Mediterranean hegemon

Chapter 45: The Great Collapse (1)

"Sure enough, the fuse is blown!"

"The effect of the medicine has been enhanced. Now one hour of fusing is equal to one day in the past!"

"Will the circuit break tomorrow?"

"I bet you $5 that it will..."

"Then let's change the bet and bet on what time will the traders get off work tomorrow?"

"I promise to get off work at 11 o'clock, no more, so that the exchange can save a lunch..."

"It seems that part-time work in the afternoon can be recommended to traders."

"Why do you need to work part-time? Supplementary regulations should be introduced. If the circuit breaker stops trading in the morning, it will continue to open in the afternoon - open the trading for the next day. In this way, the 5-day trading time can be completed in 2 and a half days. If it is more compact, it can be done in 2 days. , and then President Hoover announced that the government had achieved a great achievement in turning the tide - it used to fall five days a week, but after hard work, it only fell two days a week..."

"Your joke is not funny at all!"

"Hush...the president is here!"

With the appearance of Contini, the noisy, grumbling and strange remarks that had just been made immediately stopped, and the press conference officially began. Contini first apologized: "I'm very sorry for being late. I just took a call from the president. We had an in-depth and candid communication for 48 minutes and fully exchanged views on topics of mutual concern..."

Everyone listened carefully, wanting to hear what consensus the two senior executives had reached. As a result, Contini spread his hands and shrugged, "We have achieved gratifying achievements. Both parties understood each other's position and agreed." We will have further in-depth exchanges tomorrow..."

An inexperienced young reporter asked the veteran next to him: "What does the president mean by this vague statement?"

The other party raised two fingers: "Two sentences: first, the two sides were quarreling fiercely, and no one could convince the other; second, both sides agreed to continue the quarrel tomorrow..."

"Pfft..." Lao Ji, who was drinking coffee in front of him, suddenly heard this weird argument and spit out the coffee in his mouth, causing a commotion on the scene.

"We don't have any group news to announce today. Let's go directly to the free question time..."

A reporter asked: "If it is convenient, can you disclose to us what topics you and the president exchanged?"

"The president criticized me for saying something so rashly yesterday, which caused the stock to plummet today. I feel aggrieved..." Contini looked innocent. "During today's plummet, not only did our group not reduce its stock holdings, , on the contrary, we slightly increased our holdings of some Libyan Petroleum and United Motorcycle stocks. The market crash was a choice for investors to vote with their feet. We could only not join in the fun. In order to help other banks tide over the difficulties, we also returned other shares in advance. The bank has nearly 200 million U.S. dollars in loans. Now the credit exposure of United Bank has been reduced to less than 1.8 billion, which is fully reduced by half compared with the previous so-called 4 billion risk exposure. Among the more than 2 billion reduction, excluding 500 million original That is, when United Bank reduced its stock holdings as a financial investment, we did not reduce our holdings in the stocks of companies affiliated to United Group, and even slightly increased our holdings...

It can be seen that the decline is caused by common factors in the market. How can you blame me? If I can influence the stock market so significantly, then I will say now that the stock market will rise sharply tomorrow and will melt upward. Do you believe it? So I reply to the President, your words are equivalent to the previous fatuous king who did not blame the generals who lost the battle on the front line, but killed the messenger who reported the news - he cannot accept this metaphor yet. "

A bunch of people laughed, but many people's laughter was bitter.

"Of course, the president's criticism also has some truth. We should take the lead in increasing our holdings. I have decided to buy no less than 10 million US dollars of stocks after the circuit breaker tomorrow. Mr. Francisco will buy no less than 1 million US dollars of stocks. Other senior personnel will buy The corresponding proportion of stocks should be invested, the total number is no less than 15 million," Contini smiled slightly, "Your Excellency, the President still has to give face. These stocks will be established as a joint group management shareholding fund. I will be responsible for the bottom line, and the money will go to them. , I will repurchase it at the original price for a period of 6 months. Of course, the circuit breaker must be used. If it is not circuit breaker, it means that the market has withstood the test, so we don’t need to make trouble..."

"United Group only offered 15 million?"

"Wrong, it's not the United Group's fault, it's the senior managers of the United Group." Contini emphasized, "I can't use the funds of the United Group to buy stocks because the Italian stock market has also fallen sharply. I gave the domestic My suggestion is not to bail out the market. Who said that stocks must go up? If it can only go up but not down, then why open the stock market? I don’t advocate bailing out the market in Italy, and I am opposed to any financial group bailing out the market. It is better to fund more students to receive nine-year compulsory education - Italy is the first country in Europe determined to popularize nine-year compulsory education, which fully reflects the superiority of Fascism and the leader's purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly.

As some media have attacked, we do not have freedom - the government does not have the freedom to provide only 6 or even 3 years of compulsory education, and companies do not have the freedom to employ child labor. We have to launch another initiative, including the United Group, the Italian Top50 companies solemnly promise that during the economic downturn, we will never fire employees due to corporate difficulties - now we don't even have the freedom to hire...

All employees of the United Group will receive this promise. As long as you complete your work conscientiously, do not violate company regulations, and do not violate laws and disciplines, you will not be free to lose your job for the time being! Because I have repeatedly emphasized that the United Group is a national policy group, there is no shareholder meeting and board of directors, and it is not simply for profit. You are not working for profit-seeking individual bosses and consortiums. You are serving the country and contributing to the great revival of the Roman Empire. You cannot be called together to shout "Long live the leader" and "Glorious dedication" when you are needed to contribute, and when you are not needed, you can say that the country is in trouble. You should be considerate of the country and the company and temporarily lay off - I am not so shameless! "

A bunch of reporters stood up and applauded: Because the stock market has fallen recently, industrial and agricultural production has stagnated, and there has been a lot of unemployment in the United States, so Contini's words are meaningful.

"Is this also the content of your communication with President Hoover?"

"That's right! I told him my ideas, and he said that my ideas are good, but they can't be done in the United States. He can't make those companies guarantee not to lay off workers because this destroys the free system of the United States. I retorted, I acknowledge this status quo and tradition, but I think this idea and system are completely wrong. Some capitalists would rather not sell equipment and products to the United Group at a discount in order to maintain their own profits, even though the cost of raw materials and workers has been greatly reduced. If this system continues, will there be such a scene in the future: in order to maintain prices, farmers would rather burn grain than sell it to the outside world? Agricultural capitalists would rather dump tons of milk into the river than sell it to those in need at a low price? If such a scene occurs, do you think it is more important to maintain this system or to stick to our inner morality? "

Contini took a deep breath and said in a serious tone: "He said he would not do so, but he would think deeply about this topic... So gentlemen, we have held so many press conferences, and you have always asked me. Today I want to ask you the opposite - which one do you prefer, the freedom of capital profit or the regulation of the principle of fairness? Reporters who agree with the ideas I advocate, please stand up and show the society the direction of our public opinion. Is it me who is wrong or is this society wrong? "

A large group of people stood up all of a sudden, and eight out of ten reporters stood up.

"Very good, I saw this scene, and I hope you can tell President Hoover tomorrow what the people's support is - although the consortium is very powerful and has a lot of money, the election of the president is one person one vote. "

Contini said maliciously, "Some people doubted my purpose of funding Mr. Adolf Hitler. Some people said that I wanted to control the German regime, or at least seek benefits from it. This is pure nonsense. How could a great country like Germany be controlled by me? Even William II couldn't do it, how could I, a foreigner, do it? I agree with Mr. Hitler and his National Socialist Party movement because I believe that this system is more suitable for the needs of the German people and conforms to my social outlook and values. The same reason today, if President Hoover or any other presidential candidate or other politician is sincerely willing to realize the reform of the American system through peaceful means, I will cover the presidential campaign funds in three years - isn't it just tens of millions of dollars? I can afford it! You don't think that paying these tens of millions of dollars can control the American regime and the American people, right? ”

The scene was stunned. Everyone didn't know how to respond to this sentence. They just thought it was really crazy - the president's words and actions were always unexpected.

"Of course, you can also criticize me for interfering in the internal affairs of the United States. If I violated this rule and offended American politicians and the system, I sincerely apologize to you. "Contini glanced at everyone, "But I want to hear a sincere word. If I were an American who met the requirements, I would consider using my usual political logic and values ​​to participate in the next presidential election. Would you vote for me? Reporters who are willing to vote, please applaud me!"

"Wow..." There was warm applause at the scene. Someone said, "The president's fans are amazing. If he runs for election, I guarantee that many people will vote..."

"But this is impossible. Article 2 of the Constitution stipulates that you must be 35 years old to run for election - no matter whether the president is an American or not, even if he is, he is not old enough. "

"This damn system! Is 35 years old amazing?"

"Brother, when you are 35 years old, you won't say such things. "

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