Where is Wall Street? Who is the master of Wall Street? For example, who are they?

The name of a street in the south of Manhattan, new york City, which extends from Broadway Road to Donghe River, is no more than one mile long and only 1 1 meter wide, which is a transliteration of the English word "Wall Street". During the Dutch rule, a defensive wall was built here. After the British drove out the Dutch, they tore down the wall to build a street, hence the name. This is the location of American monopoly organizations and financial institutions. It has concentrated the headquarters of new york Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, investment banks, government and municipal securities firms, trust companies, Federal Reserve Bank, various public utilities and insurance companies, and the comprehensive management offices of large companies such as banks, insurance, railways, shipping, mining and manufacturing opened by American consortia such as Rockefeller and Morgan. Become the financial and securities trading center of the United States and even the world, and generally regard Wall Street as a monopoly. Monopoly capital has dominated American politics and economy since then. 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 the branch 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 kept pouring into the Wall Street subway station, and even the railway was 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 in front of the church, even if you officially enter Wall Street-this street is short and narrow, there are many roadblocks at the corner, the street center is being renovated, and there are potholes everywhere. Several armed policemen stood in front of the new york Stock Exchange, holding a huge American flag on their heads. Besides, the 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. Apart from Deutsche Bank, let alone mutual funds or hedge funds, I didn't find the names of any investment banks here.

In a word, Wall Street is just a tourist attraction now, and hordes of foreigners often come here with awe, hoping to see what a "world financial center" looks like; However, all they see is a deserted business district, several old 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 attend a sermon at Trinity Church. The building of this church is very unique, every brick and stone is worth watching carefully, and there is also the tomb of Hamilton, the famous first American Treasury Secretary, in the garden outside. A few steps away are noisy streets, and all kinds of vehicles pass by day and night, making 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 went back to bloody strangulation in the stock market.

As early as 20 years ago, many financial institutions have left Wall Street in the geographical sense 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 offices 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 "Wall Street financing". No matter how far apart geographically, people still belong to the same street in spirit-in this street, salomon brothers once took a basket to sell bonds to securities brokers, Morgan once held a secret meeting to save the American financial crisis, the young Weinberg once knocked on the door of Goldman Sachs (he later became the legendary president of Goldman Sachs), 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, and 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.

Last night, I had dinner with a fund manager. He has worked on Wall Street for nearly 30 years, but there is no white hair on his temples, and 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 a securities analyst 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 ask because the American Consumer News and Business Channel has a famous securities analysis program. 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 expression can eclipse 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 show, especially analysts. They think 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 a 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 with excitement: "Every morning, what supports people to get up and go to work, manages those endless assets and finances those enterprises?" If you don't love Wall Street, you can't persist! Therefore, only those who are addicted to Wall Street can make great achievements. All the work done on Wall Street is so interesting to such people that no matter how heavy the work is, they don't feel tired. I don't know what others think, but I'd like to be an addict on Wall Street 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 thoughts on Wall Street like this: "On Wall Street, even the most junior financial professionals can get an annual salary of more than $60,000, 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! Who had heard of the commendatory term "Wall Street junkie" at that time? 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 were over 60 years old were still studying new industries and new markets in high spirits. I saw senior analysts eating a simple lunch while watching a report as thick as bricks, and even forgot to swallow it; I saw young traders still discussing trading strategies enthusiastically at the party after work, and their smiles were so natural. This is not the case in domestic financial circles. The whole Asian financial community is not like this. My best friend once told me that his greatest wish is to work hard in finance for a few years, earn enough money, and then "do what you like". "Isn't finance something you like?" I asked him puzzled. "Of course not!" Without thinking, he replied: "I study finance like everyone else, and I hope to engage in finance just to make big money." Aren't you like this? "

No wonder Wall Street always dominates the world financial circles. 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 for their own salary, but also for interest; Traders make dozens of phone calls and enter hundreds of trading orders every day, not only for dealing with bosses, but also because they like trading. In a word, people here are addicted to Wall Street. I still remember a sentence from my teacher, who is from new york and was the managing director of a famous investment bank: "When I first started as a bond trader, I stared at the screen 12 hours every day and followed the track of bond interest rate changes. I know how boring this job is for someone 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 a.m. to 12 p.m., 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 doing big transactions in the distant market; Before everyone got up, the analyst was already drinking strong coffee and began to hold a routine morning meeting; While everyone is enjoying the weekend with their families, investment bankers go to an emerging country in the cabin at an altitude of 30,000 feet, and prepare to discuss IPO with them on Monday. For them, this is not only a job, but also a life and hobby. 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!" " "

By the way, 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's right hands clenched into fists, collided firmly, repeated several times, and then waved away. "Earlier, this action represented a' transaction'; Now, it means' I agree with you, we are firm'! " Before leaving, he said with a smile.

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 allocated and traded here, and countless people work hard here to engage in their own addicted world. Anyway, may Wall Street make the world a better place, not the other way around.