Mediterranean hegemon

The wildly falling stock market shocked everyone. American citizens who got the news gathered around the branches of major banks and anxiously processed withdrawals. Of course, other places were doing it to make up for deposits, and Union Bank was doing it for a run. Many white-collar workers only saw it after work. As of the Federal Reserve's statement yesterday, I couldn't leave all morning. Only when I saw the dark crowd at noon did I give up my fantasy and line up again. They are all knowledgeable and know that even if there is really no problem with Union Bank, it will still collapse in the face of such running pressure. Now it is just trying to support itself.

The people who came just as it opened were no match for those who lined up in advance. They came 2 or even 3 hours in advance to withdraw money. Although the credibility of the president is well-known in the United States, the Federal Reserve is an official institution after all, and everyone still has a certain blind faith in the government's words, so they rush to withdraw money and then deposit again if there is no problem. And people who came at noon might not be able to take their turn in the afternoon. When they were annoyed, they suddenly remembered that United Bank said it would be open 24 hours a day. Everyone thought it was barely acceptable.

Fortunately, although there were many people at United Bank in the morning, everyone got their money. No one said anything, and everyone went back to tell each other. People with more deposits lamented and queued for the second round, although some people protested that this was not the case. Fair enough, but most people don't have more than $1,000 saved (which is usually more than a year's salary), so there's no support.

The headquarters where the most people come to withdraw money is where many people think that since the president is sitting there, it should be easier to withdraw money, so when you look down from upstairs, it’s all dark and full of human heads, and the hall that used to look spacious and bright is packed with people. There were people queuing up, and even the whole street was surrounded by this long queue, which went around three times.

The employees of the Blackwater Security Company were very experienced. They pulled up isolation tape around the perimeter and used the folding method to accommodate as many people as possible, making the whole scene as orderly as possible. In fact, the fundamental reason why the scene did not get out of control was not the high quality of the American people. , but all the people in front of the queue to withdraw money got their money, which left a glimmer of hope and comfort to the small citizens, who prayed that bad luck would not befall them.

"Don't be anxious, don't be crowded. As long as you line up, you will definitely be able to get the money..." The security guards shouted hoarsely using tin speakers to maintain order. Contini and Francisco watched the movement in the hall in the corridor upstairs, vaguely How can we create an atmosphere of panic when there is a little bit of joy and no one is rushing? The Fed's divine assist gave Contini a unique opportunity. If not, the short selling and detonation would still have to find a reason. Who knows whether it would happen exactly like the historical trajectory.

"Do all outlets have queues like this?"

"Yes! There are more and more people. Many people have no idea of ​​running at first. They are reminded by the long queue. Then paying the deposit is also a big problem. Since we have suspended all other services, they can only withdraw money. Then I used a check to make a repayment at the brokerage. Many people don’t trust checks and only want cash..."

"Is there enough cash?" Contini warned. "Although we want to create an atmosphere, we can't make the fake become real. We still want the customers who queue up to get their money sooner or later."

"That's no problem!"

"Very good, let them wait in line, and then make an announcement in half an hour. We will work 24 hours a day today, so don't worry, people." Contini smiled, "Ordinary people should still guarantee that they can withdraw some money. Even 1,000 US dollars is enough. The credit limit is enough for most people. When a large number of banks fail in the future, people will find that we are the most reliable and indestructible, which will be of immeasurable value to United Bank in the future."

"But what about the institution's money? There are a lot of calls from people asking for large withdrawals in advance."

"No, we must treat everyone equally, otherwise it will not be democratic..." Contini smiled, "All customers, regardless of size, have to queue up. If they don't want to queue up, I will tell these people their names to see if they can bear it. ?”

Francisco smiled slightly: "I understand, they can be smart and bring in a few more people at once. The bank does not limit the number of withdrawals in a day. 10 people can withdraw 10,000, and 100 people can withdraw 100,000. We have 48 branches. There are 304 windows... I’ll definitely take them after a few more rounds.”

Contini laughed: "Yes, that's what it says."

"What should we do with the bank that lends us the loan?" Francisco said cautiously, "The Federal Reserve still has a discount amount of US$600 million. I'm afraid..."

"Everything is done according to the contract. It will be a few days, and there is no regret." Contini explained, "There is no need to go through the withdrawal process for the loan, and it will be disbursed as soon as the time comes, but you must wait until the time comes, not even one day in advance because There is also time for short selling!”

"President, your call is from Citibank."

"Mr. Mitchell has something to do with me?" Francisco said, "My place is very busy and chaotic right now..."

"I know you are under siege. Do you want our bank to support you? The interest rate is only 25%."

"Thank you, it's not needed yet." Francisco scolded the bastard in his heart for taking advantage of the situation, but said as if nothing had happened, "We can still handle it, how about you? I heard that the stock price dropped sharply this morning."

"Fortunately, there are a few liquidated positions and we have cleared them all. Other dangerous customers have been issued margin call notices. We will see if it can be stabilized this afternoon. If it can be stabilized, we will first pull it out and wash the market. Understand, but don’t fall too much.”

"Then I'll be busy first..."

After Mitchell put down the phone, someone next to him asked him: "How is the situation at United Bank? Can they stabilize it?"

"It's definitely no problem, it's only half the day." Mitchell shrugged, "If you can't even hold on to these tens of millions, United Bank is too weak. What I'm paying attention to now is their stock price, which dropped at most in the morning. 30%?”

"Yes, 29.7%, which is only one step away from the conversion price. However, the buying here is relatively strong and it will be difficult to fall below it for the time being. If it falls below, I am afraid there will be a wave of panic buying."

Mitchell nodded: "The boss really wants to acquire the shares of United Bank?"

"Collect it appropriately, I'm afraid it's impossible to hold a controlling stake... He wants to negotiate a deal with little Ciano. I heard people say that in addition to the endless profits, little Ciano has a lot of good things in his hands, and the boss is very interested. , at least the motorcycle and Bailang Duoxi must be brought over. "

"Then I understand. Let's wait a few days and see which direction the wind blows. When they can't hold on any longer and ask for help, it's a good time to raise conditions. Like now, when I say I want to support them, they refuse."

The person opposite laughed loudly: "That's because your interest rate is too high, 25%. You can't say it."

“Follow the market and follow the market.”

The morning battle report came out quickly. Withdrawals of nearly 3 million US dollars were more than half faster than the estimated figure.

"What's going on?" Francisco asked with a frown, "This is much faster than expected."

Del Vecchio, the president of the American branch, replied sheepishly: "Because there are too many people in line, the tellers move very quickly and are more efficient than usual..."

Contini was carefully watching the data coming from the stock market telex machine and smiled: "It's okay, as fast as you can, all 300 million shares have been reduced... We have enough money to cope with the run, of course this fund It will take t+3 working days to arrive. You can plan to pay back some of the expired borrowing funds.”

"Okay, there are indeed two funds totaling 50 million due in three days. The presidents of the two banks have called me several times. I will reply to them now."

When the stock market opened in the afternoon, the 400-point level that was originally thought to be stable only struggled for less than 15 minutes before being broken. The massive selling continued to push the stock price downward. These are actually belated effects, because many delayed data know All transmissions were completed before the market opened in the afternoon. Those investors who had only seen the sharp drop during the lunch break joined the selling process. Although they were small investors who were unaware of the situation, there were too many ants to kill the elephant.

Contini smiled at Livermore: "You are still optimistic... You can't hold the 400 point at all. I doubt you can hold the 390 point today."

Livermore sighed: "The 400 point has been broken down. The 390 point cannot be defended. There may be a glimmer of hope at the 384 point. This is the lowest point in August. If it breaks through again, I don't know what will happen next." It’s the end of time.”

When I say this, the stock market is falling rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye. There are four superimposed effects:

The first is of course the domino effect triggered by the over 300 million shares sold by Union Bank;

The second reason is that Contini’s statement at the summit forum alarmed many investors, and coupled with the last flash drop of the previous trading day and the sharp drop in the morning, they also issued selling orders in the afternoon;

Third, the risk news of United Bank spread with the release of the Federal Reserve's statement, and the queues at various United Bank outlets also affected the judgment of investors. The stock prices of United Bank, including United Bank, fell sharply;

The fourth is that due to the rapid decline of the stock market, there have been huge orders to close positions, mainly from investors who have only recently taken over the orders. Many people bought shares with artificially high stock prices, and even had the courage to increase the price by 7 times, 8 times or even 10 times. Leverage, these stocks have all fallen by more than 15%, never mind 10 times, 8 times, or 6 times, they can't bear it. The traders are trying their best to liquidate and don't even need margin calls.

The busiest places in the morning were the major securities firms, apart from United Bank.

Aquilani watched the stock price fall into the abyss with joy in front of the telex machine. Today he was responsible for delivering the telex message to Contini. He knew the inside story: Although the president did not establish enough short positions due to the sudden interference of the Federal Reserve, he originally It was hoped that it would reach 4 billion, but it turned out that less than 3.3 billion was actually established. But the president chose the timing so well that it was perfect.

Livermore also understood. Although he did not attend the high-level meeting last night, he saw through the relevant ideas at a glance. He is an expert in the field of American speculation!

As for the traders who mechanically executed the instructions, all of them were smiling from ear to ear. They made at least tens of thousands of dollars in bonuses today. Is there any other business that can make money faster than this?

Cool!