Peter Tuchman is one of the dwindling number of people, mostly men, who every day from the opening bell at 9:30 a.m. to the closing bell at 4:00 p.m., are on the phone buying and selling stocks on behalf of their clients on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Tuchman has been a constant on the floor since 1985 and is now one of the 1,000 employees on the floor and 700 traders still there.
On the morning of our interview, Tuchman had traded for his clients on two initial public offerings and three secondary share sales, when public companies sell more shares to raise cash. "I need to know exactly where they're opening, what the volume is, where I think there's going to be support and resistance in the aftermarket," Tuchman said while looking down at his "handheld," the iPad-looking device that brokers use to enter their trades. "That's what my guys want to know. That I can offer from looking to see who's in the crowd , looking at the order flow they have, interpreting the information."