Marketplace: News Archives

Tuesday, September 11, 2001
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It's Tuesday, September 11, 2001. I'm David Brancaccio.

The world changed shortly before 9 a.m. eastern time today. An airliner, apparently hijacked by terrorists, flew into one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York. Minutes later, another airliner struck the second tower. Both towers would later collapse causing a staggering loss of life. In Washington, DC a third airliner struck America's military headquarters, the Pentagon. And in Pennsylvania, a fourth hijacked airliner crashed, killing all aboard. President Bush today said the U.S. will quote "hunt down and punish those responsible for these cowardly acts." All civil aviation was stopped in U.S. airspace. Airports, federal government offices, and the U.S. border with Mexico were closed. U.S. financial markets were closed today and will stay shut at least through tomorrow, as shaken global trading systems worked to contain the damage. Marketplace's Bob Moon is in New York.

Moon: "Financial markets may have been paralyzed here today, but that was just about the last thing on the minds of those I spoke to. More than one market watcher who I was able to reach today answered the phone in tears, and had no interest in talking about what might be ahead for Wall Street.

Reuters did find a couple of analysts who expect things to be awful when the stock markets are able to open...and not only because of the psychological blow. Stanley Nabi, a managing director at Credit Suisse First Boston thinks the attack could make the economic slowdown accelerate into a recession. On the other hand, Robert Stovall, a Prudential Securities strategist and a veteran of World War Two, compares it to Pearl Harbor, and says 'nothing brings a country out of a slowdown quicker than a national disaster.'

The question that remains, is how long it will take Wall Street to get back on its feet. Lee Degenstein is a Wall Street communications consultant who until recently worked at Salamon Smith Barney. He says the World Trade Center towers were much more than just symbols of American capitalism. Some of the biggest financial names had offices there:"

Degenstein: "First Boston, Morgan Stanley...there’s some Oppenheimer people...there is a ton of Morgan Stanley people in that building. God knows what the communications system is going to be like down there."

Moon: "Indeed, Morgan Stanley was the building’s largest tenant with 50 floors.

The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission issued a statement saying -'investors should be assured' that 'trading will resume as soon as it is practicable to do so.'

Late today, though, a spokesman at the New York Stock Exchange said he could not yet comment on whether or not trade would resume tomorrow.

Wall Street consultant Lee Degenstein says it’s not just communications that need to be worked out."

Degenstein: "I guarantee you - at least the important trading firms - have other locations set up, where physically all you have to do is flip a switch. But, for example, if your equity operation, if your equity trading desk was on the 82nd floor of Tower Number Two, most of your traders are probably dead at this point, or severely injured. So, you know, I think all of these firms have to take a little bit of an inventory of what’s happened to their people."

Moon: "And it’s the people on everyone’s mind now. Newsweek’s Wall Street editor Alan Sloan didn’t want to talk about stock market contingency plans, except to say he’s sure they exist:"

Sloan: "All I know is the United States has been attacked, there are thousands of people dead. The world is a very resilient place. I may worry about it tomorrow, I’m not going to worry about it today. I, I have nothing else to say. I’m sorry."

Moon: "For now, there just really isn’t much to say about the impact Wall Street. In New York, I’m Bob Moon for Marketplace."

Witness: "We heard boom and looked over at the Pentagon ... I'm scared, I want to go home."

It was midnight in Asia when the attacks began. In Tokyo, Marketplace`s Jessica Smith has more on the reaction from the region.

Smith: "New Zealand`s stock market was the first to open and it opened with a five percent drop. Japan just opened and is expected to fall although financial regulators here have set up a "task force" to deal with market confusion and they`ve also put curbs on the trading range to avoid volatility. The head of the Bank Of Japan says he is ready to do his utmost to ensure market stability. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was joined in his official residence last night by Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda, who expressed outrage and support for the U.S. The government and Japanese press tried to gather details on employees of the approximately 20 Japanese companies located in the World Trade Center. Other Asian leaders from Taiwan to Thailand also expressed outrage. China`s official Xinhua news agency issues a statement saying it was 'horrified' by the attacks. Malaysia`s Prime Minister reacted to the news by suspending his nation's stockmarket for the day. Markets in Hong Kong will open as usual, though all flights from Hong Kong to the U.S. have been cancelled and local police are stepping up security at U.S. embassies and consulates in the region. U.S. military Forces in the region - and there are about fifty thousand here in Japan alone - are on full alert. Only last Friday the U.S. Embassy here in Tokyo issued an alert, to citizens warning that it hadreceived unconfirmed information of a possible attack against U.S. military facilities or places in Japan frequented by military personnel. The U.S. Treasury Secretary Paiul O'Neill was scheduled to meet with his Japanese counterpart today, but that meeting has been cancelled. O'Neill had been scheduled to return to the US at the end of the week but all flights from Japan to the US. Some have been cancelled and some even turned back. In Tokyo I`m Jessica Smith for Marketplace."

Beard: "The attacks caused horror and disbelief across the European Union. From every corner of the continent leaders condemned the huge loss of life. The EU's Foreign Relations Commissoner in Brussels said 'This is an act of war by madmen.' British Prime Minister Tony Blair cancelled a keynote speech on public services and - visibly shaken - denounced what he called the new evil of mass terrorism:"

Blair: "It is perpetrated by fanatics who are utterly indifferent to the sanctity of human life...and we the democracies of this world are going to have to come together and eradicate this evil completely from our world."

Beard: "Security at all British airports has now been raised to maximum levels. Flight paths have been changed so there will be no civilian aircraft flying over central London. The attacks caused pandemonium in financial markets across Europe says Jeremy Batstone of Natwest Stockbrokers. The London stockmarket was down six per cent and Frankfurt lost almost a tenth of its value:"

Batstone: "Despite calls for calm we've seen a kneejerk reaction to these horrific events not only in equity markets around Europe but also in the currency markets. I expect that when we see doillar trading again we'll see the dollar fall very sharply."

Beard: "Gold the traditional safe haven at times of crisis leaped…and so did the price of oil. British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said there was nothing kneejerk about these reactions. The scale of the terrorist attack on the US - he said - eclipsed even Pearl Harbour:"

Straw: "That was terrible but that was not actually right at the heart of america…the twin centres of Government and of commerce in the most powerful country in the world."

Beard: "EU Foreign Ministers hold an emergency meeting in Brussels tomorow. The fight against international terrorism says the Commission is mow more important than anything else. "This battle will dominate the agenda until it's won. In London this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace."

Sydell: "Hundreds of passengers milled around San Francisco’s International Airport this morning lugging their bags and coats. Those who were not leaving looked resolved to long waits. Bob, who lives in the Bay Area, was supposed to go for a fortieth birthday celebration with old friends in Denver. Delta Airlines officials could only tell him:"

Bob: "Wait and see. We won’t know anything for seven hours. And there’s a chance but we don’t know about leaving tonight. Otherwise book flights for tomorrow."

Sydell: "It may not be that easy. This is the first time the US government has ever stopped all civilian flights. Mike McCarron, Assistant Deputy Director of the airport couldn’t really say how long it would be before the flight schedule returned to normal."

McCarron: "It depends, because right now their whole schedule is moving equipment and crews on a very synchronized basis that synchronized schedule has all been discombobulated, for lack of a better word. So until they can get their crews and equipment in place, there’s going to be hiccups in the system for some time."

Sydell: "According to officials at Delta, one the nations top three carriers, on an average day the airline has more than 2500 flights. San Francisco International Airport is the fifth busiest in the US according to officials there. Within 24 hours approximately 600 flights depart and arrive from its runways. It’s not only business and leisure travel that will be effected says McCarron. California is the nation’s number one produce grower."

McCarron: "We ship a lot of produce to the Far East. All that is now perishable. That’s going to be lost. There’s all the first class mail that travels on the airliners that you depend on is now going to be delayed or lost."

Sydell: "But for many people wondering around the airport when they might finally take off wasn’t the first thing on their minds. Mani, who is visiting the United States from Israel, kept shaking his head at the news."

Mani: "It’s very hard for me to see those picture here in the states. I mean I used to do those picture in Israel of bomb and crash. I thought this is very saftey place. But..."

Sydell: "One fact airport officials here seemed certain about was that security at this and every other airport around the nation would be forever changed in the wake of today’s attack.

In San Francisco, I’m Laura Sydell for Marketplace."

Gardner: "You can’t say that American business came to a halt today…but it was pretty darn close. Even the employees who were at work were distracted, nervous and watching the news on television. And some companies, including a few that have become symbols of American commercial power in the world, decided to shut down altogether."

Recording: "Hello, due to the national emergency, the Coca Cola company Atlanta office complex will be closed as of 12 noon on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. Thank you."

Gardner: "At American aircraft and defense giant Boeing, which just moved to Chicago from Seattle, executives quickly decided to evacuate the Chicago offices and its facility near Washington D.C. Boeing employees were calling this hotline today to find out whether their facility was affected."

Recording: "For Puget Sound sites, press 2. In the Puget Sound area there has been no known threat to Boeing facilities. However Boeing security is on heightened alert."

Gardner: "Boeing’s Larry McKracken says employees were instructed today to take extra security precautions, be alert to their surroundings and challenge people without I.D. badges. McCracken says Boeing’s top leadership was horrified by today’s events."

McKracken: "I think the anger will build. We support the President’s pledge to find out and take appropriate action against those who’ve chosen to basically declare war against the United States."

Gardner: "At General Motors headquarters in downtown Detroit thousands of corporate employees left the building this morning after a floor by floor evacuation. GM’s Tom Pyden emphasized there had been no threats against the American automaker but out of respect for their employees, they decided to close down. Workers at a New Jersey factory close to New York City were also evacuated."

Pyden: "I guess it’s like anybody else that was watching TV and seeing, 1, the first attack on the Trade Center Building and then the second attack and then the growing news that Washington and the Pentagon were being hit and that other planes were going down in other parts of the country. People were watching TV and they were aghast at what they was unfolding. And we could see there was concern on the faces of our employees."

Gardner: "Even the major corporations that were open for business today had increased security measures although they all refused to say how. Pacific Gas and Electric said they contacted the Feds themselves to determine whether they could be the target of a terrorist threat and decided to stay open today. Executives at companies all over the country who were supposed to travel for business today were stranded by the closure of airports and worked the phones instead. Some admitted, however, that business had come to a standstill. At Phillip Morris headquarters in midtown Manhattan, employees didn’t hear the explosions but Dave Tovar says many were trying to contact friends and family and were glued to the news all day."

Tovar: "I think it’s sort of surreal. People don’t seem to realize it’s happening. But it is."

Gardner: "Tovar said much of their energy was spent today not on the business of tobacco...but on setting up a blood drive for those injured in the attacks at the World Trade Center. I’m Sarah Gardner for Marketplace."

Rundown

Music Bridge: John Coltrane - After the Rain

Tokyo bureau chief Jessica Smith reports on the overnight reaction from Asia.

The Texas Stockbroker Reacts

A conversation with Dallas, Texas Stockbroker and Marketplace Market Analyst David Johnson, a friend and colleague of many who perished in the World Trade Center.

History of Attacks

If this is the Pearl Harbor of the 21st Century, what are the lessons from that time? Commentary from Wall Street historian John Steele Gordon.

US Government Now

With the government's military center under attack, a look at how the government has shifted operations. Washington DC bureau chief John Dimsdale reports.

Final Human Note

Veteran New York reporter Marty Goldensohn has some final words of humanity on the ground from Manhattan.

Music Bridge: Penguin Cafe - Another One From the Porlock

Coming up on September 12: Coming up on Marketplace, the latest news on the attack including an in-depth look at closing of U.S. borders, from Mexico to Canada to Asia.