No One Knows if The NYSE Will Open Monday????????????

 by Amy Tennery  mogulite.com

The New York Stock Exchange’s iconic, ginormous American flag has been removed from its front pillar this afternoon amid news that Mayor Michael Bloomberg wants an immediate evacuation of low-lying areas in New York City. So, yea, that gives you an idea of how people are reacting over here right now.

And now there’s speculation that Hurricane Irene, which may hit the city late Saturday and during the day Sunday, might actually keep the New York Stock Exchange closed on Monday. Yikes.

Now that’s a pretty distant possibility, according to many — but officials there are responding to Irene news seriously. The NYSE has already begun preparing a backup generator and stockpiling food and fuel, according to the Financial Post. Still, most officials say it’s too soon to know whether NYSE will be operable after the weekend. FP reports:

A final decision, particularly on floor operations, won’t be made until Saturday or Sunday. It hinges on whether city subways are running and whether New York Harbor waters flood over the low-lying downtown core — one of the worst case scenarios seen on Sunday, when Irene is to hit.

“If you get a huge tidal surge then that’s different. The building wouldn’t be occupiable,” said Lou Pastina, executive vice president of NYSE operations.

Of course, it helps that the NYSE isn’t in the most serious of the NYC-designated evacuation zones (as far as we can tell, it’s on the boundary between Zone B and C). But public transit — which will be shut down as of tomorrow at noon — may be a crucial issue.

As for other Financial District offices? They’re keeping pretty tight-lipped on the situation, according to Dealbook, with Goldman and American Express sharing little info on their hurricane contingency plans.