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Wall Street is a place where the sun never shines, This doesn't mean it has a different climate from the rest of New York City. It simply means that the buildings here in New York's financial center are so high that the street is always in the shade.
The people who work in the Wall Street area are too busy to worry about the weather. They are employed by great banking houses or giant financial companies. They handle big sums of money every day.
Twenty years ago, life was a lot quieter on Wall Street, Many of the companies were old family firms. They had always been successful and did not see the need to work very hard for their money. Sons entering their fathers' businesses could come to work late, leave early and be certain that no one would notice. Those days are gone forever. Wall Street's big bosses still have beautifully furnished offices on the top floor with wonderful views over New York. But downstairs in the trading rooms clever young people work at their computers sending money around the world.
Americans have never quite got used to trusting their banks. They remember the great Wall Street «cras» of 1929, when many banks closed and thousands of people lost their money. In order to keep the dangers small, American law prevents banks from becoming too big. No bank can have offices in more than one state. |
