(Update one chapter first, please vote for me)
In this world, there are some major turning points that always come with great fanfare. Even months or even years before it actually arrives, its legends and rumors are already abuzz.
For example, the beginning and end of a war, such as the new king ascending the throne and the old king abdicating.
But this time, everything happened quietly.
In fact, no one even realized that it had started.
When the first victim's body fell from the tall building, most people were still laughing at his cowardice and stupidity, congratulating themselves on their wisdom and foresight.
But soon, someone realized the seriousness of the matter.
The financial market began to plummet, and the curve that they were proud of and had brought them everything drew a sharp angle, and then began to plummet at an almost incomprehensible speed.
The wealth accumulated over the years disappears in an instant, and the number in the financial account decreases not even on a rolling basis, but by digits.
Ultra-high leverage was originally the magic weapon for them to get rich overnight, but now, it has become the scythe of death.
In just half an hour, the price of CDS plummeted by hundreds of points. With a leverage of up to 30 times, those trading accounts with more than 50% of their positions were liquidated instantly.
And if the position exceeds 50%, it means that in this round of plummeting, the account owner not only lost all his principal, but also owed the bank a large margin.
——
This should not have happened.
But unfortunately, in the early crazy craze, there were not a few accounts that operated like this.
As a result, an unprecedented large-scale liquidation occurred.
One account after another, the finished products fell down in pieces, and behind every suspended account, there might be a bloody corpse.
In the office, Paulson stared excitedly at the computer screen in front of him.
It was undeniable that he was nervous at this moment.
Of course, it wasn't the impending collapse of the economy that made him nervous, but the rising numbers on his account.
Just now, in less than an hour of trading from the beginning of the decline to now, the total number on his account has doubled.
This means that, excluding the profits that need to be handed over to investors, he has earned a full US$1 billion!
"What a pity. If I had known earlier, I should have been more crazy."
Paulson sighed, feeling a little regretful.
Originally, his year-long plan had almost reached the moment of victory, but just three months ago, his capital chain was stretched to the limit, and the continuous losses almost destroyed his self-confidence.
Therefore, he had no choice but to accept investment from several international investment institutions on extremely favorable terms.
Over and over, the amount of capital injected by these institutions reached an astonishing tens of billions of dollars. This money was dispersed by him into hundreds of trading accounts. Taking advantage of the overheated market and poor supervision, he almost sold out the largest short orders in the market. All the chips were wiped out.
It was these funds that helped him get through the most difficult period.
Logically speaking, Paulson should be grateful to these mysterious sources.
But in fact, he only had resentment in his heart.
The reason is simple, he does not allow anyone else to have the same vision as himself.
——
He doesn’t want anyone to make money in this market but himself.
Of course, it's too late to say anything now.
Things have happened, the profits have been divided, and all I can do is fulfill the agreement in accordance with the contract.
Paulson shook his head slightly, picked up the phone on the table, and called his assistant into the office.
Seeing the assistant's excited face, Paulson smiled slightly and asked:
"How about it, I didn't lie to you, right?"
"I said, the avalanche is right in front of us. All we have to do is add the last snowflake to it."
"Now, tell me, did we succeed?"
"Success!"
the assistant replied excitedly.
At this moment, in his eyes, Paulson was God.
A god who can predict the future.
Yes, if this is not the case, how should all this be explained?
While everyone was frantically chasing the rising trend, he was the only one who bucked the trend and desperately placed short orders at one peak after another.
Everyone thought he was crazy, that he was dazzled by the huge losses, and made the mistake of "not knowing how to stop losses" that only newcomers in the investment world make.
In fact, those colleagues in the past did not take into account the past friendship at all. After their own funds entered the market, they quickly took in multiple orders of chips in a ruthless and ruthless manner, driving up the price, so that Paulson's losses always followed him. .
In more than a year, I have almost completely lost confidence.
If Paulson hadn't always shown him the greatest tolerance and encouragement, it's very likely that he would have left on the eve of victory.
The greatest favor in the world is nothing more than this.
The assistant secretly made up his mind that from now on, no matter where Paulson goes or what he does, he will definitely follow in his footsteps.
He looked at Paulson expectantly, waiting for him to deliver an inspiring speech.
However, after hearing the assistant's answer, Paulson calmly shook his head.
"No, we haven't succeeded yet."
"In other words, we only succeeded a small step."
"The decline in the CDS market has not spread to the stock market, property market, futures market, nor to other real economic industries."
"How is this enough?"
"If the scope of the decline is limited to CDS, then the strength in other areas will soon have a reaction on CDS."
"It's going to stop falling quickly and that's not what we want."
The assistant was stunned for a moment, and then said decisively:
"Mr. Paulson, if you need to do anything, you can safely leave it to me!"
Paulson nodded approvingly. Sure enough, after putting down his dignity and becoming a clown once, he, as an assistant, has grown up rapidly.
So, after thinking for a moment, he stood up, picked up the oil-based pen, and began to write his plan on the whiteboard.
"First of all, we must continue to work hard in the CDS field, throw out all our last chips, and continue to smash the market."
"Secondly, the fluctuations in CDS must be transmitted to the property market. If it does not transmit or is cut off by some people, then we must connect it at all costs."
“Also, we want to continue to spread the word.”
“Whether it’s the apocalypse, the collapse of America, or whatever.”
"I want everyone to know, not just investors, that we have fallen into an abyss and there is no turning back."
"Only when everyone realizes this, there is a chance that the entire economy will collapse, and we."
"You can earn more."
A few days later, Lehman Brothers held a public shareholder meeting.
John looked solemnly at the man talking on the stage, his eyes full of unwillingness and regret.
I am just an extremely ordinary investor. Even among the many investors in this country who have fallen into madness, I can definitely be regarded as the extremely rational one.
I didn’t participate in futures, I didn’t participate in high-risk financial management, and I didn’t participate in CDS derivative investments, which countless people call the password of wealth.
He only trades stocks, and only the safest and most conservative bank stocks.
Lehman Brothers is an exception. It is not a bank but an investment institution.
But this institution has excellent credit, extremely high profits, and stable operating conditions.
So, after repeated weighing, John invested all his funds in the company's stocks.
For a long time, his decision was regarded as a genius investment by his family.
Since 2005, Lehman Brothers' stock has more than doubled from its initial price of $40 to today's $90.
And with the support of leverage, my own funds have grown from the initial US$200,000 to nearly one million US dollars now.
——
In other words, it was nearly a million dollars a week ago.
Just this week, as one of the largest investors in CDS instruments, Lehman's stock price plummeted for seven consecutive days and has shrunk to only US$500,000.
During this decline, John wanted to sell his stocks more than once.
However, his initial luck caused him to miss the best opportunity. When he finally made up his mind, the trading market had already fallen into a downturn.
At the price he can accept, no one is willing to take over. Unless he grits his teeth and offers a price far lower than the market price, otherwise, his stock will be lost to him.
The situation is critical. If the stock price continues to fall, it may only take two weeks for all the funds in your account to be emptied.
——
That's not as simple as starting from scratch.
I still have to repay the leveraged debt and take on a loan of a total of 200,000 US dollars!
When he thought of this, John's mood collapsed.
He took a few deep breaths and comforted himself:
"It doesn't matter, there is still a chance, there is still a chance"
"Lehman is a big company. As long as they don't file for bankruptcy, it's not too late."
"They will carry it through, I will carry it over."
After repeated persuasion several times, John finally had the courage to raise his head.
Then he discovered that in this huge office, there were actually not a few people who bowed their heads and prayed like him.
On the stage, Lehman representatives were still chattering about the company's situation.
He had a calm expression and a steady voice, as if everything that happened in the financial market had nothing to do with him.
"We have indeed encountered operational difficulties. Due to the failure of the CDS market, conservative estimates suggest that the company's net loss this time will be more than US$30 billion."
"In contrast, the company's total liquid assets are $7 billion."
'We're going to have to make more tough decisions'
"Stop talking!"
Suddenly, someone in the audience interrupted the representative’s question.
Then, the man continued to ask:
“We just want to know, will Lehman file for bankruptcy?”
After the words fell, everyone looked expectantly at the representatives on the stage.
But the representative who was still eloquent just now suddenly became quiet.
He just stood there quietly, staring ahead, as if there was something there that caught his attention.
Everyone looked at him in confusion. After a long time, his eyes moved.
Then, he looked at the time on the electronic display hanging on the wall of the hall.
He said in a low voice:
"Now. There is still time."
In an instant, everyone understood what he meant.
At this moment, the building collapsed.
John followed the surging crowd towards the trading desk, but by the time he arrived, it was too late.
In just a few minutes, Lehman Brothers' stock fell nearly 80%, and all his assets had been wiped out.
John walked out of the trading floor in despair.
He didn't know where else he could go.
go home?
But, how do you explain it to your family?
How do you tell them that you have lost everything, and you can’t even afford the mortgage next month? ——
Yes, a house.
That damn house!
If it weren't for the rising housing prices, I would never choose to buy a house at such a time.
If it weren't for the pressure of loans, I would never lose my basic judgment and rely on luck to keep the hard-earned profits!
Damn it! Damn it!
At this moment, John suddenly realized that the gears of fate had actually started turning.
It's just that I, who was in the gear, never realized the fate of being crushed.
He sat blankly on the street, and there were many people who were in a daze like him.
No one knew where to go or what to do next.
——
At this moment, a man stood up.
He walked forward with firm eyes, and almost subconsciously, John followed his footsteps and entered the building.
Then, more people followed the man into the elevator.
They were surprised to find that the man walked straight in one direction after stepping out of the elevator.
——
Rooftop.
Suddenly, John felt clear.
He guessed what the man was going to do and understood what he should do.
He followed the man over the railing, and one step forward was the abyss.
The man lit his last cigarette, and the remaining cigarette butt fell down the tall building first.
Sparks float in the sky.
Seconds later, the man passed the spark.
John leaned his head and glanced down. The ground was already blood red.
He suddenly felt a little sick.
——
It wasn't that he was disgusted by his upcoming fate, but that he felt that his body was going to be mixed with him?
Maybe, it's not a big deal.
John fumbled in his pocket, wanting to light a cigarette for himself, but he couldn't find his lighter.
He saw the lighter that the man had left on the rooftop, so he carefully climbed over and lit the cigarette in his mouth.
Then, he solemnly put the lighter back to its place.
In this short period of smoking, he thought a lot.
Family and friends.
The money in the account and the unpaid debts.
too messy.
He didn't want to think about it anymore, so he jumped down.
It's like stepping onto the next step, without any hesitation.
Twenty minutes later.
In the same location on Wall Street, six bodies were piled up.
(End of chapter)
