Chapter 1641 Super Boomerang

David twitched his lips at his last words. "Blow up Wall Street? That would put an end to all the troubles immediately."

Then he put down his coffee cup and said seriously, "Seriously, since China's countermeasures have been delayed, or the intensity is far less than expected, and the market has initially stabilized, the risks seem to have been relieved. You see..."

He pointed to an analyst's opinion on the screen:

"Many believe that some high-quality semiconductor stocks may be oversold and present opportunities for a technical rebound. I'm considering whether, after the market opens, I can selectively buy back some of the positions I reduced last week. For example, I might invest in ASML or companies whose businesses are less affected by China Securities?"

Richard paused and began to think carefully about David's suggestion.

As a top investor, it's instinctive to constantly adjust your strategy based on new information. The calm and relative market stability of the past few days have indeed relaxed his frayed nerves somewhat.

Perhaps, Washington’s “nuclear option” really deterred its opponents?

Or perhaps the market's first reaction was excessive?

After a moment, he replied:

"I plan to observe the market for half an hour after it opens. If the semiconductor sector stabilizes or even rebounds slightly, I'll add back some of the funds I previously withdrew, say 20%-30%. I'll focus on leading companies like TSMC and ASML, which have the highest barriers to entry and are relatively indirectly affected. After all, in the long run, demand for advanced semiconductors will only increase..."

However, that was only half the story.

"Ding dong!"

"Ding dong!"

Two crisp and rapid alert tones rang out almost simultaneously from the phones Richard and David placed on the table.

It is not an ordinary email or message push, but an exclusive alarm tone with the highest priority within the company, used to deliver major sudden market sensitive information!

The two men's expressions changed instantly, and they picked up their phones in almost completely synchronized movements.

The fingerprint unlocked the screen, and it lit up. On the push card in Morgan Stanley's internal information system, a bold, scarlet headline caught my eye:

[Emergency News] China announces export controls on critical materials! List released!

At the same time, the CNBC picture suddenly switched on the huge TV screen hanging on the wall of the lounge!

The market analyst who was talking just now disappeared, replaced by a news anchor with an extremely serious expression, and a bright red "BREAKING NEWS" sign was printed on the background screen.

"Now, an urgent breaking news!" the anchor spoke rapidly. "Just a few minutes ago, China issued an announcement, declaring that in order to safeguard national security and interests and fulfill international obligations such as non-proliferation, it has decided to implement export controls on a total of six major categories and 27 subcategories of items, including Co-C-hBN electrode materials. This decision takes effect immediately from the date of the announcement. More details will be available below..."

It was as if an invisible thunderbolt exploded in the small lounge!

Richard and David felt as if the blood in their bodies seemed to solidify instantly, and their hearts were tightly grasped by a cold hand!

The two of them didn't have time to wait for the slow-paced TV news, so they quickly lowered their heads and opened the briefing on their phones.

The previous content is not critical, and the content is not much different from what was just shown on TV.

The key is in the list that follows.

[…In accordance with the Export Control Law, the Foreign Trade Law, the National Security Law, and other laws and regulations, it has been decided to implement export controls on the following items…]

Category 1: Co-C-hBN (cobalt-doped cubic boron nitride) and related precursor materials and composite materials… Category 2: Large-scale, high-quality single-layer cubic boron nitride (c-BN) films and substrates… Category 3: Single-molecule array laser programming equipment used to synthesize the above-mentioned materials and its key components… Category 4: Metal samarium (Sm), gadolinium (Gd), yttrium (Y) elements, alloys, compounds, and products containing these elements…

“Electrode material!!!” Richard roared, as if he was bitten by a poisonous snake, and his face turned pale instantly!

David also gasped and almost dropped his phone!

This news is like a bolt from the blue for those who are always paying attention to cutting-edge technology investment!

Co-C-hBN, single-molecule array cobalt-doped cubic boron nitride.

Since a breakthrough paper was published by a team of Chinese scientists in Nature Materials two years ago, it has quickly become a recognized "holy grail" material in the field of global new energy, especially the next generation of ultra-high performance lithium-ion batteries and solid-state batteries, due to its extraordinary properties!

It can increase the battery's energy density and charging speed several times, significantly extend its cycle life, and make it extremely safe.

However, the synthesis of this material is extremely difficult, involving complex and precise atomic-level doping control. Its core patents and initial production processes are firmly in the hands of several top research institutions and start-ups in China.

Although giants such as BASF, LG Chem, and Dow Chemical have announced laboratory breakthroughs in the past year, large-scale, low-cost, and highly consistent industrial production still relies on key production equipment and core raw materials imported from China.

The first two categories in the announcement are necessary conditions for synthesizing Co-C-hBN materials.

The latter two categories are necessary raw materials for using Co-C-hBN inside lithium batteries.

"It's over..." David's voice trembled, filled with disbelief and immense confusion. "How could it be Co-C-hBN?! What...what does this have to do with the semiconductor sanctions?"

In his opinion, since the previous ban issued by Washington only involved the semiconductor manufacturing industry, everything should be confined to this area.

They almost instinctively believe that they should have natural and permanent initiative.

However, as the two said a few days ago.

This is already a war.

War will not only last on the front line desired by the initiator.

At this time, Richard was the first to react.

"I don't know, and now's not the time to be thinking about that." He put his phone back in his pocket and picked up his suit jacket from the side. "The problem now is that they really bombed Wall Street!"

David also woke up from his dream soon after, and a huge fear instantly gripped him.

"8:42! One hour and eighteen minutes until closing time!" He glanced at his watch, not even having time to grab his coat from the sofa. "Quick! Back to the trading room! Now! Right now!"

Morgan Stanley, and indeed all of Wall Street, was plunged into a massive, unprecedented vortex of panic at this moment! Although the exchange had not yet opened, the pre-market trading market was already a bloody mess!

Core concept stocks of Co-C-hBN, companies that claim to have made progress in this field or have close cooperation with Chinese suppliers:

QuantumScape (QS): This star startup company focuses on solid-state batteries and regards Co-C-hBN as its core electrode material. Its pre-market share price plummeted 68%, directly halving and then halving again!

LG Chem's parent company LG Corp's shares have closed on the South Korean stock market, but its American depositary receipts (ADRs) plummeted 32% in pre-market trading.

Tesla, as the automaker most actively promoting the application of high-energy-density batteries, has its battery suppliers heavily dependent on related technologies and materials, and its stock price plummeted 21% in pre-market trading.

Dow Chemical (DOW): Its announced Co-C-hBN synthesis project is seen as an important growth point and its stock price plummeted 18% in pre-market trading.

Lithium giants like Albemarle (ALB) and Livent (LTHM) also saw their shares plummet over 10% pre-market due to concerns that setbacks in battery technology would impact long-term lithium demand. Mining companies involved in the mining and processing of rare earth elements like samarium, gadolinium, and yttrium, such as MP Materials (MP), also saw their shares plummet over 12% pre-market.

Wall Street was trembling. The clock ticked down, drawing ever closer to the 9:30 opening. Every second felt like a century. Just as this suffocating atmosphere of despair reached its peak, and everyone thought a crash comparable to 2008 was about to unfold—

It’s 8:50 a.m. Eastern Time, and there are only 10 minutes left until the official opening!

Tesla's official account, official investor relations page, and LG Chem's global website all released a joint statement with almost identical wording at almost the same time. The statement was boldfaced and highlighted:

Joint Statement on Securing the Supply of Advanced Battery Materials

The body of the statement is long, but the gist is very simple.

Tesla and LG Chem have collaborated to technically overcome the production difficulties of Co-C-hBN materials, and are already building a supply chain independent of China, while also ensuring that existing orders will not be affected in any way.

At the end of the statement, the two companies also made a solemn commitment:

"All existing procurement contracts and delivery plans will not be affected. Both parties will leverage their own proprietary technology and production capacity, strictly adhere to established agreements and delivery cycles, and continue to steadily deliver high-quality, high-performance products and services to all customers worldwide. We have full confidence and ability to ensure the security and resilience of our supply chain and continue to lead the global clean energy and sustainable transportation revolution."

This statement is like pouring a bucket of cold water on a powder keg that is about to explode!

Although the effect is unlikely to be immediate enough to turn the plummeting pre-market stock price around, the core message it conveys - "technological breakthroughs", "supply chain independence", and "supply is guaranteed" - is like a life-saving straw grabbed by a drowning person, instantly curbing the most crazy spread of panic!

Tesla's pre-market price rebounded from -21% on a massive buy order, quickly narrowing its decline to around -12%. LG Chem's ADRs also rebounded from -32% to -18%. The decline in concept stocks like QuantumScape also slowed significantly. The VIX index's surge came to an abrupt halt.

The panic in the entire market has found an extremely critical, temporary outlet and support point.

Countless traders, analysts, and investors, including Richard and David, who had just rushed into the war room, covered in cold sweat, stared at the statement on the screen, reading every word over and over again.

After a brief silence, a complex clamor broke out in the war room - there was relief at having survived the disaster, instinctive doubts about the authenticity of the statement, and an indescribable sense of extremely absurd irony.

"We will strictly adhere to established agreements and delivery cycles, and continuously and stably deliver high-quality, high-performance products and services to all our customers worldwide..."

Richard muttered the key promise in the statement, the corners of his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

The sentence structure, wording, and even the decisive tone of this sentence... are so similar to the promises made in the statements of Juchang and Huaxing Technology more than half a month ago!

It's like they were carved from the same mold.

The boomerang of history struck us in such a dramatic way within just half a month.

Only this time, it was the turn of America's star companies and its allies to make assurances to the world using almost identical language in an attempt to stabilize market confidence that was on the verge of collapse due to countermeasures from the other side.