Chapter 173 Rain in Houston

"The National Association of Realtors predicts that housing prices will continue to rise in the coming year. The data they provide is..."

"Haha, well, Andre, don't tell me about this news that even the Mexicans selling chicken rolls on the roadside know. I'm not interested in it at all. Have I collected all the high-quality real estate information I need in the San Francisco Bay Area and the Platinum Triangle area of ​​​​Los Angeles? It will be a good market in the future. I should stock up more houses."

Milo leaned back in the boss chair, with his legs crossed on the desk, looking relaxed and lazy, flipping through a few faxes in his hands.

In front of him were members of the Smith Foundation's advisory group, headed by Andre.

Shabotet is not here, and since Andrei came, Shabotet's work has become much easier.

He is now in Washington, negotiating with the Federal Reserve, OCC, FDIC and other institutions.

Because Milo is acquiring a core bank of its own.

When acquiring a bank in the United States, one cannot avoid the supervision of these three institutions.

Hearing his boss say this, Andre quickly flipped to the next page. "Investors expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates soon and other factors will affect the New York stock market. On the 22nd, the Dow Jones Index rose by 8,145 points."

"On the 20th, the Federal Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve announced that it would reduce the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.25%, and at the same time reduce the window discount rate by 25 basis points to 4.75%. This is the third rate cut by the Federal Reserve since September this year. After three cuts, the federal funds rate has dropped from the previous 5.25% to the current 4.25%. After the expectation of rate cuts was fulfilled, global financial markets fluctuated sharply again, the US stock market plummeted, and the Japanese yen exchange rate rebounded strongly."

"The Fed's rate cut was relatively small, and the Hong Kong stock market also followed the outside world and fell by more than 700 points. The Hang Seng Index once again fell below the 29,000 point mark. We believe that there will be no important positive news for Hong Kong stocks in the short term."

Milo shrugged indifferently. He knew that this was actually caused by those unwilling hyenas who were besieging Hong Kong's exchange rate.

Including the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut, it is actually to a certain extent also to cooperate with this group of financial hyenas.

But they were destined to fail because they were facing a big country this time.

And they will not only fail once against Hong Kong Island, they will also fail again against Big Bear.

Mainly countries like Siam and India, if they don't keep their word.

Then Americans really have a lot of ways to make them keep their promises.

But when faced with a big country, Americans really have no good solution except to go to war.

As for facing a war between major powers... there will be no such thing. The United States is a businessman and they will never do a business that they know will lose money.

So this time, the financial hyenas are destined to fail in Hong Kong Island and Big Bear.

It’s not so bad in Hong Kong. At most you can’t eat meat, but you won’t lose much either.

Those who are sensitive or lucky, like Milo and his friends, can still get some soup.

As for the big bear, even those who are deeply involved will lose some skin.

Even if you are not deeply involved, you will probably have to deduct 30% of your profits.

A bunch of greedy idiots who think that the United States is invincible and can do whatever they want! He positioned them like this in his mind, and smiled at everyone:

“Anyone who knows a little about economics knows that the continued depreciation of the U.S. dollar caused by the Fed’s interest rate cut will cause many countries to consider adjusting their exchange rate policies.

As inflation is generally rising around the world, the Fed's continued interest rate cuts may cause other central banks to face a dilemma in their monetary decisions... This should be the third interest rate cut this year."

The Federal Reserve has taken a lot of action this year.

In order to complete the dollar harvest in the first half of the year, interest rates were raised five times.

This caused inflation in the United States.

Fortunately, the small countries in Southeast Asia, Korea and Japan surrendered very quickly.

As a result, the Federal Reserve has started to cut interest rates continuously since September.

We can't let the United States collapse just to make it easier for financial hyenas to plunder.

"Let Nelson and the others come back."

Milo opened his mouth to instruct Andre, he looked at everyone, "For the next operation, we will not play with them."

At most, we can wait until the beginning of next year or the end of the year. When the small stick is targeted, we can just go over again.

Andre nodded in agreement, and at this moment, the number one cell phone that Milo had kept on the table rang.

He picked it up and saw that it was a call from his grandfather.

Raising his hand, Milo signaled that today's regular meeting of the Smith Foundation was over.

After they walked out, Milo picked up the phone and answered it.

"Good morning, my dear grandfather."

"Herbert is ill? He has always been in good health."

"Okay, I understand."

“…”

After hanging up the phone, Milo pondered for a moment.

The call was from his grandfather, Old Blackburn.

Old Blackburn told him that Milo's grandfather, Herbert Bush, was ill.

And the illness is quite serious. He is admitted to the ICU in Houston.

The situation is so serious that it is reasonable for old Blackburn or Joseph to go and visit.

You have to know that more than 30 years ago, old Blackburn and Herbert were close comrades in the political arena.

Not to mention that Joseph was Herbert's son-in-law.

However, it is almost the end of November, when the general election and elections for various parties are at their most intense.

It is difficult for Joseph to get away now, and Blackburn Sr. also needs to stay in Boston.

So the two old men wanted to let Milo go, after all, this grandson who had half bush blood in him was closer to them.

This was not a difficult matter, so Milo naturally agreed to it immediately.

Walking out of the office, Milo saw that everyone from the Smith Foundation had left.

The 2nd, 12th and 22nd of each month are regular meetings of the Smith Foundation and Milo.

When that day comes, it doesn't matter where Milo is.

People from the Smith Foundation would come to him and report to him.

The report covers a wide range of content, from the operations of Milo's various groups to the foundation's forecasts on the direction of the economy or the progress of Milo's acquisition intentions.

Today is November 22nd.

Milo was too lazy to go out, so he asked the people from the foundation to come to Bay House to report.

The place here is big enough, with two auxiliary buildings alone.

One was used by the previous owner to raise horses, and the other was a dormitory for maids and bodyguards.

Milo had the indoor horse-raising area demolished and rebuilt, and now it is a large meeting room and workshop.

Coming out of the executive meeting room is the west garden of Bay House.

The east side of the manor faces the sea, the entrance is on the south, and the main building faces north and south.

The west garden is a typical French landscape garden. It is very large, covering an area of ​​almost two thousand square meters.

The cost of repair and maintenance on this is about $150,000 per month.

So if you don’t have money, even if someone gives you a villa, the property tax and annual maintenance costs alone can bankrupt a middle-class family.

This is also the origin of the “one-dollar houses” in Chicago.

It really only costs one dollar when you buy it, but wait until tax season every year.

The property tax you have to pay is more than one dollar.

I returned to the living room of the main building and asked the maid who was cleaning.

I know my sister-in-law Haley is at the gym.

Milo walked over and saw Haley doing early pregnancy yoga.

He smiled and walked forward, and while she was doing her movements and couldn't move freely, he kissed her on the lips.

Haley sighed and continued her yoga pose, just staring at Milo.

“I’m going to Texas.”

Haley said nothing.

"My and Paladin's grandfather is sick. Mom has already rushed over, and I want to go over to see him too. Hailey, do you want to come with us?"

I am the grandson and Haley is the eldest grandson's wife.

Logically speaking, she should go there too.

Of course, after Paladin's death.

She is already in a state where she can go or not.

But after a little surprise, Hailey still said, "Now?"

Milo nodded, "They are already in Houston, and we are going to Houston as well."

Hailey hesitated for a moment, then shook her head gently. "The doctor told me that flying is not recommended during the first three months of pregnancy and for those over eight months, because the fetus' organs are still growing and forming, and flying at this time can easily be affected."

"I am now exactly in the tenth week. It will not be safe to fly until after the thirteenth week."

Milo raised his eyebrows, looking a little surprised, then smiled and hugged Haley, who was unable to resist doing yoga, and gave her a deep kiss.

“Wow…mm…”

After a dozen seconds, Haley gave up and began to struggle.

Milo then let her go and said with a smile, "I'm glad you think so, dear."

"You bastard!"

Hailey scolded him, "In the early stages of pregnancy, you can't fly or have sex!"

Just now, as Milo was kissing, his hands touched places where they shouldn't be.

"Haha, okay, okay. It's my fault." Milo laughed and admitted his mistake.

…

…

The Houston sky was cool at night, and a cold rain was falling all over the ground.

The temperature outside was less than ten degrees, and Milo couldn't help but tighten his coat while standing on the gangway.

Although the bodyguards held an umbrella for him to protect him from the cold rain, the cold wind still blew on his face.

In the night, with the dazzling lights of the airport's private apron.

Milo saw his youngest uncle Marvin Bush and third uncle Neil Bush waving at him below.

As well as my second uncle's eldest son, Prescott Bush, and several younger cousins.

As he responded to them with a smile, he thought back to the time he and his mother came here five or six years ago.

At that time, the only person who came to pick me up was my uncle Marvin Shrub.

But now?

Milo took a quick look and saw that there were no one else but his eldest uncle, second uncle and grandfather.

All the male descendants of the entire shrub family came to greet him.

There was no such scene even when he and Paladin came here seven years ago.

At that time, only my second uncle and my youngest uncle came.

At that time, my second uncle had not yet entered politics and was still a businessman.

Is it because it was inconvenient for others at that time, but it is convenient now? No, it is because my identity is different from before.

In the past, I was just a playboy.

To put it bluntly, if he weren't a relative, the thriving shrub family probably wouldn't even pay any attention to him.

What about myself now?

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Even if they are not relatives.

He is the tenth richest man in the world, a Silicon Valley giant, or a media mogul.

All of these are enough to make the Shrub Family pay so much attention to it.

In the United States, money has always been the mother's milk of politics.

The political achievements of every family are always inseparable from their wallets.

No one is exempt from this, not even shrubs.

What is not well known is that Bush himself is actually a famous wealthy man in Texas.

Shrub's great-grandfather was a manufacturing tycoon, and Shrub's grandmother came from a family of financial giants. The Shrub family's businesses span oil, banking, military industrial enterprises and even sports.

The scale of the Bush family's wealth is actually similar to that of the Blackburn family in the Boston consortium.

But politically they were more successful.

Thinking of this, Milo was already hugging Neil, Marvin and others tightly under the umbrellas held by the bodyguards.

"Dear Neil, Marvin, I'm so glad to see you!"

"It's so cold in Houston, and it's not even winter yet."

While hugging his uncle and cousins, Milo smiled and greeted them.

"It's mainly because you came from San Francisco, which is warm. New York is actually colder now."

"And it's raining tonight, so it's going to be even colder."

Marvin Bush said with a smile.

At this time, my third uncle Neil Bush said, "Let's go, let's go, this is such a horrible weather. Let's go back indoors quickly."

Milo nodded in agreement, and a large group of people surrounded him and walked quickly towards the internal parking lot of Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport.

As you can tell from the name of the airport, it is named after Milo's grandfather.

It is about 40 kilometers away from the city center. It is the first airport in Houston and the second largest airport in Texas.

In the cold night, there was an internal parking lot where the airport’s own cars should have been parked.

At this time, it was already occupied by many foreign vehicles.

Half of it was brought by the Bush family, and the other half was rented by Wendy who came earlier.

Watching Milo smile as he got into his own car.

Marvin and Neil then got in the car.

After getting in the car, Neil suddenly said, "Marvin, Milo is really enviable now. He has never been to Houston, but he can get a fleet of so many vehicles with just one phone call. He even lets him ride in his father's car..."

Marvin glanced at his third brother and thought that if you had a fortune of tens of billions of dollars, you could do it too.

But I can only think about this in my heart.

He is the third brother...how can I describe him?

In the past, everyone was talking about Milo Blackburn's nephew.

The one he looks most like is his third brother.

Why? Does it refer to appearance?

no.

It refers to being a playboy, a spendthrift, a troublemaker, and a philanderer.

Milo, the nephew, looks very much like his third uncle Neil Bush.

Marvin: "Neil, this is normal. Milo is now one of the top ten richest people in the world. This fleet is nothing compared to his wealth."

"Of course I know that. I'm just saying that." Neil said, his tone full of envy.

There's a bit of jealousy too.

Ten years ago, Neil started JNB Oil Exploration with just a few hundred dollars.

He was also director of the Silverado Savings and Loan Bank in Denver at the time.

Neil then lent more than $100 million in bank funds to two business partners of JNB Oil Exploration Company.

Due to the failure of the company's business, Neil's two partners were unable to repay the loan of up to $132 million, resulting in the bankruptcy of Silverado Savings and Loan Bank.

But Neil, the "culprit", didn't even enter the police station.

He was only fined a symbolic $50,000.

Do you think that's the end of Neil?

You were overthinking it. Within two years, in 1989, Neil abandoned the debt-ridden JNB Oil Exploration Company and borrowed $2.3 million to start a new company called Apex Energy.

Neil also became the company manager with only $3,000 of personal investment.

That’s right, I borrowed another large loan from the bank.

The company had no money to repay the loan and went bankrupt...

Do you think Neil is finished? No one will believe him this time, right?

Ha, at this time the "noble person" appeared again.

In time, one of Old Bush’s major donors offered Neil a lucrative new job.

The kind that earns a million dollars a year and doesn't have to go to work once a year.

Neil now manages a "franchise company" headquartered in Houston, in the same building as Herbert's office.

This is the same principle as if Lao Wang doesn't go bankrupt, Xiao Wang will not go bankrupt either.

It was this experience that made Neil particularly envious of his nephew Milo.

They both come from wealthy families, both get money from their families, and both receive support.

He started two businesses, and both times he got into big trouble, and each time he was scolded by his father and brother.

What about Milo?

Neil felt that he had succeeded easily.

Once successful, you will make huge profits.

The Bush family hasn't reacted yet.

Their nephew is already one of the top ten richest people in the world.

When it comes to women, Milo is actually very similar to his uncle.

Neil was obsessed with women before he got married, and after he got married, he still had many women outside.

How could Neil, who had the same experiences in the first half of his life as Milo, not be envious, jealous and emotional?

Ma Wen could understand some of his brother's feelings.

But Marvin wouldn't care.

Even Ma Wen was thanking his third brother for being unreliable.

If Neil wasn't unreliable, the task of managing the family business would not have fallen on the shoulders of the youngest one.

Ma Wen has always known that his father's original plan was for the eldest and second sons to go into politics, and the third son to manage the business.

Do whatever you like.

The vast majority of wealthy families make similar arrangements for their children.

For example, in the Blackburn family, Paladin was the one who took care of things, while Milo let himself go.

Marvin was originally the one who could let himself go.

Fortunately, Neil keeps committing suicide and he really has no ability.

Finally, the lucrative job of managing the family business fell on me.

Marvin knows it better because he manages and operates most of the businesses in Shrub.

It must be so difficult for Milo to achieve what he has now and what kind of abilities he possesses.

So he wasn't jealous like Neil, he just admired and envied him.

"Remember not to make Milo unhappy."

Marvin suddenly said, "That's what my father said. If you make Milo unhappy, he will be very angry."

Neil curled his lips, somewhat disapprovingly.

However, as a child from a political family, he is a fool.

But I always know what I can do and what I can't do.

Who can be bullied and who cannot be bullied.

So Neil also knew that even though Milo was his nephew.

But now Milo is the kind of person that he cannot afford to offend, and must please.

Otherwise, it was so cold tonight, wouldn't it be nice to sleep with Houston's mistress in his arms? Why did he have to run to the wet and cold airport tarmac to greet Milo?

"Of course I do."

Neil said.

Besides, his business partner also wanted to get to know Milo through him.

How could he possibly mess with Milo?

(End of this chapter)