Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 285

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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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285. Don’t you know who I am? Mr. 5%

At the Hotel Fitness Center, with a sweeping view of the crystalline Han River beyond the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, I ran on the treadmill with earbuds plugged in, the rapid rhythm of hip-hop driving my pace forward.
Though it was a weekday afternoon and more than a dozen treadmills lined the room in neat rows, I was the only one using them.
After running without pause for some time, I gradually slowed my pace as the crimson sunset descended beyond the apartments across the Han River.
As I steadied my ragged breathing and wiped the sweat from my face with a towel I’d hung nearby, I glanced at the display panel and saw 7.6 kilometers recorded.

“Should I push a bit further?”

My stamina was still abundant.
I was quenching my thirst with water from my bottle and about to resume running to complete the full 10 kilometers when Han Ji-sung, dressed in a suit, approached with my phone in hand.

“Director. It’s Landon Shore calling from New York.”

I reluctantly stopped the treadmill and stepped down, accepting the phone from Han Ji-sung.

“It’s me.”
[Were you exercising?]

I handed the towel I’d used to wipe my sweat to Han Ji-sung beside me and settled onto the bench press seat.

“I’ve been busy these past few days and missed my workouts, so I came to the fitness center to make up for it. What’s the matter?”

Landon Shore replied in a slightly subdued voice to my question.

[Following yesterday’s decline, copper spot prices continued their gradual fall today, but a massive wave of buy orders emerged in the New York futures market, driving the price up to $2,709.1 per ton.]

My eyes sharpened at this news, and I gripped the phone more firmly as I asked.

“Is Sumitomo Corporation behind this?”
[Given that the buy orders are coming through JP Morgan, that’s highly likely.]

JP Morgan was the primary channel Sumitomo Corporation used for futures trading.
Even setting that aside, from my memories before the return, I knew that Sumitomo Corporation was holding massive quantities of physical copper during this period, so I was certain that the person defending copper prices through futures purchases was Sugihara Takashi.

‘Otherwise, there’d be no reason to expensively buy up copper futures indiscriminately and prop up prices when demand is weakening and downward pressure is strong.’

It was a tearful effort to recover losses by any means necessary, but it was nothing more than futile thrashing.

‘It would have been far better to acknowledge my misjudgment when I first noticed the error and quickly cut my losses on the physical holdings.’

But Sugihara Takashi had done the opposite, making the situation progressively worse.

‘Perhaps he became intoxicated by the achievements he’d accumulated thus far and the hollow prestige of being “Mr. 5%”, deluding himself into believing he could bend the market’s direction to his will.’

Yet no matter how vast Sumitomo Corporation’s influence in the international copper market, no single entity could artificially reverse such a massive tide.
Blinded by the arrogance that he could manipulate the market himself, he repeatedly overextended, sinking deeper into a quagmire from which there was no escape, magnifying his losses to catastrophic proportions—a mirror image of Brad Cooper, who had bankrupted Barings Bank.
Seok-won’s eyes gleamed like a predator that had spotted its prey.

“How much in futures purchase orders has Sumitomo apparently placed so far?”
[As of today, it has exceeded one billion dollars.]

It was an order volume no mere manager could have authorized unilaterally, yet Sugihara Takashi had crossed that line.

“The fact that they’ve purchased so many futures contracts yet copper spot prices haven’t rebounded means the downward pressure is that severe.”
[Beyond the demand contraction from economic recession, large-scale selling from China has been relentless lately, leaving copper prices unable to gain any momentum.]

China, known as the world’s factory, was both the world’s largest copper producer and its largest consumer.
In truth, Sumitomo Corporation’s ability to dominate the global copper market over the past decade had been the result of secret collusion with several Chinese enterprises that controlled their domestic market.

“Chinese enterprises acting in the opposite direction from Sumitomo means the cartel that had held together has fractured.”
[I share that assessment.]

As the seemingly fortified castle began to show cracks, Landon Shore displayed considerably more aggressive enthusiasm than when he’d first proposed attacking Sumitomo Corporation.

“The time seems ripe now, so let’s cut off Sumitomo’s lifeline.”
[Understood. I’ll proceed with selling futures as you’ve instructed.]
“Dump everything we have and shatter the resistance line Sumitomo is barely holding in one decisive blow.”
[Very well.]

After ending the call, Seok-won returned his mobile phone to Han Ji-sung, who had been waiting beside him.
He attempted to return to the treadmill, but his sweat had already cooled, so he decided to end his workout for the day.

“Just prepare a quick shower, then have the car ready.”
“Understood, sir.”

Seok-won turned and made his way to the shower.

* * *

Early the next morning in Morishita, Koto Ward, Tokyo.
Unable to escape the weakness plaguing copper prices, Sugihara Takashi had watched the market movements even after returning home from work, finally falling asleep well past midnight. Now his wife shook him awake, and he opened his eyes with difficulty.

“Honey, wake up.”
“…Mmm. What is it?”

After a week without proper sleep, exhaustion was etched across Manager Sugihara Takashi’s face.
As he shifted irritably, his wife shook his shoulder again and spoke.

“It’s Matsuura calling. You need to get up.”

At that, Manager Sugihara Takashi bolted upright.

“Matsuura?”
“Yes.”

Matsuura was an employee at the London branch of Sumitomo Corporation and also happened to be Manager Sugihara Takashi’s junior from university.
Rising from bed, Manager Sugihara Takashi picked up the receiver resting on the living room table while still in his pajamas.

“Hello?”

His voice came out rough and gravelly, as if he’d swallowed sand from just waking up.

[Manager, it’s Matsuura.]

Manager Sugihara Takashi lifted his head and glanced at the clock hanging on the living room wall.
It had just passed 3 a.m.
Rubbing his dry cheeks with his palm, Manager Sugihara Takashi asked.

“What brings you to call at this hour?”

His mind was still foggy from insufficient sleep.
But the moment he heard the urgency in Matsuura’s voice, sleep vanished instantly.

[Spot copper prices have plummeted sharply, and we’re on the verge of breaking through the 2,600 level.]
“What?!”

At this thunderbolt of news, Manager Sugihara’s eyes widened and his voice rose involuntarily.

“2,600 is in danger? Is that really true?”

At his urgent question, Section Chief Matsuura answered immediately.

[Yes, sir. It’s dropped to $2,601.9, but selling pressure is intense, and it looks like it will break through 2,600 and fall further.]

Manager Sugihara gripped the receiver tightly, as if unable to believe it.

“It was still at 2,700 dollars at midnight. How could it have dropped nearly 100 dollars in such a short time?”
[A massive sell-off bomb detonated in the New York futures market, and the atmosphere shifted dramatically. With the market already weak, when futures prices collapsed, anxiety intensified and immediately affected the spot market as well.]
“Damn it.”

Manager Sugihara spat out a curse, his face contorted.

[In that situation, Chinese copper companies including CNMC are dumping nearly 150,000 tons of spot copper, further fueling market anxiety.]
“150,000 tons? These madmen!”

150,000 tons exceeded 10% of Japan’s annual copper consumption—a manufacturing powerhouse’s staggering volume.
With futures prices collapsing and such massive spot selling, copper prices falling was inevitable.

“These bastards.”

Unlike him, who was desperately trying to prop up prices, Manager Sugihara was already irritated by the shameless tactics of Chinese companies—whenever prices rose slightly, they would dump their inventory as if they’d been waiting for exactly that moment.
But now, seeing all his efforts wiped out in an instant, an unstoppable sense of betrayal and rage surged within him.

“Did Chinese companies place those sell orders in the futures market too?”

Manager Sugihara asked, his bloodshot eyes gleaming.

[We haven’t been able to confirm that yet.]

Of course—with spot prices plummeting nearly 100 dollars at once and chaos erupting at the London Metal Exchange (LME), there was no room to pay attention to the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) where futures trading occurred.
Manager Sugihara pressed his hand to his forehead and struggled to calm his agitation.

“The Chinese sold 150,000 tons, correct?”
[Yes, sir.]

Manager Sugihara Takashi quickly organized his thoughts and adjusted his grip on the receiver.

“Then place a buy order for 150,000… no, 200,000 tons to prevent prices from collapsing any further.”

Chief Matsuura was startled by the unexpected directive and asked for clarification.

[You want us to buy an additional 200,000 tons instead of cutting our losses on our current holdings?]
“Now is not the time to sell. If we dump our position now, we lock in our losses—that’s not an option!”
[But the sentiment is terrible. Are you certain this is wise? One misstep and we could amplify our losses significantly.]

At Chief Matsuura’s anxious words, Manager Sugihara Takashi straightened his expression and deliberately puffed out his chest with bravado.

“Do you know who I am? Mr. 5%. Don’t forget—the copper market is Sumitomo Corporation’s domain, our territory. If we place a massive buy order and show we’re aggressively accumulating at low prices, other investors will shift their stance and become buyers too.”
[But….]

Chief Matsuura’s voice still wavered with uncertainty as he trailed off.

“I’ll take responsibility. You just do as I say.”

Manager Sugihara Takashi tightened his grip on the receiver and spoke with firm resolve.

[… Understood, sir.]

At this point, Chief Matsuura reluctantly nodded in acceptance.

“Good. Place the order immediately and contact me right away if anything changes.”
[Yes, sir.]

After ending the call, Manager Sugihara Takashi set down the receiver and exhaled deeply.

“Phew.”

His wife, who had come out wearing a silk robe over her nightgown, looked at him with concern.

“Darling. Has something happened at the company?”

When I answered the phone call that came in the middle of the night and spoke in a serious tone, my wife seemed concerned as well.

“It’s nothing serious.”

Sugihara Takashi lifted his head to look at his wife, forcing an expression of indifference as he spoke.

“Are you sure?”
“Yes. But I’m sorry—I need to head to the office now.”
“But it’s still dawn. You’re going to work already?”
“It seems I must.”

My wife regarded me in silence for a moment.

“All right. I’ll lay out your suit, so wash up in the meantime.”
“Thank you.”

My wife turned at once and headed toward the bedroom.
As the door closed, the slight smile that had graced Sugihara Takashi’s face hardened instantly.

“Damn it.”

An ominous premonition washed over me—this time, it seemed unlikely that I could prevent the copper price from falling.

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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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