Chapter 470 Financial Crisis
For Sheffield, this was an unforgettable night. Considering Edith Rockefeller's identity, this was a huge sacrifice. Sheffield did not wake up until the next morning. Edith Rockefeller, who held the leverage in her hand, also woke up. Thinking of everything that happened last night, Edith Rockefeller felt embarrassed. This was no longer related to being a socialite, but a prostitute selling her body. However, the other party was her man, so there was nothing unacceptable.
"Can you let go of your hand first? What's wrong with you? Natalia has the same problem. She can't sleep without holding something in her hands. Then what do you do when you sleep alone?" Sheffield said meaningfully.
Edith Rockefeller finally let go of her hand, but she refused to admit her mistake and said, "I don't want to sleep by myself. You are here, and I just want to hold it while I sleep. This way I feel safe."
What a beautiful day! Sheffield opened the curtains and looked out the window, muttering to himself. This kind of weather is rare in Chicago, but it has become more and more common since the beginning of the year, indicating that heavy industry is reducing production. The slow decline of the stock market is actually very consistent with the situation of the real industry and is relevant, but it is all temporary.
In the morning, members of Black Gold Company had arrived in Chicago, and Jesra, who came from San Francisco, also arrived shortly afterwards. The project at the Umbrella Company was temporarily handed over to others, as he still preferred to work in a familiar field.
"What's going on in California? What about the banks and public opinion? What are they saying?" Sheffield was walking his dog when Jesla arrived at Edith Rockefeller's villa, and the slave owner was asking the head bodyguard question.
"Almost all banks are facing runs, and many have already closed down. Public opinion in the Midwest believes that it was the infighting among greedy bankers on Wall Street that caused the situation to get out of control." Jesla said as he walked. "Mrs. Evelyn placed the gold that United Mining shipped to the Union Bank in Los Angeles directly on the counter, which stopped the run on the Union Bank. Therefore, the run did not affect the Union Bank. On the contrary, after the Union Bank began to cut interest rates, depositors rushed to deposit money there."
"Well, Evelyn is an interesting woman. Who would have thought that she was actually a train conductor?" Sheffield loosened the dog chain and let the German Shepherd play by himself. "It seems that we have gained a foothold in public opinion. All the criticisms are directed at the bankers on Wall Street. The reaction of the citizens is really gratifying. It seems that there is no need to worry about the banks. The only thing left is the stock market. The current stock market situation is of course very serious, but it is not a panic."
Now is different from a hundred years later. Whether the circuit breaker is tripped or not is not important. You still need to stay calm. What a joke. If the stock market does not plummet to one-third of its original value in one day, it is considered a stock market crash. It must be cut in half to qualify.
This is what the leeks who entered the stock market deserve. First, a wave of market conditions was created to make those speculative transactions extremely profitable. Then a large number of leeks took out all their money and foolishly invested in it. The banks controlled by Wall Street also began to provide them with loans. Then our people began to constantly remind them through the media that the market was at risk of getting out of control. However, such reminders were of no use.
Isn't that what speculation is all about? Now that it has evolved to the next stage, we need some explosive news. Otherwise, we won't be able to completely boil over the panic in the hearts of investors. This requires not only releasing news, but also taking some real actions. The steel industry has already reached a bottleneck at the beginning of the year, but everyone is gritting their teeth and persevering.
Layoffs are of course a normal response to a crisis. Sheffield is not just spreading the news, but is really preparing to lay off employees. Now with the support of Rockefeller Jr., it can take action.
The arrival of one thousand members of the Black Gold Company in Chicago gave the slave owners a slight sense of security. Now that the slave owners feel safe, they should make others feel insecure.
"With you here, I can let go of the layoffs. Maybe other major steel mills will follow suit." Sheffield rolled his eyes, patted Jesla on the shoulder and gave him high hopes. "At a critical moment, I still trust my own strength more."
"Boss, your steel company's equipment is so advanced. The Carnegie era laid a good foundation. If even you are going to lay off employees, other steel mills will have no chance to compete. Moreover, U.S. Steel was formed through mergers, and there are hundreds of steel mills under it. If one of them can't help but follow, it will be the beginning of a dam burst." Jesla understood his boss's thoughts very well.
"That's right. Compared to U.S. Steel, our relatively concentrated equity and administration are our advantages." Sheffield nodded. "If a steel mill fails and a chain reaction is triggered, it could cause tens of thousands of people to lose their jobs in Chicago alone. That means the backbone of tens of thousands of families will fall, so maybe someone will cause trouble. This is exactly why you're here. Any problem?"
"Chicago is a big city after all!" Jesla expressed his concerns in front of his boss.
"We're not going to talk about the big cities today! Think about the employees of your Black Gold Company. Most of their fathers were soldiers who died in the Confederacy! A few of them are grandfathers." Sheffield sighed, "Back then, the Confederacy had four million white citizens, and 400,000 people were killed or injured. If it were today, with a population of 50 million, at least five million would have to die to make ends meet. Laying off a few thousand people is already a bargain for them."
This round of layoffs was premeditated and a very reasonable move under the cover of the financial crisis. It is hoped that the working class will demonstrate the spirit of being masters of the country and not cause trouble to the real masters of the country, otherwise they will be treated as troubles and solved.
The official layoffs were announced at Anne's in Arlington, including miners in Arizona and New Mexico, followed by McHale Mining, steelworkers at Carnegie Standard Union Steel, and autoworkers, construction workers in California, and a variety of other employees, with more than 50,000 jobs expected to be affected in the coming days.
It is not necessarily that so many people will be laid off, the news is just released first, but the miners in Arizona and New Mexico will definitely be laid off. The United Copper Mine is now owned by Sheffield, and for the workers originally recruited by Morse and Heinze, only the Yankees will be laid off.
If that wasn't enough, the Dixie workers wouldn't be able to keep their jobs either. Whether these workers could keep their jobs depended on whether the stock market would plummet to the level the slave owners expected.
This is actually a standard class contradiction, but Sheffield first had to use the Yankees as sacrifices to make this action closer to ethnicity and region, because the slave owners dared not touch the real class issues. If they casually provoked class issues, they might die without a burial place. Although he was ready to fight with the Seven Wounds Fist, he was only ready to be injured, not to die.
The news of layoffs spread across the country through radio, telephone, newspapers, and everything else that could serve as a channel. Of course, it was announced to the public that it was because of the financial crisis, which put tremendous pressure on the United Company's industries.
This is of course a lie. The financial crisis will eventually affect the real economy, but not so soon. It is just that in order to combine the company's layoffs, Wall Street is being blamed for the crisis.
In less than an hour, the United Corporation was going to lay off employees in various industries, especially steel workers, who were the first to be hit. The news reached the stock exchange. Rockefeller Jr., who had been waiting for a long time, officially began selling his steel company shares after Morse continued to perform the Seven Injury Fist for an hour.
Finally, in the early 20th century, steel stocks, which were once the most valuable stocks in the world, began to plummet. Rockefeller Jr. also joined the ranks of "buy more, buy more", killing all those who wanted to buy at the bottom.
Panic selling has begun, and U.S. Steel is no exception. This steel company, which was pieced together by Morgan through financial mergers and acquisitions, has always appeared in the stock market as one of the two giants in the steel industry. It finally couldn't hold on at this time, and some people were secretly selling their U.S. Steel shares.
The stocks of the three major steel companies began to plummet at the same time. Countless people looked at the falling numbers. The stocks that no one wanted to take over were stagnant and motionless. Many shareholders and investors who held stocks collapsed to the ground.
God heard countless calls at this moment, hoping that he would appear once, but the old man said that there were too many people praying and the signal was not good.
After the closure of today's exchange, many people are bound to go to the rooftops or buy a hemp rope to end their miserable lives. I just don't know if they have the money to buy the hemp rope. If they offer 300% of the price, the slave owners will be willing to sell them a noose to strangle them.
Young Morgan, who was preparing to unite bankers to deal with the bank run, was stunned by the news of the sharp drop in steel stocks in the stock market. If there were a few people in the United States who understood the significance of steel stocks to the stock market, he must be one of them. The problems on the bank's side had not been resolved yet, and a stock market crash occurred in the stock market. Young Morgan's head was buzzing, and he didn't know how to deal with it.
Banks were being run, and even steel stocks were plummeting in the stock market with no one to take over. The financial crisis was inevitable.
The question of who to save and who not to save was placed before young Morgan. It was a very painful choice. He had never felt so painful in his life. Of course, in his heart young Morgan hoped to save both of them, but if he made this choice, he would not be able to save anyone.
(End of this chapter)
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