The nation’s stock markets remained closed Wednesday, so there are no stock pages today. Officials expect to resume trading no earlier than Friday after a three-day shutdown following the terrorist attack that devastated the World Trade Center. New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso said at a Wednesday afternoon news conference that officials of the financial markets, investment firms and the Securities and Exchange Commission will meet today to determine when the markets will reopen. He said it certainly will be no later than Monday. Treasury Under Secretary Peter Fisher, who also spoke at the news conference, said government bond trading would start at 8 a.m. today.
The United States and its wealthy allies pledged that their central banks would engage in a coordinated effort to keep the worst terrorist attack in U.S. history from destabilizing the global economy. “We are committed to ensuring that this tragedy will not be compounded by disruption to the global economy,” the Group of Seven nations said in a joint statement. The statement, issued in the name of the finance ministers and central bank presidents of the world’s seven wealthiest nations said their central banks would make sure that sufficient money was supplied to major banks to prevent disruptions.
The collapse of the World Trade Center on Tuesday seems destined to be the most expensive man-made disaster in the United States ever faced by the insurance industry, and could lead to more policies that restrict liability in acts of terrorism. Estimates of the payout vary greatly, with amounts ranging from $5 billion to $25 billion. But most agree the figure will far exceed the cost of the largest man-made disaster to date, the 1992 Los Angeles riots, which cost $775 million, or $1 billion in today’s dollars.
Midway Airlines, already staggered by financial problems, said Wednesday it will go out of business rather than try to rebuild amid the emotional fallout from this week’s terrorist hijackings. Some 1,700 employees were immediately put out of work, on top of 700 who were laid off when the airline filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Aug. 13. Officials said demand for air travel will certainly drop dramatically, at least for a while, following this week’s terrorist attacks.
Negotiators decided Wednesday to postpone a decision on whether to admit China to the World Trade Organization because of the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, D.C. Informal meetings will take place Thursday and Friday before a formal gathering Monday, WTO spokesman Keith Rockwell said. Diplomats have a self-imposed deadline of today for completing work on the terms of China’s membership, but the attacks have left them unsure whether U.S. negotiators will be able to get the guidance they need from Washington. Earlier Wednesday, the WTO announced that it was postponing meetings planned for later in the day and Friday to study U.S. policies on international trade.
From Herald news services
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