analysts and investors. The Toronto-based firm's New York office ``is a stone's throw away'' from the Trade Center, he said.
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. was the Trade Center's largest tenant, occupying about an eighth of the twin towers' office space. A spokeswoman for the firm declined to comment.
The New York Stock Exchange, about half a mile from the Trade Center, delayed trading indefinitely. The Nasdaq Stock Market also closed, as did Chicago's Mercantile Exchange, Board of Trade and Options Exchange.
The Bond Market Association, a trade group representing U.S. bond dealers, recommended indefinite closure of the U.S. market. Cantor Fitzgerald LP, which handles about a quarter of U.S. government bond trading, was based on the 32nd floor of 1 World Trade Center.
CEOs in Town
U.S. notes and bonds rose as much as one point, or $10 per $1,000 face amount, amid a rally that followed the attack. Gold for immediate delivery gained as much as $20.75, or 7.6 percent, to $292.50. Brent crude oil for November delivery rose $1.53 a barrel, or 5.6 percent, to $28.90 in London.
Corporate executives visiting New York to meet with investors also were among those affected by the attack.
Tyco International Ltd. Chief Executive Dennis Kozlowski interrupted a presentation to about 150 people at the Essex Hotel, on Central Park South, to inform them about the first Trade Center crash. Five minutes later, he canceled the meeting. Tyco is based in Hamilton, Bermuda, and run from Exeter, New Hampshire.
L. Phillip Humann, chief executive of Atlanta-based SunTrust Banks Inc., flew into the city yesterday to speak at an investor conference run by Merrill Lynch & Co. Humann plans to fly home aboard SunTrust's private jet once New York's airports reopen, spokeswoman Carolyn Gosselin said.
Best Regards, J.T. |
