Ch. 1661..1670
Life at the Top Chapter 1661
He handed his business card to Reynoldson and said, “I can promise you that as long as you and your team support my acquisition plan, then I promise not to change Nokia’s existing business and also give you and your team enough autonomy.”
“In other words, I think the current shareholders of Nokia are very stupid. They don’t know what’s best for Nokia and I believe that you are the only suitable president for Nokia.”
Jasper’s words elicited a flash in Reynoldson’s eyes. He was moved.
He knew best in his heart the dilemma that he and his team were facing. He was even ready to compromise or even resign, but now Jasper appeared as if to give him a second choice.
He raised his hand and took Jasper’s business card before saying, “I will think about it.”
“I’m staying at the Marriott Hotel nearby these few days. I look forward to your good news.”
After Jasper said that, he waved at Greg, turned around, and left.
After they left the premises, Greg finally could not help it and asked, “Will he agree with this?”
“Whether he will agree or not is not important. We have to find a way to make him have no other choice but to agree,” Jasper answered.
Greg was amused. He said, “Are we going to press his head down to make him nod in agreement?”
Jasper glanced at Greg with a faint smile and said, “This is you mission.”
“Go find a few local media outlets in Finland and have them interview you.”
Greg asked in surprise, “I‘m just the head of a company in Somerland. Will the Finland media even look at me?”
Jasper snapped, “Do you have the brain of a pig? Don’t you know how to spend money? Alternatively, you can tell them directly that Blau Mobiles intends to acquire Nokia. Do you think those reporters will give up on such a gimmick?”
Greg’s eyes lit up and said, “This is a good idea, but why are we doing this? Aren’t we supposed to make the acquisition as low key as possible, so that the other party will not raise the price on the spot?”
“Do you believe that Blau Mobile, which no one in Finland has ever heard of, can acquire the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturer?” Jasper asked.
Greg looked pensive.
“No one would believe it, but this works in our favor. Once you accept the interview, you can’t hide the fact that you entered and exited Nokia and talked with Reynoldson in a reception room for more than half an hour.”
“No matter what others think, Nokia’s shareholders will definitely be annoyed by Reynoldson’s betrayal, and the conflict will intensify.”
Speaking of this, Jasper patted Greg on the shoulder and said, “Most large scale commercial acquisitions are filled with dirty insider trading. This much is unavoidable. We still have to use some other methods.”
“Instead of pinning his hopes on his own understanding, we can force him to make the choices we want. As for whether he is willing, who cares?”
Greg nodded and said, “I see! I’ll do it right away.”
“No hurry. Before that, you should ask the hotel to get me fiber optic broadband with the fastest internet speed and then get me some computers.”
A trace of worry appeared on Jasper’s face, and he continued, “Now the most troublesome thing is not Nokia, but Wall Street. If this problem is not resolved, I won’t be able to sleep and eat. I’ll feel like I constantly have thorns on my back.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1662
Greg making Blau Mobiles flourish was no small feat.
Everything else aside, Jasper was very satisfied with his execution ability.
After Jasper gave the order, Greg spent half a day getting all the equipment Jasper needed. He also cleverly got Jasper the largest suite and personally supervised the hotel staff as they installed and debugged all the equipment.
After doing this, Greg disappeared. He spent the day contacting the local media in Finland non stop. It was Greg’s business how he would talk to them.
Jasper gave him the direction to start and would not interfere too much with his decisions and ideas. Otherwise, he would only cultivate an obedient robot. There was no shortage of such people in society. What Jasper needed were executives who had their own minds and ideas who could make decisions and then execute them.
After Greg left, Jasper also started to work on his own affairs. The first thing he did was to connect to the video call at the Nauritus City Center.
“Mr. Laine.”
Jake looked excited in the video.
He knew that when Jasper came to find him, it meant that the next step must be starting soon.
“How’s the preparation?” Jasper asked.
Jake reported immediately, “All preparations are complete. At present, our retained funds total 135 billion US Dollars, which is equivalent to 1 trillion Somer Dollars.”
“From that, 370 billion Somer Dollars belong to us. Of course, this amount is still on the books in the stock market.”
This number was similar to what Jasper had estimated in his mind.
“Very good. Although we have lost a lot on the Dow Jones, we got them back in the Sun Dollars foreign exchange, so we have indeed achieved our two goals of repelling Sunrise Land and replenishing our own strength,” Jasper said with satisfaction.
“Also, there is one more thing.”
Jake said with a weird expression, “We found out that at the last moment of the Sun Dollar foreign exchange crash, a large amount of money suddenly entered the market to sell short, but the battle was fierce at the time and this money was on our side, so we didn’t get the chance to trace it. Now we have identified it… The funds came from the United States.”
The news stunned Jasper for a moment and then he laughed loudly, “What’s this? The dog we raised knows it is going to be slaughtered and eaten by us. Since they know they are powerless, are they cutting into themselves alongside us so that they can get back a few pieces of their own flesh?
“These guys from the United States are so savage.”
Jake smiled and then continued his report, “Moreover, we found that on the Dow Jones stock market, the trading volume continued to increase but the stock price was steadily shrinking. This is a very unusual phenomenon.”
Jasper nodded and said, “They know that we will surely counterattack and now we’re just absorbing more chips at the bottom. Our enemies are starting to become troublesome.”
Jake said, “Mr. Laine, we now have 1 trillion Somer Dollars. We no longer have to be as cautious as before.”
“But our enemy can come up with 1 trillion US Dollars at any time, so how can we compare with them?”
Jasper’s words left Jake speechless.
“What happened to the stocks we are left with on the Dow Jones?” Jasper asked.
“Not good.”
Jake said, “Those positions have become the objects of venting. Ninety percent of the positions have been blown out. The remaining positions are small and hidden, so they are temporarily safe, but even if they don’t get blown up, they won’t be much help in the subsequent battle.”
Jasper leaned against the chair, pinched his brows, and said, “Do you have any plans for what’s going to happen next?”
Jake pondered for a moment and said, “Due to the absolute power gap between the enemy and us, I suggest… That we should retreat.”
Jasper opened his eyes and said with interest, “Please explain.”
“Mr. Laine, do I really need to? We won’t stand a chance.”
Jake smiled bitterly, “It’s the United States stock market. They have an advantage in both absolute capital and policy. Even if we win, I believe that the United States government will freeze all of our capital.”
“It’s good that you can see this.”
Jasper praised and then continued, “So, we have to continue to expand the influence of this matter.”
“Make sure it’s big enough for the whole world to know. Iwant them to stare and watch on as it happens. Due to international pressure, the United States won’t go overboard. At the very least, they will not blatantly seal up our funds.”
“Once we use this method, the credibility of the United States will be put on the line. They will not risk their credibility and dignity as the world’s number one power in exchange for our 1 trillion Somer Dollars.”
Jake asked, “Now that everyone’s attention is already on this, how do you plan to expand it further?”
“Hold a press conference.”
Jasper glanced at Jake, and the latter seemed to be pondering.
Jake’ s breathing became short.
Jasper was abroad and Jake knew it. Under such circumstances, it was absolutely impossible for Jasper to hold this press conference. As for the remaining candidates, it seemed that only himself and Baz were suitable for the role.
“You and Baz will do this together.”
Jasper finally made the decision.
“The sooner the event is held, the better. The content is tentatively set to be bearish on the United States stock market. The JW Foundation will comprehensively lower the Dow Jones stock index‘s credit index and buy index. We’ll recommend a full sell,”
“Understood, Mr. Laine.”
Although he needed to do this with Baz and could not enjoy this glory alone, Jake was already very satisfied. This was because this press conference was destined to be written in the annals of history.
It was like the fuse of the First World War. No one cared about the death of the assassinated Archduke, but it was his death that led to the outbreak of the First World War. No matter what the real reason was, the name of the Archduke would always exist for as long as humans still existed in the history of the world.
“You two should go to the press conference. I will command the trading center.”
Jasper’s words stunned Jake.
“Mr. Laine, what do you mean?”
“The enemy is strong and we are weak, so I can only take risks. Moreover, the enemy has suffered several losses. I will never underestimate them, but I will also never underestimate myself.”
“When the world’s attention is on you and Baz, I will use these 1 trillion Somer Dollars to punch a hole in the United States stock market.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1663
The news that JW Foundation would hold a press conference was spread all over the world in the shortest time.
Today, the JW Foundation had become the new beau of the major financial media around the world, especially since everyone knew that JW Foundation was doing a feat to overturn the stock market in the United States, the world’s strongest economy. Forget the media of foreign places and countries, even the local media of the United States was very excited. Hence, the direct result was that all the flights from abroad made a beeline for the small Nauritus City Airport. Many reporters had no choice but to buy high priced tickets from scalpers in order to seal their position.
Many smarter media outlets diverted to Waterhoof City or other places before rushing over.
In short, after the JW Foundation announced their press conference, the number of foreigners in Nauritus City suddenly increased. Not only that, countless eyes from all over the world were watching this upcoming press conference.
To maintain order, especially with the arrival of so many foreign media reporters, the provincial government ordered the Nauritus City government to send a large number of authority figures to maintain the surrounding security and order since this group of people was not easy to deal with.
Even on the day of the press conference, traffic control had to be carried out on four nearby streets due to the excessive traffic volume.
“This will be Somerland’s first time conducting security maintenance and traffic control because of a press conference held by a private company.”
Inside Southface River Tower in Nauritus City, Malcolm turned his head and smiled at Wendy, who was drinking the hot coffee from the mug she was holding. Wendy nodded with a smile on her face, but she said stiffly, “It is true, but it may not be a good thing.”
Malcolm asked suspiciously, “Schuler, isn’t it a good thing that so many people are following our company?”
Wendy shook her head and said, “Malcolm, you are not from Somerland, so it is difficult for you to understand how famous people will often attract criticism.”
“JW Foundation’s momentum is too strong and what it is doing is dangerous. It is like a car driving at a high speed now, and with every meter forward it moves, the road behind it collapses into a cliff. So, it can’t stop. If it stops, it will fall off the cliff and get smashed into pieces.”
“But if it continues to move forward like this, I am worried that it will eventually hit a mountainside or a big curve. At such a high speed, the car and the human inside will be done for if the car overturns.”
Wendy’s words drew out a burst of laughter from Malcolm.
“Schuler, I understand your worries, but you have to know that from the very beginning, Mr. Laine wanted to build a large multinational consortium. It is difficult for such a large consortium to appear during such a peaceful and prosperous time. Normally, they will only appear at the end of the troubled times where there are many things that voids that need to be filled.”
“It takes at least two or even three generations of hard work to have even a little hope of claiming such a title.”
“Yet, Mr. Laine has achieved this in just two years. JW is destined to not be an ordinary enterprise from the day it was born, and it also will not do things according to the traditional steps.”
“If Mr. Laine wants to match the accumulated achievements of others over ten years and decades in the shortest time, he can only do this. He must do this because it now involves the interests of too many people. Many people hope that JW will fly higher and higher. Many other people also hope that JW will be destroyed.”
Wendy pursed her lips and smiled. “The press conference should start soon. Let’s watch the live broadcast since we won’t be going to the scene.”
At this moment, there were still a few minutes before the launch of the press conference. It was not just executives of JW Company who were attending, countless pairs of eyes were also watching this upcoming press conference.
Inside a large courtyard in Swallow Capital.
A parrot was squawking in its birdcage as a young man in a wheelchair teased the bird with bird food in his hand.
Life at the Top Chapter 1664
Adele curled lazily on the recliner next to him. The television in the room was showing the upcoming press conference. However, the press conference had not officially started. The only people who were pacing around were the staff making preparations and some reporters carrying cameras and microphones looking for the ideal positions to lay them out. There was no one on the podium.
She squinted at the young man in the wheelchair and said uncomfortably, “Can you choke your bird to death? It’s so noisy.”
The young man ignored her and tapped his finger on the parrot’s head. Then, the parrot immediately stopped squawking and cleverly jumped into the young man’s hand to peck at the food.
“Jasper made such a huge mess in Sunrise Land, but where is he now?” The young man asked casually.
“Finland.”
Adele yawned and said contemptuously, “This group of Sunrise Land people are really shameless enough to use the power of agents to deal with an ordinary businessman. The funniest thing is that they have failed. I wonder if they feel that their chivalrous spirit is only equivalent to children with water guns now.”
The young man said flatly, “Those are just little fish in the periphery. It would be very troublesome for the real intelligence department to do such things. No one can command them while the head of the country is unconsciousness.”
“What’s more, the higher-ups in Sunrise Land are not fools. Everyone knows that a political storm of the highest level is about to begin, and Jasper was just a bargaining chip that they are using.”
“If they remove the cover of this storm, they can benefit from it, so why deal with Jasper? This would just be dealing with the subordinates and the idiots below.”
Adele replied, unconvinced, “A chess piece they’re using? You’re just jealous. What chess pieces have you seen before that can cause trillion dollar losses in Sunrise Land in one fell swoop?”
The economic loss caused by the Sun Dollars foreign exchange crash was conservatively estimated to be at least 900 billion US Dollars. Even for Sunrise Land, it had lost a layer of skin.
“The Sunrise Land citizens and the official organizations of the country are the ones bearing this loss, not those politicians. What does it matter to them?”
The young man smiled and said meaningfully, “There is a reason why Trider did not make a move. In the eyes of Trider, whether it was the original Quantum Fund or the current JW Foundation, they represent nothing more than a small hiccup. It won’t hurt their interests much.”
“What they are gunning for are the Sunrise Land’s resources after this period turmoil, so do you still not think Jasper is their pawn?”
Adele huffed and said, “Even if that’s the case, they are all using each other. You’re in a wheelchair so it’s easy for you to sh*t on other people’s ability. You say you’re so great, but if you’re so great, why didn’t you peel off Sunrise Land’s skin?”
“Me?” The young man was amused and continued, “I want to, but so many people are stopping me.”
At this moment, on the television, two people walked to the podium. It was Jake and Baz.
When Jasper did not show up, the young man shook his head and moved his wheelchair to the door.
“Where are you going?” Adele asked.
“Feed the fishes.”
“Are you not going to watch? It’s starting.”
“Jasper is not here, so there is nothing interesting to see ”
Life at the Top Chapter 1665
At then same time that Jake and Baz began the press conference, as the real manipulator behind all this, Jasper was sitting comfortably in a hotel in Finland opening the United States stock market index on his computer.
The United States stock market was now in turmoil.
JW Foundation’s impact had not yet been ironed out. Ordinary investors could not access the news from the higher-ups, so they could only make random guesses based on their own experience and some gossip from the exchange to make judgments about the future situation.
“In this case, everyone is easily frightened due to their past experiences but everyone also understands that huge opportunities are hidden behind the risks. There will be a process of self-healing when the market undergoes major changes. If you can bet on the right direction, the returns will be much higher than normal.”
Kayden’s relaxed voice came from the computer.
On the video, Kayden was wearing a casual sweater. His gold rimmed glasses gave him an elegant and easy going appearance. At the moment, he was sitting in the study as he connected with Jasper.
“I heard that your family negotiated a one billion euro partnership in the United Kingdom.” Jasper glanced at Kayden and asked.
Kayden smiled and said, “That’s just my father’s intentions. I don’t know much about that business.”
“Your father, as the highly skilled businessman, naturally has the vision and methods, but what sparked my curiosity is that the second largest shareholder of the telecommunications company that your father bought in the United Kingdom is the United States telecommunications giant, Comcast.”
“In the last action plan, you insisted that the Harbor City trading center independently attacked the shares of Comcast. Is there any connection between the two?”
Jasper’s relatively relaxed tone made Kayden smile bitterly. He said, “Before that, my father did give me some advice, but I weighed the situation at the time and recognized that the actions against Comcast did not go against our overall interests.”
“Mr. Langdon, you misunderstood me.”
Jasper laughed and said, “I didn’t mean to criticize you. Besides, in the earliest days, we did have an agreement that each trading center would have a certain degree of autonomy.”
“I know that your father has two major strategic plans. He believes that business in any industry is not as secure as the basic industries of human social activities, such as telecommunications and energy, which are two major strategic plans that your father is optimistic about. Now the result of the telecommunications strategy is evident, should he follow up with the energy plan too?
“I wonder how your father and ExxonMobil’s plan to develop the oil field in South America is going.”
Jasper’s words made Kayden narrow his eyes slightly. He did not know how Jasper knew about the J. Langdon’s highest level secret. Although Jasper was also from Somerland, he had nothing to do with the J. Langdons.
How could he know the secret that the father and son only talked about in the study late at night?
Jasper saw Kayden’s expression and he smiled meaningfully and slyly.
That old fox Half the Harbor Langdon was a national idol. According to the timeline of the praise he got in the country, he was the idol of every citizen, a business genius, and the pride of Somerland before 2015.
However, after 2015, the domestic real estate industry was fully regulated, and Half the Harbor Langdon began to divest and leave. He hoarded a series of land without development and developed properties without regard for the local economic development. After this, his selfish profit making actions were exposed.
With that, Half the Harbor Langdon became a traitor in the eyes of some people.
Half the Harbor Langdon relied on the good domestic investment promotion policy to obtain a large number of benefits and then left after making a fortune. This behavior was in stark contrast to a series of Harbor City business families such as the Laws.
From Jasper’s point of view, Half the Harbor Langdon was a very good businessman, and his traits were something that all businessmen in the world should emulate. However, his character was indeed horrible.
Also, Jasper knew of this energy plan through his memory pre-reincarnation.
In his previous life, Half the Harbor Langdon did have such a plan during this period.
Most people did not know that the core industry of Half the Harbor Langdon and his sons was telecommunications rather than real estate. Real estate was just a means for them to rake in money.
Half the Harbor Langdon had great ambitions. He wanted to dabble in the telecommunications and energy business abroad for a very long time. The cooperation with ExxonMobil was also an important step in this strategic plan.
It was just that the Langdon senior was framed by the people in the United States on his collaboration with ExxonMobil, which caused him to suffer for a few years. After that, he took part in real estate all over the country to rake in more money. After this, it took him three to five years to suck this blood back from the country.
Having suffered a loss abroad, he returned to Somerland to suck the country’s blood to make up for it. Jasper was disgusted by this character when he thought about it.
As a businessman, it was okay to do this, but as someone from Somerland who was also a businessman relying on this identity to get countless privileges and benefits in the country, this behavior might end up leading to his ancestral grave being destroyed if ever discovered.
“Don‘t get me wrong, Mr. Langdon, I don’t have any plans for the J. Langdons. The reason why I know this news is through ExxonMobil.”
Jasper did care about the character of Half the Harbor Langdon so long as he did not provoke him. Right now, he and Kayden were in partnership, after all, so Jasper did not plan to make things too tense.
“ExxonMobil? Mr. Laine, you even have contacts in ExxonMobil?” Kayden asked.
Such a question could be regarded as an acknowledgment of what Jasper had said before.
After all, they all held status and identity. Probing without reason or basis was boring. If one said it out loud, then most of the time they were confident. Hence, it was useless for Kayden to deny this. It would only make him look inferior.
“This time, I want to defeat ExxonMobil.”
Jasper said softly. However, his statement was earth shattering.
Kayden’s expression suddenly changed.
Without giving Kayden a chance to speak up, Jasper slowly opened up ExxonMobil’s stock market information and said lightly, “When the Rockefeller Empire was split up, there were 34 oil industries in the world, large and small.”
“For such a giant monopoly, even the three subsidiaries left behind after the split were ranked in the top three in the world. Through this we see just how terrifying the Rockefeller Standard Oil Group was back then.”
“The Rockefeller family still exists, but the giant that monopolized the global oil industry which could stand against the United States government for more than ten years and the trust that was known as the biggest benefactor of the United States military has fallen.”
“ExxonMobil has inherited its core assets. This is the best entry point for me to fight Wall Street this time. Its value is huge enough and its significance is far reaching. However, it is a true traditional company that has little to do with Wall Street, which makes it enough to hurt them.”
While he spoke, Jasper seemed to have missed Kayden’s dumbfounded expression as be directly entered the commands into his keyboard.
Buy ExxonMobil (XOM), position, 10 billion US Dollars.
Life at the Top Chapter 1666
Of course, it was impossible to buy 10 billion US Dollars in a single account. Not to mention the 5% placard rule, meaning that once an account with such a large transaction was frozen, it would be over for them. Hence, Jasper’s account was not actually a personal account that directly manipulated the United States stock market, but a parent account that was realizedthrough technical means.
There were hundreds of sub-accounts associated with this parent account.
Jasper’s operations were synchronized to the sub-accounts of the two trading centers of Nauritus City and Waterhood City. After this, the traders who had received professional training would execute Jasper’s wishes and commands as soon as possible.
The reason why he did not bring the Harbor City trading center into the game this time was because of Kayden. This was also the reason why Jasper and Kayden were on call separately.
If he did not take care of this young master from the J. Langdons, Jasper would not be comfortable letting him participate in the plan behind the scenes.
Kayden watched Jasper’s funds enter the market. A moment later, ExxonMobil’s stock seemed to be doused with hot oil and then set on fire.
The stock price soared.
It really soared.
10 billion US Dollars of funds were enough to sweep all of ExxonMobil sell orders.
“Jasper, since you’re doing this, does it mean that you’re abandoning the Harbor City trading center?” Kayden questioned angrily.
Jasper shook his head and said, “Mr. Langdon, calm down. You and I both understand why I didn’t notify you in advance.”
Kayden looked at Jasper, his eyes seemed to pass through the fiber optic network spanning tens of thousands of kilometers to reach Jasper’s heart.
After a moment of contemplation, Kayden said in a deep voice, “I can’t go against my father’s will. We have invested billions into this cooperation. This money is different from the concept of money in the stock market.”
Jasper replied, “I understand that the funds in the stock market are a form of crowdfunding, and there is a magnification effect which means that the money you invested in that cooperation case is worth a lot.”
“So please understand. My wealth and life all depend on this. For the sake of my own life, I cannot allow any unexpected factors to exist. Mr. Langdon, your position is too important.”
Jasper’s words caused Kayden to let out a long sigh.
“Jasper, I really don’t want things come to this with you unless it’s the last resort.”
Jasper replied, “Mr. Langdon, you have to understand that the reason why ExxonMobil is the way it is now is because it inherited Rockefeller’s core assets. The latter had 34 subsidiaries that have been split up. Excluding the ones that died out, the remaining 20 plus subsidiaries are all separated in name, but in fact, they still belong to Rockefeller!”
“What do you think will happen if the J. Langdons work with them?”
Jasper’s words caused Kayden to wear a conflicted expression.
“You mean that the cooperation with ExxonMobil is actually a trap?”
Jasper replied indifferently, “Is it important whether or not it is a trap? This is not the case in business. How many non zero sum, win-win games are there out there? Either you borrow my power and I want your money, or we both want all of it.”
Kayden lifted his eyebrow.
He subconsciously did not want to believe what Jasper said. After all, Jasper now wanted him to choose between the cooperation with ExxonMobil and the cooperation with JW Foundation. At this point, any words Jasper said were prejudiced and biased.
However, Jasper had already come all this way in his plans. Not to mention that even Kayden’s father, Half the Harbor Langdon, had also praised Jasper’s savage business vision and acute strategic foresight several times. It simply was not comparable to his peers. Even if Jasper was standing among the experienced old foxes, he would stand at the peak.
In the words of Half the Harbor Langdon, Jasper was a born giant. Even if this kind of person was a vegetable seller, he would be able to sell it on a large scale.
“I need some time,” Kayden said.
“I can give it to you. You can even consider it slowly, I’m not in a hurry.”
Looking at the screen, Kayden had the urge to punch Jasper’s smiling face for the first time. Of course, Jasper was not in a hurry.
He had invested so much money and it was all in the capital pool of the trading center in Harbor City. Once Jasper started to act but did not bring the Harbor City trading center alone, then the funds in the Harbor City trading center were likely to become Jasper’s abandoned child in the next battle of the two parties and also the cannon fodder of Wall Street’s anger.
After exiting the video call, Kayden immediately went to see his father, Half the Harbor Langdon.
At this time, Half the Harbor Langdon was holding a meeting, but Kayden made it urgent enough that Half the Harbor Langdon had to make an exception to end the meeting prematurely.
Inside Half the Harbor Langdon’s 500 square meters office in the building in the center of Queen Road in Harbor City, Kayden immediately explained the current situation upon seeing Half the Harbor Langdon.
Half the Harbor Langdon pondered for a long time after hearing those words.
Obviously, Half the Harbor Langdon was also stumped by the difficult question Jasper suddenly posed them.
“What do you think?” Half the Harbor Langdon asked.
Kayden gritted his teeth and said, “If we do this according to my wishes, we can only give up the cooperation with ExxonMobil for now.”
Half the Harbor Langdon said expressionlessly, “Are you going to lose the billions you invested before and face the sky high compensation for breach of contract? Are you going to give up all the manpower, material resources, and funds invested just because of what Jasper said?”
Kayden said helplessly, “That’s why I find this so tricky.”
“Jasper is too crazy.” Half the Harbor Langdon looked unhappy.
He was a truly standard businessman, and he would consider things from the perspective of a businessman. The ones who were able to cooperate with him and bring him benefits were his friends, otherwise, they were his enemies.
All appreciations and previous good relationships could be discarded at any time in the face of interests.
“So, Father, what shall we do now? A decision must be made immediately.” Kayden said.
“Don’t worry.”
Half the Harbor Langdon turned his head to look at the bustling cityscape of Harbor City. Then, he said, “Promise him our cooperation first, but I will simultaneously communicate with ExxonMobil.”
Kayden immediately understood what his father meant. He replied, “I‘m afraid this will just be wasted effort.”
“This is called waiting for a good offer. We will become an important bargaining chip for the winners and losers of both sides. By then, we will join whichever side benefits us more,” Half the Harbor Langdon said.
Kayden froze for a moment. After that, he nodded and said, “I understand, Father. I will go back immediately.”
“Jasper will definitely see through us, but don’t worry. Everyone has their own plans, so we’ll act based on everyone’s abilities.”
The moment Kayden returned, the United States stock market changed dramatically.
After Jasper launched an offensive against ExxonMobil, all of JW Foundation and Somerland Capital with Nauritus City Center and Waterhoof City Center as the core, launched a comprehensive attack on the United States financial market.
At this moment, the press conference was also reaching its climax.
Life at the Top Chapter 1667
“Today, JW Foundation officially announces that it will downgrade the credit ratings of 130 core index stocks in the United States Dow Jones Index. It is recommended that investors sell and do not consider buying for a short period unless there is a major change in the company.”
“On the other hand, JW Foundation is optimistic about the stocks of high-tech companies in the United States and suggests that they can be held for a long time.”
“Now, we will have a Q&A session. Reporters who have questions or need to ask questions can raise their hands. I will select a few at random to answer.”
Although professionals had already told Jake and Baz about the entire process before the press conference began, Jake and Baz were still nervous because this was their first time holding such a major press conference while the densely packed reporters below were almost all blond and blue eyed foreigners.
At the same time, they felt slightly proud inside.
After all, not just any Somerland company could hold a press conference which foreign media would flock to. The current JW was really strong. Yet, all of this was due to the man who was not present today.
After Jake said that, a group of reporters raised their hands enthusiastically.
During this kind of occasion, there would be some insiders arranged for by the organizer. Their job was to ask some peaceful and easy to answer questions.
Jake kept the characteristics of the insiders that the staff told him before in his mind. Then, he pointed to a female reporter wearing a red sweater and said, “You, please ask your questions.”
When the other reporters saw this, they sat back in disappointment. The insider was calm on the inside, but she had a surprised look on her face. She took the microphone and asked, “Mr. Cullen, Mr. Willis, the question I want to ask is, does JW Foundation have any future action plans for the United States stock market?”
Jake glanced at Baz and motioned to Baz to handle this easy to answer question set up by the insiders.
Baz understood what Jake meant. So, he smiled and said, “This is our trade secret. Therefore, of course, it is not convenient for us to disclose the details.”
“However, what I want to say is that JW Foundation will never target a certain stock market or even the financial market of a certain country. JW Foundation is a profit oriented hedge fund. We have only ever had one goal, that is, to make money for customers using their money.”
At this moment, a reporter from a Western country suddenly stood up and asked loudly, “I just received the news that JW Foundation launched a hostile takeover of ExxonMobil Petroleum. Is this also one of your plans?”
As soon as this question was asked, there was an uproar at the scene.
Then, the reporters caused chaos.
Everyone was asking this question while the reporter who asked the question loudly at the beginning resisted the pull of the security guard with all his might. He was staring at Baz who was completely stunned as he stood on the stage, waiting for him to answer.
Seeing that the situation was about to get out of control, Jake immediately picked up the microphone and said, “Everyone, stay calm. If the scene continues to be chaotic, I have no choice but to end this press conference early. If that’s the case, I won’t be able to answer what you want to ask me.”
This sentence immediately calmed down the reporters on the scene.
Seeing that the situation had gradually calmed down again, Jake let out a sigh of relief. After he pondered for a moment, he said, “In regards to the question just now, although the way you asked your question was very out of line, out of the courtesy of the people of Somerland, I will still answer you.”
“However, this will be the only time I will allow it. If something similar happens next time, I will have to end the press conference early.”
“In response to the targeting of ExxonMobil, I want to declare that this is not a so-called hostile takeover. Rather, JW Foundation is optimistic about the future development of ExxonMobil and has decided to invest in it. There is only so much I can say about this. If there are any updates in the future, please continue to pay attention to the announcement on the official website of the JW Foundation.”
Although Jake barely deceived everyone with his answer, this question still grabbed everyone’s attention and changed the vibe of the whole press conference.
“Excuse me, Mr. Cullen, did the trading curb on the Dow Jones Index some time ago have anything to do with JW Foundation?”
This was something that everyone in the world knew and it seemed like a very idiotic question. However, this question made Jake very uncomfortable. After all, even if everyone knew, he could never admit it during such a public and formal occasion.
“I’m sorry, the trading curb that was triggered on Dow Jones was a market protection mechanism. Although JW Foundation has some investments in the United States financial market, we can’t trigger a trading curb in the financial market, and we would not have done so given the choice. We will continue to observe the specific situation. Thank you.”
“Excuse me, Mr. Cullen…”
Cold sweat started to appear on Jake’s forehead when the questions grew tougher and tougher.
Just when he felt that he was unable to go on, a staff member hurriedly walked over. He got close to Jake’s ear and said, “Mr. Laine is on the phone. He wants you to end this press conference immediately.”
Jake felt as if he was just given amnesty.
“Well, everyone, today’s press conference is over. Thank you for coming. If there are any new updates, we will announce them on the official website or hold another press conference. Thank you, everyone.”
After Jake finished speaking, he left with Baz, who could not even speak, without looking back regardless of all the reporters’ trying to stop them.
“They’re still too inexperienced.”
Jasper turned off the live broadcast and smiled at Wendy who was video calling with him on another computer.
“Don’ t be too demanding of them. You can’t make a single mistake at this level of press conferences, otherwise, the consequences will be very serious. Coupled with these reporters deliberately making things difficult, it is normal for them to be flustered.” Wendy defended the two of them.
Jasper had absolute power over the entire JW system. Although Jasper felt that he had never been a harsh tyrant and he was even pretty easy going and kind, the people below would naturally be in awe of him since he held so much power.
This could be seen in Malcolm, who later joined the company with a huge reputation, or Jack, who followed him in the early days of the business because their attitudes toward Jasper had grown so respectful.
While there were tens of thousands of people in the entire JW system, the only one who really dared to speak their mind in front of Jasper was Wendy.
Still, this was only because Jasper did not have a choice. If Wendy was not allowed to speak in the company, then he would not have the right to speak at home…
Life at the Top Chapter 1668
Of course I understand this, but we still have to temper their performance.”
Jasper shook his head and said.
Jake or Baz, to put it bluntly, were just otakus who sat in front of their computer and studied stock funds every day. If you wanted such otakus to have the kind of svelte of a professional fund manager that could boast, fool investors, and deceive stock investors, you still needed to deliberately train them for a while.
“How are you?” Wendy asked.
“How bad can I be? I’m in the presidential suite of a five star hotel. I am eating amazing food and drinking well. I’m even sleeping…”
Speaking of this, Jasper saw Wendy narrowing her eyes, so he hurriedly added, “I just miss you a little bit.”
“Just a little bit?” Wendy was unhappy.
“So much.”
Jasper said quickly, full of eagerness to survive.
With a soft snort, Wendy said, “Stay safe in Finland. Come back soon after the matter is over. I always feel uneasy when you’re not around.”
Jasper smiled and said, “I know. Nothing big happened in the company, right?”
“No, it has developed very well. Abbylon has followed your suggestions. After the advertising traffic push was conducted, sellers became very enthusiastic. Judging from this situation, at least the headquarters won’t have to keep dumping money in it anymore.”
“Terizone has developed more and has successively acted as the agent for several games from Coreana. With the help of Sentel, the discussion went smoothly. The current operation is going good and is already profitable.”
“Tell them not to forget that socializing is still the core and lifeblood of Terizone. Don’t lose sight of the most important objective for the pursuit of money.” Jasper frowned.
Wendy said with a smile, “Don’t worry, Hudson is not someone who doesn‘t know how to prioritize. Recently, there have been a few updates on the socializing app, and we added the function of membership and space. The response has been very good.”
“Furthermore, we also sold some nice account names at very high prices. In short, all of Terizone has become increasingly profitable.”
“Needless to say, the real estate company has always been our cash cow and their hematopoietic ability is still strong. However, since you require them to build high-end residences, the investment required is also huge.”
“However, there is nothing to worry about. In the current domestic real estate industry, even a pig can make money, let alone JW. In the latest national real estate industry rankings, JW ranks fifth in the country overall and ranks first in the private sector.”
“Moreover, in some big cities where JW Real Estates has been deeply cultivated, JW’s real estate has formed a brand effect which is synonymous with high-end housing in many people’s eyes. This is a good phenomenon. Now the entire real estate business group says Mr. Laine’s vision is very unique.”
“As for Sena, United Legends is still popular, but they are complaining about Terizone’s entry into the game industry as these two companies are now the biggest competitors in the game industry. Jack and quarreled with Hudson a few times about this.”
Jasper laughed and said, “Normal business competition is not a concern. It is their personal business even if they split each others’ heads open.”
“What’s more, they are just putting on an act for us. Since ancient times, the crying child will be given milk. If they don’t show how unconvinced or how poor they are to us, why would headquarter allocate resources to them?”
Wendy smiled and said, “What you said makes sense, but Sena really needs support. Compared with the diversified Terizone, Sena has only United Legends, which is very dangerous.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1669
“Why don’t you give them the Weebo project?”
Jasper’s eyes lit up.
Weebo originally belonged to Sena. Although he proposed it, he had not yet decided whether to give it to Sena.
Only Wendy knew about this matter, but he did not expect Wendy to take the initiative to bring it up. Whether it was historical inertia or Wendy’s commercial talents that gradually developed in the process of taking charge of JW, this was what Jasperliked to see.
“You are the boss’ wife, so you have the final say. Just give it to him if you want to. Tell them that we can support Weebo and that this quarter’s legendary profit does not need to be handed in. Just regard it as their funds to promote Weebo. However, if they fail within three months, I will give it to Terizone. Hudson will definitely be thrilled by this.”
It was as if Wendy could see Jack and Hudson arguing over Weebo at the next headquarters meeting. She said sadly, “You should come back quickly, none of these people are easy to manage.”
Jasper laughed and said, “I will come back as soon as possible. Is there anything else? If not, I’m going to hang up. I need to keep an eye on the new developments that are happening soon.”
Wendy said, “There is one more thing. Chad, the president of the electronic products business department, has resigned. He wants to be transferred to the work at the headquarters, however, the work of the business department has already been handed over to Lance. He proposed that Lance formally take over the position of the president of the electronic productsbusiness department.”
Jasper nodded and said, “No problem, it’s approved. In the beginning, Chad was just an acting president. Now that Lance has been approved by Chad, it should be fine.”
“This is not the important thing. Lance also brought an application report.”
“He hopes that through you, he can cooperate with Google. The mobile phone brand of the electronic product business departments wants to obtain domestic rights of the Android system.”
Jasper raised his brows and asked, “Google? The idea is good, but suppress this report.”
Wendy was stunned, “No?”
“The situation is very complicated right now. Lance might not know my relationship with the United States but you do. Google is also under tremendous pressure. The United States is already thinking of ways to stop me from withdraw my capital. A small group of people is still talking nonsense about returning United States companies to the people in the United States.”
“I will go over and resolve this matter in person later, but before that, it would be inappropriate for the domestic industry to have any partnership with Google. It will put us in a very passive position.”
“Let him rest assured, Google is still in my hands. Even if I can’t get the domestic rights to Android at the moment, other companies can‘t get it either. Android can’t come in for the time being. If other imported phones come over, they can only blame themselves if they can’t handle it.”
Wendy nodded and said, “Okay, I will tell him.”
At this time, Jasper had been staring at the computer screen to one side. It was showing that the United States stock market had begun to fluctuate violently. The first one that bore the brunt was ExxonMobil, which directly rose to the limit after Jasper crushed it with 10 billion.
“I need to take care of something so I’m going to hang u p. I’ll talk to you next time.”
After Jasper finished speaking, Wendy responded. She was the only woman who would pester him endlessly, so she took the initiative to end the video all.
At this time, Jasper had already sat down in front of the computer and started to check the data synchronized from the Naturitus City trading center.
Wall Street had entered the game!
Life at the Top Chapter 1670
Wall Street’s entry this time fully demonstrated its incomparable strength.
It was still Quantum Fund, but what was different from the last time was that it really regarded JW Foundation as its biggest opponent and it was really unstoppable when it decided to go crazy.
After it entered the game, Jasper’s 10 billion US Dollars was overridden by Quantum Fund. Not only that, JW Foundation’s investment in other oil stocks were all caught one after another.
The current situation was that Quantum Fund had enough stocks and chips due to the accumulation from the previous period.
Hence, it was obvious that Jasper wanted to knock out the United States stock market, but he had to raise the stock price first, and then he would have a chance to go short after buying the stock.
To prevent Jasper from accumulating enough stocks, Quantum Fund began to smash the stock price. This led to an extreme intensification of the conflict between the two sides.
However, Jasper did not care.
In addition to the stock market, there were stock index futures available.
One did not need to actually buy stocks for stock index futures. Since they were futures, they would go short and long as long as one saw fit. One could do this kind of costless trading at any time.
It sounded like it was high and mighty, but it was actually very simple.
If you wanted to short a stock but did not have its stock on hand, then you could borrow the stock from the institution that owned the company’s stock at the current market price and sell it on the market through the futures market.
Once the price dropped, then you just needed to buy the stock in the market with the lowered price and return it to the institution.
This way, the institution earns commissions, fees, and interest, while you would earn the difference after the stock price falls.
A win-win situation.
Who would be the one losing out?
Of course, it was those investors who studied the candlestick chart diligently in the stock market. However, who cares?
“Tank the Dow Jones futures by 200 points in the oil and energy sector and prepare 20 billion US Dollars.”
After Jasper’s order was issued, the stock market’s direction moved.
Quantum Fund reacted immediately. If Jasper went short, they would go long. They would eat up the same amount of orders that Jasper sold.
Therefore, the stock price was always stabilize at a suitable price. The situation suddenly came to a stalemate.
There was no sound as only the occasional violent fluctuations in the stock price were seen.
Although controlled within a small curve, the data that looked like a waterfall as it was refreshed in the trading column still showed that under its huge trading volume, there was a fight of hundreds of billions of dollars in funds between JW Foundation and Quantum Fund.
Huge amounts of funds were being traded and evaporated with every passing minute and second. In this financial war, no one was innocent, and no one could avoid suffering.
Jasper’s expression gradually became serious. He crossed his fingers and rested his chin on his hands. He was looking calmly at the stock data.
Because of his silence, JW Foundation‘s actions slowed down as everyone was waiting for his new order.
“Mr. Laine.”
Jake returned to the trading center and did not even have time to change his clothes. He took off his suit, rolled up his sleeves, and sat in front of the computer to connect with Jasper.
“Soros is amazing.”
The match only lasted half a trading day and Jasper could already feel tremendous pressure.
“From the looks of it, my estimates were correct. The reason why we were able to win a small victory before was that Quantum Fund did not take us too seriously, but this time, it is different. What we’re looking at now is an enraged Soros and the fully integrated Wall Street Capital Group.”
Jasper gritted his teeth slightly. At this moment, he once again realized the helplessness and anger of the absolute difference between the two sides.
“Sell all the ExxonMobil stocks we have previously absorbed and try our best to short the futures market with an authorized amount of 50 billion US Dollars.”
Jasper’s command was executed immediately.
Hence, an extremely rare scene appeared on the United States stock market.
ExxonMobil’s stock price, after experiencing a rise to the limit at the speed of a rocket, hit the limit down like a meteor again.
The two up and down straight lines drew an inverted V from the top to the bottom of the computer screen.
This was a financial miracle that had surpassed 20% of the market value of ExxonMobil and was due to the collision of more than 800 billion US Dollars.
Looking at the futures market again, the whole thing went crazy.
If it was an oil related sector, there would be violent fluctuations. Every time it rose, Quantum Fund would have the advantage, but in the next second, JW Foundation would get it back from them, and then there would be a big fall.
During such fluctuation, 99% of small retail investors with funds less than 1 million were liquidated.
This half of the trading day evaporated more than 500 billion US Dollars of these retail investors‘ assets.
Most of this money was collected from the siphon effect brought about by JW Foundation and Quantum Fund over the course of their confrontation.
The so-called siphon effect was like a flushing toilet at home. The pressure and suction in the middle were large enough to drive the surrounding energy to converge toward the center and form a general trend. Now, JW Foundation and Quantum Fund were both liquidating each other’s positions.
Of course, both Jasper and Soros understood that it was unrealistic to liquidate the opponent’s main position. It required a larger scale decisive battle, while what they were doing now was cleaning up the battlefield and killing all the retail investors that were going in the same direction as the other party. It could also be considered as weakening the opponent’s strength in disguise.
“Mr. Laine, the financial pressure is very heavy,” Jake reported as he sweated profusely.
Jasper glanced and saw that it was five minutes before the market closed.
“Release 3 points of space to form a buffer. That’s it for today,” Jasper said lightly.
JW Foundation immediately gathered its funds instead of investing hundreds of millions of dollars in every percentage point to compete with Quantum Fund.
Most of the masters had similar mentalities. Jasper’s actions immediately ensured that he and Soros had a tacit understanding.
Faced with the three vacancies released by JW Foundation, Quantum Fund no longer greedily devoured them.
It was like a battle between two armies. One side suddenly retreated 100 meters, but the other side did not chase after them. Instead, this 100 meters of space was left as a buffer zone for everyone to rest. If there was no such buffer space, the two sides might enter the decisive battle at any moment.
This was something that neither Jasper nor Soros wanted to see for the time being.
At the last minute before the market closed, the Harbor City trading center, which had so far been quiet, suddenly brought about a large amount of money and ate up the buffer of these three points.
Jake, who did not know what happened, was dumbfounded when he saw this scene.
Jasper was furious. He grabbed the keyboard and smashed the screen.
“Kayden, you’re digging your own grave!”