Recently, our group was fortunate enough to be allowed to view the New York Stock Exchange trading floor. I say "fortunate enough" because just getting into the building was an experience. Given that it is among the top terrorist targets in the world, Wall and Broad has very tight security. Guards with machine guns surveyed the streets, while inside we were given a thorough security screening where we each had our picture taken and were given a personalized photo ID tag.
We eventually were allowed to enter the viewing floor, a large balcony overlooking one of the NYSE's three trading floors. It reminded me a lot of Vegas, with flashing LCD screens and monitors spitting out stock info. in every crevice of the room. Aside from agents feverishly trading at their keypads, however, the scene fell short of my pre-conceived notions of stockbrokers whooping and hollering at the tickers and having heart attacks on the trading floor. I was almost wishing for another crash, just to spice things up a bit. Still, there was something exciting about being in a place where billions of dollars are moving around you every minute. After about 40 minutes of watching and listening for stock tips, we were escorted out of the building, but not before the guards took away our ID badges. I suppose nothing is free on Wall Street.
