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Enron Mail |
US Financial Markets Emergency Site Relocation The emergency site relocation for firms affected by the WTC bombing is going well on the fixed income and commodities trading side. Trading is being relocated largely to New Jersey and Connecticut. There was very significant contingency planning here, and it is being put to good use. The futures and equities markets are not moving as quickly due to telecommunications problems. Bond trading, which will resume in Tokyo tonight (as reported in the press), means that the cash market in the US should start to come back tomorrow. Forex The foreign exchange markets have been quiet, as the Fed reportedly stepped in and told people to settle their outstanding issues, but not to initiate new directional positions or large arbitrages. Insurance The insurance firms most affected by the crisis are ING Reinsurance and Allianz. These firms may have capital issues from insuring losses related to the crisis - they were overconcentrated in this area. Transportation/Infrastructure Issues Telecommunications Communication issues continue to be the biggest problem. This is the only area where sufficient redundancy was lacking. For example, Citigroup is having problems with e-mail capacity and is cutting back on all non-essential e-mails. This continues to be the chief barrier to resuming operations. Crude/Products/Refineries LOOP Terminal now restored to regular operations. Maritime Traffic According to Dow Jones, dry bulk shipowners were reluctant to lease out vessels on long-term contracts Wednesday, after terrorist attacks in the U.S. Tuesday brought security issues to the fore Air Traffic Midway Airlines announced today that effective immediately it has suspended all future flight operations. Their press release states that "this action is being taken at this time in order to preserve the value available for Midway's interest holders and with the recognition that following the recent terrorist attacks demand for air transportation is expected to decline sharply." US-Canada Border BC border open but moving very slowly. Delay for trucks at BC truck crossing now up to about 6 hrs. Truckers being sorted into two groups, those with papers and order and those without papers in order.All trucks being checked extensively. Only US residents and those on important business are being let back into the US. Rail Traffic All Canadian Pacfiic Railway (CPR - freight) operations in Canada and the US continuing to operate as normal. All CPR border crossings open and moving as planned. Politics Saudi Oil Minister states that Saudi Arabia and OPEC to cooperate to cover any oil supply shortage. NATO expresses support for US; bolstering likelihood of massive reprisal.
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