Matrix Markets: U.S. Treasury Department Has Financial Markets Bunker (Video) *Monitors global markets*

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

U.S. Treasury Department Has Financial Markets Bunker (Video) Monitors global markets

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U.S. Treasury Markets Room

U.S. Treasury Department Has Markets Bunker

U.S. Treasury Markets Room In the basement of the Treasury Department in Washington, D.C. is the Markets Room where a carpentry shop formerly was. This secure, but not classified, basement bunker monitors global financial markets around the clock and issues market intelligence reports, including reports to the Treasury Secretary and the President of the United States. The Markets Room has existed in various, simpler forms since the early 1960s, but this latest, comprehensive version was created by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson in 2007 and was operational during the 2008 USA Financial Crisis

Michael Pedroni Michael Pedroni is the Director of the Markets Room and the team of financial analysts. "We are always looking for vulnerabilities in the market, for trends. If you are thinking about what kind of research, you always want to know, 'What's the trade?'. For us, we need to know, we need to answer the question, 'Why is this good for policy?' and 'Why is this good for a policymaker to know?'. A wide range of assets classes are monitored, including bonds, currencies, and equities. The staff also stays in touch with "market players", Wall Street investment houses, to get a feel for what is going on in real-time.

Japanese Earthquake In a crisis such as the catastrophic Japanese earthquake on March 11, 2011 and resulting drop in equity markets, "We are looking to see where the contagion is, where the spillover is, where the ripple effects might be."

CNBC "NORAD of American Finance" Going inside the secure basement bunker where the US government monitors global finance, with CNBC's Eamon Javers.