They’re sweaty, bearded, and swarming the streets of the Financial District. No, we’re not talking about the Occupy Wall Street protesters: These days, the bankers themselves are going boho and blending in with their opposition at Zuccotti Park.
Staff Report
Smoking pot instead of snorting coke.Drug-test data compiled by Sterling Infosystems, a drug-testing firm, shows that bankers are trading lines for blunts. Marijuana showed up in 80 percent of failed tests in 2009, up from 64 percent in 2007, according to The Wall Street Journal Meanwhile, cDrug-test data compiled by Sterling Infosystems, a drug-testing firm, shows that bankers are trading lines for blunts. Marijuana showed up in 80 percent of failed tests in 2009, up from 64 percent in 2007, according to The Wall Street Journal Meanwhile, cocaine was present in 16 percent of positive tests in 2007; in 2009, that number sunk to 7 percent. Wall Street just wants to chill, dude.Kevork Djansezian/Getty ImagesTalking to life coachesKim Ann Curtin, a certified life coach, has seen a real uptick in business since 2008. “Banking and finance is extremely stressful on good days,” she points out. “Because it’s so volatile now and there’s so much hostility toward bankers, more and more areKim Ann Curtin, a certified life coach, has seen a real uptick in business since 2008. “Banking and finance is extremely stressful on good days,” she points out. “Because it’s so volatile now and there’s so much hostility toward bankers, more and more are seeing the value of working with me.” She calls it executive coaching, though: “That seems more palatable to them than ‘life coaching.’”iStockphoto/The Fiscal TimesGoing GreenWhile Birkenstocks aren’t going to show up on bankers’ feet anytime soon (dress codes are, in fact, stricter than ever), banks are going green in order to pocket more, well, green. “Interest [in green technology] began to regenerate in the middle of 2010,While Birkenstocks aren’t going to show up on bankers’ feet anytime soon (dress codes are, in fact, stricter than ever), banks are going green in order to pocket more, well, green. “Interest [in green technology] began to regenerate in the middle of 2010,” alternative energy expert Peter Fusaro told TreeHugger.com. “They want the environmental attributes and tax credits, and they want to create sustainable investment portfolios.” Mother Earth, meet Daddy Warbucks.iStockphotoGetting ScruffyPeter Kraus, card-carrying member of the One Percent, sports the scruffy shadow and lanky hair of a free-spirited college kid who’s proudly ditched his shaving kit. Wonder how much he pays his stylist for that perfectly un-coiffed look.Peter Kraus, card-carrying member of the One Percent, sports the scruffy shadow and lanky hair of a free-spirited college kid who’s proudly ditched his shaving kit. Wonder how much he pays his stylist for that perfectly un-coiffed look.NYPost.comDoing yoga to take the edge offLast week a pack of celebrity yogis (including Russell Simmons) joined the OCW protest, waving their mats in the air and chanting: “Love, justice, unity.” But in the Financial District’s packed yoga studios, downward-dogging executives murmur similar mantLast week a pack of celebrity yogis (including Russell Simmons) joined the OCW protest, waving their mats in the air and chanting: “Love, justice, unity.” But in the Financial District’s packed yoga studios, downward-dogging executives murmur similar mantras. Laid-off Bear Stearns banker Mike Patton turned his stress-reliever into his 9-to-5 by founding Yoga Vida in 2010, and derivatives trader Corina Cotenescu moonlights as a bikram yoga instructor. “If I lost money, I go straight to class, because I know I have emotional baggage that I need to get out,” she told Bloomberg News.Chip Somodevilla/Getty ImagesGiving Republicans the fingerBanks have cut political spending across the board, but the GOP is really playing second fiddle to the Dems. The Republican congressional committees took in $2.7 million from the New York area in the 2010 cycle, less than a third of what Democrats netted.Banks have cut political spending across the board, but the GOP is really playing second fiddle to the Dems. The Republican congressional committees took in $2.7 million from the New York area in the 2010 cycle, less than a third of what Democrats netted. And, The Washington Post reports, “Obama has brought in more money from employees of banks, hedge funds and other financial service companies than all of the GOP candidates combined….”Mario Tama/Getty Images/The Fiscal TimesExiting the Street for the anti-corporate lifePlenty of bankers are doing exactly what their co-workers wish the protesters would do: Leaving.Escape the City, a UK-based non-profit that helps corporate workers quit their job and find more fulfilling work, opened up its first U.S. office in ManhattanPlenty of bankers are doing exactly what their co-workers wish the protesters would do: Leaving.Escape the City, a UK-based non-profit that helps corporate workers quit their job and find more fulfilling work, opened up its first U.S. office in Manhattan this summer. “People are realizing that the job they’ve worked their whole lives to get lacks many of the ingredients for a fulfilling career, and that there are huge opportunities for work outside the corporate mainstream,” says Mikey Howe, a partner in the company. “As an ex-Merrill Lynch banker myself, I can certainly relate.”Getty Images/iStockphoto/The Fiscal Times
![While Birkenstocks aren’t going to show up on bankers’ feet anytime soon (dress codes are, in fact, stricter than ever), banks are going green in order to pocket more, well, green. “Interest [in green technology] began to regenerate in the middle of 2010,](/files/slideshows/10212011_Boho_Green_slideshow.jpg)
