The rise of a great power: starting with military industry

Chapter 559: Global Fall
Black Monday!

It's Black Monday for sure!

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell so sharply that it marked the largest single-day drop in the U.S. stock market since 1914.

On that day, all 1600 stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange fell, 1200 of which fell to their lowest level in 52 weeks, and many representative blue-chip stocks were also doomed.

The stocks of almost all major companies plummeted by around 30%.

For example, General Electric fell 33.1%, AT&T fell 29.5%, Coca-Cola fell 36.5%, Westinghouse fell 45.8%, American Express fell 38.8%, and Boeing fell 29.9%.

"Everything was out of control" and it was "the worst day in the history of Wall Street." The New York Times reported.

And global stock markets were hit hard!
On the day of the Hong Kong stock market, the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index fell 420.81 points, a drop of 11%, which forced the Hong Kong Stock Exchange to hold a press conference and announce a one-week suspension of trading.

But this did not calm people's panic at all. After reopening, the Hang Seng Index seemed to have taken a laxative. The market fell a total of 1120.70 points that day and closed at 2241.69 points, a drop of 33%, setting a record for the world's largest single-day drop. The spot futures market even hit the limit down four times.

日本东京的《日本经济新闻》股价平均指数在当天下跌620点即2.35%后，20日再跌3800点即14.6%，两天下跌4420点。

Singapore's Straits Times Index fell 19 points on the 169th, a drop of 12.4%.

Australia's all ordinary price index fell 80 points, or 3.7%; the FTSE 30 index fell 183.7 points, or 10.1%; the FTSE 100 index fell 249.6 points to 2053.3 points, with investors losing £500 billion.

在欧洲，伦敦《金融时报》指数当天下跌183.70点，跌幅为10.1%；瑞士信贷银行指数的跌幅为11.3%；联邦德国为3.7%；法国为6.1%；荷兰为7.8%；比利时为10.5%。

Stock markets in Brazil and Mexico fell by more than 20%, and stock markets in Paris, Frankfurt, Stockholm, Milan, and Amsterdam all fell by 6% to 11% to varying degrees...

从10月19日到26日短短的8天时间内，股票买卖双方因股市狂跌而损失的财富高达2万亿美元之多，是第二次世界大战中直接及间接损失总和3380亿美元的5.92倍!
Therefore, economist Wachtel of Merrill Lynch, a world-renowned investment group, called the stock market crash on October 10 and 19 an "out-of-control massacre."

Banks went bankrupt, factories closed, and companies laid off a large number of employees...it seemed that the Great Depression of 1929 was about to happen again.

Of course, many people suffered heavy losses, but some people also made a lot of money.

For example, Liu Tao took this opportunity to make a huge profit.

That's not just money earned on Black Monday. For example, in the US stock market, people started making big money on October 10rd.

The amount of money earned is absolutely staggering.

In addition to buying some stocks through various accounts, the rest of the money will slowly flow into Hong Kong.

Here, bank channels are particularly important.

Otherwise, it is possible that they will be eaten alive by the bankers.

Money that makes people jealous can make people take risks.

This time, Liu Tao not only wants to make money from this sharp drop, but also wants to get money from the US bailout.

However, the most important thing for him is to lock in the profits, and he will only keep a portion of the money to earn from the US bailout.

Sure enough, the Federal Reserve soon issued a clear rescue signal: "The Federal Reserve System, in accordance with its responsibilities as the nation's central bank, hereby announces that it will serve as a source of circulating currency to provide assistance to all economic and financial systems."

This point is crystal clear.

Moreover, after the market opened, the Federal Reserve began to buy a large amount of government bonds in the market, and the federal funds rate fell by 0.75%.

All of this shows the government's determination to rescue the market. American commercial banks immediately understood the government's intention, and many banks announced interest rate cuts one after another. Trust companies also made a high-profile statement that they would guarantee customers' capital needs under any circumstances.

In Hong Kong, Liu Tao also manipulated the company and began to rescue the market.

After all, Hong Kong is one of its own bases, so it is impossible for it to sit idly by and watch the stock market collapse without rescuing it.

In addition to repurchasing the stocks of its various subsidiaries and acquiring the stocks of some high-quality companies, the rescue measure is to release the third-quarter financial reports of its various listed companies.

There is no doubt that the financial report here is very good, which has injected a shot in the arm to the entire Hong Kong stock market and also given confidence to Hong Kong investors.

At the same time, the media propaganda is to publicize that Hong Kong's economic structure is very good and the performance of Hong Kong's listed companies is also impressive. The crisis encountered this time is just affected by the Black Monday in the US stock market.

Soon, the Hong Kong stock market began to stabilize and recover.

After dealing with these things, Liu Tao invited Zhao Guoping and Li Fuguo to have a barbecue together.

As military and political leaders, Li Fuguo and Zhao Guoping spent most of their time in Hong Kong, at least nearly half of their time there.

After all, they have a lot to do in Hong Kong.

And now they both have an additional identity.
Instead of simply belonging to Panshan Group as before.

For example, Zhao Guoping is also responsible for Panshan Group's business in Hong Kong.

Normally, Liu Tao might not see them once a month.

Normally, he would only see them when he held a meeting or when there was something urgent.

As they were about to leave Hong Kong, Liu Tao invited the two of them to have a barbecue together.

Of course, they didn’t eat barbecue at a barbecue stall outside, but at the beach, barbecuing and drinking.

The three of them don't usually drink or smoke.

But when they get together, they will have a few drinks.

"You two will be spending most of your time in Hong Kong in the next two years. Do you want to arrange for your spouses and children to come to Hong Kong?" Liu Tao clinked glasses with the two men, drank the wine in the glasses, and asked.

The two of them will stay in Hong Kong for at least two years.

"Forget it, they are used to life in Yun Province, so they can just stay in Kun City." Li Fuguo shook his head.

As a member of the Party Leadership Group of Panshan Group, Li Fuguo was arranged to have a villa at the headquarters. His wife works in the Women's Federation and has a relatively easy job, so she has more time to take care of the children. His children all study in the schools of Panshan Group. The older ones are already in college, and the younger ones are in junior high school.

He also doesn't want to switch children frequently.

Zhao Guoping also nodded and said, "I think so too. My wife and children are doing well in Kun City. It's not like we won't go back."

Unlike Li Fuguo, his wife is not only a singer, but also the director of the art troupe of the group headquarters. She is very busy with her work. In addition to performing everywhere, she also performs literary and artistic performances.

They were a couple who were rarely together. Sometimes he might not even see his wife when he returned to headquarters.

(End of this chapter)