The Prophet Of Wall Street

The Dow Jones industrial average was up 65 points and seemingly headed for another record close when Wall Street was convulsed by a rumor that Abby Joseph Cohen was about to alter her bullish stock market forecast. Actually, Cohen, the chief strategist for Goldman, Sachs & Co., was sequestered along with a few hundred other senior Goldman employees at a conference center an hour's drive from Manhattan. As Cohen listened to a speech by Goldman Chief Executive Jon S. Corzine, someone tapped her on the shoulder. "There's an emergency," the woman whispered. "You must call the office."

The Dow had already surrendered 60 points of its gain by the time Cohen reached Steven M. Wagshal, who mans Goldman's research "hotline" and serves as the firm's official conduit of stock market rumor. Wagshal quickly patched Cohen through to the intercom system that links Goldman offices throughout the world. From his seat on the trading desk in New York, Wagshal watched in awe as the sound of Cohen's voice brought the cavernous room to a standstill. As soon as it became clear that Cohen had not altered her views, hundreds of traders and brokers noisily hit the telephones as one. The market began levitating and ended the day up 35 points. Says Wagshal: "It was as if the world were falling, and Abby came in and lifted it up again."