OCCUPY WALL STREET HITS FIRST ANNIVERSARY WITH RENEWED DEMONSTRATIONS

Demonstrators marking the anniversary of the Occupy Wall Street protests in Manhattan say the movement is still very much alive.

But where Zuccotti Park was packed full of protestors a year ago, only a fraction of that turnout was evident late yesterday.

About 1,000 activists sought to disrupt traffic and surround the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The New York Police Department, which set up a broad perimeter to block access to the NYSE by anyone other than exchange workers, said it had made "multiple arrests" by mid-morning.

Police were also posted at major banks and government buildings, and guarded Wall Street' landmark Charging Bull, a 7,100 pound bronze sculpture.

Several protesters held signs, one saying "END the FED", another reading: "We Are Students, Not Customers".

The grassroots movement caught the world by surprise last year with a spontaneous encampment in lower Manhattan that soon spread to cities across North America and Europe.

The group sponsored a series of activities over the weekend, attended by crowds that never exceeded the hundreds. New York police arrested about three dozen people at those events.

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