Chapter 480
Chapter 480
When I finished the call and put the handset down, Taek-gyu, who was listening next to me, asked quickly.
“What did you just say?”
Just by looking at my response to the phone call, you’d have noticed that it’s usually nothing serious. I summarized what Ronald said and said it.
Taek-gyu opened his eyes like that and shouted.
“Who is threatening the President of the United States with his weaknesses? No, this is not some Hollywood movie.”
It’s a story that seems like something out of a movie or a Netplay drama, really.
“You can’t tell anyone.”
Of course, no one will believe what I say.
“Ah Okay.”
As the CEO’s office uses an entire floor, his voice doesn’t leak out, but Taek-gyu lowered his voice for nothing.
“What kind of scandal is this?”
“I do not know. But it will never be known.”
At the time of Big One, he showed that he was not afraid of impeachment. It was because of the confidence that the impeachment would not pass easily.
If so, this scandal should be seen as much more serious than that.
“If you think Ronald is getting in the way, why didn’t you just tell him?”
“Because not drawing a sword is the most dangerous.”
Currently, Ronald’s approval rating is over 70 percent. He has nearly 90 percent approval in California alone.
People want the people they like well and not the people they hate.
If someone comes forward and tries to impeach Ronald, there will certainly be a strong headwind of public opinion. If you draw a sword, you will have to kill your opponent, and you may get hurt in the process.
“They don’t want their identities to be revealed. If you can get the results you want without seeing blood, there is no need to overdo it.”
Rather, it is better to have Ronald sit there and move as he pleases.
“If you can control the president of the United States by hiding, isn’t it a non-profit that rules the entire world? What if we tell Russia to drop a nuclear bomb or go to war with China?”
“That’s impossible.”
The system of democracy is not so lax. If Ronald is going to do something outrageous, he’s Congress and the press and won’t sit still.
“If you obey orders like that, Ronald will also choose to be impeached. You will be satisfied with the degree of tying his hands and feet.”
I can’t even believe it when I say it. It would sound more convincing if Ronald was paranoid or megalomaniac.
“Anyway, one thing is clear from this.”
“what?”
“There is something behind the rate hike.”
Taehyung said with a serious expression.
“Wait a minute. So, to summarize, what kind of power is in the US administration and are they leading the rate hike?”
“right.”
“I know.”
She had felt it vaguely before that, and the moment she heard Ronald’s words, she realized it clearly.
“If my prediction is correct, there is no way to end it with just raising interest rates. No, this will be just the beginning.”
“then?”
Taehyung seemed to remember something.
“Maybe this… … ?”
I nodded.
“Something else will happen.”
What the hell is going on now, and what’s going to happen in the future?
I said, suppressing my anxiety.
“I want to find out more.”
* * *
It is illegal to trade using undisclosed information in the financial world. However, even if prohibited by law, it is not uncommon.
Information is bound to leak out somewhere. And if you’ve been exposed to the information in any way, it’s odd that you don’t trade and sit still.
How many people would put their hands on it if they knew that their assets would plummet tomorrow?
Had he known that the US benchmark interest rate would rise by 0.75 percent, he must have done something in advance.
Following my instructions, Sang-yeop senior analyzed the stock market, and team leader Seo Sang-won and Yuri and other team members thoroughly analyzed the transactions in the foreign exchange and bond markets.
Everyone was busy with their work and delayed leaving work.
Seo Sang-won, the team leader, was the first to report.
“European funds have been withdrawn from emerging market bond and stock markets six months ago. It seems that the market continued to sell so that it did not notice. Top selling banks include HSBC, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland, and Standard Chartered. It seems that other funds also moved, but it is difficult to understand.”
It is not easy to find out who the owner of the money is, as the money doesn’t even have a name tag on it.
“It seems that European funds moved first, then American funds.”
“That’s right.”
As expected.
Where did those money really go?
“Ah! And this is what I learned during the course of the investigation, Albert Management sold all its assets, including stocks and bonds, last month.”
“Is that the vulture fund?”
“Yes.”
Albert Management, founded by Karl Albert Singer, is one of the most aggressively investing activist hedge funds in recent years.
As it is a privately held company, it is not known where the funds were invested.
I laughed to myself.
I was told it was growing rapidly.
I gathered the team leaders and held a meeting.
“As you know, the market situation is dire. Instruct them to carefully examine the financial position of our subsidiaries, to arrange them in advance if there are any uncertainties, and to convert all the cash they have into dollars so that they are not known to the market.”
Karos, Faceit, OTK Games, etc. are also providing services in emerging countries, and the profits there naturally come in the currency of that country.
“The exchange rate has already gone up too much. If you exchange money now, your losses will be quite large.”
“It could be higher in the future.”
Everyone’s expression turned serious at my words.
Selling emerging-country currencies and buying dollars meant that the crisis would grow rather than subside.
Senior Sangyeop asked cautiously.
“Are you guessing anything?”
“I’ll tell you when I’m a little more certain.”
“Okay.”
The next event happened sooner than expected.
It was Brexit.
* * *
The Brexit vote ended more than three years ago.
However, negotiations are still ongoing over the UK’s exit from the EU. The British House of Commons once again rejected the Brexit deal and asked the EU for a new deal with an extension of the deadline for the end of the negotiations.
As it had already happened several times, it was nothing new.
The European Commission, however, rejected it and criticized the UK.
“The EU has already waited long enough. Britain should be held accountable for what they did. Any further negotiations are pointless.”
The EU had good reasons for taking such a hardline stance.
One thing is bound to be related to another. The interest rate hike in the United States hit a direct blow to southern Europe, which is already suffering from a fiscal crisis. Greece is already receiving bailouts and is implementing austerity measures at EU demand. However, when there was talk of further austerity, public sentiment exploded.
A coalition of radical leftists led by Greek Prime Minister Andreas Simitis has launched a referendum on EU withdrawal, similar to the UK.
“Only great powers like Germany and France benefit from the current EU system, and many are groaning in debt.”
This was a fundamental problem with a single currency.
In the past, the value of the German mark, which has a high national credibility and a current account surplus, would rise, and the Greek drachma, suffering from crisis, would have fallen in value.
However, since they are tied with the same euro, Germany’s currency was undervalued despite good exports, and Greece’s currency was overvalued despite the financial crisis.
In other words, the single currency of the euro is advantageous to Germany and unfavorable to Greece. Because of this, Greece has long argued that in order to escape the financial crisis, they should abandon the use of the euro and return to the drachma.
Greece has previously voted for or against EU austerity measures, but this is the first time it has asked to leave the EU.
If the vote is high, Brexit will be followed by Brexit.
The question is whether Greece can handle the shock of leaving the EU.
“As in the UK, it is enough to hold on until the desired outcome of the negotiations is reached. I will not make bad negotiations!”
If this situation is left unattended, there is no law preventing Spain, Portugal, and Italy, who are experiencing similar difficulties, from appearing similarly.
From the EU’s point of view, it is necessary to take a hard line with the UK in order to strengthen internal solidarity.
The EU has issued an ultimatum to Britain.
“The UK has only two options. Either accept the deal and leave the EU, or leave the EU without negotiation.”
* * *
With the shock of interest rate hike, Brexit, and the EU crisis overlapping, the financial market looked like it had been hit by a bomb.
The already shaky stock market crashed again when a no-deal Brexit showed signs of becoming a reality.
Crash theorists who appeared on TV raised their voices that this is only the beginning. The financial crisis will start next year.
Again, the person who received the most spotlight was Professor Nouriel Roubini of New York University. He poured out a gloomy prospect as he was nicknamed Doctor Tomb.
“The global economy has nine problems. Now, only two of them have occurred. The economic slowdown continues, and the risks are growing. Central banks around the world have almost exhausted the means to stimulate the economy. The most serious problem is the decoupling of the financial market and the real economy, and the US economy and the global economy.”
* * *
After she left work after 10 o’clock, Ellie lay down on her bed without taking off her coat.
“I am always late for work these days.”
“You know what the situation is now. It feels like hell when I go to work. It’s frightening how much I lose every day.”
If Golden Gate is like this, the situation for other financial companies will be even worse. After working hard for a year, it was like a flood just before harvest.
“Hey, I want to quit the company.”
“Are you really going to quit?”
“Will Jinhoo feed me?”
“of course.”
Ellie opened her arms and embraced me.
“I do not like it. I’ll feed you after Jin.”
Holding it like this, all my worries seem to disappear.
“What do you think of this situation, Jinhoo?”
I laughed bitterly.
“Everyone is curious about my thoughts these days.”(Read more @ wuxiax.com)
What the market hates the most is uncertainty. In a situation of increasing anxiety like now, people want to know the future at any cost.
That’s why I’ve been getting a lot of interview inquiries these days.
Reporters from inside and outside the company camped out in front of the company and randomly grabbed employees and asked about my thoughts and OTK Company’s countermeasures.
I told Ellie.
“I’m going to America for a few days.”
“What’s going on?”
“I want to get some advice from you.”
* * *
Edens, Georgia, USA.
In a quiet small town stood a small five-story building. It is a building that can be seen everywhere, and it is not hung on a large sign, so anyone passing by by car will pass by without knowing which company is in this building.
Surprisingly, this is the headquarters of Berkshire Cashier, the largest investment firm in the United States and currently the sixth largest by market capitalization in the United States.
President Warren Boat, the world’s best investor and one of the world’s top five richest investors, walked out the front door to welcome me.
“Welcome to. Welcome to Berkshire Cashier.”
I said politely.
“Long time no see, Chairman.”
“Let me introduce you to the staff.”
As I entered, the staff greeted me with applause. I greeted them one by one.
Despite being a huge company worth over $500 billion, Berkshire Cashier had only 60 employees. Compared to the thousands or tens of thousands of people working in investment banks, it is a very small number. However, it is no exaggeration to say that each of them is the world’s best financial elite.
But I made a lot more money. That’s why everyone is looking at me with respect like this.
“Are you hungry after coming a long way? Let’s go eat first.”
Warren Boat said, showing his car.
“This is a brand new car. How is it?”
I raised my thumb.
“It’s a nice car. It looks like you made a good purchase.”
His new car is none other than a Carlos AD3.
I got in the car driven by Warren Boat and headed to the pancake shop near my office. Neither the regular owner nor the guests were surprised to see the Warren Boat. I was surprised to see my face.
We had a light lunch there.
“Ah! I forgot to leave 5 million dollars behind.”
“Yes?”
“Isn’t it at least $5 million to have lunch with President Warren Boat?”
He laughed at my joke.
“haha! We also accept credit cards, so you don’t have to worry.”
