Mediterranean hegemon

In fact, as soon as Contini announced the big news, someone immediately called the White House, and then notified Hoover. Then before he could recover, a bunch of industrial capitalists called May. Long or Hoover - ordinary people are not qualified to call the president directly. They are all the top leaders of listed companies who call in person.

They did not dare to call Contini, because the other party's attitude was very obvious - it was entirely due to the pressure of the financial world, so they could only ask Hoover to mediate.

As a result, after Hoover called the Federal Reserve, the other party actually said that it was impossible for the Fed to give up on recovering the 600 million loan, or it would have to let other commercial banks continue to lend money. This made Hoover feel very unhappy, but he did not The other way is to blame the other party, because the other party's intention is also very obvious. Now that the United Group has to break the contract to ensure liquidity, shouldn't the Fed maintain the security of the financial system? Don't mistake the cause and effect of this matter - it is because the Union Bank's excessive external lending has caused a shortage of funds and aggregation of risks. It cannot be said that it is caused by the Federal Reserve's withdrawal of funds. To take a step back, even if the Federal Reserve wants to withdraw the funds, other banks do not need to withdraw it... …

Then Hoover approached Mellon, who was deeply concerned about this, but also pointed out one point: if the Federal Reserve is unwilling to continue to provide funds, other banks are even less likely, because after such a turmoil, the loans of other companies will be at risk. , needed a buffer, and finally suggested that the president communicate with Contini alone. Anyway, Mellon couldn't speak in front of the president. In addition to giving Hoover face, Contini really didn't give much face to other American bureaucrats. Logically speaking, he, the diplomatic envoy, should be the focus of Secretary of State Stimson's reception, but Contini never had a serious word with Stimson at all.

So Hoover called Contini angrily. He wanted to soften the situation, at least not to break the contract completely. He, Hoover, would communicate and postpone part of the payment. He believed that it could still be done. After all, these Orders are very important to the United States. Whether it is taxation or employment, he is highly concerned about it. However, he should not be responsible for the stock market. It's a pity that Aquilani acted in a co-operative manner, and Contini refused to communicate with Hoover. In fact, he couldn't communicate with him. He had already ambushed 5.5 billion short orders, waiting to be harvested at the opening of September 23. How could it be possible to agree to Hoover?

As soon as Contini left, Francisco was besieged by many reporters. Reporters who were used to Contini's aggressiveness suddenly found that Francesco was not easy to deal with. When asked why United Bank would adopt such a lose-lose approach, he waved his hands and said: "We are not willing. Yesterday we argued all night and we were still arguing today. Finally, I convinced the president that the United Bank Group must be preserved. Only in this way can the group be complete. As for industrialization, rebuilding the Italian industrial system in 10 years can take a little longer. Anyway, our existing equipment is sufficient, and we can still achieve double-digit growth in 2-3 years based on inertia—— In other words, we still have 2-3 years. I think using 500 million US dollars to buy a lesson is profound - it makes us realize that American finance is the kind of institution that gives out umbrellas in sunny days and takes away umbrellas in rainy days..."

"The president just said that he suspected there was a black hand behind the scenes. What do you think..."

"This is his suspicion. I don't know if it is true, but I would like to remind everyone to pay attention to the fact that the Federal Reserve took the lead in suppressing a commercial bank, and then other banks followed. There is no systematic organization and coordination. Do you think it is possible to be so neat? ?”

"This will cause the stock market to plummet! More of Richardson's tragedies will happen again..."

Francisco nodded: "We have warned the stock market risks many times and asked everyone to unload excessive leverage. We don't want this kind of thing... As for the others, they are completely within the scope of public affairs in the social field. United Group itself is struggling, how can we To deal with other matters and interfere too much with other people - we are not a charity after all.”

The reporters had a lot of questions, but they couldn't get much valuable content out of Francisco's mouth. Anyway, the other party just talked about three sentences:

The first sentence: We don’t want to break the contract, but there are clauses in the contract. The loss of the United Group is 500 million;

Second sentence: The root cause of the breach of contract lies with the Federal Reserve and the financial community. We must maintain the status of United Bank and protect the interests of depositors and loan customers;

Third sentence: What’s the next step? Sorry, take it one step at a time. stock market? United Group is not responsible for managing the U.S. stock market. That is not our responsibility, and we have warned of the downside risk many times. Where does the risk come from? You know...

The entire press conference lasted until it was disbanded at 9:30. United Group announced that it would suspend the press conference on Monday and would consider holding it again on Tuesday. The president would continue to meet with everyone if his mood stabilizes again - I wish everyone a good night on Sunday!

Damn it! How about a good night! Everyone's heart is heavy, and they are chewing over and over what Francisco just said. The stock market will inevitably open with a big drop tomorrow, and we don't know how much it will have to fall before it can stop. According to the analysis of several financial reporters, there are at least three falling factors here. :

First, United Group's breach of contract caused obvious losses to other related companies, which had a significant downward impact on the market;

Secondly, United Group would rather give up 500 million to maintain liquidity. How serious is the liquidity? In turn, the decline in joint stocks will have an impact on the stock market;

The third level, all the orders of $4.4 billion were lost, which seemed like an ominous sign, indicating that the US economy would be in trouble in the future, and this kind of trouble would make the stock market lose all its internal power.

September 23, Monday!

Countless people held their breath waiting for the stock market to open. Many people were shocked when they got the newspapers in the morning and saw the news that happened last night. They asked for leave and went to the exchange and brokerages. These were all high-leverage customers. They were frightened by Richardson's experience. It was Richardson, but it was also about themselves. They had to pray that their positions could withstand the torture.

Of course, there were also optimists who believed that except for the sharp drop in the United Group's stocks, the stocks of other companies would not fall too much. After all, these devices always had room for maneuver - at most, they could be sold at a 10% discount.

Contini carefully selected the news before releasing it. As for why he chose Sunday instead of Friday or Saturday, it was because he hoped to maximize the power of the market, influence emotional judgment, and prevent the opponent's decision from being able to effectively counterattack.

In fact, he did it. That night, more than 20 company CEOs called, but Contini ignored any of them. Aquilani handled all of them. To create momentum, Enzo smashed 4 large boxes of glass cups next to him, creating glass shards that could roll all over the floor - worth $10! ​​

September 23, autumn wind, the sun returned from the Tropic of Cancer and shone directly on the equator again. The US stock market also returned from the madness of the masses and began to return to rationality.

The bomb buried by Contini exploded! The detonator made with $500 million detonated the entire stock market, and the Wall Street crash kicked off.

The stock market responded by opening 10% lower and gapping to 338 points, and then a flood of selling orders poured out:

2 minutes later, 320 points were lost;

5 minutes later, 310 points were lost;

15 minutes later, the Dow Jones Index fell below 300 points...

In the first 5 minutes of opening, 650,000 shares of U.S. Steel were ready for sale at $184 per share, but no buyer could be found. The highest record was $304!

The stock of Westin fell by $2 per minute, and the stock of International Telephone and Telegraph fell by $22 in 10 minutes. By 10:15, the market value of the company had directly decreased by $2 billion.

The stocks of Curtis and Wright, which were once called super bull stocks, were directly discounted by 50%, but no one took over; the stocks of the United Group were also severely affected. The United Bank fell to $4, while the original conversion price was $7. Those shareholders who converted their shares directly lost more than half of their money. The decline of United Pharmaceuticals was even greater. This high-tech growth stock, which originally had a price-earnings ratio of 157 times, now has a price-earnings ratio of less than 80 times - stock analysts believe that it is reasonable to fall by half again.

At 10:28, the Dow Jones Index fell below 290 points. Countless people were stunned by the numbers that were like free fall. Several brave traders placed orders for $1 to try to buy some stocks - but they actually received the orders. The stock price of Mississippi Coal Company was originally more than $60 at its highest, but now it is nearly $40. As a result, because they could not find a counterparty, the trader placed the market price - $1 is also the market price, so the deal was completed! Such appalling examples were not uncommon in this morning's operations. Although he bought at a bargain price of $1, it was impossible to sell it for more than $30. In the end, the lucky man sold it for $24 because someone was starting to clear the orders.

Who? The trader of United Trust.

When the stock market was falling, the only one who was excited was United Trust. Contini, Francesco, and Livermore were all waiting for news from the front line. After the opening, the numbers on the telex machine had not arrived yet, and the phone call came in: "President, the market has collapsed, and the stock market has fallen by 20% in one breath!"

Well done!

Contini and Francesco waved their fists excitedly-the anger they suffered at the press conference yesterday was all recovered today. United Trust, with a holding of nearly 5.5 billion, made 2.5 billion in 48 minutes! Contini lost 500 million at yesterday's press conference, and lost another 500 million in the stock market value of United Group today, but made 2.5 billion in the crucial short-selling field!

Livermore was still issuing instructions: "Sell the stocks of the United Group and key blue chips, use small orders to drive the price straight down, the lower the better! Let all leveraged positions explode!"

At 10:46, the Dow Jones Index fell below 280 points. Many stocks were sold at 30% or 40% off, and those theme stocks were even sold at 30% off. Not to mention 5x leverage, if the position of 3x leverage is not good, they are now in the stage of reducing holdings. Those orders were all sold by securities companies when they forced to close customer accounts. These sell orders in turn increased the pressure on the market.

At 10:51, Livermore waved his hand and roared: "The first batch of harvest!..."

The traders searched for United Group stocks on the market at ultra-low prices of $1 and $2. Now no one bids, and many orders are market orders. They bought countless stocks with $1.

"Second batch!" Several traders joined the ranks of sweeping goods. This time they wanted to close some positions, because the stock market has dropped nearly one-third of the index, and there is a chance to harvest. At the time, the United Group The 1.5 billion debt-for-equity swap is now directly sold at a 50% discount, while Livermore and others repurchase it at less than 20% off.

At 11:26, the combine harvester was operating at full capacity and continued harvesting. It had firmly pocketed all 500 million U.S. dollars. Not only had all the United bonds on the market been cleared, the United System stocks that had been sold off in the previous two days, and even the original debt-for-equity swap That 1.5 billion was reduced to less than 800 million, and a large part of it was acquired.

The Wall Street conglomerates who were preparing to take advantage of the situation to attack United's stocks two days ago also joined the short-selling ranks when they saw the bad situation, but it is not easy to borrow stocks at this time - everyone is eager to sell, who is willing to continue to borrow stocks? Richard Wayney, the president of the New York Stock Exchange, personally bought stocks in the hope of turning the tide, but the building was about to collapse and it was impossible to support it alone. The stock he bought at 10 o'clock received a margin call warning at 11:25, and in the end he had no choice but to give up. But giving up is not so easy, you have to have a chance.

The orders for forced liquidation are piled as high as a hill on the trader's seat. Even forced liquidation requires waiting time - queuing up. Those who are lucky enough to touch the liquidation line in advance can barely get back a little bit after the forced liquidation. For example, Richardson ended up with an extra $32,000 in liquidation. He was unlucky and was forced to liquidate at the back of the queue. Not to mention getting back the remaining funds, he even owed the securities company a lot of money.

As the market closes at noon, United Group has collected 1.1 billion in funds. After spending 300 million to repurchase stocks and bonds, it still has 800 million. United Group has achieved a substantial increase in its holding rate of its major companies, with United Petroleum Algeria having the smallest share. Compared with 47%, United Pharmaceuticals, which accounts for the largest share of 62%, cannot be taken away at all. Contini smiled: "There are 600 million left to be returned to the Federal Reserve, and another 200 million for depositors to withdraw, and they can be withdrawn at any time." , it is not subject to the $1,000 limit. If it is not enough, let Livermore harvest another wave in the afternoon.”

Francisco nodded: As soon as the news was announced yesterday, there was a long queue for withdrawals at the bank today, but this time it was not people queuing up - most of the ordinary people's money had basically been paid, and what they had to deal with today were institutional withdrawals. , in order to maximize the amount of money, the most exaggerated company dispatched 40 people at once, taking turns queuing up to withdraw money, and the cycle started over and over again...