The New York Stock Exchange’s famously hectic trading floor was dead quiet this morning as it opened for the first time in its history without traders.
The exchange decided to move all-electronic trading late last week despite NYSE President Stacey Cunningham’s best efforts to keep it open with strict safety precautions in place. Those measures included daily deep-cleans and temperature checks for traders at the door.
“The fact that we have people applying human judgment to trading helps dampen volatility, and we're in an exceptionally volatile period of time,” Cunningham told Cheddar last week.
While the broader impact on markets will take time to determine, in the short-term the move has sparked fear in some brokers about the future of traders, who have already seen their roles shrink over the years as electronic and algorithmic trading have grown.
In terms of day-to-day operations, the situation puts limits on the kinds of trading that can take place while brokers do their work from home.
“There’s only a certain amount of clients that we can trade for off the floor, and there’s a good portion of our clients that we are only allowed to trade for when we’re on the floor,” Jonathan Corpina, a trader for Meridian Equity Partners, told Cheddar.
The firm’s broker-to-broker business, for instance, is essentially shut down until it can return to the floor.
The coronavirus has further complicated the shut down because remote trading sites in Connecticut and New Jersey are also closed, as a widespread quarantine takes hold across the region.
“We have a business continuity plan that’s in place, and we do run satellite offices on a day-in and day-out basis, but not having access to those offices made us change our plans completely over the last week,” Corpina said.
Meridian Equity Partners spent the weekend prepping brokers to work remotely, making sure phones and other technology needs were up to the task.
“So far today everything has been working as planned,” he said.
April's release of the monthly Housing Starts and Building Permits reports by the Census Bureau provides crucial insights into the construction activity in the housing market. These reports are an economic indicator, shedding light on the current state of the housing market and its broader economic impact.
Caitlin Clark is heading to the Indiana Fever, the number one draft pick and the highest-scoring college basketball player of all time. And while she may not be getting millions from the WNBA, there's a few ways she'll net compensation for her generational talents.
Author of 'Clean Meat,' Paul Shapiro joins Cheddar to discuss how the cellular agricultural revolution helps lower rates of foodborne illness and greatly improves environmental sustainability. Plus, how his company The Better Meat Co. is bringing healthier food options to the table.
Recent headlines might make it sound like World War III is imminent, but when it comes to your finances, it's not the time to panic. The market is coming off its longest winning streak since 2011.
You may have noticed fewer new venture capital-backed startups (like Airbnb or Uber) lately. The market slowed to a crawl after 2021, but things are expected to take off again in 2025.
Corporate earnings season is underway, that time when companies share their billions in sales or double-digit profits. But the data shows even companies are struggling with high inflation and interest rates.
Boeing continues their terrifying trend of having their planes fall apart mid-flight, inflation — checks notes — is still up and the future of AI looks terrifying. Cheery!
Food waste – uneaten scraps or leftovers sent to landfills – is responsible for 10% of global emissions. Mill, a new product from the co-founder of Nest, thinks technology can play a role in eliminating it.
By the time the 2024 election is over, be prepared to see some form of a recession – but this shouldn’t be as bad as what we experienced in 2020 or 2008.
