We'll be ready for reopening, New York firms say

The New York stock markets, on Wall Street and elsewhere in Manhattan, expect to open for business on Monday with limited disruption after the terrorist attacks last Tuesday.

Merrill Lynch's terse comment that "we will be ready on Monday" was typical of the mood as US securities companies prepare to reopen after the longest disruption to trading since 1933. There will be tests today, but purely for technicians to ensure connections are working. No traders will be involved until Monday.

With the exception of the bond trader Cantor Fitzgerald, very little securities trading took place in the now-demolished World Trade Centre, or even its associated World Financial Centre. Simon Pincombe, at Deutsche Bank, spoke for several others when he said: "We were not affected in terms of dealing. We lost 5,500 desks at 130 Liberty Street, but our trading businesses are in midtown and they were not affected. Our people there are capable of dealing as and when. Trading was not disrupted at all."

Others such as UBS Warburg refused to comment on their resumption preparations at all, on security grounds. But it is known that all the big securities firms have long had backup in areas surrounding Manhattan, just as they do in the outskirts of London and other financial centres.

Although the telephone systems in Manhattan were naturally disrupted, they could have continued business and indeed did so through London for those clients who needed to trade. The decision to close Wall Street, home of the New York Stock Exchange, as well as Nasdaq and the American Stock Exchange, was made more out of respect to the victims of the attack than any real inability to continue trading.

Lucas van Praag, London spokesman for Goldman Sachs, said: "We have five trading floors in Manhattan, none of which were affected by the devastation. But we are testing all our systems to make sure that buildings that had support staff have phone lines and other facilities are working as normal.

"We offered space on our trading floors to other firms but it may be significant that no one has taken up the offer."

Mr van Praag pointed out that there had been a huge co-operative effort to make sure that everyone could participate when trading resumes.

Goldman owns Spear, Leeds & Kellogg, the NYSE's leading specialist trader, and its building near the World Trade Centre was badly damaged. However, Mr van Praag said that the SLK operation had been relocated to New Jersey.