Wall Street left with skeletal staff amid snowstorm

New York

A BLIZZARD bearing down on New York hollowed out Wall Street offices on Monday, leaving most investment banks and fund managers with skeleton teams as many employees opted to work from home.

The storm, which threatens to dump up to 3 feet of snow on the East Coast and disrupt travel for tens of millions of people, prompted some retail banks to close branches in the region, though major exchanges said they would remain open as usual. "No one will give me a medal for making it to work after a five-hour commute," said Anurag Bhardwaj, a managing director who works with hedge funds at Barclays Capital in New York, who expected to work from home on Tuesday.