Mato Walsh also felt quite regretful about this, after all, Zhang Junfeng had also approached him to invest and participate in short selling. However, he gave up such a rare investment opportunity because of his fight for the position of group president.
Otherwise, he would definitely be able to use this "brilliant" operation to gain the sincere admiration and conviction of the middle and senior management of the entire Goldman Sachs Group in a short period of time.
After several days of investigation, the US intelligence agencies identified the Afghan Arab businessman Bin Laden as the main suspect behind this world-renowned "terrorist attack".
In order to avenge the thousands of people who died in the attack and wash away the shame, the US government soon announced that it would launch a "war on terror", sending elite troops to Afghanistan to eliminate the Afghan Taliban who were hiding "Al-Qaeda" terrorists, and passed the Patriot Act in the country! On October 7, the United States and Hans began to carry out a large-scale military strike against the Afghan Taliban armed forces. More than two months later, the Taliban regime collapsed. With the joint efforts of the international community and relevant Afghan parties, it was not until December 22 that the Afghan interim government with Karzai as chairman was established with the support of the United States, and the first phase of the American revenge war came to an end.
But no one would have thought that this underdeveloped Afghanistan, like a black hole, would drag the world's number one superpower, the United States, into the quagmire of war for 18 years. It was not until 2021 that America's elite troops withdrew from Afghanistan.
…
During the war of revenge, a series of bad economic analysis was released. For example, on November 26, the National Bureau of Economic Research announced that the US economy had fallen into recession since March, ending its record 10-year growth.
Especially since the bursting of the Internet economy bubble last year, the US economy has continued to weaken, and the September 11th incident has made matters worse. Dragged down by the US economy, the global economy has fallen sharply. Following the US, Japan has also announced that it has fallen into an economic recession. Some Asian countries are facing an economic situation that is even more severe than the 1997 financial crisis. The EU economy is also hovering on a low-growth track. The Argentine financial crisis has also triggered political and social unrest.
…
Seeing that the war broke out as scheduled, Zhang Junfeng immediately contacted Mato Walls and Nacho Morgan and asked them to increase their long positions in the crude oil futures market. Once the war really broke out, the price of oil, as an important resource, would inevitably show an upward trend.
However, Zhang Junfeng was also very clear that this war would not last too long. In just over two months, America successfully took revenge, taught a lesson to all countries and regions in the world, and showed off its "strong muscles"! In addition to Zhang Junfeng, many other financial institutions such as Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and Lehman Brothers also placed orders in the international crude oil futures market to try to make more international crude oil prices and make a fortune.
…
Just as these quick-reacting institutions expected, international oil prices had originally fallen, but because OPEC cut production by a cumulative 3.5 million barrels per day in January, March and July, the decline in international oil prices was curbed to a certain extent.
However, with the September 11th incident and the military retaliation by the United States, international oil prices have been rising steadily in the short term, with a significant increase compared to before. This has also allowed institutions that are long on international crude oil to take the opportunity to make a fortune.
Of course, Zhang Junfeng also gave certain hints. The American officials, who are eager to regain their face and dignity, are very likely to eliminate the terrorists in Afghanistan in a short period of time and thereby achieve the purpose of "killing the chicken to scare the monkey". Therefore, this war is destined not to last too long. Once the situation becomes clear, they will need to sell all the international crude oil contracts they hold as soon as possible to cash in and recover the funds.
Mato Walls and Nacho Morgan agree with Zhang Junfeng's argument. They don't think this small Middle Eastern country is qualified to fight with the United States for several rounds. It is likely to be a one-sided crushing game. They need to pay more attention to the changes in the situation, lest Afghanistan is defeated and they are too late to operate, resulting in investment losses.
…
Inside a high-rise office at Lehman Brothers headquarters.
Peter Fuld listened to his subordinates' report on the action of following the trend and buying international crude oil futures, and a bright smile appeared on his face. "Well done! I'll give you a credit this time!"
Hearing Peter Fuld's promise, the subordinates nodded happily and thanked him repeatedly.
It turned out that within half a month after the "9/11" incident, these financial institutions realized belatedly that someone had already laid the groundwork in the futures market and continued to buy a large number of short-selling orders.
It's just that the time interval between these events was too long, and many people thought that this irrational behavior was the result of some prodigal son wasting money. Now it seems that this is clearly a case of playing the pig to eat the tiger, so cunning!
After a secret investigation, Peter Fuld discovered that the large amount of funds for shorting the Dow Jones and Nasdaq indexes mainly came from securities companies under JPMorgan Chase. He quickly thought of Zhang Junfeng, who was at odds with him. If it was this guy, with his special relationship with Nacho Morgan, he might really be able to do this.
At first, he planned to report anonymously to the American intelligence agencies that JPMorgan Chase might have connections with those terrorists.
However, as soon as the subordinates made the anonymous report, their report was directly rejected. They even bluntly stated that JPMorgan Chase is one of the most reliable and powerful financial services groups in the United States. It has helped hundreds of companies successfully go public over the years and is the financial representative of America!
They will never allow anyone with ill intentions to slander and defame America's pillar companies at this juncture~!
…
Seeing that there was no hope of stabbing him in the back, Peter Fuld cursed and then adjusted his strategy, asking his subordinates to secretly monitor the "big moves" of JPMorgan Chase's companies. As soon as there was news, they would report to him. He would consider whether to report or "copy homework"! Now it seems that this decision to "copy homework" has brought him real benefits~! The original decision was really a "smart" one! ...
Seeing that the boss was in a good mood, the subordinate tactfully placed another report faxed from Goryeo about the progress and follow-up analysis of the Jeju Island tourism project under their investment report on long international crude oil, and then placed them together on the other party's desk.
Anyway, the main thing is to report good news but not bad news. Even if the other party really notices it, he will just put the blame on Goryeo. The situation over there has nothing to do with him anyway~!
——————Dividing line——————
The capital of Dragon Kingdom, the headquarters of NetEase.
After more than a year of deployment and research and development, the online game division established by NetEase has successfully become the company's most profitable department. The "Westward Journey Online Ⅱ" developed during the period was launched and was well received by players. In just over half a year on the market, it brought NetEase a massive revenue of more than 80 million RMB.
This scene of "turning the tide in desperate situation" made Lei Jun and Qiu Bojun, who were also in the imperial capital, extremely envious. The "Swordsman Love Story" they developed still had a certain gap in popularity and money-making compared to the other team.
This made the two of them feel a little uncomfortable, but fortunately, the biggest profit point of Kingsoft Software Company today is not in online games but in the "Kingsoft Software Package" which is a bundled installation and operation of free anti-virus software.
With the support of the "free package", Kingsoft Browser has shown signs of being a monopoly, and advertising costs have also been rising steadily, from just tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of RMB to hundreds of thousands or even millions of RMB!
Other peers are naturally full of resentment and dissatisfaction with Kingsoft Software Company's dominance and "bullying", but they can't resist the fact that their free anti-virus software is almost becoming a must-have package for installing computers in Longguo. The number of users continues to rise to a terrifying 19 million. You must know that during this period, the number of Internet users in the country has only reached 33.7 million!
Faced with the continuous erosion of market share, these peers are simply unable to cope and can only band together to jointly resist Kingsoft Software's "attack".
However, in the second half of 2001, the new version of Qiandu search engine and Qiandu browser under Qiandu Company came out, making life even more difficult for the browser and search engine companies that were already struggling to survive. Many companies, seeing that they could not defeat Kingsoft Software Company and Qiandu Company, had to retreat and turn to other tracks to seek survival.
Of course, there are also some upright company leaders who refuse to count and still hold on, but the company's profits are getting worse and worse, and it is only a matter of time before it goes bankrupt.
…
In the office of Comet Capital Chairman in Seoul, Korea.
Zhang Junfeng, who was looking through information to find a suitable investment project, suddenly received a call from Mr. Tai Yu, and the content of the call shocked Zhang Junfeng.
There is no mistake in the poem, post, content, and read the book on 6, 9, and bar!
It turned out that Mr. Taewoo received a call from Jeon Kaka, saying that Choi Kyu-hee, a former member of the Ishin Club, wanted to participate in the next presidential election and hoped to get support from Jang Jun-bong.
Zhang Junfeng couldn't help but sneer, and then he reminded, "Mr. Taiyu, there are some things I shouldn't have said. If you want to sit on the throne, you can't just have support. The current situation is obviously different from 20 years ago. It's obviously impossible to cover the sky with one hand!"
"If it were me, I would remind all the Kakas to 'retire at the peak of their careers' so that they can enjoy their old age in peace. If they get involved again, they will most likely be targeted by some guys again~!"
Hearing what Zhang Junfeng said, Mr. Taiyu was silent. As a wise man who once stood at the pinnacle of power, how could he not understand the meaning of the other party's words? This was not only said to Quan Kaka, but also to him! The current situation in Goryeo is indeed as Zhang Junfeng said. The power in their hands has become a bubble. If they want to retreat behind the scenes and make a comeback to revive the former glory of "Yixinhui", it can only be in dreams!
How could those ambitious guys allow these old guys who have been "eliminated" by history to stand up again and try to get their hands on the pinnacle of power? ...
Mr. Taiyu sighed helplessly and said quietly, "I understand what President Zhang meant. I will convey it to Quan Kaka..."
"Don't worry, Mr. Taewoo. This may not be a bad thing for us. If a president who hates evil comes to power, as long as we guide him properly, Sister Suying's long-cherished wish can be realized." In order to ensure that Mr. Taewoo and Quan Kaka can be stabilized, Zhang Junfeng appropriately revealed some information.
When Mr. Taiyu heard Zhang Junfeng suddenly bring up this matter at this time, he was stunned for a moment and then showed an awkward smile on his face, "So... President Zhang actually already has a guess about who the winner will be?"
"It's not speculation. It's just that we have made multiple preparations~! For example, our Comet Capital and New Hyundai Group's Chairman Chung Mong-koo will support a congressman to become the highest official in Seoul!"
"As long as we can get this important position, maybe in a few years our people will be able to use it as a springboard to compete for the throne of power!"
"...Hahaha, so that's how it is! It seems that President Zhang has already made full preparations! In that case, let's carry out President Zhang's plan. Quan Kaka and I are looking forward to the moment when President Zhang's plan succeeds~!" After knowing Zhang Junfeng's secret plan, Mr. Taiyu laughed out loud after a long time.
I didn't expect that Zhang Fushan really has a good grandson. If they had met such a capable and resourceful grandson when they were in power, perhaps the fate of him and Quan Kaka would not be as desolate as it is now? !
Zhang Junfeng was relieved when he heard Mr. Taewoo's hearty laughter on the phone. To be honest, he was a little worried before. If Mr. Taewoo and Quan Kaka insisted on doing it, then the many preparations he had made with great difficulty would be very likely to go wrong.
If Wu Xuan fails to win the election and is picked up by someone else, although they will not declare a direct war on Wu Xuan and the domestic big companies and chaebols, "it is easy to dodge an open spear, but hard to guard against an arrow from the dark", and the "old Yin coins" who secretly do things for you are obviously more difficult to deal with.
…
In the following days, Zhang Junfeng contacted Chung Mong-koo and met with Lee Myung-bak to discuss the next campaign plan. It must be said that 2002 was a very interesting year! According to convention, the president's term of office should be five years, while the term of office of the mayor of Seoul is four years, but the election time for the latter will be in June, while the final result of the former will not be announced until December.
So Zhang Junfeng referred to some of the experience and routines of his previous life and came up with an extremely bold "routine"! That is, when promoting to the outside world, he did not rush to reveal their true purpose, but chose to "fish in troubled waters" and confuse others in advance.
After Lee Myung-bak's popularity and supporters gradually increased, he turned his attention to running for the mayor of Seoul in June. I think other candidates would only be happy to see such a dramatic change and would not put up any obstacles.
Because according to the usual thinking, those guys will definitely focus more energy and resources on the presidential election at the end of the year. As for the election of the mayor of Seoul, they are very likely to be inadequately prepared and unable to handle it. As for the candidate for the mayor of Seoul, how could he be a match for the well-prepared Lee Myung-bok? ! "Chairman Zhang Junfeng, you are really amazing! If you really do this, then Mr. Myung-bo's throne as the mayor of Seoul should be a sure thing!" Zheng Mengjiu's eyes lit up, and his face was full of joy. (End of this chapter)