competitive analysis update # 9 - us terrorism attacks report below continues our reporting from yesterday and covers the impact of the terrorist attacks on us market openings / closings , energy infrastructure , and political outlook . we will be providing a full strategy memo on the broader impact of the crisis on the us economy , world energy markets , and international security later today .
a . market updates
u . s . markets
? us equity markets are closed today but may open friday . nyse / nasdaq / amex officials will reconvene later today to decide on restart .
? regular nymex trading is cancelled for thursday and no restart date has been determined . nymex is trying to start access trade via internet on thursday afternoon .
? cbot to close a / c / e electronic futures early at 1300 cdt .
? the federal reserve board injected $ 38 . 25 billion into the financial system yesterday by buying government bonds from investment houses . typically it buys only a few billion dollars in bonds in a day .
? marsh & mcclennan reports that about 700 employees who worked in one of the two towers are still missing .
? morgan stanley chief executive philip j . purcell told msdw employees that the " vast majority " of its 3 , 500 employees in the center had been accounted for .
? keefe bruyette nikkei tested below 9500 in morning session before closing unchanged ; other asia mostly higher
europe
? mid - session all indices up marginally , ftse strongest , within striking distance of 5000
? ecb leaves rate unchanged ; no coordinated g 7 action on rates or currency
? gold : up marginally near $ 280 in range trading , no moves to support eary wed . spike into low $ 290 s
? brent crude : down on saudi , kuwaiti support , pledges to make up any shortages
forex
? eurodollars pricing inter - meeting fed cut , but g - 7 communique ; boe eddie george ' s comments argue for consideration , monitoring over near term rather than any immediate action
? the german finance ministry said on thursday the upcoming meetings of the international monetary fund and g 7 finance ministers may not take place as scheduled although final decisions had not been taken .
b . transportation / infrastructure updates
gas / power / nuclear infrastructure
? pipelines , under a heightened state of security , are operating at normal levels .
? all 103 nuclear facilities remain at a heightened state of alert .
? energy secretary spencer abraham ( on wednesday ) ordered a halt to all shipments of nuclear materials and the suspension will remain in effect indefinitely .
? consolidated edison , whose operations were most directly affect by tuesday ' s events , said the attack on the wtc had damaged 3 substations ( 2 sustaining permanent damage ) as well as major transmission lines into lower manhattan .
? as a result of the fire at the pentagon , washington gas shut off gas to the building . the distributor will turn service back on when pentagon officials indicate that they are ready to restore service .
? ferc does not plan to re - schedule the regular bi - monthly meeting that was canceled this week , said a spokeswoman for the agency . instead , its next meeting will be sept . 26 . some of the orders that the commission was to have considered " are time - sensitive and probably will have to go out prior to the meeting on the 26 th , " she noted .
crude / products / refineries
? some analysts believe that additional attacks could be in the works . one opinion is that future targets could include transportation or petroleum infrastructure . for this reason , the resumption of normal operation at some petroleum import terminals might be delayed
? saudi and other gulf states have pledged to maintain market stability . the uae oil minister said that if the price of oil remains above $ 30 during the opec meeting on september 26 , " opec will concentrate on taking appropriate measures to stabilize the market at an appropriate level . "
? us government waives summer gasoline specs 3 days before expiry
? in this situation ( mideast tensions and likely recession ) , opec will find great difficulty with its normal policy cutting production in order to keep prices strong .
? if the market comes to believe that opec is not capable of enforcing its price floor , it might renew its attack on the bottom of the band and drive prices lower . if the market comes to believe that opec is not capable of enforcing its price floor , it might renew its attack on the bottom of the band and drive prices lower .
? exxonmobil corp . released a statement urging consumers not to horde gasoline . " we have supply available for retail customers and to meet contractual obligations , and encourage customers to maintain their normal buying habits to avoid artificial runouts , " the statement said .
? house energy and commerce committee chairman billy tauzin , ( r - la ) , stated that " the oil supply is hugely adequate ? there is no reason for any american to gouge another american . anyone who is doing that is aiding and abetting the terrorists . "
air travel
? newark , la guardia , bush intercontinental , chicago o ' hare and kennedy airports are expected to be open only to incoming flights that were diverted to canada on tuesday . diverted flights expected to resume at 11 am .
? logan airport in boston still closed .
? continental has suspended all scheduled flights today ; diverted flights may operate
? american airlines has suspended regularly scheduled flights until noon cdt ; most diverted flights will remain grounded until further notice .
? southwest has cancelled all flights until further notice and will not resume scheduled service today .
? united will operate diverted flights today ; scheduled service cancelled until noon .
? us airways has canceled flights until further notice ; diverted flights will operate before scheduled service
? american west expects to resume a portion of its flights at 3 pm edt , ramping up operations gradually over the weekend .
? delta expects to conduct very limited operations after noon edt today . inbound flights expected to begin arriving from canada later today . westbound service from europe expected to begin on friday . also , their website indicates that the atlanta airport ( hartsfield ) has been " certified " by the faa .
rail travel
? amtrak operating a normal schedule .
maritime transportation
? all major port cargo operations other than new york are open and continuing to do business . delays continue due to inspections in major ports , especially for tanker vessels .
c . political updates
? bush administration building case for massive military reprisal ; shoring up public support from nato and key allies ; seeking logistical and intelligence support from pakistan . itar - tass reportiing pakistani delegation to kabul to discuss bin laden extradition w / taliban
? pentagon tasked with drawing up plans for military reprisal , but secretary of state powell has stated that " we ' re far from selecting any particular military targets . "
? the options under consideration include more powerful , sustained attacks that accept greater risk to american forces , and may include bombing attacks by manned aircraft and landing special forces troops on the ground .
? this is a nightmare scenario for arab leaders . the situation was already tense due to arab - israeli fighting ; it will now get worse as the bush administration demands absolute cooperation in its anti - terrorism policy , which may include military attacks against states in the region . mideast leaders are very worried by reports that some of the terrorists may have been nationals of their countries ( saudi , egypt , uae ) . they are also uncomfortable with displays of celebration in some arab lands . their immediate priority is to demonstrate that they are on america ' s side , thus the rapid reassurances on oil supplies .
? israeli officials and intelligence analysts reportedly believe that the attacks were too large an operation for any one group . iraq is viewed as the most likely sponsor .
? iraq says us and british planes raid southern iraq , hit homes . us and uk deny the report .
? israel steps up attacks on palestinians ; 13 palestinians killed since wednesday
? senate ' s comprehensive energy bill , like most legislation in congress , is on hold following tuesday ' s attacks . no updated legislative calendar has been announced .
competitive analysis update # 9 - us terrorism attacks
report below continues our reporting from yesterday and covers the impact of the terrorist attacks on us market openings / closings , energy infrastructure , and political outlook . we will be providing a full strategy memo on the broader impact of the crisis on the us economy , world energy markets , and international security later today .
a . market updates
u . s . markets
? us equity markets are closed today but may open friday . nyse / nasdaq / amex officials will reconvene later today to decide on restart .
? regular nymex trading is cancelled for thursday and no restart date has been determined . nymex is trying to start access trade via internet on thursday afternoon .
? cbot to close a / c / e electronic futures early at 1300 cdt .
? the federal reserve board injected $ 38 . 25 billion into the financial system yesterday by buying government bonds from investment houses . typically it buys only a few billion dollars in bonds in a day .
? marsh & mcclennan reports that about 700 employees who worked in one of the two towers are still missing .
? morgan stanley chief executive philip j . purcell told msdw employees that the " vast majority " of its 3 , 500 employees in the center had been accounted for .
? keefe bruyette nikkei tested below 9500 in morning session before closing unchanged ; other asia mostly higher
europe
? mid - session all indices up marginally , ftse strongest , within striking distance of 5000
? ecb leaves rate unchanged ; no coordinated g 7 action on rates or currency
? gold : up marginally near $ 280 in range trading , no moves to support eary wed . spike into low $ 290 s
? brent crude : down on saudi , kuwaiti support , pledges to make up any shortages
forex
? eurodollars pricing inter - meeting fed cut , but g - 7 communique ; boe eddie george ' s comments argue for consideration , monitoring over near term rather than any immediate action
? the german finance ministry said on thursday the upcoming meetings of the international monetary fund and g 7 finance ministers may not take place as scheduled although final decisions had not been taken .
b . transportation / infrastructure updates
gas / power / nuclear infrastructure
? pipelines , under a heightened state of security , are operating at normal levels .
? all 103 nuclear facilities remain at a heightened state of alert .
? energy secretary spencer abraham ( on wednesday ) ordered a halt to all shipments of nuclear materials and the suspension will remain in effect indefinitely .
? consolidated edison , whose operations were most directly affect by tuesday ' s events , said the attack on the wtc had damaged 3 substations ( 2 sustaining permanent damage ) as well as major transmission lines into lower manhattan .
? as a result of the fire at the pentagon , washington gas shut off gas to the building . the distributor will turn service back on when pentagon officials indicate that they are ready to restore service .
? ferc does not plan to re - schedule the regular bi - monthly meeting that was canceled this week , said a spokeswoman for the agency . instead , its next meeting will be sept . 26 . some of the orders that the commission was to have considered " are time - sensitive and probably will have to go out prior to the meeting on the 26 th , " she noted .
crude / products / refineries
? some analysts believe that additional attacks could be in the works . one opinion is that future targets could include transportation or petroleum infrastructure . for this reason , the resumption of normal operation at some petroleum import terminals might be delayed
? saudi and other gulf states have pledged to maintain market stability . the uae oil minister said that if the price of oil remains above $ 30 during the opec meeting on september 26 , " opec will concentrate on taking appropriate measures to stabilize the market at an appropriate level . "
? us government waives summer gasoline specs 3 days before expiry
? in this situation ( mideast tensions and likely recession ) , opec will find great difficulty with its normal policy cutting production in order to keep prices strong .
? if the market comes to believe that opec is not capable of enforcing its price floor , it might renew its attack on the bottom of the band and drive prices lower . if the market comes to believe that opec is not capable of enforcing its price floor , it might renew its attack on the bottom of the band and drive prices lower .
? exxonmobil corp . released a statement urging consumers not to horde gasoline . " we have supply available for retail customers and to meet contractual obligations , and encourage customers to maintain their normal buying habits to avoid artificial runouts , " the statement said .
? house energy and commerce committee chairman billy tauzin , ( r - la ) , stated that " the oil supply is hugely adequate ? there is no reason for any american to gouge another american . anyone who is doing that is aiding and abetting the terrorists . "
air travel
? newark , la guardia , bush intercontinental , chicago o ' hare and kennedy airports are expected to be open only to incoming flights that were diverted to canada on tuesday . diverted flights expected to resume at 11 am .
? logan airport in boston still closed .
? continental has suspended all scheduled flights today ; diverted flights may operate
? american airlines has suspended regularly scheduled flights until noon cdt ; most diverted flights will remain grounded until further notice .
? southwest has cancelled all flights until further notice and will not resume scheduled service today .
? united will operate diverted flights today ; scheduled service cancelled until noon .
? us airways has canceled flights until further notice ; diverted flights will operate before scheduled service
? american west expects to resume a portion of its flights at 3 pm edt , ramping up operations gradually over the weekend .
? delta expects to conduct very limited operations after noon edt today . inbound flights expected to begin arriving from canada later today . westbound service from europe expected to begin on friday . also , their website indicates that the atlanta airport ( hartsfield ) has been " certified " by the faa .
rail travel
? amtrak operating a normal schedule .
maritime transportation
? all major port cargo operations other than new york are open and continuing to do business . delays continue due to inspections in major ports , especially for tanker vessels .
c . political updates
? bush administration building case for massive military reprisal ; shoring up public support from nato and key allies ; seeking logistical and intelligence support from pakistan . itar - tass reportiing pakistani delegation to kabul to discuss bin laden extradition w / taliban
? pentagon tasked with drawing up plans for military reprisal , but secretary of state powell has stated that " we ' re far from selecting any particular military targets . "
? the options under consideration include more powerful , sustained attacks that accept greater risk to american forces , and may include bombing attacks by manned aircraft and landing special forces troops on the ground .
? this is a nightmare scenario for arab leaders . the situation was already tense due to arab - israeli fighting ; it will now get worse as the bush administration demands absolute cooperation in its anti - terrorism policy , which may include military attacks against states in the region . mideast leaders are very worried by reports that some of the terrorists may have been nationals of their countries ( saudi , egypt , uae ) . they are also uncomfortable with displays of celebration in some arab lands . their immediate priority is to demonstrate that they are on america ' s side , thus the rapid reassurances on oil supplies .
? israeli officials and intelligence analysts reportedly believe that the attacks were too large an operation for any one group . iraq is viewed as the most likely sponsor .
? iraq says us and british planes raid southern iraq , hit homes . us and uk deny the report .
? israel steps up attacks on palestinians ; 13 palestinians killed since wednesday
? senate ' s comprehensive energy bill , like most legislation in congress , is on hold following tuesday ' s attacks . no updated legislative calendar has been announced .