Ch. 1941..1950
Life at the Top Chapter 1941
The Harbor Stock market opened immediately after the call auction phase was over.
Countless dense transaction data refreshed like torrents.
There were so many things that happened this weekend, and most of them were major events in the financial field, hence they directly reflected the stock prices of various listed in Harbor Stock. The fluctuations in the stock prices of these listed companies had contributed to the ups and downs of the market and were reflected on the screen in front of all investors.
Harbor Stock started low at the opening of the market on Monday because it was affected by Fongroup, Atticus Group, and Hope Group’s large-scale dumping of their properties in Harbor City, as well as Fongroup’s acquisition of Layman in the United States and the news that Layman went bankrupt all at the same time.
The downturn in the entire real estatesector accentuated the abrupt boom in therubber industry-related sectors.
The Harbor City government opened thebarriers to entry for the rubber industry so almost anyone could enter this industry.With JW adding fuel to the fire, the rubbersector had risen instead of going againstthe market.
With such a low opening, Half-the
Harbor Langdon was not happy, and
Jasper was not worried about it.
Although they had not met orcommunicated with each other, the twowho had already started fighting fromopposite ends of the earth were very clearthat this was just the beginning.
Sure enough, Fongroup was the first toissue a notice on the company’s majoroperations
Under the requirements of the SomerlandSecurities Regulatory Commission, alllisted companies had stipulated that theymust inform shareholders and society assoon as possible if they faced majoroperational changes. Another thing was to release the financial report of the
previous quarter or the previous fiscal
year at the specified time.
These were all subject to audit.
The Securities Regulatory Commission also used these rigid requirements to regulate the normal operation of listed companies. After all, even if only a minimum of 100 shares were bought, they were still shareholders of listed companies in the eyes of the law and had the right to know.
It was just that these reports had a very long release period, and the report released by Fongroup this time had no warning. However, in the eyes of insiders, it was quite reasonable.
When the investors opened this report, they were all dumbfounded.
Fongroup’s report was only 6 months away from the last report, but in these 6 months, the company’s profit had gone from 8.7 billion Harbor Dollars to a loss of 38.9 billion Harbor Dollars, which was equivalent to 6 months’ worth of accumulation. Over time, Fongroup lost
nearly 40 billion Harbor Dollars.
“Fongroup lost 40 billion Harbor Dollars i n 6 months, with an average monthly loss of 6.666 billion Harbor Dollars and a daily loss of 222 million Harbor Dollars!”
This piece of news spread across Harbor
City instantly, as if it had grown wings.
“Joe Half-the-Harbor Langdon finally met his Waterloo and the huge losses from the failed acquisition of Layman shattered the dreams of this business legend in New York overnight.”
“Joe Half-the-Harbor Langdon stepped off the altar. Fongroup, which has been profitable for 10 consecutive years, broke the record of the largest loss for a listed company in Harbor City!”
A series of news was like an invisible hand as it tightly grabbed the fragile hearts of Harbor Stock investors. Panic began to spread and Fongroup’s stock price soon plunged.
In the capital circle, no one believed in the myth of invincibility. If the company performed well and the stock price could rise, you would be everyone’s god, but once your investment failed and the stock price dropped, it was this group of believers who would send you straight to hell.
However, Fongroup was closely followed b y the financial reports of Hope Group and Atticus Group.
“Affected by the company’s tight cash flow, Hope Group concentrated on selling a large number of properties in Harbor City. At the same time, investment in the mainland is stuck at the negotiation stage, and billions of Harbor Dollars may b e lost.”
“Affected by the growth of industry costs and the company’s cross-industry development losses, Atticus Group announced that its estimated loss for the quarter exceeded 10 billion…”
Whether it was Fongroup, Hope Group, or Atticus Group, they were all major listed companies on Harbor Stock.
Hence, they could influence the market to a certain extent.
Life at the Top Chapter 1942
When the three companies announced
that their huge losses were irreversible,
panic spread rapidly across the market. The most direct embodiment and reaction of all this was that Harbor Stocks plunged directly after the market opened low.
At this time, Wendy’s press conference had ended.
At the same time, Nine Dragon Corporation and JW Company’s new Ocean City plan was already made known t o the public, and JW Company had made a series of investments in Harbor City. With the help of the Laws and the Boyles, all the news began to make an impact across all of Harbor City.
The first thing that bore the brunt of these revelations was that the share price of Nine Dragon Corporation skyrocketed.
Funds in the capital market had the instinct to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. When several important sectors were falling and odd stocks were soaring against the market, the scattering and fleeing funds seemed to have found a haven which they all flowed to without thinking.
The consequence of this was with Nine Dragon Corporation in the lead, all the holding companies related to the old giants such as the Boyles and the Laws began to rise wildly.
The stock market was divided into two distinct camps, with one side leading the decline while the other side rose frantically.
What was hidden beneath the intricate
financial situation was the turbulent
capital game.
“The current situation in Harbor Stocks is complicated, but the overall downward trend has begun to appear. As expected, J W can’t save Harbor Stocks!”
In New York, Fabian looked at the market and breathed a sigh of relief.
“It opened at 8942 points, and it has now fallen to 8880 points. It is still slowly descending towards the support point of 8850 points.”
Fabian looked excited as he said, “We are going to beat Harbor Stocks to 7600 andwithdraw!
“According to the proportion of our invested capital, once it reaches 7600 points, then our income will be doubled. A t that time, we will take the money and go regardless of the chaos in Harbor Stocks.”
“I’m afraid it’s not that simple.”
Kayden furrowed his brows tightly and
said, “From what I know about Jasper, he
won’t give up so easily.”
“What else can he do? Do you think he will support Harbor Stocks all by himself? Stop dreaming,” Fabian sneered.
And at this moment, in Nauritus City.
Baz knocked on Jasper’s office door before
opening it.
“Mr. Laine, the domestic A-share market
will open in fifteen minutes.” Jasper nodded, got up, and said, “Let’s go
and focus on the domestic market.”
The moment Jasper got up, the Harbor City branch of JW Company that was just established made a heartwarming announcement.
“In response to the fact that Fongroup,
Hope Group, and Atticus Groupcollectively selling the Harbor Cityproperty due to cash flow difficulties, JWCompany has sent a diplomatic note tothe three companies and expressed ourwillingness to acquire the properties soldby the three companies as a whole at avaluation slightly higher than the marketprice. If necessary, JW Company is willingto provide an interest-free loan of no lessthan 10 billion Harbor Dollars to the three
companies.”
At the end of the announcement, therewas a final statement. “We are all fromSomerland. So, JW Company has theresponsibility and obligation to help thethree companies with their difficulties.”
As soon as this announcement came out,Harbor Stocks exploded.
Life at the Top Chapter 1943
This announcement looked sentimental and righteous no matter who read it. It was an announcement to help friends in difficult times and it was full of morality and humanity.
It was a touching move of lending a hand t o help Fongroup, Hope Group, and Atticus Group when they were in trouble.
Nobody knew how many people cheered the fact that JW Company was so powerful and kind-some even claimed that JW Company was a model for the business community of the next generation.
However, when the announcement reached New York and the eyes of Half-the -Harbor Langdon and the gang, they were so disgusted they wanted to throw up.
“That rascal!”
Sawyer’s eyes were red as he stared at the announcement on the screen. He was so angry that he wanted to pull Jasper out of the screen and skin him alive. “F*ck…”
Kennedy, who had always prided himself as an elite from the upper class, could nothelp but swear at this time.
Meanwhile, Half-the-Harbor Langdon’seyelids twitched, and he said, “Theannouncement that cost him nothing hasturned a lot of our efforts into jokes.”
The reason why the three companiescollectively released negative news wasthat they thought their company’s largeshare of stock value could affect themarket trend to a certain extent.
Therefore, they strived for their ownvalue to plunge and so that the marketwould plunge with them.
When the stock price of their companyhad fallen, their value would certainlyfall, but these were all book losses. If thecompany’s stock price rose in the future,these losses would be completely wipedout.
The most important thing was that theycould get money in exchange for a declinein the market, which was also thefundamental purpose of their painstaking
efforts to do so many things during this
period.
However, as soon as JW Company’s announcement was made, the ever changing Harbor Stocks market immediately rebounded.
With JW Company’s foundation in making various big moves and cooperating with giants before, its name had been very popular in Harbor City so no one would doubt its strength.
So, when JW Company expressed its willingness to help the three companies wholeheartedly, the stocks of the three companies that had fallen sharply were lifted by speculators who tried to make a profit from them.
At this moment, the entire Harbor Stocks had witnessed the power of this group of speculators. They not only stopped the losses of the three companies, but in just a few minutes, they also pressed forward with triumphant progress.
In the eyes of many speculators, JW Company was now the most prosperous and strongest private company in themainland. It could even represent the will of the mainland to a certain extent. As long as JW Company assisted these three companies, it meant that the mainland would not allow Harbor Stocks to fall. Therefore, wouldn’t buying the stocks of these three companies at this time be equivalent to making money with no effort?
Under the temptation of this interest, this group of speculators abruptly made this logic self-consistent.
So, Harbor Stocks proved one thing to the world with what was now cold hard fact; there were so many rich people in Harbor
City.
Under the leadership of the three companies, the entire Harbor Stocks quickly changed from opening low to opening low and closing high. The market price directly surged upwards, and this hot trend caused a snowball effect. More and more hot money was constantly pouring into Harbor Stocks under the premise that investors and retail investors believed that an ideal market situation was right in front of them, and it
would be very profitable…
“8950 points!”
A touch of fear appeared on Sawyer’s face. He looked at Half-the-Harbor Langdon and said, “Harbor Stocks has recovered the previous loss and it’s even 8 points higher than the opening point. If this situation continues and reaches 9100 points, we’ll go bankrupt!
“What should we do?”
Kennedy looked serious as he stared at Harbor Stocks firmly. Although he did not say a word, he suddenly regretted it at this moment.
Impulsively shorting Harbor Stocks with these two people was probably the stupidest choice he had ever made.
Although everyone knew that Sawyer was just saying that they would go bankrupt, after all, they were not children, and they had a rich family background that ordinary people could never imagine. There had a way out, but heavy losses would be inevitable.
Their alliance had just begun and they had encountered their Waterloo. How would they deal with Jasper in the future?
Could they win?
The thought of this made Kennedy’s
expression turn even more unpleasant.
He looked at Half-the-Harbor Langdon and said softly, “Joe, we have to take action. If this continues, it is equivalent to suicide.”
Half-the-Harbor Langdon slowly rubbed his old Citizen watch on his wrist.
He deliberately presented his watch in front of the media countless times to establish a frugal image in front of others. He understood that in this society, the poor were always the majority, and for the rich, the best way to make the poor become willingly exploited was to make them think that the life of the rich was actually how it was presented and not much better than themselves.
Therefore, everyone knew that Half-the Harbor Langdon had a piece of Citizen that had been worn for decades, but few people knew that he was one of Patek Philippe’s biggest customers in Terra.
Half-the-Harbor Langdon, who had played with people’s hearts for most of his life, suddenly discovered that there was a young man who was no worse than him in this regard.
“That announcement only had a few words and it really played with the human heart.” Half-the-Harbor Langdon sighed quietly and said.
This thoughtless sentence confused
Sawyer and Kennedy.
Sawyer, who was more impatient, frowned and said, “Joe, it’s not the time t o sigh about these kinds of things. We should come up with a plan quickly. We can’t just sit here and wait for our deaths.”
“There is no better way.”
Half-the-Harbor Langdon said slowly, “N o matter how much we say or do, our intentions will be more obvious. Once we truly expose our purpose of emptying Harbor Stocks to everyone, do you think we will be able to stand tall in the global
business community of Somer descendants, let alone Harbor City and the mainland?
“This is tantamount to a fall-out, and this is exactly what Jasper wants to see most.”
Kennedy could not keep his cool after he heard what Half-the-Harbor Langdon said. He asked, “So we should just sit here and do nothing?”
“First, we’ll announce the name of each company rejecting Jasper’s so-called help. Then, I will take you to meet Half-the-Harbor Langdon said after hesitating.
Kennedy and Sawyer looked at each other and asked, “Who?”
“Soros.”
Half-the-Harbor Langdon seemed to have made up his mind as he said, “It’s not that we betrayed them, but they betrayed us first. Since we want to do this, we should do it thoroughly. What’s wrong with cooperating with Wall Street? After w e take down Jasper, all of the fame, wealth, and status will return.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1944
Jasper did not waste too much energy on Half-the-Harbor Langdon and his small league or Harbor Stocks,
It was not that he did not pay much attention to Half-the-Harbor Langdon, but it was because today’s Harbor Stockscould only be regarded as asupplementary small market compared to the domestic A shares and the United
States’ Nasdaq and Dow Jones. If he could win on the domestic A-shares market and Nasdaq and Dow Jones in NewYork, he would naturally not have to worry about this small market.
Besides, a pond that was almost dried upcould not make too many waves no matter how much someone flopped it. The few plan Bs that Jasper had made was enough to cope with all emergencies. Hence, Jasper quickly put all his energy into the domestic A-share market that mhad already commenced trading.
To be precise, he focused on the overalldomestic financial situation.
Even though he had been mentallyprepared, Jasper could not help but furrowhis eyebrows when the opening data came
The situation was much worse than he thought.
“The A-share market opened at 2449 points and dropped 15 points. The curr t point is 2434 points. Several importantsectors that took up a large portion of the market are all falling
“Light industries such as clothing and
textiles fell the most, and the ones that
went against the market and did well were
all food-related companies.
“The market opened for 5 minutes andthe global trading volume exceeded 120billion Somer Dollars. Large amounts ofmoney were changing hands frantically,but the stock price kept falling.
“At present, 82 stocks have reached a
limit down, 103 stocks have fallen by more than 5%. However, as a small sector, the food sector has a total of 48 stocks where more than 20 stocks were rising, and of which 3 stocks have hit the daily limit.
“The trend of the A-share market was almost completely affected by the futures market. The decline in the light industry was due to the plunge in the prices of futures products such as cotton while the futures prices of foodstuff continues to rise.”
Baz reported as he raised his head to look at Jasper. Then, with a solemn expression on his face, he said solemnly, “Mr. Laine, the current average increase in foodstuff has exceeded 8%.
“According to our team’s research and analysis of international grain price fluctuations in recent years, once the grain price on the financial market rises for more than 3 consecutive trading days o r the increase rate exceeds 10%, it will affect the price of spot trading in the market.
“Some food distributors are already hoarding goods.”
Everyone understood the principle of
buying low and selling high in business. Right now, the price of food was likely to usher in a wave of increases. Naturally, speculators would stock up in advance and wait until the price was higher before shipping and harvesting. This was the operation of the economy and also basic human nature.
So, Jasper was not surprised.
“Soros is determined to take action on the domestic food prices.”
Jasper’s tone was a bit heavy. He said, “At present, our country is the world’s most populous country with a full population of 1.2 billion. The demand for food is huge. W e just got rid of our dependence on food imports in the past few years, so if they wanted to shake our social foundation in a fast and effective manner, foodstuffs will be the best choice.
“Those punk from the United States are not studying their Twin Towers that was just bombed, instead, they decided to rack their brains to study our country’s national conditions and culture.”
Jasper was somewhat helpless.
Somerland people’s preference for land and food was the most profound gene that
was buried in their bones.
The saying ‘food is the God of the people’ could perfectly describe this.
Throughout the history of Somerland, which dynasty was not taken over because the people could not live and had no food t o eat?
The people of Somerland were the most docile. As long as they had a bite to eat, they would not think of rebellion.
However, at the same time, the people of Somerland were also the most violent. They would kill anyone who left them without food.
Although the current situation was not so. serious, in the face of a huge population base, even a 1 cent increase in food prices would cause great turmoil and unrest in society.
It could be said that even if he did not want to admit it, Jasper knew very well that Soros’ move truly hit Somerland
where it hurt..
“Hedging.”
Jasper said, “Hedge foodstuff futures products in the market. We will short wherever Soros goes long.”
Baz was taken aback and hurriedly said, ” Mr. Laine, if you do this, the financial pressure will be huge. At present, JW’s cash flow has reached the caution line and no more funds can be drawn out.”
“Do you think we hosted that economic forum for nothing? It’s time to use private capital. Open a hedge position first to send a signal to the market and there will be funds to keep up.”
Jasper’s tone was light, but his expression was extremely serious. He said, “These people are smarter than the others. JW has done enough, but JW is not a gold vault. Even if we are, how many vaults can the money JW threw out fill?
“They all understand that if JW falls right
now, everyone will be finished. Just do it
and see the market’s reaction.”
With that, Baz stopped talking nonsense and immediately got up to arrange the transaction.
The efficiency of the professional team was fully demonstrated at this moment, not to mention that this team had experienced the attack of the United States financial market. In terms of experience, efficiency, and execution, no one in Somerland could match them.
In the futures trading market, an extremely conspicuous and eye-catching sell order appeared in the spectacular purchase order in the grain sector.
The amount was not large, just 10 million Somer Dollars.
Short orders of 10 million appeared in various foodstuff sub-categories such as sugar and soybeans in the major foodstuff category.
Although this 10 million short order was swallowed by the market in an instant, it was like the most conspicuous signal light in the dark launched from Nauritus City, illuminating a vast territory.
Far away in Meleya, Robert, who had just
arrived in his office, immediately heard
his subordinate’s report on the matter.
“Sir, as per your instructions, we have been keeping an eye on the domestic futures market in Somerland. The moment the futures market opened, the price of Somerland’s domestic grain futures products was soaring, but just now, there was a 10 million Somer Dollar short-selling order for sugar.
“Since you have instructed that we report to you immediately once there is a sell order of more than 1 million in the buying market, so we dared not waste any time. This happened just now, so do you have any instructions?”
Robert raised his hand and the secretary beside him immediately took out a document from his briefcase.
Robert handed over the file to his subordinate and said, “Follow the order stated here.
“This is the tacit understanding between me and that boy. He has given me a signal, hence Kelly Group and Coyle Brothers Group will cooperate with him fully.
Life at the Top Chapter 1945
The subordinate glanced down at the content of the file. There was not much written on it and there were only a few lines, but all of them frightened him.
“S-Sir… This…”
Robert patted him on the shoulder and said, “Joss, you will always have a home if you have your country. The Coyles will always belong to Somerland. Look at my company, which one of them who has real power is not a Somer descendent, including yourself?
“Because I always believe that people who are not my own kind will have different mindsets and they will say it is chauvinism or nationalism. However, I decide on my company, and no one can say anything about who I hire!
“And one more thing. I like to hire people of Somer descent not because I don’t like foreigners, but what I hate most are people who act like Westerners and think they are superior. In the face of such huge trouble, a little short-term loss is nothing. I hope you can understand that.”
Joss nodded seriously as he looked atRobert’s face and said, “Sir, I understand.I will convey what you said to everyonearound me.”
“Very well, get back to work.”
As Robert walked to his office while beingsurrounded by a group of people with hishands on his back, Joss immediatelyfollowed Robert’s instructions to executewhat he asked.
With that, Kelly Group, one of the world’slargest sugar suppliers, initiated threemajor events.
Each of these three major events causedhuge sensations.
First, Kelly Group invested 10 billion.Somer Dollars to invest in the Somerlandfutures market. The reason was that KellyGroup believed that the Somerlanddomestic sugar futures market had hugeprofit margins and was suitable for shortselling,
Second, Kelly Group announced that thesugar supply output to Western countrieswould be reduced by 60% this year and this part of the output would be used to expand the domestic market in Somerland.
Third, Kelly Group would investigate the domestic market of Somerland with the intention to build two sugar and edible oil processing and refining plants in the mainland of Somerland. The total investment plan for those would be no less than 5 billion Somer Dollars.
The combined meaning of these three messages was simple and clear.
Daddy found out that you Westerners were unreliable, and we could not make money from doing business with you. Now, daddy had discovered a new and better place to make money in Somerland. So, will be off to make a fortune.
This, combined with the current futures. financial market in Somerland, which had attracted the attention of all forces, successfully produced some subtle changes.
From Kelly Group’s belief that the Somerland mainland market was profitable, it became, “F*ck you little
sons of bitches, you want to control Somerland food prices? Have you asked Kelly Group? Do you think everyone in Somerland is dead?’
The outside world soon discovered that Kelly Group was not just making empty promises.
As soon as the announcement was made, six fully loaded cruise ships that were already halfway to Europe immediately turned around and rushed back to Somerland.
This stunned the downstream partners waiting to receive the goods in Europe. Aside from the loss in the cost of transportation, the compensation for breach of contract was not a small figure either. Even if Kelly Group was a big business, they could not play such dirty tricks, right?
This was how Kelly Group went about things, and they carefreely contacted these distributors to negotiate the payment of compensation for breach of contract.
Regarding this, those distributors could not so much make a peep. Although they were out of stock, they could get compensation and still make a fortune. As for the increase in the price of sugar products in the European local market due to the sudden supply break, they could just make it back from places like Brazil.
They did not manipulate the price of foodstuff in Somerland anyway, so if someone were to die, it would be those damned jokers from the United State
Life at the Top Chapter 1946
Meanwhile in the Somerland futures market, Kelly Group was very strong willed. When they said they would invest 1o billion, the funds arrived immediately without any hesitation.
When this 10 billion short order entered the domestic futures market, Soros’s scalp was tingling.
Kelly Group was not the only one makinghis scalp tingle.
Because one after another, a large numberof short orders began to appear in varioussub-catalogs of Somerland domesticfoodstuff futures.
There were many short orders
everywhere for soybeans, wheat, and other products.
These lists were not large when they were on their own. The largest amounts were just orders with hundred million as theunit of measurement, but the sheer number of orders were too much.
According to past experience, Soros immediately asked the team to analyze where these scattered short orders came from. It would be fine if he did not analyze it, as he started cursing immediately after the analysis.
The sources of these short orders were almost all from the Somerland mainland and there were various sources for the short orders.
It was fine for some of them that were food companies. They would be considered forward-looking and strategic if they were willing to take out ten thousands to short sell. They knew that they would only get short-term benefits if the price continued to rise. If the pricing power of future foodstuff prices were to b e robbed by the West, they would be finished sooner or later.
So, this kind of short-selling was reasonable, but if you were a hardware company and a small company with a profit of only 20 million a year, why the hell would you put together 4 million and start short-selling foodstuffs?
“Aren’t these rascals from Somerland
afraid to lose all of their money?”
Soros was furious. His balding headbecame brighter and brighter as he cursedwith a strange, surprised, and angryexpression, “It’s just a few million emptyorders. We can defeat all of them with asingle wave, yet they have the balls tocome and join in the fun?”
Rogers next to him also had a gloomyexpression. He said, “But there are too.many of the same orders. If one of them isseveral million, then 10 or 100 of themwould be several hundred million. Thiswill be very unfavorable for us.”
After speaking, the corners of Rogers’mouth twitched and he said to Soros,Why do I have the feeling that we arebeing beaten up by the entire Somerlandmerchant group?”
“And that blasted Kelly Group!”
Soros gritted his teeth with a lividexpression.
“They’re so bold and blatant. Aren’t theyafraid of the sanctions by the United States? By then, they would not be able to buy even one gram of raw materials internationally. How long will it take for a sugar company to go bankrupt without sucrose and raw materials?”
Rogers pursed his lips, ignoring Soros’s
grumbles.
This kind of thing was not something
they could decide, nor could it be dealt
with now.
Hence, Rogers began thinking about how t
o solve the current problem.
“The financial market will directly affect the spot trading, but in turn, the spot trading can also directly affect the futures market. My friend, we should now release the food we bought that are in our hands.”
Soros immediately understood what Rogers meant. He frowned slightly and said, “But the amount of food we bought i s far from the expected amount. That damn Grandland Corporation is too cowardly. They immediately breached the contract after Jasper played some dirty trick on them. No matter how we threaten and tease them, they just lower their heads and dare not come out. This is very troublesome!”
Life at the Top Chapter 1947
“Of the four major international foodstuff merchant groups, three were native to the United States.”
Rogers smiled slightly and said, ” Whether it is ADM or Bunge or Cargill, they are all the main investors in our planthis time. We only need to continue to increase our efforts to use capital dumping to shuffle the domestic foodmarket in Somerland. When the timecomes, the financial market will crashright in front of you.
“Then, we’ll go bottom fishing forSomerland’s domestic foodstuffcompanies. These arrogant Somerlandpunks will soon understand that theirgarish resistance is just a joke in the face of real strength.”
The color finally returned to Soros’s face.
“Yes, this is indeed a good plan.”
Rogers glanced at the futures grain pricesthat had begun to fall with contempt.
After that, he said, “So what if they have some tactics? Those barbarians who have just come into contact with modern global trade laws don’t even know how powerful capital is.”
“Alright, old man, Half-the-Harbor Langdon and the gang have been waiting for you for a long time, are you going to see them?”
Soros nodded and said, “Sure. You are responsible for continuing to communicate with the three major foodstuff merchant groups to facilitate this matter as soon as possible and tell them that if they want to take down Somerland’s gigantic market with 1.2 billion people, they have to agree with the operation of our capital.”
“This is what I’m good at. I know what to do.”
“Mr. Laine, domestic foodstuff futures. prices have begun to fall, and our strategy has begun to bear fruit,” Baz said to Jasper while in high spirits.
Jasper had been keeping an eye on future prices all the time, so naturally, he knew about this. However, he did not dampen Baz’s spirits and simply smiled while saying, “Very well, this time, it’s everyone’s victory. By comparison, we just kicked things off.”
Jasper knew that if he did not scare this group of people, they would not take out every penny they had to fight him.
Moreover, the facts had also proved that the hidden power of these people was really terrifying.
If this wave of counterattacks continued, even Soros, who came with a huge amount of funds, would not be able to take this. He would need some time to at least digest it.
Moreover, this period happened to allow Jasper to carry out the next step of his plan.
“Has the guest I made an appointment with arrived?” Jasper asked.
“They’re here and are waiting in the reception room,” Baz replied.
“Okay, I’ll go over now. Keep an eye onthe market, come to me anytime if there is any change.”
After Jasper finished speaking, he wentdirectly to the reception room.
As soon as he walked in, Jasper saw twomen and a woman standing up in thereception room.
“You’re Ms. Acker, right?”
Jasper walked over and shook hands withthe woman in the lead with a grin on hisface. “I’m sorry for making you wait solong.”
Ms. Acker smiled and said, “You’re busy, so we’re fine to wait a little longer.”
Because of their company and status, theywere always praised wherever they went,however, they did not dare to actrecklessly in front of Jasper.
These people were the representatives
from the Somergrain headquarters.
They came here because Jasper invitedthem over to talk about the plans andmethods to deal with the current domestic foodstuff problems.
Because of the importance of this matter, Somergrain dared not waste any time. Ms. Acker who was asked to come here was truly a second generation with political connections, and was the current president of Somergrain. Meanwhile, her father was the founder and first chairman of Somergrain.
Such statuses were not unimportant.
After the two sides sat down according to seniority, Jasper said directly, “I don’t think I need to say anything about the current situation. Although earlier, we have withstood the first wave of Wall Street capital’s attack, I believe that they will have a follow-up attack and it will be even more violent.”
Ms. Acker had a serious expression on her face. At this moment, no one in the country dared to neglect Jasper or take him lightly when they were speaking to him.
She asked, “Mr. Laine, thanks to your
previous reminder, Swallow Capital has made enough preparations and we have
also been preparing for the upcoming food trade war under the guidance of higher authorities. However, I still want t o know, is it really that serious?”
Jasper recalled the food trade war that occurred in his previous life. If it were not for Swallow Capital’s courage and Somergrain’s deep history and heritage, that group of Western capital might have succeeded.
Although the ending was good, Jasper
learned from many sources that the cost o
f victory was extremely high. When he thought about this, Jasper nodded slightly and said, “It will only get more serious, and there won’t be a most
serious case than this.
“I can tell you responsibly that this time, the West is definitely not only launching a n offensive on our foodstuff security from the capital level, but the most terrifying thing is the spot level. This is where the real fight will be, and there won’t be any skills required because we will be fighting with our background and heritage. Whoever has a weak background will lose,and it will be a crushing defeat.
“Of the major foodstuff merchant groups i n the world, except for one in France that i s ranked fourth, the top three are all from the United States.
“Moreover, they used this naked and violent position to control the lifeline of the foodstuff in other countries. This is not a one-off occasion, rather, they’ve done this repeatedly. As the state-owned enterprise with the largest official foodstuff security reserve, Somergrain will not be unaware about this.”
Ms. Acker sighed softly and said, “Yes, and for this reason, the entire company is standing by.”
Jasper contemplated before saying, “I won’t inquire about how much grain reserves Somergrain has as this is a state secret. You don’t need to tell me either, but I need to know something. How big of a foodstuff trade war can you take before you start having shortages in the reserve?”
As soon as he said this, Ms. Acker’s expression changed slightly.
Although this was not a direct disclosure of f Somergrain’s reserve secrets, it was still close. Ms. Acker would never dare to tell him the answer so easily. Once it was revealed, there would be huge issues if something went wrong.
Jasper seemed to have noticed Ms. Acker’s distress and seemed to be prepared for it. Therefore, he said directly, “It’s okay if it’s not convenient for you to answer directly. I’ll ask in another way then. Can Somergrain resist the three major foodstuff merchant groups purchasing more than 100 million tons of staple food at a high price?”
Ms. Acker asked in horror, “100 million tons? Mr. Laine, do you mean that they will directly empty domestic stocks at high prices to raise food prices and then steal the domestic food pricing power?”
“100 million tons is still a conservative estimation. It might go up to 120 million tors or more,” Jasper said.
Life at the Top Chapter 1948
Ms. Acker and her assistants could not believe what Jasper had just said. How much was 100 million tons?
One had to keep in mind that in the past 2000 years, the total annual foodstuff production in Somerland was only 380million tons.
Although 2001 was not over yet, according to the calculations of the Statistics Bureau, the total annualfoodstuff production would not exceed 420 million tons.
This was the total amount considering all
types of food including wheat, rice, corn,
and so on. If they only calculated rice and
wheat, the amount would be less.
One year’s food rations for the people of
the whole country was a big deal no
matter which country it was.
And according to Jasper, this was only aconservative estimate. If it was 120million tons and upward, then it wouldalmost certainly exceed the national oneyear production volume.
With a conflicted expression, Ms. Acker hesitated and struggled for a while before saying, “Our limit is about 140 million tons. If it is more, then there will be a great risk, and according to the regulations, no matter what the situation i
s, it will be necessary for us to retain a
portion of the foodstuff in the reserve
which cannot be moved under any
circumstance.”
Jasper was very satisfied.
He knew that Somergrain’s family background would not be too shallow.
Besides this, Jasper was sure that even if Ms. Acker said that the limit was 140 million tons, there must be a certain amount of room. Although this would not be too much, there should be no problem i f they braced themselves and increased the limit to 150 million tons.
In his last life, Somergrain eventually
defeated the three major foodstuff merchants of the United States. Even until the end, nobody, including the three major foodstuff merchants and the people of Somerland, did not ever learn how powerful Somergrain’s background was,
And this time, Jasper finally had some ideas.
“I know what to do now. N.”
Jasper said with a smile on his face, “I am more certain now.”
Looking at the puzzled looks on Ms. Acker and her assistants’ faces, Jasper explained, “In truth, the most essential trading rules of the futures market are very simple. It is just a sublimation of spot trading. No matter how fancy the operations and strategies are, this level of battle will only end in a spot transaction, and the fight will be between both parties’ backgrounds.
“Either there is enough money, or there are enough spots.
“Take foodstuffs as an example. In the futures trading market, if the market price is 10 Somer Dollars per 500 grams, the other party would first take all the trading orders for 10 Somer Dollars per 500 grams, and then orders with 11 Sommer Dollars, and then the ones with 12
Sommer Dollars.
“And we want to maintain a stable market price of 10 Sommer Dollars per 500 grams, so when the other party takes the goods of 10 Sommer Dollars per 500 grams, then we must come up with enough orders to deal with the other party.
“If they put out 100 million to buy, then
we’ll take out 100 million worth of spots t
o sell.
“If our goods are not sold and their funds are not exhausted, then this tug-of-war will continue until one of us can no longer hold on.
“In this matter, our biggest advantage lies in local operations. The capital of the three major foodstuff merchant groups is strong, but their business is global. Therefore, it is impossible for them to put all the funds and energy into Somerland.
“Once enough time has passed and the amount of funds consumed is large enough, then they are likely to be drawn into the abyss by this quagmire. Therefore, no matter how large their
investment is, there will inevitably be a limit. On the other hand, we are strategically safe so we can only fight till the end because we cannot retreat.”.
After Jasper said that, Ms. Acker pondered for a moment and asked, “So, is there a possibility that they will give up everything and destroy Somerland’s food reserves?”
“Not at all.”
Jasper’s answer was firm.
As he looked at Ms. Acker, who wanted to refute but did not, Jasper chuckled and continued, “Don’t forget, JW Foundation still has more than 180 billion US Dollars o f funds in the United States financial market. If they want to burn their boats, it will be equivalent to exposing their bottoms in the broad daylight. I will give them such a crushing defeat that they will have no choice but to sell even the underwear on their bodies.”
Although Jasper was speaking very softly, every word revealed unparalleled dominance.
As Ms. Acker looked at Jasper, who wasyoung and full of charm in front of her,her eyes shone.
….Don’t get me wrong, Ms. Acker was inher forties and all her children were inhigh school.
She was looking at Jasper entirely out ofgratification and appreciation.
It would be arrogant and ignorant to saysomething like this to any other person,but Jasper had proved with countlessevents that he could achieve things thatwere impossible in the eyes of others.
Also, Jasper genuinely did have such
strength.
“So, how do you want us to cooperatewith you, Mr. Laine?” Ms. Acker asked.
“I am hoping Somergrain can open a
position and enter the market.”
Jasper said while thinking, “AlthoughSoros has been under tremendouspressure this time, the effect will not lasttoo long. When they start their nextoffensive, they will be very powerful. Theself-regulation of the market can no longer solve this problem.
“So, Somergrain must enter the market immediately with only one policy in mind. Once Soros collects the foodstuff, you will sell it. Somergrain will sell as much as he collects.
“Using capital means to influence the spot, or use the spot to influence the capital. The ultimate fight is nothing more than how many bargaining chips everyone has on hand. This is a tough battle without any glamor where only a bloodbath can determine a winner.”
Ms. Acker and her two assistants looked a teach other. Then, she said, “I understand, I need to report this matter immediately.”
“I have prepared a quiet room for the three of you,” Jasper said.
Ms. Acker smiled and nodded. She then got up and went to a room next door
under Jasper’s lead.
After he took them there, Jasper left the room.
Next, Ms. Acker and the gang woulddiscuss this with the headquarters. Hence,it was not suitable for Jasper, an outsider, to stay inside.
At this time, the efficiency of state-ownedenterprises and agencies in handlingaffairs was likely to be horribly low, but inthe event of an emergency, the operation of the state apparatus was absolutelyamazing.
Jasper had only just returned to the room to have a cup of tea when Ms. Ackerreturned.
“The higher-ups have agreed andapproved your plan, Mr. Laine.”
This result did not surprise Jasper. He gotup and said, “Okay, then it should not betoo late. Ms. Acker, thank you for workingso hard to immediately complete therelevant procedures for opening andentering the market. Once Soros starts thenext step in the fund market, I willimmediately ask Somergrain to enter themarket.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1949
The capital market was always changing.
While Jasper was arranging the means to deal with Soros, Soros was not idle either.
The two sides had fought to this point, so even if they did not know each other very well, they still had to take some precautions.
Hence, after sending away Ms. Acker and her gang, Jasper immediately returned to the command room. As soon as he sat down, Baz walked in.
“Mr. Laine, take a look at the market.”
The huge screen in the command room immediately showed the domestic A share market.
It was plummeting.
It was plummeting horribly!
More than 500 stocks had hit their limit downs and the scene was simply shocking.
“Find me the stocks that have fallen by more than 5% within the past hour.” Jasper frowned.
In just a few minutes, the team completedthe instructions given by Jasper.
As Jasper looked at the densely packednames of listed companies on the screen,his expression was solemn.
“What can you see?” Jasper asked.
Baz frowned and said, “Except for a few of these stocks from the newly-listedcompanies that have fallen sharply due tomarket reasons, most of them areshowing heavy traces of man-madeactions. It can be concluded that it must be Quantum Fund. Tch tch, 120 billion USDollars? How arrogant.”
Jasper said angrily, “Do you think I needyou to tell me something that even theblind can see?”
“These listed companies that have beenattacked seem to be from the lightindustry.
“From textiles, tea, wood, to furniture,the upstream and downstream industrialchains of these industries seem to all beaffected,” Baz said suddenly.
Jasper shook his head.
He was quite dissatisfied.
Although Baz’s performance was alreadyvery good and he had shown greatimprovements compared to when hestarted, compared to Jake, there was stillsomething missing.
And it was a strategic overall view.
He did not show enough depth, structure,or quality when he was looking at aproblem.
These problems might not normally bebig, but at a critical moment, they would be fatal.
A master’s starting moves were roughlythe same, but the winning moves wereoften decided by the few later steps.
However, Baz could not be entirelyblamed.
He had worked hard enough, and he was
talented.
Although he was still not as good ascompared to Jake, who had receivedprofessional training and had moreexperience because he came back from abroad, in Jasper’s view, Baz had spirituality, which was an advantage over Jake even though the former was not a professional.
The overall view, experience, and skills could be exercised and cultivated, but spirituality was such a mysterious thing. Some people would be born with it while others would not obtain it no matter how hard they worked. Basically, it was a gift from God.
Baz obviously belonged to the latter in the field of financial trading.
Regardless of whether it was in the past o r this life, Jasper had already verified this.
So, Jasper considered whether to give Baz more opportunities to lead the team alone. Even if he had to put in some money for the tuition fee, it would be worthwhile for Baz to make up for the shortcomings of not being able to look at the overall situation.
However, these were things for the future.
After he shook his head and dismissed these thoughts, Jasper said, “Now that
you’re in his position, you can’t analyze the problem by simply looking at the surface. It is necessary to summarize the information you have on the surface to analyze the deep-seated problems.
“From the list of these listed companies, you have summarized the state of the industries, but why don’t you think more about why Soros chose these industries to start with?
“What benefits can they get and what difficulties will we encounter after they choose to start from here considering the domestic business structure and economic situation?
“If you understand these two issues, the opponent’s intentions will be exposed. Then you can arrange and plan according t o his intentions to achieve the effect of getting twice the result with half the effort.”
Jasper was talking while Baz was listening.
He listened very carefully and seriously. H e understood that a lot of people wanted the opportunity to be corrected by Jasper, but would never have the chance. On the other hand, he was experiencing such an opportunity that could not be bought with money.
“It can be seen that Soros has chosen light industries as his entry point in both. the futures market or the stock market, and in our domestic economic layout, light industry is a very important basic market…”
“It’s the Haddock Chamber of
Commerce.”
Jasper gave Baz the answer directly.
“The attack on foodstuffs is the real method used by Quantum Fund to leverage our country’s economic market. When it comes light industries, especially textile, tea, and wood, these have been the private plot belonging to the Haddock Chamber of Commerce since ancient times.
“This group of clowns from the United States really studied us thoroughly. The Haddock Chamber of Commerce will be their best offensive, and they are also the ones most likely to have conflicts and suspicions with us after due to our
history. Gale and us are not true friends
after all.”
Jasper’s words brought Baz’s analysis to a n abrupt end.
Financial wars were all about money, but a t the same time, the will of the people was also challenged.
The advantage of Quantum Fund was that they were huge. With a total of 120 billion US Dollars, they could overturn anyone.
The domestic disadvantage lay in the fact that there were too many people and too many factions running the show. Although Jasper’s efforts had now reached a basic consensus, once there was a crack in these already scattered bodies o f interest, then they could be breached from within without needing the enemies to work too hard.
Just as Baz was sweating over this speculation, Jasper had already given his instructions.
“Save textiles first.”
Compared with furniture and wood, which were relatively simple and isolated industries in the upstream and
downstream industrial chain, the textile
industry was obviously more important.
The upstream involved cotton and the downstream involved clothing fabrics. The entire industry chain could be subdivided into more than ten industry sectors. The companies involved and the commercial value could not be estimated, so Jasper decisively determined the main rescue target first.
It was as if Baz had woken up from a dream as he immediately replied, “I’ll do i t right away.”
The efficiency of the JW team was beyond
any doubt.
When JW began to enter the domestic A share market and bought shares of the leading listed companies in the textile industry with great fanfare, the move instantly gave the market great confidence.
At the same time, self-help behavior in the textile industry was also unfolding.
All of a sudden, the slump was temporarily contained.
At this moment, in New York of the United States, Soros, Half-the-Harbor Langdon, and others toasted to celebrate.
“Our old enemy has been fooled.”
Life at the Top Chapter 1950
“Half-the-Harbor Langdon, thank you
for the information.”
Soros patted Half-the-Harbor Langdon on the shoulder with glowing expression ashe said with a smile, “If it weren’t foryour telling us that the Haddock Chamberof Commerce represented by Gale iscurrently the easiest breakthrough point in Somerland, I would still be racking mybrains trying to navigate the spikes of thishedgehog known as the Somerlanddomestic A-share market.”
Half-the-Harbor Langdon shruggedcasually and said, “I don’t want to targetSomerland. The only person I target hasalways been Jasper. As long as it can causehim some trouble, I’ll be thrilled.”
Soros laughed loudly, “Yes, our enemiesare the same, so we can definitely becomefriends or even very good friends.”
“So, what will the Quantum Fund do
next?” Half-the-Harbor Langdon asked.
Soros smiled faintly and said, “Of course,we will continue to increase our efforts toattack the main industries of the HaddockChamber of Commerce. After we destroyindustries like textiles, tea, furniture, andbuilding materials, then there is no needfor us to go to Jasper because Gale fromthe Haddock Chamber of Commerce will be the first to step out against Jasper due tothe pressure.
“This strategy is both a trap and what you
Somerlanders call a conspiracy. If Jasper i
s not strong enough, or if he is
determined to save the Haddock Chamberof Commerce, then it is a conspiracy thatwill kill Jasper. If Jasper doesn’t intend toreally invest too much in the HaddockChamber of Commerce, this will be a hugetrap, a big trap that is enough to dividethem internally.”
Not far away, Kennedy and Sawyerfrowned slightly. Their expressions werefar less relaxed than those of Half-theHarbor Langdon and Soros.
“This guy is a bad cookie,” Sawyerlowered his voice and said to Kennedybeside him.
The guy he was referring to was naturally
Soros.
Kennedy gave Sawyer an exasperated lookand sneered, “A bad cookie? Do you thinka good cookie would be standing here?”
“Do you think we’re asking a tiger for its
hide?” Sawyer asked suddenly.
Kennedy was silent for a moment. Then, he said, “This is a plan that we have to go.through with no matter what. It is notenough to rely on three of our powers todeal with Jasper. Even if it were enough,both us and Jasper would lose out in theend, and when that happens, who wouldreap the spoils of victory?
“It’s those who are watching us like we’reclowns. So, no matter how dangerous thistiger is, we can only rely on it.”
Sawyer sighed and said, “But even if wewin, what’s the point of getting rejectedand looked down on by all of the Somerdescents in this world at the end of therebellion?”
When these words came out, Kennedylooked a little off-color.
After holding back for a long time, Kennedy replied, “So what? We’ll be kings if we win. If we manage to defeat Jasper, all the Somer descents will have to behave according to our preferences. When that happens, there will naturally be opportunities to make up for it, but if we can’t defeat Jasper, then we will be swept away like trash. Do you want to end up like that?”
Sawyer did not speak. He looked calm with not many emotions such that no one knew what he was thinking.
The war without gunpowder in the financial market continued to ferment.
Although the market had been oscillating under the competition between the two sides, it had always hovered around a relatively safe point and could not rise anymore. After all, the 120 billion US Dollars from Wall Street’s Quantum Fund was no joke, but with Jasper as the core, the bulls had always kept a safe point and did not allow it to break.
The data that most directly reflected the cruelty of this financial war between capital exchanges was the transaction volume.
If you wanted to buy, then I would sell. If you wanted to sell, then I would buy.
Both parties invested huge sums of money, and together with the market’s own funds, the trading volume of Somerland’s domestic A-share market broke through the historical record before the noon break, reaching a terrifying scale of 2 trillion.
This number almost reached the historical value of the Terra financial crisis set off by Quantum Fund a few years ago.
This meant that the bears and the bulls had entered a white-hot battle where one of those sides would die no matter what.
Under this scale of financial war, massive wealth was evaporating with every passing moment. Almost everything being evaporated was the result of hard work that had been accumulated in Somerland in recent years.
In the first half of the trading day, the one suffering the heaviest loss was the Haddock Chamber of Commerce.
Although it was unnoticeable at first, as time passed and the losses increased, all listed companies in the Haddock Chamber of Commerce became keenly aware that their faction was being targeted.
Many of them had participated in the
economic forum before.
It was slightly better for those in the textile industry because Jasper was helping them, but other industries like tea and wood were doing horribly.
Moreover, this series of pressures instantly fell on Gale, the leader of the
Haddock Chamber of Commerce.
The white-haired Gale was sitting in the study. As he listened to the report, his frown became deeper.
“I got it,” Gale said slowly.
The one who was reporting this to him was Dean, whom Jasper almost skinned alive.
After the previous events, Dean becamesteadier. He looked at Gafe and said softly,“Grandpa, this is very fishy. It’s as ifSoros is putting pressure on Jasperthrough us.”
Gale leaned on the chair and asked in aslightly tired tone, “If you were me, howwould you deal with this matter?”
Dean closed his eyes slightly andimmediately placed himself in Gale’sshoes. After thinking for a long time, hesaid, “If my guess is right, we actuallyhave no choice now.”
“This matter cannot be solved by theHaddock Chamber of Commerce’s ownpower, and we can’t ignore it, so we mustask Jasper for help.
“But Jasper has helped the textilecompanies take on a lot of pressure.” Galecontinued.
“This is Wall Street’s conspiracy. If weignore the demands of the members ofthe chamber of commerce, then theHaddock Chamber of Commerce will beflung into chaos.
“But we cannot save them.”
Gale looked at Dean and said.
Dean frowned slightly. After that, he opened his eyes and said, “So in the end, we still have to seek out Jasper to solve this matter.”
“Jasper may not be able to solve it.”
Gale patted the table lightly and said, “We can see this, so I don’t think that sly child won’t be able to see this too. However, since he did not speak or do anything more, he is waiting for us to make a decision first.”
Dean thought carefully and suddenly said, “Jasper, gave us the right to choose. If we look for him, the Haddock Chamber of Commerce and us will seem incompetent. If we don’t look for him, big problems will surface inside the Haddock Chamber of Commerce. We’re stuck in a dilemma.”