Bulls, Bears and Boys

My much anticipated New York Stock Exchange tour was this morning.   I now know where all of the men in New York go during the day.  I have never in my life been in the presence of so much testosterone at one time.  And they all have a real issue with gawking.  Thankfully, my tour guide, who was an employee of Euronext (a Euro-American for profit corporation that operates the NYSE) was dressed casually and blamed all of the staring on his inappropriate garb. He said that most everyone there was "old school" and thought that anyone on the floor should be in a suit and tie (aside from the traders, of course).  


Apparently a change in dress code isn't the only development there in the last few years.  After a fairly recent change in leadership (the new COO is Lawrence Leibowitz, the brother of Jon Stewart of the Daily Show), adjustments were made to culture, technology and standards.  They even strategically placed a Starbucks on the floor so that no one had to leave the building to be juiced up.  Also, more recently, the cast of the Jersey Shore was selected to ring the bell at the 9:30 ceremony.  This caused quite an uproar, because of the lack of dignity in the selection.  I actually got to hear the bell, which was rung by a company called Aeroflex.  It is customary to start clapping 15 seconds before the bell and about 10 after.  I got really tired of it, and stopped after five.  


I wasn't allowed to take any photos, and there is certainly not a gift shop, but overall it was an incredibly cool experience that I will never forget!!!