For New York City and Newark, NJ – two specific areas cited as being targeted by al-Qaeda because of their financial importance – there may be random stops within 20 miles of the New York Stock Exchange and Citigroup Center, and Newark’s Prudential Financial building.
Washington, D.C. has acted to increase safeguards for World Bank headquarters and the International Monetary Fund.
Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, most trucking companies have had strong safety and security plans in place that should help to meet contingencies like those resulting from the latest raising of the alert status.
As reported by Bloomberg, a peripheral effect of moving to Orange Alert has been a significant jump in the cost for oil futures with concerns that an event might cause restricted flows of crude oil from Middle Eastern nations. The day before the announcement by Secretary Ridge, oil was trading at $40.03 per barrel. It closed at $43.80 after the announcement.
