Golden Spoon Investment Portfolio - Chapter 289

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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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289. Not a bad warm-up.

The trading floor of a securities company in downtown Tokyo, Japan.
Individual investors who had gathered in small groups, their faces tense as they watched the price boards, were left dumbfounded when Sumitomo Corporation’s stock plummeted sharply, displayed in deep green, the moment the market opened.

[Sumitomo Corporation 875.4
-26.8 JPY]

Sumitomo Corporation’s stock, which had bottomed out and rebounded thanks to massive share buybacks and an influx of bargain-hunting purchases, had recovered to the 1,000 yen range per share, only to plummet sharply following yesterday’s announcement of losses from unauthorized speculative trading.
With the shock continuing for two consecutive days and the psychological support level of 900 yen crumbling far too easily, investors descended into outright panic.

“What! It’s falling again today.”
“I should have just dumped it yesterday.”
“Shouldn’t I be selling right now?”

A man clutching a rolled-up financial newspaper in one hand fidgeted nervously, bouncing on his feet, when another investor he’d befriended on the trading floor tried to dissuade him.

“It’s already down nearly half. You’re going to sell here?”
“Did you see today’s article? They’re saying the loss amount could be even bigger than what Sumitomo announced.”

The man, deciding he couldn’t wait any longer, rushed frantically toward the trading window.
But the window was already crowded with others trying to sell their Sumitomo shares, creating a cacophony of voices.

“I placed a sell order—why hasn’t it gone through yet!”

An investor wearing an aloha shirt printed with palm trees shouted with obvious desperation.
The securities company employee at the window broke into a cold sweat and bowed apologetically.

“It’s because there are no buyers, so the transaction cannot be completed.”
“What do you mean there are no buyers! Sell it before it drops any further!”

Faced with such unreasonable demands, the securities employee’s expression grew troubled.

“I want to sell it for you, but since the transaction won’t go through, there’s nothing I can do.”
“My money’s about to turn into worthless paper, and all you can do is say it can’t be done!”

The man in the aloha shirt ignored the employee entirely, badgering him relentlessly.
He even jabbed his finger accusingly while shouting, but the employee could only repeat apologies—there was nothing he could actually do.
Investors gripped by panic over the plummeting stock price dumped Sumitomo Corporation shares indiscriminately, creating a vicious cycle where the selling pressure drove prices down even further.
Sumitomo Corporation, once regarded as a blue-chip stock on the Japanese market, had become a pariah overnight.
The shockwaves from Sumitomo Corporation’s fraudulent trading scandal extended far beyond the Japanese stock market.
The real devastation struck the metals and futures markets in London and New York.

Traders at the London Metal Exchange sat clustered around the Ring—a six-meter diameter red circular leather sofa—shouting loudly and gesticulating as they executed commodity trades.
Following long-standing tradition, the traders wore fully buttoned dress shirts and polished black shoes with neatly trimmed hair, presenting the appearance of distinguished gentlemen.
Yet in reality, like gladiators in the Colosseum, they engaged in fierce psychological warfare to capture even marginally greater profits, their necks straining as they bellowed across the brutal competitive arena.
The Trading Floor always thrummed with adrenaline and radiated intense heat, but today the atmosphere felt distinctly different.
It was because of the Sumitomo Corporation fraudulent trading scandal that had erupted yesterday.
Sumitomo Corporation, which had earned the nickname “Mr. 5%” for controlling the international copper market with an iron grip, was rumored to be preparing to liquidate its massive copper inventory to offset losses from the fraud—and as that rumor spread, international copper prices continued their freefall.
Matthew Chamberlain, a senior trader at Goldman Sachs, stood at the rear with a receiver pressed to one ear, his expression grave as he observed the traders seated around the circular sofa shouting at one another.
Just then, a Junior Trader hurried over and whispered urgently in a low voice.

“We’ve broken $1,900 per ton.”

The moment he heard this, Matthew’s face contorted.

“This is absolutely insane.”

Copper prices had plummeted nearly $700 in just a single day since the scandal broke—hardly surprising given the circumstances.
The greater problem was that this wasn’t the bottom.
Matthew bit down hard on his lower lip and stared at the traders seated around the circular sofa.
The constantly shifting hand signals and frantic movements made it difficult for his eyes to keep pace.
Suddenly, he felt someone grab his arm from beside him, and when Matthew turned his head, the Junior Trader from moments before extended a black receiver toward him.

“It’s Dane from the New York Headquarters.”

Matthew accepted the receiver and pressed it to his other ear.

“It’s me.”
[Matthew. The situation is very bad.]

At the tense voice, Matthew’s brow furrowed.

“How serious is it?”
[If the information we’ve confirmed so far is accurate, Sumitomo Corporation appears to be holding over a million tons of copper inventory.]
“Insane! They’re sitting on that much?”

Matthew’s voice had risen involuntarily at the staggering inventory figure, but he quickly lowered it, worried someone else might overhear.

“You’re certain?”
[That’s just the physical inventory. Once you factor in futures contracts, the total volume becomes substantially larger.]
“Damn it!”

Matthew’s face contorted as he held the receiver to both ears, while Dane continued in a grave tone.

[Listen carefully. If word gets out about the sheer volume Sumitomo is holding, market panic will intensify dramatically. So liquidate all remaining positions immediately and shift to short selling.]
“Understood.”

Matthew, his urgency mounting, set down the receiver and raised one arm, signaling rapidly to the traders.
The Goldman Sachs trader sitting on the circular sofa caught Matthew’s signal and thrust both arms upward, shouting.

“Sell 1,000 contracts at 1,850!”

Despite calling out a price below the current market rate, no one showed interest in bidding. Matthew felt his anxiety intensifying.

‘Have we already missed our window?’

There was no way to know where prices would ultimately fall.
Matthew maintained his composure while clenching his jaw tightly.

* * *

While the Japanese stock market and the international copper market descended into chaos, gripped by fear, Seok-won—who had established short positions early—was savoring the situation with remarkable composure.
Seok-won sat at the desk of the trading room he’d built in his home, holding an on-the-rocks glass of whiskey with ice in one hand, swirling it gently.
He watched the dramatically plummeting international copper price and Sumitomo Corporation’s stock chart displayed across the monitors arranged side by side, while speaking with Landon Shore in New York.

[Once it became known that Sumitomo Corporation is holding over 1.4 million tons of physical inventory, the international copper price finally broke through even the 1,500 dollars per ton support level.]

Seok-won spoke with measured calm, his gaze fixed on the copper price chart that continued plummeting without a single point of resistance.

“It’s only natural that anxiety would intensify when a volume equivalent to 10% of annual copper production is about to flood the market all at once.”
[That’s likely. To minimize losses, Sumitomo Corporation will undoubtedly attempt to liquidate their holdings at any cost.]

As Seok-won tilted his glass, ice clinked against the sides with a crisp sound.
After taking a sip of whiskey, Seok-won spoke again.

“They likely began liquidating their positions before the press conference.”
[You’re right. Once word of the fraudulent trading spreads, copper prices will definitely plummet. If I were in their position, I’d have dumped my inventory immediately.]

Landon Shore agreed with his assessment.

“We can’t know Sumitomo Corporation’s average cost basis, but it’s certainly above two thousand dollars per ton. As prices fall, their losses mount accordingly.”
[Our estimates suggest they could exceed the announced two billion dollars—potentially reaching three billion or more.]

Since the international copper price decline had been steeper than in the original timeline, Seok-won nodded slightly, acknowledging the possibility.

[Beyond the losses themselves, Sumitomo Corporation will likely face investigations from British and American financial authorities regarding the fraudulent trading.]

Seok-won, unsurprised as he’d anticipated this, responded calmly.

“Given the magnitude of this scandal, they won’t escape scrutiny.”
[If that happens, depending on the investigation results, they could face severe penalties—which would certainly damage their stock price, wouldn’t it?]

Landon Shore spoke with a hint of anticipation in his voice.
Glancing briefly at Sumitomo’s stock price, which had barely held above 800 yen after repeated crashes, Seok-won replied matter-of-factly.

“Investment sentiment is severely depressed, so another panic sell-off could occur, but it won’t drop much further from here.”
[Still, couldn’t we reasonably expect it to fall to 700 yen?]
“That would be nice, but Sumitomo Corporation won’t just sit idle—they’ll move immediately to contain the damage. Yes, their losses are substantial, but they currently hold seven billion dollars in securities alone, and if necessary, they can get emergency support from their affiliate Sumitomo Bank to extinguish the immediate crisis. Market fear won’t persist for long.”

Recalling Sumitomo Corporation’s financial statements, Landon Shore wore a disappointed expression, finding the logic sound.

[Now that you mention it, that makes sense.]
“Still, we’ve made nearly thirty percent profit from short selling—that’s not a bad result.”
[Ha ha ha. Quite right.]

Landon Shore quickly recovered his spirits and laughed.

“We’ve reached the halfway point, so let’s start unwinding our positions from here.”
[Should we begin liquidating the copper position as well?]

Seok-won held his phone, studying the copper price chart for a moment before reaching a decision.

“Do it.”
[Understood.]

Since I had already secured substantial profits, I answered without further greed or hesitation.
Then, as a sudden thought occurred to me, I added something more.

“Oh, and short bet on U.S. Treasury bonds.”
[U.S. Treasury bonds?]

Landon Shore asked, sounding puzzled.

“Among all the securities Sumitomo Corporation holds, U.S. Treasury bonds make up the largest proportion.”

U.S. Treasury bonds were the quintessential safe asset with excellent liquidity—the most preferred cash-equivalent holding for governments, banks, and corporations worldwide.

“If Sumitomo Corporation mass-sells the U.S. Treasuries it holds to cover losses, it won’t deliver a significant shock to the market in the short term.”

Landon Shore let out an exclamation, catching on to my intent.

[Ah, I see! To think that far ahead—you truly are the boss!]
“The U.S. Treasury market is vast enough that daily trading volume reaches two hundred billion dollars. Even if Sumitomo Corporation dumps all its holdings, it won’t create a massive impact. But markets are driven by emotion rather than reason, so uncertainty could cause prices to dip temporarily. We’ll play it short—quick in, quick out.”
[Yes. I understand completely.]

After issuing a few more instructions and ending the call, I gazed at the two monitors displaying the plummeting Sumitomo Corporation stock price and international copper prices, both marked by long red candles, as if admiring them while muttering to myself.

“Not a bad warm-up before the real game begins.”

Then I brought the whiskey in my hand to my lips.

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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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