Chapter 185
Chapter 185
Washington DC is in a state of emergency.
The White House and Congress have been debating the Big One every day. There was talk of bringing Professor Mohan and Jinhoo Kang to hold a hearing, but it was canceled due to the risk of spreading anxiety.
The academic community, led by Professor Josh Brown, once again refuted Professor Mohan’s claims in full force.
There is absolutely no possibility that the Big One will come, and since Mexico is also in the ring of fire, the possibility of an earthquake has been raised for a long time, but it is much more likely to occur in the southern part of Mexico City rather than the central part.
Some reporters sent out provocative articles such as that OTK Company is secretly selling disaster supplies purchased in advance, or that it is making money by buying stakes in related companies.
White House press secretary Catherine Genaro gave a press briefing.
“In consultation with the State of California, we will conduct evacuation drills and fire rescue drills in the San Francisco Bay area,” she said.
In response to the reporters’ questions that followed, she emphasized repeatedly that there is no possibility of a Big One, but said that it was only to allay residents’ anxiety and prepare for other disasters such as fires.
She sparked sparks into Mexico.
The Mexican government, which was watching public opinion, decided to conduct an evacuation drill in Mexico City.
* * *
After the press conference, public opinion deteriorated extremely.
Previously, you were worried about rotting tomatoes flying off the road, but now you have to worry about getting shot.
We checked out secretly and moved to a hotel where security and security were more convenient, following the guidance of the security guards.
I spoke to Daryl.
[A boycott is taking place on the Internet not to buy Karos’s new car, and protest calls are pouring into the company. The agitation of the staff is also great.]“For the time being, it won’t be possible.”
It is a problem that will be resolved with time.
He repeated the question he had asked several times.
[Is Big One really coming?]“Certainly, I bet my entire fortune.”
[…] … Okay.]It’s still a disbelieving voice.
Not only Karos, but other subsidiaries were also in an emergency. The situation is better for B2B companies, but B2C companies are inevitably losing sales right away.
Faceit also saw a series of withdrawals, and the number of subscribers declined for the first time.
Seriously, it’s caused so much confusion, I can’t be the only one who can’t get over it without avoiding it.
Arriving at the new hotel, we unpacked.
Taek-gyu turned on the TV first.
A few days have passed since the press conference, and the confusion has grown rather than subsided. All kinds of experts appeared on the news channel and talked about their positions.
Speculation has flowed into the commodity market and prices have skyrocketed again. Gold, a representative safe-haven asset, has set new highs every day, and oil prices have risen sharply.
In the real estate market, there was a rush of sales that fell by more than 20 percent from the peak. Real estate experts shouted that now is the right time to buy, and the big hands and real estate funds bought some of the stuff for sale.
Although the value and price may temporarily diverge, they will eventually find their place.
The drop in price is due to concerns over Big One. Once those concerns are dissipated, the price will return to its original level.
Of course, only if Big One didn’t come to the end.
Self-proclaimed investment experts added to the criticism by referring to the investment method of OTK Company in the past.
Time magazine ran an article comparing me to a second Nicholas Leeson or John Meriwether.
Taehyung narrowed his eyes.
“What does that mean?”
“It means very bad.”
Nicholas Leeson broke the 200-year-old British Barings bank, and John Meriwether is the one who caused astronomical losses to the FRB by mismanaging Long-Term Capital Management.
In short, both of them are famous financial geniuses and have done harm to the world economy.
Should I call it an honor to be compared with these two? … .
Allen Eberhart, who appeared in an interview with CNN, swears deliberately.
“Jinhoo Kang is completely crazy! It’s terrifying for such an idiot to get his hands on artificial intelligence and autonomous driving. He’ll put a fist in that bastard’s face if he meets him anywhere!”
Taek-gyu, who was watching the news, asked.
“Why is that person a jerk?”
“Because it’s boring.”
Unlike other automakers gathered in Detroit, Nikola has its headquarters in Silicon Valley and a production plant nearby. And its battery plant is located in Nevada across the state border. Therefore, if Big One came, it was selected as the company that would suffer the most damage.
Still, the stock price plummeted as Karos quickly emerged as a competitor, but the warning to the Big One was like pouring oil into a house on fire.
Nikola’s stock price plummeted, and three-year bond yields soared to 12 percent. This is the level of a junk bond.
Currently, Model TH is unable to get out of production hell, and its cash holdings are running out and it is in need of additional money transfusions, so it is difficult to sell stocks or issue bonds.
Of course, swearing is bound to come out.
I’m just sorry for causing damage unintentionally.
However, there were other places where the real damage was done.
In general, currencies tend to weaken when a crisis occurs. However, the United States, which is a hegemonic and key currency, is an exception.
Even during the financial crisis, the United States was the party that broke the business, but the damage was borne by emerging countries.
The same goes for this time. The dollar strengthened when the US was about to experience a crisis, and the value of emerging markets’ currencies plummeted.
However, the yen and the pound, which are considered as semi-key currencies and safe assets, have strengthened against the dollar. Considering that emerging market currencies are weak, they are very strong.
Of course, exports were not going well.
After the Brexit crisis, Japan and the UK, which were again affected by the Brexit crisis, burst into anger. The press treated me almost like a killer.
Compared to the cost caused by the chaos, the stake in OTK Company I deposited is considered ridiculous.
* * *
Contrary to Japan, which groaned at the high yen, Korea was in a turmoil due to its high exchange rate.
Korea has had a reputation as a global ATM machine since ancient times due to its export-led economic structure and a high proportion of foreign capital.
True to its reputation, as the global market fluctuated, foreign investors began to withdraw money from the Korean market.
Stock prices fell and exchange rates soared.
The exchange rate from 1,090 won to 1 dollar soared to 1280 won in a few days. Some predicted that it could go up to 1,500 won, and screams erupted every moment in the dealing room where foreign exchange dealers gathered.
President Park Si-hyeong convened an emergency response meeting. The finance ministers, as well as the governor of the BOK and the governor of the Korea Exchange Bank, gathered at the Blue House.
OTK Company’s headquarters was almost paralyzed with protest calls from all over the world.
This was a decision made by the CEO at will, and no one in the company knew about it until the press conference. It is the representative who has done the work, but it is up to the employees to fix it.
The head of the PR team, Jeong Ki-hong, put down the receiver and asked urgently.
“What happened? What on earth are you thinking, CEO Kang Jin-hoo?”
If it goes wrong, the CEO of OTK Company and the largest shareholder will be changed to the California state government.
Park Sang-yeop shouted like a scream.
“I don’t know, nigga!”
The life of riding supercars and meeting women is over. For a while, you will have to run around sweating your feet to make up for it.
Henry checked and implemented Kang Jin-hoo’s instructions.
He received real-time reports on the production status of factories in China, Vietnam, and Thailand, and checked the departure and arrival dates of container ships.
While everyone was on the move, one customer came to him.
* * *
The top floor of the Grand Dayton Hotel.
An old man in a suit was sitting in a separate VIP room. He looked at Henry and said kindly.
“It’s been a while, Henry.”
Henry said goodbye.
“What did you come here for?”
“Haha, why is there a grandfather coming to see his grandson’s face?”
The financial markets fluctuated every day, and global IBs were in a state of emergency. But in this situation, the CEO of Golden Gate is secretly coming to Korea.
“How about Korea? Is it worth it?”
“Yes. I am used to it now.”
James poured the whiskey into a glass of ice. Then he slowly brought out the subject matter.
“The financial market is confused because of CEO Kang Jin-hoo. Big One will come out of nowhere. Rapid fluctuations in the market are both a crisis and an opportunity. Golden Gate has to move slowly, but before that, I’d like to hear your opinion. What do you think about this?”
Henry did not answer easily.
If it was just a question for opinions, a phone call would suffice. There must be good reason to come and ask in person.
Henry is the direct grandson of James. But if he knew the grandfather, he would never pass the family down to someone who had no ability.
The Goldman family maintained wealth and power for hundreds of years. This function functioned because the family was inherited by name, not bloodline.
James C. Goldman.
His original name was originally Clark, and his father was a distant relative of the Goldman family. However, when he looked at him, the head of the Goldman family had three sons, but he adopted him. The name James was newly acquired at that time.
Eventually, James overtook his three biological sons to inherit the Goldman and Golden Gates from his predecessors.
Lost in the race for succession, they were forced to leave the family with only $5 million each.
Considering the value of the currency at the time, that alone was a huge amount of money. Of course, compared to the wealth of the Goldman family, it was just a new piece of blood.
Two of them managed to get rich, and one took his life after losing his entire fortune during the dot-com bubble. And James made Golden Gate the world’s largest IB, multiplying the family’s wealth.
“I am… … .”
After receiving Kang Jin-hoo’s instructions, Henry looked at all the related papers and the claims of academia. Almost everyone denied the possibility of Big One.
If you think logically and rationally, that’s just a concern.
Even with supercomputers and artificial intelligence, the reality is that even tomorrow’s weather cannot be predicted 100%. Just like the saying that the flap of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil could cause a tornado in Texas, one small variable changes everything.
Disaster prediction is, after all, a matter of probability. There can be no 100%.
But what on earth did Jin-hoo Kang believe and bet everything that Big One would come in September?
To Henry who was worried, James said as if muttering.
“You are smart and rational. But the market is never driven solely by reason. It has to be something more than that to deal with the market.”
Although his grandfather’s orders were followed, he couldn’t easily comprehend when he first told him to go to the OTK Company.
It is true that Kang Jin-hoo has been a huge success. However, he was only a young man in his early 20s who had not even graduated from college.
What the hell did he want to learn from him?(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
Henry remembered the appearance of Kang Jin-hoo he had seen. This was a question of whether Big One came or not, and at the same time, it was a question of whether Kang Jin-hoo was right or wrong.
I didn’t think so, and the answer seemed easy.
‘Then, obviously… … .’
Henry raised his head and said.
“The Big One will come. Golden Gate must also be prepared.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Yes.”
After a while, James grinned.
“What you lacked was an intuition that went beyond reason and the guts to believe it. Looking at it now, it seems like you did a good job sending it to Korea.”
James handed the glass to his grandson.
“Of course, whether that is true is another matter entirely. Let’s watch it once. Whether you have the right to inherit the family or not.”
* * *
Financial institutions have reduced their derivatives trading and option issuance on their own. It is to prepare in advance for extreme situations such as 911 or Brexit.
However, most famous IBs such as JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, and Merrill Lynch bet that the Big One is not coming.
He sold commodity futures, bought plunging IT stocks and real estate in the San Francisco area.
On the other hand, Golden Gate moved completely differently. He took short positions in the stock and bond markets and increased his gold and cash holdings. It sold IT, consumer goods, and financial stocks, and bought construction, steel, heavy equipment, and infrastructure-related stocks.
In fact, it was in keeping with the OTK company.
The Warren Boat, which can be said to be the biggest hand in the market, was quiet without much movement. He did not immediately sell or buy, nor did he respond to media interviews.
In the San Francisco Bay area, evacuation drills and firefighting rescue drills were conducted assuming a disaster situation. Sirens sounded in the city center, police controlled cars on the road, and people working in high-rise buildings got out in an orderly manner and moved to shelters.
Fire and rescue helicopters flew loudly in the sky.
Meanwhile, time continued to pass.
* * *
September 8th at 4:50am.
An earthquake of M8.1 occurred in Mexico.
However, the earthquake occurred not in central Mexico City, but in Pijijiapan in the southern Chiapas state.
The ground cracked and buildings collapsed. Nearly 100 confirmed deaths have been reported.
The American media immediately spread the news of the earthquake and poured breaking news.
[A great earthquake of magnitude 8.1 occurred in Fahiapan, Mexico!][Professor Mohan’s prediction is wrong!][Professor Josh Brown of MIT who said that the Big One never comes. Accurately predict earthquakes in southern Mexico!][Jinhu Kang’s claim turned out to be wrong… … ]
