2 World Financial Center Evacuated, "Suspicious Package" Being Investigated [Update: Break's Over]

Building 2 is home to Nomura Securities, among others. According to the Daily News reports the package is thought to contain a grenade. Update: Though initially worried about what was going on, Nomura employees are apparently "pretty calm right now" and "gathered at a local bar waiting to see what's next." Nomura NY Offices Evacuated Due To Suspicious Package, Traders Say [MarketBeat] NYPD Investigating Suspicious Package at World Financial Center [Bloomberg] World Financial Center evacuated after suspicious package found [NYDN]

Author:
Bess Levin
Updated:
Jan 14, 2019
Original:
Apr 12, 2012

Building 2 is home to Nomura Securities, among others. According to the Daily News, the package iswas thought to contain a grenade. Update: Though initially worried about what was going on, Nomura employees are apparently "pretty calm right now" and "gathered at a local bar waiting to see what's next." Update II: Everybody can get back to work-- the package contained a "novelty grenade."

Nomura NY Offices Evacuated Due To Suspicious Package, Traders Say [MarketBeat]
NYPD Investigating Suspicious Package at World Financial Center [Bloomberg]
World Financial Center evacuated after suspicious package found [NYDN]
2 World Financial Center Evacuated [Photo]
WFC Evacuation Prompted by Novelty Grenade [CNBC/Reuters]

As you may have heard, earlier today, people working in 2 World Financial Center were evacuated from the building after a suspicious package was flagged by security. Initial reports claimed it contained a grenade; obviously this was cause for alarm and would have continued to be had the NYPD determined it to be an actual grenade and not a "grenade-like novelty item," mounted on a plaque with a sign that says "Complaint Dept. Pull Pin." Now that it's clear everyone is safe (and at least mildly buzzed), a few questions need answering. 1. Who sent this thing? Was it: a) A person whose sense of humor involves putting something like the above (or a sign that reads "I can only please one person per day. Today isn't your day...and tomorrow don't look good either") on her desk. b) An idiot friend of someone who works in the building. c) An rival bank trying to disrupt Nomura trading d) other 2. Assuming the item was purchased by someone working in the building, when do you think it dawned on him or her that they were responsible for having the building evacuated? 3. What will the consequences for the sender be, legal and professional? Senior Jailhouse Correspondent Matt puts the probability of prison time at 1.37 percent.

Facilities that force employees to "hunker down." Notice of Convocation of the 108th Annual Meeting of Shareholders [Nomura Holdings]

Things could be better in Europe. Big investment banks in Europe, including Nomura, Credit Suisse and UBS, are stepping up plans to cut jobs as they seek to adapt to a drastic slowdown in revenues and tighter regulation. Bank executives, headhunters and analysts say that the cuts are shaping up as the deepest since the start of the financial crisis after a disappointing summer dashed hopes of a business revival. One senior headhunter said many large investment banks will have “at least 20 per cent” fewer staff in capital markets and M&A advisory business in Europe by the end of the year compared with late 2011. “It [the market] has never been as bad as this. Bankers have long lost confidence in their banks but now they are also losing their self-confidence, their mojo,” a senior advisory banker said. Among the banks that will reduce their investment banking workforce is Japan’s Nomura, where London-based bankers say that they expect several hundred jobs to be removed in Europe alone as part of a $1bn cost-cutting effort. Switzerland’s largest bank UBS, which cut staff levels earlier than rivals by announcing 2,000 job cuts in the investment bank after a $2.3bn unauthorised trading loss last year, is preparing for intensified cuts as it is seeking to streamline further the unit, several people familiar with the situation said. At Credit Suisse, insiders estimate that the additional SFr1bn ($1bn) in groupwide cuts that were announced in July will translate into up to 1,000 jobs being lost, most of which would be in the investment bank. Analysts expect also Deutsche Bank and Barclays to reduce their headcount further this year. Deutsche said two months ago it would reduce staff levels by 1,900. Investment Banks Eye Europe Job Cuts [FT]

London employees are not the only ones being sat down for uncomfortable conversations. "FYI: Heavy cuts at Nomura across banking and equities today in the US as well."

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