New Employees With an Annual Salary of 1 Trillion Won - Chapter 128

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 128. Indulgence (2)

Everyone fell into panic.

A major terrorist incident that occurred at the heart of the United States.

But I, materialistically, thought of short selling and rushed up to the General Manager’s office, breathless with urgency.

Contrary to me, all the staff were running down out of the building.

The General Manager was, as expected, remaining in the conference room to assess the situation.

“General Manager! The incident has happened.”

“It’s a much bigger incident than we expected. And the market has already started reacting.”

“It’s been less than 10 minutes since the incident occurred. But there’s already a reaction?”

The General Manager turned the monitor to show me.

Since it was still before the New York Stock Exchange opening, the monitor displayed over-the-counter trading or overseas market conditions.

“NASDAQ futures have dropped over 6%, and overseas markets are already declining.”

“When the New York Stock Exchange opens, there will be a massive crash.”

“That’s not possible. The New York Stock Exchange won’t open for a while.”

There was a message from the prime broker.

It was news that the New York Stock Exchange would be closed without even opening.

“The government has already stepped in?”

“With an incident of this magnitude, there’s a possibility the New York Stock Exchange won’t open all week. But this actually gives time to the short selling forces.”

“You mean that if they secure funds for a week and the market opens next week, the market forces will rush in?”

“They say prime brokers are already being flooded with calls. Next week, panic will begin.”

This was good news for us.

We had built up massive short selling positions worth as much as 200 billion dollars.

But I couldn’t be happy about it. Even now, black smoke was rising through the window.

“General Manager, what do you plan to do going forward?”

“What is there to think about? We just wait for the panic and increase our returns. It’s a strategy only possible for us who received indulgence from the White House.”

I was the one who came up with the idea of getting indulgence.

But I had an intuition that indulgence alone wouldn’t be enough, and the movement of the idle gear structure also began to change.

“Indulgence alone is insufficient. A much bigger incident than I expected has occurred.”

“Even so, we can’t give up short selling. Even if we wanted to give up, liquidation is impossible since the market isn’t open.”

“To profit from this investment… no, to survive, we need something beyond indulgence.”

The General Manager looked at me quietly.

He made an expression as if wanting to know what I was thinking, and I opened my mouth with difficulty to confirm my feelings.

“Is it because of guilt?”

“That’s not it. Even for Tiger Fund’s survival, we must change our investment strategy.”

“You’re saying we need to change our investment strategy to obtain something beyond indulgence?”

“That’s right. Right now, we need to meet Advisor Karl Rove and inform him that Tiger Fund will step forward for market stability. Only then can we survive.”

I raised my voice with sincerity.

Only then did the General Manager think a little more deeply.

“Indulgence alone is insufficient. You think we need to become one body with the White House to survive.”

“That’s right. Thanks to the indulgence, we’ll survive for now, but if we continue like this, we’ll be branded as an evil fund that used terrorism for short selling. We might be called to congressional hearings and become scapegoats for regulation.”

I had already left various evidence in preparation for such a situation.

The documents with Advisor Karl Rove’s fingerprints were one of them.

Thanks to that, there would be no legal problems, but it wasn’t evidence that could overturn public opinion.

“If we have to give up profits because of simple image, I’m against it.”

“That’s not it. I’m suggesting this because it’s a strategy that can maintain our image while earning much greater profits than now.”

“Why do you say changing our position now would yield better returns?”

There were limits to profiting from shorts.

But if we changed positions, we could gain higher and more diverse benefits.

“Since terrorism has occurred, stock prices will crash in the short term, but they’re bound to rebound eventually. The White House will definitely introduce economic stimulus measures and expand investment. Moreover, we can gain moral premium in the process.”

“Since the incident occurred, stock prices will crash, but we should change positions to capture both the crash and the rebound.”

To do that, we had to move now.

If we could just get the White House’s help, profits could increase by more than double.

“And if we can get the White House’s support, we can significantly increase our investment capital.”

“Indeed, when such major incidents occur, the White House and Fed are bound to move. And with the White House’s support, we might even secure syndicate loans.”

With just the White House’s support, loans could be drawn virtually without limit.

The biggest obstacle in building long positions was always leverage limits, but that limit could disappear.

“If we obtain the White House’s guarantee, banks will lend us money without fearing risk. So we need to meet Advisor Karl Rove right now.”

“Let’s move right now. Get dressed and come out.”

We headed straight to Washington.

During the journey, the General Manager informed Advisor Karl Rove through various channels that we were heading to Washington.

***

Normally, it would take just over an hour by airplane from Wall Street to Washington.

But due to terrorism, all aircraft operations were suspended, and even helicopters couldn’t be deployed.

Roads were paralyzed with crowds trying to escape Manhattan, and we finally arrived in Washington after driving for 10 hours.

“Washington is also very chaotic.”

“People are in extreme anxiety. The entire United States seems to be engulfed in fear from this terrorism.”

Panic felt through the body.

As time passed, the thought that ‘we must unconditionally become one team with the White House’ grew stronger.

In moments swept by madness, no matter how perfect the preparation, becoming a target of witch hunts was a matter of moments.

We carefully entered the old restaurant.

Soon after, Advisor Karl Rove appeared looking haggard.

“I made time because you said it was urgent. As you know, there’s a mountain of work to handle due to terrorism. I can only give you 10 minutes.”

“A much bigger incident than we expected has occurred. And the fact that we profited from this situation leaves me with too much guilt.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. Tiger Fund didn’t instigate or support terrorism. You simply predicted the incident based on information, and that alone doesn’t constitute a crime.”

I started the conversation with confession.

Advisor Karl Rove naturally confirmed our innocence, but that alone wasn’t enough.

So I took over from the General Manager and moved to the next stage.

“As soon as the market reopens, we’ll immediately liquidate all short selling positions.”

“If you do that, it would be appreciated. Thank you for giving up profits and contributing to market stability.”

“And we’ll deploy all of Tiger Fund’s operating capital for market stabilization.”

“You don’t need to go that far.”

Advisor Karl Rove was rather worried about us.

But I came on even stronger.

“Terrorist acts can never be tolerated. Forces trying to disrupt the market by exploiting this terrorism must be rooted out.”

“The White House and the Federal Reserve share the same concern. There are even analyses that this situation could lead to long-term economic recession.”

“Tiger Fund will take the lead. We’ll do our best to stabilize the market and secure liquidity by deploying all our assets.”

Advisor Karl Rove’s eyes changed.

He must have been dealing only with government agencies busy passing responsibility to each other after the terrorism.

But now he met people willing to sacrifice themselves to lead market stability, so how welcome that must be.

“Actually, the political burden is too great for the government to intervene directly.”

“Tiger Fund will bear all that burden and responsibility. Please just open the path for us.”

“What kind of path should I open for you?”

“Tiger Fund’s operating capital alone is insufficient. We want to secure loans of over 100 billion dollars using our assets as collateral. That scale is necessary to stabilize the market.”

This was the main point.

With Tiger Fund’s current assets alone, a 100 billion dollar loan was absolutely impossible.

However, with the White House’s support, banks could confidently supply us with funds.

“The Federal Reserve will soon convene banks for a meeting. I’ll attend and directly convey Tiger Fund’s intentions.”

“I promise you. We’ll deploy the entire amount borrowed from banks into the stock market. Especially, we’ll invest in aviation, insurance, and travel stocks expected to crash to prevent sharp declines.”

“If things go wrong, Tiger Fund could collapse.”

There was absolutely no chance of failure.

With short selling, losses could grow infinitely, but this investment was simply about buying stocks.

As long as the banks didn’t rush loan repayments, we could hold out for months or even years.

And with the White House’s guarantee, the banks would never be able to pressure us for repayment.

“If we collapse, we’ll just start over from the beginning. Market stabilization is more important than giving up profits.”

“I’ve confirmed Tiger Fund’s sincerity. The White House will apply pressure to ensure Tiger Fund can do what it wants.”

“Once the market stabilizes, won’t the people be able to escape their fears, even a little? So we’ll do our best to fight the short selling forces.”

Tears were welling up in Advisor Karl Rove’s eyes.

He firmly grasped mine and the General Manager’s hands, conveying his sincerity.

“I will never forget this. From now on, Tiger Fund will be treated as the White House’s top priority partner.”

“Your words alone are enough. We’re sorry for taking up your precious time like this.”

“Not at all. For something like this, I must make time. This was far more valuable than having meaningless conversations at the White House.”

We held each other’s hands for a long time without letting go.

I wanted to continue for hours, but Advisor Karl Rove’s cell phone kept ringing incessantly.

“I should get going now. I will definitely convey Tiger Fund’s will to the White House and Federal Reserve.”

“We’ll also make full preparations before the market opens.”

Advisor Karl Rove stood up, swallowing his tears.

Once again, he left through the front entrance while we exited through the back.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

“You worked harder than me, Branch Manager. Thanks to you, we’ve completely earned the White House’s trust.”

“We need to consistently prove that we’re not just talk. We need to visit the major banks directly and show them our resolve.”

“The Chairman and I will handle that. Branch Manager, please focus on creating the portfolio before the stock market opens.”

We headed back to Wall Street.

Throughout the return trip, the General Manager continued making calls to major banks, setting up appointments.

The coming week would be the most important time for Tiger Fund, so we couldn’t rest for even a moment.

Survival and growth.

It was both an opportunity and a crisis to chase two rabbits at once.

If we slipped up even slightly, we would plummet into an abyss we could never escape from.

However, if things went according to plan, Tiger Fund would gain a foothold to leap several levels at once.

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