Wall Street Shaken, Not Stirred
By: John Carney | Senior Editor, CNBC.com
Offices throughout Manhattan were rocked by the 6.0 earthquake today.
Confusion was the first reaction.
"Initially I thought people were celebrating or jumping around in office next to me, when a sales trader of mine sent a note with the header, 'MAGNITUDE 5.8 QUAKE HITS VIRGINIA' I knew differently," David Katona of Abundance Partners said.
One person at Goldman Sachs feared something far worse.
"We're right next to Ground Zero, so I thought it was an attack. And stupidly I ran to the window rather than away," the person said.
Several building throughout NYC were evacuated.
"Having seen an airplane fly by too close for comfort a couple hours ago and being in eye shot of the world trade center, we were scared. We sprinted out of the building," said Kate Greer of MBF Asset Managmeent..
Outside the NYMEX building, the scene was calm.
"When we got outside, we found people eating lunch and walking by like nothing happened. I just 'bravely' returned to my office," Greer said.Several building throughout NYC were evacuated.
UBS saw its midtown offices evacuated.
"Everyone got out, orderly. No panic," a person said.
Some financial district employees were at lunch when the quake struck.
"Shake shack has a whole new meaning," said one Goldman Sachs employee.
Meanwhile, the earthquake came right at the start of Dominique Strauss-Kahn's press conference. Here's the video. About 30 seconds into DSK's attorney's lecture on justice, the room starts to shake. A few seconds later, people flee the room.
"It's okay. I'm okay. I've been through earthquakes in Seattle all the time," the attorney said.
Many took to Twitter after the earthquake hit.
"Evacuation was necessary to get us outdoors for the locusts arrival," CNBC Tony Frato said.
"Earthquake up to 6.0 from 5.8. Obama swears a new stimulus will keep it under 8.0." @MichaelTurk tweeted.
Update: Business Insider's Julia La Roche has a round-up with more Wall Street reactions.
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