What is Wall Street in America?

The financial center of the United States

The source of the bankrupt

Wall Street

Wall Street

Wall Street

The name of a street in the south of Manhattan in new york City, which extends from Broadway to Donghe, is only a third of a mile long and only 1 1 meter wide. It is a transliteration of the English word "Wall Street". This street is narrow and short, only seven blocks from Broadway to Donghe. 1792, Dutch colonists built an earth wall to resist the British invasion. From the East River to the Hudson River, a street was formed along the wall, hence the name Wall Street. Later, the wall was demolished, but the name "Wall Street" remained. However, it is famous as "the financial center of America". Managers of banks, insurance, shipping, railways and other companies set up by Morgan chaebol, Rockefeller Oil King and DuPont in the United States are all concentrated here. The famous new york Stock Exchange is also here.

During the Dutch rule, a defensive wall was built here. After the British drove the Dutch away, they tore down the wall and built a street, hence the name. This is the location of large monopoly organizations and financial institutions in the United States. It concentrates the headquarters of new york Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, investment banks, government and municipal securities dealers, trust companies, Federal Reserve Bank, various public utilities and insurance companies, and the comprehensive management offices of banks, insurance, railways, shipping, mining, manufacturing and other large companies opened by American consortia such as Rockefeller and Morgan. It has become a financial and securities trading center in the United States and the world, and generally regards Wall Street as a monopolist. Monopoly capital dominates American politics and economy from here. Wall Street has become a symbol of the high concentration of monopoly capital, finance and investment in the United States. In its northeast corner stands a branch building of the ancient Ministry of Finance (now the exhibition hall), which was built in the place where Washington delivered his inaugural speech.

I have been to Wall Street twice, the first time as a tourist. It was at night and it was raining cats and dogs. Rain keeps pouring into the subway station on Wall Street, and even the railway is full of water. Fortunately, the heavy rain stopped soon, so I carefully bypassed the stagnant water and walked slowly to the junction of Broadway and Wall Street. I looked up and saw the famous Trinity Church. As early as when Wall Street was a broken wall, it was already a landmark building in this area.

At present, Trinity Church is directly in front of new york Stock Exchange (NYSE) and behind it is American Stock Exchange (AMEX). There are towering office buildings on both sides, and only a small area around it still preserves the gardens and cemeteries of the17th century. Cross Broadway from the front of the church, even if you officially enter Wall Street-this street is short and narrow, with many roadblocks at the corner, and the street center is being renovated and full of potholes. Several armed policemen stood in front of the new york Stock Exchange with a huge American flag on their heads. Besides, people in this street seem to be tourists, which can be seen from their clothes and manners. There are no names of Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley or Merrill Lynch in the roadside window, but advertisements for cafes and health clubs are posted. I haven't found the names of any investment banks here except Deutsche Bank, let alone mutual funds or hedge funds.

In a word, Wall Street is just a tourist attraction now, and hordes of foreigners often come here with awe, hoping to see the appearance of "world financial center"; However, all they see is a deserted business district, several ancient skyscrapers and many open-air cafes or cafes. The new york Stock Exchange is closed to tourists now, so there is little tourist value left on Wall Street.

Later, I went to Wall Street again, this time not for sightseeing, but to Trinity Church to listen to the preacher. The building of this church is very unique. Every brick and stone is worth watching carefully. In the garden outside, there is the tomb of Hamilton, the famous first American Treasury Secretary. A few steps away are noisy streets, and all kinds of vehicles pass by day and night, which makes the church itself more sacred and quiet. It is said that before Wall Street became a tourist attraction, bankers and fund managers often used their lunch breaks to pray here and then returned to the bloody strangulation in the securities market.

As early as 20 years ago, many financial institutions have left the geographical sense of Wall Street and moved to midtown Manhattan with convenient transportation and broad vision. Wall Street is full of old buildings and historical and cultural blocks, and the roads are as difficult to identify as cobwebs, which really does not meet the needs of financial institutions to expand their business. The "9 1 1" incident fundamentally changed the pattern around Wall Street, and some institutions simply left the dangerous city of new york and moved to quiet and safe New Jersey. Now, apart from the Federal Reserve Bank, no bank or fund is headquartered on Wall Street. Among the famous "Wall Street Giants", only Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch are still not far from Wall Street, and other giants have moved to the bustling business district around Rockefeller Center, Times Square or Central Railway Station; Even Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch have bought new luxury office buildings in midtown Manhattan and will soon leave the old "Wall Street" completely.

However, people prefer to call it "Wall Street". In Rockefeller Center offices, people still read The Wall Street Journal; At the congressional hearing, the chairman of the Federal Reserve is still concerned about "the attitude of Wall Street"; On the other side of the ocean, the highest dream of entrepreneurs is still "financing on Wall Street". No matter how far apart geographically, people still belong to the same street in spirit-on this street, salomon brothers once sold bonds to securities brokers with baskets, Morgan once held a secret meeting to save the American financial crisis, the young Weinberg once knocked on the door of Goldman Sachs (he will become the legendary president of Goldman Sachs in the future), and milken once distributed his junk bonds to the world; Decades after the death of these mythical figures, their souls are still over new york. They are possessed by any young banker, analyst, trader, broker or fund manager to create the latest financial myths at any time. This is Wall Street.

Wall Street

Last night, I had dinner with a fund manager. He has worked on Wall Street for nearly 30 years, but he has no white hair on his temples. His words still reveal the enthusiasm and confidence of young people. While drinking white wine, he recalled his experience in China with great interest-"When I first came to Shanghai, there were no tall buildings in Pudong, and now it has become like this!" Then, he mentioned that he had a conference call with securities analysts in new york when he was on a business trip. It was 4: 00 a.m. Taiwan Province time, and there was a typhoon blowing outside the window, and the whole hotel seemed to collapse. "That smell is really hard to forget!" He concluded with a smile.

After talking a lot about work and politics, I asked him, "Are you addicted to the street?" I'm asking because the American Consumer News and Business Channel has a famous securities analysis project. The host is a very successful hedge fund manager. He wrote a very arrogant book called "Wall Street Addicts", that is, people who are addicted to Wall Street. Every time I watch his TV program, I feel that he is like a savage, jumping up and down with a banana and shouting out his views on the securities market in sharp and even vulgar language. That look can overwhelm almost all the comedy stars in Hollywood. Many people tell me that this guy is a complete madman-but people still like to watch his programs, especially analysts, who think that this Wall Street addict is really a great super-wise man. Here, is drug addict a positive word or a negative word? I don't know.

Surprisingly, the fund manager in front of me said happily, "Yes, I am an addict on Wall Street. Wall Street is really exciting. You know, here, so many talented people are dealing with such huge wealth. They are creating efficiency and making money. But most importantly, I think it's all very interesting. " After drinking his glass of wine, he continued in an excited tone: "Every morning, what supports people to get up and go to work, manage those endless assets, and provide funds for those enterprises?" If you don't love Wall Street, you can't persist! Therefore, the only people who can achieve great success are those who are addicted to Wall Street. All the work done by Wall Street is very interesting to these people, no matter how heavy the work is, they will never feel tired. I don't know about others, but I want to be a Wall Street addict anyway. I'm proud of it. "

This is the noblest compliment I have ever heard on Wall Street. Not long ago, I heard many people talk about their attitudes towards Wall Street: approval, longing, disdain and even hatred. I once heard an elder describe his idea of Wall Street like this: "On Wall Street, even the most junior financial professionals can earn more than $60,000 a year, which is what they admire." Oh, maybe so. For many people, salary is the only admirable factor. I still remember when answering a recruitment question of an investment bank, a friend wrote without hesitation: "The main reason why I want to join your bank is that I want to make a lot of money." Of course she's not kidding! At that time, who had heard of the commendatory term "Wall Street junkie"? Who would have thought that someone would love Wall Street from the bottom of their heart?

On Wall Street, I saw that investment managers who are over 60 years old are still studying new industries and new markets with full mental state; I saw senior analysts eating a simple lunch while reading a report as thick as bricks and even forgetting to swallow it; I saw young traders still discussing trading strategies enthusiastically at the after-work party, and their smiles were so natural. This is not the case in the domestic financial circle. The whole Asian financial community is not like this. My best friend once told me that his greatest wish is to work hard in the financial field for several years, earn enough money, and then "do what you like". "Isn't finance something you like?" I asked him puzzled. "Of course not!" He replied without hesitation: "Like everyone else, I study finance and hope to engage in finance just to make big money." Aren't you like this? "

No wonder Wall Street always dominates the world financial circle. No wonder Wall Street bankers, analysts, traders and fund managers have always represented the highest level of financial innovation. Because here, bankers work 14 hours a day not only because of the pressure to complete the task, but also because of enthusiasm; Analysts read hundreds of pages of research reports every day not only to get their own salary, but also because of interest; Traders make dozens of phone calls and enter hundreds of trading orders every day, not only to deal with bosses, but also because they like trading. In a word, people here are addicted to Wall Street. I still remember my teacher's words. He is a native of new york and used to be the managing director of a famous investment bank: "When I first started as a bond trader, I stared at the screen for 65,438+02 hours every day, following the track of bond interest rate changes. I know how boring this job is for a person who doesn't like bonds; But I like it. So I don't think this is a kind of torture at all! " There is no doubt that he is also an addict on Wall Street.

From 7: 00 am to afternoon 12, in the office building of every financial institution on Wall Street (of course, this is a broad term), the lights will not go out and the computers will not turn off. When everyone is asleep, foreign exchange traders are absorbed in making large transactions in a distant market; Before everyone got up, analysts were already drinking espresso and began to hold routine morning meetings; While everyone is enjoying the weekend with their families, investment bankers are going to an emerging country in the cabin at an altitude of 30,000 feet, ready to discuss IPO with them on Monday-for them, this is not only work, but also life and hobbies. Wall Street's ace hedge fund manager will shout into the camera of American Consumer News and Business Channel: "I'm addicted to all this!" " "

Incidentally, when I finished my last glass of wine and was ready to go home to sleep, the fund manager told me his favorite farewell way (which can also be used when meeting): two people clenched their right hands into fists, collided with each other firmly, repeated several times, and then waved away. "Earlier, this action represented a' transaction'; Now, this means' I agree with you, we are firm'! " Before leaving, he said with a smile.

Cows on Wall Street

I agree with him on Wall Street, and I hope that in a few years, our views will be equally firm. Countless people addicted to Wall Street form the financial circle-countless wealth is integrated and exchanged here, countless assets are distributed and traded here, and countless people work hard here to engage in the world they are addicted to. Anyway, may Wall Street make the world a better place, not the other way around.

Wall Street was originally a Dutch colony. They built a wooden wall there to prevent Indians from attacking. Later, Americans came here, demolished the city walls and established a financial street. But in the early days, the English name of Wall Street was translated as "Wall Street".