shadow of britain

Chapter 123 The Game of Capital ([-] words)

Lionel raised his hand to the servant standing beside him, and soon a document was delivered to him.

He put the item on the coffee table and introduced it to Arthur with a smile: "Mr. Hastings, it's actually very coincidental. If you plan to invest in relatively stable sovereign bonds, you can just catch up with this wave."

"Is the investment in sovereign bonds very stable?" Dumas leaned on the sofa and said, "As far as I know, among the public bonds issued by South American countries, only Brazilian national bonds are still paying interest as usual, right?"

Lionel smiled and stretched out his hand to Dumas. He said, "So this gentleman has investment experience in public bonds? This is not a field that ordinary people can get involved in. But looking at your appearance, I don't think so Familiar, you shouldn’t have been operating in this area in London before, right? May I take the liberty to ask your name?”

Alexandre Dumas took his hand and said, "The people of Rothschild really have extraordinary eyesight. That's right, I did have investments in this area before, and I also opened an account with Rothschild Bank, but you guys It is possible that my account has been frozen. After all, I am now a wanted criminal by the French government, I am Alexandre Dumas, and it is a pleasure to meet you."

When Lionel heard the name, he couldn't help opening his mouth slightly, he was a little surprised, but he soon came back to his senses.

He smiled and patted himself on the head: "I should have thought of it earlier, Mr. Dumas, when I was traveling in France, I accompanied my uncle to the theater to watch your "Henry III and His Court", And the historical drama "Christina" is really a wonderful script. At that time, I heard from my uncle that you earned nearly [-] francs from this play, and you are one of the most outstanding figures among French playwrights."

Dumas, Lionel's sycophant, was quite at ease. He nodded proudly and said, "Those are just random writings. You are really overrated."

But Lionel quickly turned the conversation back to Arthur with a smile.

"I knew that Mr. Hastings' friends would not be ordinary people. Outstanding people will always attract each other. Rothschild is not only investing in wealth, but also very willing to invest in the present and future Elite.

I will keep nothing from you, Mr. Hastings.South American sovereign bonds are indeed not trustworthy, but Rothschild has recently been authorized by the Treasury to issue a modest amount of British government bonds for the government.

I can give you a little information, this is a ten-year city construction bond with a total value of 20 pounds, and the annual interest rate should be 3.15%.

If you want to invest in stable assets, I can book a share of 31.5 pounds in advance for you in private.In this case, you can obtain an investment income of [-] pounds per year for the next ten years.

In the current environment, although such a rate of return is not particularly high, it is better than safety and stability. "

Arthur nodded slightly when he heard the words, and then asked, "What if it's real estate investment?"

Lionel opened the document in front of him, and unreservedly announced the above information in front of Arthur.

That is the summary data of the price trend of all rented and sold houses represented by the London real estate and real estate consulting company.

As Arthur turned the pages to examine, Rothschild patiently explained to him.

"As you can see, real estate prices in London have always been relatively stable. Except for a few popular areas, which have risen faster, most other areas have maintained an average annual increase of 1% to 2%. The annual rate of return fluctuates around 4.8%. After deducting your house maintenance, tax and other costs, the approximate rate of return should be around 3.5%.

This return is indeed higher than that of UK government bonds, but it takes a little time and effort on your part to manage.Of course, if you don't like taking care of these industries too much time, you can also entrust our company to operate them on your behalf.But in this case, we will charge a certain service fee.

After comprehensive consideration, the profit of real estate purchase may be similar to that of buying public bonds. Compared with new public bonds, its advantage may be that it brings hidden income such as voting rights to owners. "

Arthur nodded slightly, Lionel did not deceive him, and even in order to win his trust, he did not hesitate to show him the commercial secrets that various real estate brokerage companies dream of.

But he also understands what the other party means by doing this. There is no free lunch in the world, and some things don't need to be explained too clearly. It only takes a simple action to make the two parties reach a tacit understanding.

Arthur slowly closed the document in front of him. Looking at the smiling Lionel, he also understood that from now on, he would be considered to be sitting on the Rothschild bus floating in the Thames with the Duke of Wellington and others. Cruise on the river.

"What about the stock market?" he asked.

Lionel raised his eyebrows. He didn't talk about stocks first, but asked with a smile: "You are well-informed, so you must know that the railway industry is very hot recently, right?"

Arthur nodded and said, "Of course, everyone says that the first 30 years will be dominated by the canal industry, while the next 30 years will belong to the railway industry."

"Of course listening is an important reference, but I have a more important piece of data here."

Lionel smiled and opened another document at hand: "Look here, in 1821, the first railway company in Great Britain was officially approved for establishment, but it was not until 1824 that we had a second railway company. But , you see here, since 1824, there has been a rapid upward trend in approved railway companies.

In 1826, Parliament approved five new railway companies in one go.By this year, Great Britain already has 21 railway companies. Last year, the Parliament approved 105.25 miles of railway construction applications, which is more than half of the total construction applications in the past 8 years.

While there was an unfortunate hiccup at this year's opening of the Manchester-Liverpool railway, we don't think it will interrupt Britain's rail-building frenzy.As you said before, the next 30 years will belong to the railway industry, and I can even assert that the 19th century should be the century of the railway. "

Arthur tentatively asked, "So your suggestion is to invest in railway stocks?"

"Do not."

Lionel replied with a smile: "On the contrary, we do not recommend that you touch the stocks of railway companies. Because as far as I know, many railway companies listed on the London Stock Exchange are using the railway boom to defraud financing.

A considerable number of them are only in the planning stage, and some of them are even more eager to absorb hot money without even passing the railway construction permit from the parliament.If you don't have a deep understanding of this industry, if you get involved rashly, you will be easily deceived by them and lose your money. "

When Arthur heard this, he seemed to gradually understand. If he recommends the railway industry but not the railway company, the answer is ready.

He asked: "You mean, you recommend a road and bridge construction company that has the technical ability to build railways?"

Lionel clapped his hands with a smile, pointed at Arthur and said, "Mr. Hastings, you are indeed very talented in finance. Yes, it is these construction companies that I recommend, or more precisely, My recommendations are Thames Tunnel and Brunel Road & Bridge, which are trading at their lowest point of value.”

"I haven't heard much of the Brunel Road and Bridge Company, but the Thames Tunnel Company . . . "

Arthur couldn't help taking a breath when he heard the name.

Speaking of this company, it should be regarded as a company familiar to London citizens, and at the same time, it is also a favorite report object of London newspapers.

As the name suggests, the original intention of establishing this company was to build an underwater tunnel railway on the Thames River. According to the design plan, this underwater tunnel railway will connect Weiping and Lotsea on both sides of the Thames River after completion.

But for something like an underwater tunnel, you can tell how difficult it is to build just by listening to the name, not to mention that it is still in the early 19th century.

Its slow construction schedule also supports this idea, the tunnel can only slowly advance three to four meters per week.

And not only is the construction slow, the worst thing is that since construction started in 1825, this underwater tunnel has suffered from water seepage many times.Forget about the water seepage, the key point is that the foul-smelling Thames water will release a large amount of methane gas into the tunnel and cause an explosion.

Engineers and workers who have been working in this environment for a long time also often get sick. Counting from the beginning of the project, many resident engineers of the project have been rushed to the hospital.

The most serious construction accident of the project occurred in 1828, when the foul-smelling Thames water directly washed away the tunnel and drowned 6 construction workers, even the chief designer of the project Marco Brunel The son who came to practice almost drowned in the tunnel, and the poor young man lay in the hospital for six full months before recovering.

Since this serious accident, the Thames River Underwater Tunnel project has been in a long-term stagnation. In order to make up for the overrun project cost and restore the public's safety concerns about the tunnel, the tunnel company even came up with an open A unique trick for the tunnel sightseeing project.

What is even more surprising is that there are still quite a few Londoners who come to visit, and they are quite willing to pay a shilling to see this 'hot spot' that frequently appears in the headlines of the newspapers.

However, such a tourist boom cannot restore the goodwill and shares of the Thames Tunnel Company, and their shares on the London Stock Exchange have almost stink.

For rational investors, buying their shares is tantamount to throwing money into the Thames.

Arthur asked: "I heard the Thames Tunnel project was stalled for lack of funds?"

Lionel saw Arthur's doubts at a glance, and he asked with a smile: "Do you remember the city construction bond that I mentioned to you before the Ministry of Finance will issue? That 20 pound bond, with With your ingenuity, you must be able to figure out what the money is used for."

Arthur woke up like a dream. He picked up the teacup and tasted the aftertaste of this sentence for a long time. He looked at Lionel and took a sip of the tea: "Or how to say, it's easier for your Rothschild family to make money Woolen cloth."

Lionel nodded with a smile: "Mr. Hastings, you have to know that for us financial people, news is life. Only a fool would stare at the stock numbers for a day, and the real big money People rely on well-informed news.

In addition, I can share two more pieces of information with you. One of the major shareholders of the Thames Tunnel Company is our other major client——Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington.

As for the other company I just mentioned, the Brunel Road and Bridge Construction Company, its major shareholders are Mark Brunel, the chief architect of the Thames Tunnel Company, and his son Isambard Brunel. nell.

These two gentlemen are top design and construction talents in railway construction.Moreover, due to the impact of the Thames Tunnel project, the share price of Brunel Road and Bridge Construction Company has also fallen into a rock bottom recently.

But you know, you can't be unlucky all your life, and I overheard Mr. Brunel Jr.'s design being very likely to win the competition for the bridge across the Avon Gorge.Once he wins the bid, the Brunel Road and Bridge Construction Company will soon be brought back to life. "

Having said that, Lionel lifted the teapot and filled Arthur's half-empty cup.

While pouring tea, he said, "Mr. Hastings, you know, life is just so wonderful."

Looking at the waves in the teacup, Arthur couldn't help nodding his head in agreement: "Yes, life is indeed wonderful. Brunel and his son should also usher in good luck. By the way, please help me in the Thames Tunnel Company and Brunel Roads and Bridges each with a market capitalization of £500."

Upon hearing this, Lionel stood up contentedly. He took off his hat and bowed slightly: "Thank you for your insightful eyes. You have shown strong investment strength and far-sighted investment vision today. Mr. Hastings, Rothschild It is a great honor to be able to provide you with consulting services today."

Dumas, who was sitting on the side, heard this, biting a donut and was very happy. He muttered: "Is this also called a bright eye? I can do it for me. It's all news, it's all 'luck' .”

Unexpectedly, Lionel heard this, but shook his head with a smile and retorted: "Mr. Dumas, you have to understand that you have 'luck' only if you have strength. In my opinion, Mr. Hastings is very talented." strength, so it is only natural that he has 'luck'."

As soon as he finished speaking, the real estate agent who had left before ran back from the back hall panting heavily.

He came in front of Arthur, and respectfully handed over the house price appraisal in his hands.

"Mr. Hastings, sorry, this is my reformulated housing recommendation report, please have a look."

Upon hearing this, Lionel nodded at Arthur with a smile: "Come on, Mr. Hastings, your luck is here again."

(End of this chapter)