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The
interest in business continuity and its related policy has
considerably increased since the disaster that took place
on September 11, 2001 in New York. A study showed that
58% of the UK organizations were seriously affected by the
9/11 attacks.
The
9/11 attacks had repercussions on the US and also on the world
markets. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the American
Stock Exchange and Nasdaq were closed on September 11, 2001
and reopened on September 17. NYSE facilities and data processing
sites were not damaged but member firms, customers and markets
weren't able to communicate due to the damage of telephone
facilities. It was the longest closure since the Great Depression
in 1929, Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) fell by 684 points
(7.1%). By the end of the week, DJIA had fallen by 1369.7
points (14.3%), the largest point drop in the history, US
stocks lost $1.2 tn in value that week.
After
the London attacks on July 7, 2005, there were rather limited
immediate reactions in the world economy as measured by the
financial markets and exchange rate activity. The pound (£)
fell by 0.98 cents, but the stock markets felt much less than
expected. The FTSE 100 Index fell by 200 points in the two
hours following the attack, making it the biggest fall since
the start of the war in Iraq, thus triggering the stock market's
special measures (business continuity plans). On the same
day, it recovered 71.3 (1.36%) points by the time the market
closed. In France, Germany, the Netherlands and in Spain the
markets also closed 1% down on the day. However, US market
indexes rose slightly, in part because the US dollar index
rose sharply against the pound and the euro. DJIA gained 31.61
points, Nasdaq composite index rose 7.01 points and the S&P
500 rose by 2.93 points. The markets picked up again the next
day and it was clear that the damage caused by the attacks
were not that great as was thought initially. |
