What a lot of Bull!

Wednesday was our first wet day in New York. Even then it only drizzled off and on throughout the day so it didn't stop us doing anything.

Linda organised for us to have a tour of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and it was fantastic. NYSE is located in Wall Street which is right down the bottom of Manhattan Island. There wasn't a queue but we did have to go through the airport-style scanners upon entering the building.

The trading floor isn't that big but the basics are all the same. We chatted to Frank, one of the Traders, and he explained how the system works. It is a mix of face to face and automatic trading with some orders being placed and executed by the computer others, usually larger ones, being traded verbally. The Trader sets the parameters he wants to trade within (volatility, market view, current holdings, gut feel, etc) and the computer then looks after it for him. I did notice there was a big 'Kill All' button at the bottom of the screen for when things get a bit crazy. Frank works for Barclays and his job is to provide a buy and sell price in the various stocks he looks after, the exchange pays him incentive fees to do this plus he also aims to profit from his buying and selling.

Interestingly all the big TV finance shows actually have broadcast booths on the trading floor so we were actually in the background of a few broadcasts.

We were there for the opening bell which was rung by dancers from the New York Ballet who are currently performing the Nutcracker. We then went up to the NYSE Boardroom which is where the old call system used operate, ie they call a stock's name and trade it for 5 min, then call the next stock and trade it for 5 min, etc. They used to have this system in Australia but it doesn't work when it gets busy.

The Boardroom has a huge Faberge vase, meant to be the largest piece of Faberge in the world. The story was that in 1902 Members of the NYSE organised $2 billion in finance for Tsar Nicholas to build the Russian railway system, the grateful Tsar presented the vase to NYSE in appreciation. This debt was prompty ignored by the Bolshevics and the investors lost heaps. Fast forward 80-odd years and Mr Gorbachev was visiting NYSE and commented how the vase was a beautiful piece of Russian history and should be returned to Russia. The quick-thinking Chairman of NYSE at the time said he would be more than happy to organise that if Russia repaid the outstanding debt.

After NYSE we went across to the 9/11 Memorial site. We had to go through airport scanners for the second time to get into the site. It was very well done. It was rather sad to see all the names.

We then wandered down Broadway to the big bronze Bull. I would have thought the current market would dictate there should be a bear as well but the Bull is on his own. It's one big Bull!

We were almost at the southern tip of Manhattan so we went over to Battery Park where there was the damaged scupture that used to stand between the Twin Towers. It is a big sphere and is now a memorial to those who died.

Right next door is the ferry to Liberty Island and Ellis Island so we went through the airport scanners for the third time that day - watches, belts, coats off - and boarded the ferry.

Unfortunately the Statue of Liberty is closed at the moment for renovations so we didn't get to climb it but we did walk around the base and it is huge - we probably missed a Queue by not climbing it. Tracey noted Lady Liberty has very big feet. The photos look a bit dark and gloomy but it didn't rain that much and it was great to walk around.

Then we hopped back on the ferry for the trip to Ellis Island which is where many migrants first landed in the USA. Once again it was interesting with lots of history.

We then went back to Manhattan and headed back to the apartment. On the way we stopped off at Johnny Rockets for a burger, the restaurant was done up on a 50's theme and was OK, D reckons it was the best burgers but E wasn't convinced.

We did intend to go out again but it was about 3pm so we opted for an afternoon of rest as we had walked a long way.

Thursday is Bring Back the Biff day!!!!!!!En savoir plus