America's Road to Wealth

Chapter 469 Financial tricks and lonely nobles

On the same day, London Financial Street.

Smith Financial Group, UK headquarters.

Abel stood in front of the LCD TV wall, with one hand in his pocket and a cup of coffee in the other.

And behind him are all his subordinates with burning eyes.

Unlike colleagues in New York, the group of traders in the UK, except for the dozen or so people at the beginning.

For the others, it was the first time for them to watch Abel command and operate capital investment up close.

Except this time, at other times, they can only assign tasks by their superiors.

And there is no way to watch Abel, who has become more and more "investment god" at close range, like now.

"Boss, John Cooper signed the contract."

Jess ran over and whispered in Abel's ear.

"How many chips do we have now?"

"Counting what Cooper has not handed over, there is a total of 35%. As part of the bargaining chips, it is only about 11%."

Hearing Jess' data, Abel's originally calm face turned up, revealing a sunny smile.

After taking a sip of coffee, he put the coffee cup on the table beside him.

"Snapped!"

The left hand that was in the pocket was pulled out and clapped together with the right hand, making everyone's attention focus on him.

Looking at everyone, staring at himself intently.

So he said lightly: "What are you waiting for? Your task now is to destroy it."

"Got it, boss!"

"Start selling!"

crackling...

In the lobby of the trading room of Smith Financial Group, where pins could be heard, one could clearly hear the sound of keyboards ringing together, as well as various shouts of numbers being reported on the phone.

"11.9 pounds!"

"11.6 pounds!"

"10.9 pounds!"

"9.9 pounds!"

On Monday, when the London stock market began to close in the morning.

British ITV shares, originally trading at around £15, are now worth about half their value.

8.8 pounds a share, it was suddenly shorted and lost about 49% of its original value.

This can be regarded as one of the biggest events in the London stock market today.

The main reason is that although the total market value of ITV is not high, as the second largest TV station in the UK under the BBC, its reputation and influence are there.

Its stocks are naturally more eye-catching.

After all, it is a TV medium, and the voice is always relatively loud.

By this time, most British people knew that ITV was being sold short.

The good British media also flocked to the British ITV headquarters building at noon.

They want to interview Mick Desmond and other top ITV executives.

But Mick Desmond and the others are not fools.

It's okay to complain and scold others behind the back of shareholders' faces.

But at this sensitive time, the boss may change at any time.

Interviewed by the media, talking nonsense.

That won't work, this is something that may affect their future careers.

No one takes their jobs lightly.

So Mick Desmond dared to drop his phone in the office after listening to Cooper's call, and dared to swear in the office.

But when the media interviewed him, he didn't dare to say a single extra word.

Being ambiguous and saying something meaningless was the only thing he dared to say to the media.

At this time, the newly appointed CEO of British ITV still has some thoughts.

He wants to cooperate as much as possible during this critical period——

No matter who wants to buy ITV, he will cooperate with whoever.

In this way, after being acquired, even if there is no way to continue to be the CEO of ITV.

Perhaps because of his better attitude and his familiarity with the company's original business, he may be retained to take up other positions.

Of course, the premise of doing this is to make sure that the original shareholders can't keep the company.

Otherwise, cooperate with the work of the acquirer, and the acquirer will not succeed in the end.

In that case, it is bound to be liquidated by the original shareholders.

Mick will choose to cooperate, and that is also knowing that John Cooper has been dealt with.

Mick believes that the original shareholders of British ITV must have lost more and won less when facing Abel.

That's why the CEO chose to cooperate as much as possible.

This is a helpless way, a way to survive in death.

Other executives, see Mick Desmond like this.

Everyone is a professional manager, of course they all chose the same choice as Mick.

All of a sudden, the good British media couldn't get any valuable news from the executives of the powerful British ITV.

This can be regarded as a rare thing in the acquisition case.

Generally, this situation only occurs when the acquirer and the acquiree are disparate in power.

Fortunately, the executives of British ITV are afraid to speak, but shareholders are not afraid of so much.

One shareholder said bluntly during an interview with reporters:
"We are being targeted by people who are targeting ITV in the UK, they must be from abroad. This is really an unfortunate thing. One of the most valuable things in our country is about to be taken away. Regarding this I was very angry, but I couldn't stop anything."

When some shareholders were interviewed, they all pointed to the big man who came to the UK recently.

"It's instant, isn't it? Last year, the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail, the Daily Express, the Daily Star, the Glasgow Herald, etc. Wait, they're all bought. In the magazine world, New Scientist, New Society, etc., they're bought. Now it's TV's turn, and the target is ITV in the UK. Yes, I think shorting ITV People, actually want it. Look, anyone who sells ITV shares now will regret it this afternoon at most, or tomorrow!"

What this shareholder said was quite powerful, and the direction was very clear.

When the London stock market closed at noon, some news media quickly reported his interview.

The result is in the afternoon.

As soon as the stock price of British ITV opened, within half an hour, it rose crazily by 15%.

From 8.8 pounds per share, it rose to 10.12 pounds per share.

Back to the £10+ safe line.

The reason for this situation is that a very large number of investors with "flexible information" have received similar news and rumors.

That's the big short that shorted ITV in the UK, the dreaded Abe Smith.

The reason why such a terrifying super-financial giant came to play with such a small company with little oil and water.

It is because his media group wants to enter the British TV broadcasting industry.

If there is no following message.

Investors in the market know that it is Abe Smith who is shorting British ITV.

Even the most daring investors would not dare to invest in British ITV.

But now, many people are betting.

Bet on Abel shorting UK ITV, ultimately to buy it.

With this possibility, some gamblers are willing to enter the market.

With more gamblers entering the market, more investors will follow suit.

They wanted to get some chips from British ITV.

When the time comes when Abel starts a general tender offer, he will definitely make a lot of money.

There is this atmosphere in the market.Therefore, in the afternoon, the stock price of British ITV was completely opposite to the trend in the morning.

In the morning, investors were unaware of the situation and were afraid of being trapped. The British ITV fell wildly, so they were crazy bearish.

In the afternoon, because of the possibility of Abel's takeover.

This possibility is still very high.

Even if there are still many people who sell, there are more people who take orders.

Finally, when the market closed in the evening, the stock price of ITV in the UK returned to around 14 pounds.

A small investor, when interviewed by the media, proudly said to the British:

"We held on to ITV, which was not affected by the gringo's short selling. There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying ITV stock this time! Smith failed!"

So, did Smith really fail?
"Well, that is to say, I made 1.9 million pounds by shorting in the morning. I made 1.5 million pounds by selling long in the afternoon? Add up to 3.4 million pounds? It's not bad. So be it, I'm heading to Kensington Palace. On the way, don't talk for now."

That night, around 7:[-].

Abel's motorcade left from his Kensington Palace Garden Street No. 1, and headed for Kensington Palace not far away.

He was going there, to Kensington Palace, one of the Windsor castles, to a party given by William xx Windsor.

In the carriage, Abel closed his cell phone.

The person who called him just now was Jess, CEO of Smith Financial Group Europe.

Jess is reporting to him, reporting the results of the European branch of Smith Financial Group on the London stock market throughout the day today.

Specifically, it is the performance of the British ITV stock.

To put it more simply, it is the income obtained by Smith Financial's position as a banker on the British ITV stock today.

Yes, Abe is trying to buy ITV UK.

This will increase the influence of Smith Media in the UK and even in Europe.

But unlike the US market, the UK market is small, and the European market crowds out ITV.

So for British ITV, Abel is not as urgent as those small and medium investors think.

Abel wants to get UK ITV, but doesn't want to pay too much.

He is different from Murdoch who invested in Sky TV.

When Murdoch invested in Sky TV, Britain's hard power was still ranked among the top five in the world.

Influence can even be ranked in the top three, only inferior to the United States and the Red Bear.

The radiation of British influence at that time was also several times stronger than it is now.

At that time, spending several times the money to win Sky TV was a very worthwhile investment.

But now Britain's influence is not as good as before.

The UK, where the financial and service industries are the first national policy, is left with the legacy of being an old crap stick.

Regardless of the words of his little American cousin who is also the Five Eyes.

For many countries, Great Britain now doesn't even have the ability to stir shit.

Based on so many considerations, Abel doesn't think much of British ITV.

If it was changed to NBC in the United States, then he would pay more attention to it.

So on the stock of ITV in the UK, Abel played the trick of being the banker.

While he was shorting British ITV, he also let out rumors that he was bound to win ITV.

The shareholder who was interviewed at noon and was exposed is actually no longer a shareholder of ITV.

The shareholder's shares have been sold.

The company that acquired the shares is a leather case company registered in Bermuda.

And the holster company purchased the shareholder's stock, and in the oral agreement, there was a requirement for the shareholder to say that in an interview.

Abel achieved two profits, making a profit by shorting in the morning, and selling in the afternoon to make a profit.

There are many people on Wall Street doing this kind of game of sitting on the bank.

But generally speaking, only large financial companies and investment banks can play.

Because playing this trick requires a strong market control.

At the same time, it must have the ability to avoid surveillance from the regulatory level.

Because of this mode of being a dealer, it is obviously illegal.

Playing like Abel puts on many layers of skin.

The UK branch of Smith Financial is only responsible for short selling and does not take the opportunity to sell.

Someone else is responsible for absorbing British ITV stocks on dips and selling them off in the afternoon.

It is dozens of leather case companies registered in Bermuda, Ireland, and the Cayman Islands...

These companies go back to the bottom and finally find that their controllers are in the United States...

This gameplay is complicated and a bit dangerous at the same time.

It is easy to encounter sniping from peers, and it is also easy to attract the attention of regulatory authorities.

But if played well, it is also one of the most profitable ways.

So this is also one of the favorite methods of the giants on Wall Street.

Abel had never played this kind of trick in the United States.

He is in the United States and needs to maintain a perfect personality for himself.

And playing like this in the United States, it is easy to leave behind.

It is not a fatal handle, but it is also easy to cause a lot of trouble at critical moments.

But now, isn't he in England?

Even if it is discovered, it doesn't matter, and the UK will not fine American companies.

The fines will only be fined to those dozens of leather bag companies. If they dare to fine them, they can go bankrupt directly.

Investors who hoped that Abel's acquisition of British ITV would make them a fortune.

If only they can withstand ITV's continuous roller coaster market, if they can persist until the end.

They can succeed, after all, Abel will do it in the end.

But if they can't bear the excitement and sell halfway, then they can only blame themselves for being unsteady.

Hand over the satellite phone to David in the passenger seat for safekeeping.

Abel closed his eyes and rested his mind. Within a few minutes, the convoy arrived in front of Kensington Palace.

Abel's No. [-] Kensington Palace Garden Street is actually very close to Kensington Palace, only half a street away.

At this distance, it only takes ten minutes to walk here.

If you drive here, including the parking time, it may take longer.

But most of the rich people can't wait to take a car from the living room to the bedroom in the manor.

Half a street is so "far", so it is even more important to pay attention to ostentation.

Abel doesn't talk about ostentation, but he is afraid of death.

Even this street is full of British royal police officers.

He still brought the entire convoy with him when he went out, and the number of bodyguards was sufficient.

But in front of Kensington Palace, other vehicles in the convoy, of course, cannot enter.

Here in Kensington Palace, the Royal Guards Division of the British Route Army is responsible for the protection work.

Of course they cannot allow so many armed men to enter.

The only ones who could go in were Abel and Edward, who was his personal bodyguard.

Get off the Cadillac monster.

Looking at the magnificent and beautiful Kensington Palace in the night.

Abel couldn't help but feel a little emotional. 100 years ago, this place was one of the political centers of world politics.

It was the place where Queen Victoria, the old grandmother of Europe, was baptized, and it was also one of her favorite places to live.

At that time, the Great Yin Empire was still the most powerful country in the world, and many of its orders that affected the world may have come from here.

But now, it's just like the country.

The appearance is still the same brilliant and golden.

inside?

Hehe, it's a polite word to say it's a mess.

"Mr. Smith?"

A voice full of British flavor, that is, the so-called standard sword accent suddenly sounded.

Abel looked over and saw an old man with a face like an old housekeeper, smiling, looking at him politely, walking towards him from inside.

"Ah."

"Mr. Smith, hello. I am James Ramsey, His Majesty's steward. Welcome to Prince William's party. Please come this way, honored guest. I will be your guide servant."

Hearing the old man's self-introduction, Abel raised his eyebrows.

The ability of photographic memory allowed Abel to know that James Ramsey in front of him was an important figure in the British royal family.

The old man is the current Queen's steward, and he is also the 17th Earl of Dalhousie.

The Earl of Dalhousie was once very brilliant. He had served five ministers of the British Army, and he was promoted to Marquis at his peak.

But in the generation of James Ramsey and his father, the Dalhousies declined.

So much so that he had to sell his ancestral property.

The Dalhousies, like so many other English nobles, could no longer afford to maintain their sprawling castles.

Abel had seen James Ramsey's manor listed for sale on the numerous list of castles for sale.

That castle is called Brigin Castle, which has a history of more than 250 years.

After 250 years of ups and downs, James Ramsey was unable to pay the high maintenance costs, so he sold it for a starting price of 300 million pounds.

After selling it, James Ramsay became another English earl without a castle.

There are more and more such nobles and earls in Britain.

In the castle sales list that Abel saw a few days ago, there are as many as 1100 similar castles listed for sale in the UK...

In addition to the United Kingdom, France and Germany are also like a bird.

Old Europe is really in decline.

With the status of the queen's butler, if it was in the era of the Chinese feudal dynasty, James Ramsey would be equivalent to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

This position, in most of the period, is a very prominent existence.

From another point of view, the famous James Ramsey is the queen's favorite.

If it was in the colonial era, he would be a figure who could cover the sky with one hand.

Now, that's all.

Like this country, like this palace, it is a shell.

After James Ramsey, followed by Edward.

Abel walked in silence.

In fact, Abel didn't really want to come to the banquet held by the royal family today.

This kind of banquet is usually attended.

Or the old and young of the English nobility;
Or those upstarts who want to come to this kind of place to spend money and spend a lot of money;
Or some envoys from the embassy with political purposes.

Basically nothing to do with business.

Abel had none of these purposes.

But he still came.

The reason was that George suggested to him that at this time, it was better to give the British a face.

"However, this incident mainly happened in the UK. We still need to take care of the emotions of the Cockneys. That way they will be more willing when they help us with the Germans."

These are the original words of the owner of the White House, who asked Abel to attend the banquet.

In order to use the queen's face, let London help the Americans and engage in BMW and Volkswagen together.

It was about his own interests. Although he didn't like this kind of banquet very much, Abel still came to attend.

Soon, the bustling and bustling Kensington Palace Atrium Garden arrived.

There are already many guests active inside.

The banquet started at 7 o'clock, and people arrived after 6 o'clock.

And now it's 7:30.

Abel was late on purpose because he wasn't interested in stinking feet.

　Because the content of 467 has been completely changed, today is actually counted as the third change.

　　Tomorrow will continue the third shift, so that there will be no debts.

　　So this is the last chapter tonight.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)