Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 135

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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135. The Tokyo Offensive (1)

April 9, 1995, 4:30 PM in New York, USA.
The afternoon sun, painted in shades of crimson, descended slowly between the towering skyscrapers of Manhattan.
Landon Shore entered One New York Plaza, carrying takeout coffee in both hands in a carrier.
Since it was the weekend, the expansive lobby with its expensive natural marble flooring was silent as a tomb, occupied only by two armed private security guards with pistols at their waists.
Crossing the lobby, Landon Shore stepped into the elevator and immediately pressed the button to ascend.
Upon arriving at the 31st floor where the office was located, he exited the elevator and walked down the corridor, where a glass entrance door bearing the golden Eldorado Fund logo came into view.
Landon Shore carefully entered the security code on the keypad mounted on the wall, taking care not to spill the coffee.
With a metallic click, the lock disengaged and the door swung open.
As Landon Shore entered the office with the coffee, he spotted colleagues who had already arrived.
They were Andrew, the senior investment chief, and members of the foreign exchange trading team.

“You all came in early.”

Andrew and the staff members, who had gathered with the lights on at the foreign exchange desk in one corner of the expansive Trading Floor, turned their heads to look at Landon Shore.

“You’re late. You’re the last one here, Landon.”

Andrew, who was sitting on the edge of a desk with his white shirt sleeves rolled up, greeted him with a smile.

“That’s why I brought coffee.”
“Oh!”

As Landon Shore held up the coffee carrier in both hands, Tyler, the blond, bearded foreign exchange trading team leader, let out an enthusiastic exclamation.

“We needed caffeine to pull an all-nighter tonight anyway. You brought exactly what we needed.”

After handing the coffee carrier to Tyler, Landon Shore noticed two large pizzas sitting on the round table and asked.

“Is this dinner?”
“Dinner and late-night snacks for the evening.”

One of the team members, distributing the coffees from the carrier, answered.

“Mmm, tasty.”

Landon Shore casually picked up a slice of pizza, popped it into his mouth, and chewed thoughtfully.

“This is probably the best pizza place in Manhattan.”
“It would’ve been perfect if they had beer here too.”

Tyler grinned widely and pulled out a bundle of canned beer from under the table.

“Of course I wouldn’t forget the beer.”
“Come on, we still have work to do. Is this really okay?”
“What, beer? It’s just a beverage.”

At Tyler’s cheeky response, Landon Shore chuckled and nodded.

“Drinking is fine, but make sure you don’t get drunk. Keep yourself in check.”
“Don’t worry, sir.”

After swallowing his pizza, Landon Shore wiped his hands with a paper napkin and stood beside Andrew.

“How’s the atmosphere looking?”

Andrew pointed his chin toward the computer monitor displaying the Sydney, Australia foreign exchange rates—still before market opening.

“As you can see, it’s still quiet.”

This golden Sunday evening—everyone had come to the office for this very reason.
Seok-won had informed us that George Hamilton and the allied hedge funds were about to launch their final assault, delivering the knockout punch to bring the Bank of Japan to its knees after the relentless yen attacks.

“You could’ve just heard the results over the phone, but you came all the way to the office.”
“This could be a historic moment—forcing the Bank of Japan to surrender. I couldn’t possibly miss witnessing that firsthand.”

Landon Shore answered with palpable excitement.

“It’ll definitely be more thrilling and entertaining than watching the Super Bowl finals.”

Andrew nodded in understanding, then smacked his lips.

“It’s really a shame that I can only watch from the sidelines instead of participating in a battle that might happen only once in a lifetime.”
“That’s exactly why we suggested to the boss that we participate in this operation too.”

Andrew’s eyes sparkled as he asked eagerly.

“What did you say?”

Landon Shore smiled and gave Andrew, brimming with anticipation, the answer he craved.

“If your fingers start itching, he’s authorized you to trade using the $330 million we earned from our Barings Bank investment.”
“I knew the boss would say that!”

Andrew clenched his fist, his face radiant with joy, and immediately shouted toward Tyler and his team members.

“Everyone heard that! We’re joining in, so get ready!”
“Really?”
“We’ve been waiting for this! We can’t just watch while everyone else plays!”

Tyler and the team members, who had secretly resented merely spectating the brutal showdown about to unfold between the hedge fund forces led by George Hamilton and the Bank of Japan, erupted in cheers.
The energized team members set down their pizza and canned beer, then rushed to their desks and hurriedly began preparing for trading.
Landon Shore watched them and turned to Andrew beside him.

“Can George Hamilton force the Bank of Japan to surrender?”
“The Bank of Japan is a formidable opponent, so we won’t know the outcome until the battle ends. But if the Quantum Fund, along with countless hedge funds on Wall Street like us, launch a coordinated assault, it won’t be easy for them to hold their ground.”
“True. Even a lion falls when surrounded and attacked by a pack of starving hyenas.”

In any case, it was certainly a fascinating spectacle not to be taken lightly.
Landon Shore popped open a can of beer he’d quietly grabbed and waited for the market opening.

* * *

At the same moment, in Park Tae-hong’s residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul.
In the early dawn before daybreak, Seok-won descended the stairs from the second floor in comfortable indoor clothes.
Crossing the dimly lit living room with only a few indirect lights on, Seok-won entered the kitchen and pressed the switch on the wall.
Click.
Seok-won blinked as his vision suddenly brightened, then filled the coffee pot with water and turned it on.
He took out a mug, added two packets of instant coffee mix, and was waiting for the water to boil.
Just then, the Gunsan Housekeeper entered the kitchen, yawning as if she’d just woken up.

“Second Young Master. You’re already awake?”
“Yes. Did you sleep well?”
“Oh, I fall asleep the moment my head touches the pillow. Would you like some coffee? Here, let me make it for you—please sit down.”
“That’s all right. Since it’s still early, why don’t you go back to your room and get some more rest?”
“Rest? I need to start preparing breakfast now.”

The Gunsan Housekeeper laughed, saying that one had to be diligent to prepare all the ingredients.
Just then, the coffee pot let out a sharp whistle as the water finished boiling.
Seok-won poured the water into a mug and stirred it with a teaspoon, bowing his head slightly as he spoke.

“Then I’ll head up to my room.”
“Very well, Young Master.”

Seok-won climbed the stairs, leaving the bustling Gunsan Housekeeper behind, and entered his room on the second floor.
Breathing in the sweet aroma of coffee, I sat at the desk by the window, and the bright glow of the monitor flooded across my face.
The computer monitor, which was already powered on, displayed the foreign exchange rates for Sydney, Australia.
Since the market hadn’t opened yet, naturally nothing moved on the screen.

[USD/JPY : 83.61]

When the yen had broken through 90, it had sent shockwaves through the market, but over the past month, the yen had maintained its strength, climbing steadily to 83.61.
The Bank of Japan and the government must be suffering terribly under such overwhelming yen strength, but with my long position in place, I had managed to accumulate substantial profits during this period.

“Until now, they’ve managed to hold on by depleting their foreign exchange reserves like picking persimmons, but they must be reaching their limit.”

If the final line of defense at 80 yen were to break, the panic and shock would be on an entirely different scale from when 90 yen collapsed, with a strong possibility of devastating the Japanese foreign exchange market.

“Knowing that, the Bank of Japan and the government must be fighting desperately to defend the 80 yen level.”

Yet over the past month, despite pouring out a staggering 14 billion dollars in foreign exchange reserves in their defense, the yen’s strength had refused to break.
The yen had climbed even higher, reaching 83.61, leaving the final defense line at 80 yen just barely within reach.
George Hamilton, who understood the Bank of Japan’s predicament—cornered and gasping—better than anyone, was preparing to deliver a powerful final counter-punch to knock them out completely.
Due to artificial controls by the government and the Bank of Japan, the Tokyo foreign exchange market often failed to reflect prices immediately.
As a result, exchange rates traded in the New York and London markets typically applied directly to the Tokyo market.
Therefore, the currency battle between hedge fund operators like George Hamilton and the Bank of Japan was being waged across not just Japan, but also the New York and London foreign exchange markets on a broad scale.
Since yesterday had been a weekend, today’s Tokyo exchange rate would be determined not by London and New York, which were closed, but by Sydney, Australia, which would be the first to begin Monday trading.

“Sydney is a place the Bank of Japan doesn’t usually pay much attention to, and with the market opening at this vulnerable early morning hour, they’ll have no choice but to take the hit.”

Even if the Bank of Japan belatedly grasped the situation and moved to respond, they would already have lost the initiative.
To shift the momentum back, they would need to pour far more capital into the market than the hedge funds attacking it, buying up dollars.

“The problem is that the Bank of Japan and government move slowly and are bound up in complexity, so the likelihood of them responding nimbly before the Tokyo foreign exchange market opens to suppress the yen’s rise is extremely low.”

If that happened, the shock originating from Sydney would strike the Tokyo foreign exchange market directly, and the chaos and panic would spiral beyond control.
That was precisely what George Hamilton and the hedge funds were aiming for.

“Looking at something like this, George Hamilton really is ruthless.”

Seok-won muttered to himself and picked up the mobile phone resting on one corner of his desk.
He pressed the call button and brought the phone to his ear, hearing the dial tone connect.

[Yes. This is Kim Jung-sik.]
“It’s me.”
[Ah. Director.]

Hearing the familiar voice of Kim Jung-sik, the team leader of Investment Team 1, Seok-won leaned back against his chair and spoke.

“You’re making good preparations, I trust?”

Following Seok-won’s orders, Kim Jung-sik, who had been sleeping near the company and reporting to the office at midnight with his team members, answered with tense urgency.

[Of course.]
“Once the Sydney foreign exchange market opens soon, the exchange rate will move rapidly. Keep monitoring the market, and when I contact you, sell the position immediately.”
[Understood.]

After ending the call, Seok-won set down his phone and checked his wristwatch.

“The Sydney foreign exchange market will open in five minutes.”

Anticipation and excitement surged as I thought about the decisive battle between the Bank of Japan and the hedge funds led by George Hamilton that would soon determine the victor in this yen exchange rate war.
Seok-won took a sip of coffee and watched the yen rate chart displayed on the monitor with a composed expression.
Time passed, and it was precisely 6 a.m.
Finally, the Sydney, Australia foreign exchange market opened.
For the first twenty minutes, it remained calm with no significant changes, like the stillness before a storm.
But that lasted only briefly.
Suddenly, a massive wave of buy orders flooded in, and the yen price began to skyrocket.

[USD/JPY : 83.61]
[USD/JPY : 83.37]
[USD/JPY : 83.25]
.
.
.
[USD/JPY : 83.10]

As the yen climbed with terrifying velocity, Seok-won bared his teeth in a grin.

“At last, the Tokyo offensive has begun.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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