Wall Street: Where the money is.

Stock market

It has been very hot these days, with a lot of muggy weather, but we still love it here. We have visited the oldest part of town, Wall Street, so called because there used to be a wooden wall - you can still see the traces on the floor - that kept intruders out from Dutch limits when this city was still called New Amsterdam.

We visited the Federal Hall which houses now the National Park Service, but this was also the place George Washington took the oath as first president of the United States of America in 1789 ( you can see the statue on my right commemorating it). This building has also been the customs house and the principle of liberty of press in the USA got started here.

Federal Hall

Right across the street is the Stock Market, the place where brokers sell and buy and decide our present and future to a great extent. There are great security measures because there is a civil movement called Occupy Wall Street that wants to do so.

We also visited the Federal Reserve Bank, in which they keep many countries' money in gold bars. They explained us in the guided tour how this independent organism is different from any other bank and how they decide the monetary policy of the USA and tries to keep the balance between unemployment, inflation and welfare.

Do you see? It is really where the money is. Each gold bar is worth $700.000, and there are more than 150.000 gold bars here!!! Would you like to touch one? Come here!