Mediterranean hegemon

After expressing his views on Fisher and speculators, Contini deliberately raised his voice and emphasized his tone: "I have repeatedly stressed that no country can prosper by speculating in stocks and real estate, even if it occasionally succeeds. For a while, it will eventually be liquidated by history, and the saddest thing is that the victims of the liquidation are also the victims of the hype - this is what saddens me the most.”

"I am Thomas, a reporter from the Wall Street Journal. Will United Group continue to reduce its stock holdings?"

"In fact, we have made a statement about reducing our stock holdings a long time ago, but no one paid attention to it at the beginning. Now it has fallen and we find that United Group is reducing our stock holdings. In fact, we are also victims - if there is no run pressure, I will reduce our stock holdings to raise funds. What to do?" Contini said coldly, "What should we do in the future? We will deal with it according to the actual market demand. In short, United Group will spend its last dollar to defend United Bank!"

No one can blame the United Group. This is indeed their right, but when they think of the Sword of Damocles that may fall at any time on the billions of shares above the stock market, everyone feels that the risks in the market outlook are indeed very high.

On September 18, the stock market did not fall sharply this time, but began to consolidate and rest. However, bonds that had not fallen much in the previous two days showed signs of large-scale selling. Not only the long-term bonds of United Group were sold off, but also the bonds of other large consortiums. sell off. Contini knew that the effect of his words to the market had emerged. Many institutions were reducing their bond holdings to offset stock margins to reduce leverage. The reason why they were unwilling to reduce their leverage by reducing their holdings was because they still had a sense of luck in their hearts, thinking that this time It's just a flop similar to the previous two times, and you will eventually get up. If you get off now, it will be difficult to get back on.

So Livermore's operation became a small harvest, selling when it climbed over 390 points, closing when it was less than 380 points, and using repeated back and forth shocks to squeeze out oil - now is the best time for traders to perform individually, with big drops. In fact, the skill of the trader cannot be seen in the rise. This method only tests the practical ability of the trader.

"Long live!" The 12 traders couldn't help cheering.

Selling and receiving large orders is boring. Only by flexibly placing orders can you see their level. They fly with their fingers, draw arrows one by one on the telex paper, and then pass the data to the trading seat. Through this After repeated harvesting, they got more than 50 million U.S. dollars in one day, and then took over all the long-term bonds of United Group that were sold by the outside world. Due to the large purchases by United Trust, the long-term bonds of United Group currently only have less than 50 million U.S. dollars. ——These positions will not emerge unless there is extreme panic.

Withdrawals from United Bank are still continuing, but now the number of new withdrawals has significantly decreased, and institutional withdrawals have begun to increase. Although shareholders are very annoyed that United Group has taken the lead in reducing holdings, depositors think that the president is good and a responsible figure. Only by reducing stock holdings can we have money to cope with the run. Now everyone is more confident that United Group can hold on for a few more days. In society, one group supports Contini, while another group sneers at him.

Late at night, Francisco went out for a walk, visited the people who were still queuing up to withdraw money, chatted with them about daily life, and even gave them a number from the security guard to let them go home and rest. They could use the number tomorrow morning Come here, there is no need to wait in line - many savers paid attention to Contini's speech, and heard that the president advised everyone to reduce their stock holdings, and everyone had mixed emotions.

Someone asked: "Mr. Francisco, will the stock really fall again?"

Francisco smiled: "The president has said it will fall several times. The difference lies in when it will fall and how much it will fall. If you ask me to tell you specifically which day it will fall and which day it will fall sharply, I can't tell you the exact answer, but I don't know about the market outlook. There is no doubt that we are optimistic about it, and there is no need to hide it.”

"Won't the Wall Street tycoons come to the rescue?"

"How to save? Money is so tight now. Aren't you also queuing up because you are afraid of not being able to withdraw money? If everyone can promise not to withdraw money, will there be a run crisis? In the same way, if everyone can promise not to sell stocks, the stock market will Will it fall?" Francisco said helplessly, "We can't do it, so we can only do our best..."

On September 19, the stock market was mainly consolidating again, and even closed a cross star - it seemed to be at an equilibrium point. As a result, various comments appeared in the market again, and many people promoted: "Don't be afraid, this is a technical adjustment, it will rise!"

This self-talking cry has infected many people, and everyone is expressing a cautious and bullish attitude. Even Fisher, who was a little discouraged two days ago, regained his composure when being interviewed by reporters: "I called the president and asked for his opinion, but that doesn't mean I gave up... What, you said applying for financial assistance? I was joking with him, he is a millionaire, so I will see if I can give in. ——My assets are enough to withstand a 20% drop on the current basis. Do you believe it will continue to drop 20%? I don’t believe it anyway.”

However, Livermore saw clearly that the downward force accumulated on the market was getting stronger and stronger. As the saying goes, "A long-term market will inevitably fall." It all depends on how the stock market will fall - whether it will be a negative decline, or whether it will consolidate first and then come back. A huge plunge.

At the press conference these two days, everyone asked about the topic of bank runs. It seems that the United Bank has no problem dealing with small and medium-sized depositors, but it seems that it has not yet completely straightened out the relationship with the docking institutions and borrowing, which is widely criticized by the market. As for Contini's judgment on the future market, since there was neither an increase nor a decrease, Contini and the reporters tacitly stopped talking.

Just as the situation was slowly evolving, a conspiracy around the United Group and the United Bank was also being organized. The six bankers who had initially used the stabilization fund to stabilize the market structure gathered together again to discuss the issue of harvesting the United Bank. Mitchell's attitude was very positive. He had received a clear notice from the board of directors-they had contacted the Federal Reserve, and the other party stated that they would not relax the high pressure on the United Bank because of Hoover's pressure and ideas. This point was even recognized by Mellon-he and Hoover were obviously not completely in the same mind.

"Gentlemen, the news will spread soon. It's better to spread it this afternoon. There will be enough time for the weekend to ferment. When Monday comes, we will work together to drive down the share price of United Bank, trigger panic selling, and then we will take over at the right time. Only in this way can we gradually increase the shareholding at a low level."

"You Citigroup wants to swallow up United Bank?"

"No, no, no, we have no such intention. We are just concerned about this and hope to cooperate in other areas." Mitchell did not disclose the content of the "cooperation" - the boss behind the scenes has said that United Bank is the financial tentacle of the United Group and cannot be moved. If it is moved, the table will be overturned, but the patent of Prontoxifen of United Pharmaceuticals seems to be able to be moved. It is best to buy out this drug directly - there are tens of millions of profits here every year. It is initially judged that Contini will be willing to cut his losses - as long as he wants to keep other more important industries.

"Will that lead to a sharp decline in the stock market?"

"So we have to short as soon as the market opens. This afternoon, you can ambush some short orders, but not too many, and try to make the market close smoothly."

The others looked at each other and agreed with this idea: everyone worked hard for two days and found that it was too tiring to pull it up, so it would be better to look down again. What? You said that the stabilization fund is unanimously optimistic about the future market? Don't be silly, the stabilization fund is to make money, not to act as a philanthropist. Just like some national teams cannot lose money, how can the stabilization fund set up by Wall Street tycoons not make money?

September 20, Friday.

This morning, a reporter interviewed an official from the Federal Reserve, who revealed that United Bank currently has $600 million in borrowing from the Federal Reserve and another $1.4 billion in borrowing from other banks. In addition to the 100 million that has been repaid, the rest has not yet been repaid; 300 million of them will expire within one month, 800 million will expire within three months, and the rest will expire within 6-12 months.

Although it is normal to renew the loan when it expires, the Federal Reserve hinted that given the record of Union Bank's large-scale external loans, even if President Hoover puts pressure on them, they will not renew or extend the loan. As for whether other banks renew or extend the loan, it is up to you. The Federal Reserve will not interfere in the specific affairs of other banks.

Journalists who have been in the financial circle for a long time are all savvy. How can they not understand the Fed's hidden meaning? - Look, I don't plan to continue the loan, do you still want to borrow? Don't blame me for not reminding you in advance when you can't pay it back.

At this point, you can see the operation of the entire Wall Street capital circle: with Mellon as a link, Wall Street tycoons are ready to use the Fed's approach of exerting pressure to get benefits from Union Bank - who told you to rather reduce your stock holdings than come to us to ask for "aid" funds with a 25% interest rate, you "broke the rules." Since Contini is unwilling to follow suit, he can only drink the wine instead of accepting the toast: actively release the regulatory atmosphere, let the market suppress Union Bank, and at the same time stop borrowing and renewing loans, forcing the United Group to give up the benefits.

Although the tycoons are usually polite to Contini, they will not acknowledge anything except the greenbacks when it comes to the critical moment! Isn't Contini the same?

More and more reporters got wind of the news. Just when they were about to ask the truth at the press conference of the United Group on Friday night, they suddenly received a notice from the Press Office of the President's Office of the United Group: the press conference originally scheduled for Friday was postponed to Sunday evening because of important matters to be announced.

What are the important matters? The reporters couldn't help but ask, and finally there was only a vague news: the United Group was holding a closed-door meeting, and the topic might be how to respond to the Fed's hint. This explanation quickly convinced everyone, so they were particularly looking forward to what Contini would say at the press conference on Sunday night.

Some people are worried that the stock market will continue to fall, but some people think that the United Bank and the United Group are currently a time bomb, and they don't know when it will explode. It is better to take the initiative to clear the mines.

Hoover, who had been slightly disturbed before, was not going to call Contini at this time, because the Fed had made up its mind and he could not waver in the urgency. Calling would only invite Contini's questioning and criticism. Mellon didn't care - this was the unanimous decision of Wall Street, even though Contini was just a second-generation Italian and the United Group was just an outsider. If they didn't eat you, who would they eat?

"Calais, I heard the news that the Federal Reserve is preparing to cooperate with the consortium to suppress us." Francisco frowned and said, "Either Mellon is behind it, or Morgan is behind it. In short, there must be something wrong with someone..."

Contini nodded: "I know, but don't be afraid, I can't ask for anything, I've prepared nuclear weapons for them!"

"Nuclear weapon? What is this?"

Contini realized that he had spilled the beans in a hurry, so he covered it up: "It's nothing, it's just a powerful weapon, enough to change the pattern of the entire world!"

Many years later, Francisco wrote in his personal diary: Before the crisis broke out in 1929, the president said that nuclear weapons would be used to detonate it. I didn’t understand it at all at the time, but now I finally understand. What I wonder is why the president then Is it like knowing this stuff by a miracle? I secretly inquired once, and the president happily used the results deduced from the cutting-edge nuclear physics research at that time to prevaricate me, but I found that he still had many secrets, which were so important that even I could not see clearly. Could it be that he was the illegitimate son of God? Thank God such a character was born in Italy! He actually has a relationship with our family... Vivian is really discerning. As a father, I feel ashamed! Ashamed! Ashamed!

He expressed his exclamation with three consecutive "feelings of shame". Later, Vivian found this diary page when she was packing up her belongings after his death. She thought about it for a long time and burned the diary. Knowing too much about some things is not a good thing, and women should learn to pretend to be confused.

"Let's invite Mr. Livermore over first." Contini changed the subject at the right time. After Livermore arrived, he asked him directly: "How much is the short position?"

"According to your request, it has reached 5 billion. If it is not enough, we can add another 200-300 million this afternoon. Any more may cause market changes."

Contini shook his head: "It doesn't matter, the news has been spread, you can go and get 5.5 billion..."

Livermore nodded solemnly: He also knew what the news was, and he was worried about the future of United Bank - it was really uncomfortable to have so many old guys who cannibalize people and not spit out bones staring at each other.

"What? Are you scared? Do you know why I want to hold the press conference until Sunday night?"

Livermore shook his head.

"I have a surprise gift package for them!" Contini slowly stood up and walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the street view of Manhattan, and uttered a sentence that Livermore will never forget, "It's not that I look down on them. , in my eyes, these so-called investors and speculators are rubbish! Only you and I are worthy of this era!"

"President, you are the only one, I am just a butler..." Livermore said respectfully.

Contini laughed: "Jesse, you are being humble again. Listen to me. After you make money from short selling, enjoy it. Don't rush to buy the bottom in the future..."

"OK……"

"Tell the press and we'll see you on Sunday!"