Mediterranean hegemon

"The president found out about this and anxiously called me to express his comfort. At the same time, he hoped that we could deal with this problem as soon as possible, give an explanation to the market and savers, and strive to maintain market stability. I would like to express my gratitude to the president for his concern, and also Promise him that the United Group will be responsible to the end!" Contini smiled coldly, "Tonight the United Group will hold an emergency press conference. If you need any more clarification from me, you can ask it at that time. I will go to the bank immediately to sit down. I’m investigating to see how serious the problem is and preparing for the reception in the evening, so I have no choice but to excuse myself.”

Everyone at the venue stood up and applauded, and then saw Contini off. Although it seemed rude for the important guests to leave early, no one cared that these people were impatient and why didn't they let them go first? You even called the president to come to the scene without even seeing it. Would the president do this if there was no earth-shattering event?

Hoover never dreamed that the call he made to express his attention and concern would spread quickly, which in turn would confirm the seriousness of the situation. But could he accuse Contini of anything? cannot! Because he made the call himself and pulled the president out of the meeting, there was naturally an explanation for this. As for the content of the phone call that Contini described in a few words, it was actually not fabricated or exaggerated. However, if such a phone call was suddenly inserted after the "Destruction" speech, it would lead to public opinion and the audience's perception in a completely different way.

Enzo drove Contini back in a leisurely manner. Aquilani was sitting in the passenger seat. This kid's wonderful performance today was completely worthy of his salary. Even Enzo who was watching next to him had to give him a thumbs up. One hundred likes! No wonder he was able to stand out from the CEO's office full of experts and serve as the administrative secretary. It's really hard to do without some skills.

Of course, the CEO’s performance must also be given full marks, especially the domineering and domineering moment when he threw the cup to the ground at the end of the speech! The ceramic cup, which cost just $1, shocked the whole audience by smashing it to pieces. It was considered a well-deserved death. Politics is indeed too complicated, so I’d better engage in security.

After Contini left, there was a lot of discussion in the venue, and then new news came. In the last 20 minutes, the Dow Jones index suddenly fell by 1 point. It was not that individual stocks fell a little, but that the entire market was suppressed. The trading volume was said to be rapid. Zooming in, the trading volume in the last 20 minutes reached 1.4 million shares, more than five times the usual amount. No one could figure out what was going on. I only saw that the originally very stable time-sharing line on the stock price chart was directly hit in the late trading, and the closing price closed at the lowest point of the day.

In the evening, Hoover received a report that Contini had said something at the meeting. He felt that it was no different from what Contini said on the phone, so he felt relieved. He was looking forward to the press conference tonight. As long as he shows a responsible attitude, he believes that this matter will not be difficult to suppress. As long as it is suppressed, it may become a big issue and a small matter will be reduced to a big deal. The Federal Reserve and the United Group will each play 50 big ones. Anyway, this kind of thing is not for him Do it often.

That night, United Bank held a special press conference. Because there were so many people, a nearby theater was finally booked. Countless reporters rushed in. They heard the judgment about "destruction", heard the rumors about "Union Bank is extremely risky", witnessed the sudden tidal wave of selling and flash decline in the last 20 minutes of today, and heard about the President's Rumor has it that they made an urgent call to the president, and finally underwent strict security checks before entering. Blackwater's expressionless security guards in black uniforms brought in the X-ray machine and asked all reporters to send their belongings. After inspection, the venue was also filled with armed security guards. It can be said that there is one post every five steps and one sentry every ten steps. The security is much stricter than when the president is on tour.

"Before today's press conference, United Group spokesperson Alessandro will first brief you on the situation..."

"...Dear ladies and gentlemen, friends who have always cared about and supported the development of United Group and United Bank, good evening, everyone. First, allow me to state and explain the relevant situation and indicate the position of the group, and then enter the free During the question time, the president, President Francisco and other professionals will answer your questions..."

“On August 28, the Federal Reserve asked United Bank about the gold exchanged in the previous year through a formal letter of inquiry. After investigation and statistics, our group submitted a reply letter on September 1: Since last year, through United Bank channels, A total of more than 800 million U.S. dollars worth of gold was exchanged, and together with some of the previous reserves, the total was converted into nearly 1,400 tons, of which more than 400 tons were exchanged on behalf of customers, and Union Bank itself increased its reserves by nearly 1,000 tons... As we all know, the gold standard is the standard in Europe and the United States, including the United States. The currency base of each country is used to support currency issuance. Due to the rapid economic development in Italy in recent years, the level of lira issuance has been rising. In order to better stabilize the price level and prevent the excessive issuance of currency, Union Bank, as the largest bank in Italy, has the responsibility This expressed stability, which was the motivation for Union Bank to exchange the gold and transport it back to Italy. Moreover, Union Bank is a bank headquartered in Italy, so this batch of gold was shipped back one after another during the above-mentioned period.

All exchange, filing, and customs clearance procedures are complete and comply with the relevant laws and regulations of the United States. However, the Federal Reserve used the outflow of gold as an excuse to force the United Bank to transport it back and interfered with normal corporate operations with brutal power. The bank has ensured the independence of the bank. In order to protect the interests of depositors and investors and safeguard the democratic and free system of the United States, we clearly rejected this unreasonable request. "

Everyone was shocked. 1,400 tons of gold were shipped from the United States? Everyone felt a little strange, but we couldn't say that this was their right.

"The Federal Reserve was very dissatisfied with this reply and believed that United Bank did not respect the Fed. It decided to carry out a second round of retaliation. Five days later, it sent an inspection team to United Bank to inspect various accounts and books... After five days of inspection, the Fed gave United Bank another round of retaliation. The bank labeled it as deliberately evading funds and required Union Bank to forcibly collect the loans granted to foreign countries and withdraw them back to the United States... In addition, the Federal Reserve failed to find other problems and ended the relevant spot inspection this afternoon. During the inspection, Union Bank cooperated fully, without any concealment or deception, and fulfilled its obligation to abide by the law. However, we cannot recognize the interference of the Federal Reserve. This unreasonable requirement to force funds absorbed in the United States to be invested in the U.S. market also violates the essence of the free system. , if every country emphasizes that funds must be used in its own country, how can capital flow freely? If capital must be used in its own country, must the goods also be used in its own country? Do stocks also have to be issued in the domestic market? If we must emphasize our own country, then why does the United Group come to buy American products?”

Alessandro angrily criticized: "The Federal Reserve uses the excuse of protecting the national interests of the United States and the interests of American investors and depositors to dictate to companies the right to operate independently. It is essentially a crude interference relying on power. The United Group will not Accepting this unreasonable request, the Fed became angry and drafted a statement. It is said that the statement has not been officially released, but the content has been learned by friends in the press. The main effect is: ...if the United Bank does not comply, the Federal Reserve will To issue public market risk warnings and require depositors and institutions to protect their own interests is essentially to induce a run, to artificially create a crisis, and to try to use public opinion pressure to force the United Group to bow its head.

The essence of the reason is not that Union Bank violated this or that norm in its operations. The essence is that a small group of Federal Reserve officials refused to accept the President's well-intentioned criticism of them and refused to admit their mistakes in their work. They refuse to reflect on their arrogance in policy making. They only know how to use power to trample the market, stifle freedom of speech, stifle business freedom, and become enemies of law-abiding entrepreneurs. This is something we firmly oppose. "

Alessandro's speech was like a bombshell thrown into the crowd: I have seen companies challenging the president, but I have never seen banks challenging the Federal Reserve. Are they impatient?

A reporter in the audience curled his lips: "This is not the first time that United Bank has slapped the Federal Reserve in the face. Last time, the Federal Reserve guided the interest rate to 20%. Five major banks including United Bank collectively lent 100 million yuan below the guideline interest rate. Didn't you think so?" Have you forgotten?"

"Yes, yes, I remembered."

"At that time, the Federal Reserve was extremely dissatisfied. It was Citibank and others who took over the matter. Later, the president called some Fed officials stupid..."

"Yeah, yeah...and the Fed is going to fight back?"

"They have found the wrong person. Is it so easy to slap the president in the face? He is the second person under the leader to make all the changes in Italy. The president arrived in the United States in March, and it is already mid-September and he still hasn't left. The Italian Navy warship has changed Over and over again, have you seen entrepreneurs who can command the navy and control the fleet? Have you ever seen Morgan or Rockefeller casually deploy battleships to visit Europe? Look at the president's bodyguards and the security guards of the Union Bank... ..." Someone pointed at the guards around him, "Is it higher than the presidential security level?"

"Yes! Yes! Of course the president cannot be judged by common sense." Everyone nodded again: Even the President of the United States dare not say that he can just transfer a warship around, but the Italian Navy is so strange. The Royal Italian Navy sneered, you know What, the warships are all fucking sponsored by the president. Even the traveling expenses, labor salaries and even business trip subsidies are all paid by the president. Everyone has extra benefits when they come to the United States. Anyone who doesn’t go is stupid. If you go to the United States, everyone will grab it. Let’s go!

"The above is the general situation. Below is the public statement and relevant measures of the United Group on this matter." Alessandro glanced at the venue, and the venue that was a little commotion immediately fell silent...