Chapter 18
< Shadow of Panic. (2) >
“Sir, when we match the accounting data sent by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), there is definitely a gap.”
flutter-
Each time Veyron turned the paper, James and I’s expressions grew more serious.
100 million dollar accounting fraud.
Just as bonds reverse the relationship when creditors borrow too much dollars that they can’t afford, our situation is exactly that.
‘This is… a complete American version of Daewoo Group.’
The Panic of 1893 was a rail bubble.
It was the worst panic that the United States had ever experienced until the railroad boom of the plating era and the excessive construction of railroads and unstable finances triggered by the oversupply of silver, leading to bankruptcies one after another.
In other words, if you think that the current railroad company is a Korean chaebol group right after the IMF, it is quite correct.
‘Well, it’s much better than the Daewoo Group at the time. A total of 100 million dollars is not a single railroad company, but the sum of all the fraudulent accounts of dozens of railroad companies and trust companies.’
ha-
I leaned against the back of the chair.
“Okay. Once the confirmation on the New York Stock Exchange has been completed. James, is the letter handed over by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reliable inside data from the railroad companies?”
palak-
At my question, this time James silently turned the paper over with an ice-cold face.
“The internal data is certain. As a result of a search by JP Morgan Bank and the Federal Railroad Association, it is 88% consistent. It was carefully designed so that you would not know that it was accounting fraud until you actually check it day by day.”
“Did you get your father’s permission?”
“Yes. As you know, it was easy because the Chairman of JP Morgan was very interested in the railway company.
“It doesn’t matter. Your father manages 1/6 of the railroad market in the United States. It’s something you’ll know anyway.”
JP Morgan restructured railway companies through mergers and acquisitions after taking over bank debts to revive bankruptcy railway companies in 1893.
In the process, the headquarters of 1/6 of the American railroad company gathered at 23 Wall Street.
23 Wall Street was the address of the headquarters of JP Morgan Bank. The current name seems to be JP Morgan-Drexel Bank.
JP Morgan is the ‘railroad king hidden in the shadows’ of the bank.
“By the way, you gave me permission. Surely my father did not have voting rights in the railroad companies, did he?”
“Chairman Morgan did not ‘get’ the voting rights from the position of the railroad company. He ‘stole’ the voting rights from the position of investors.”
“Ah. I know what you mean. You mean to threaten the railroad companies, cut off the live parts among the rotting meat and consolidate the rest?”
“That’s correct.”
It’s JP Morgan.
In a nutshell, it is said that the railway company stole the voting rights to get as much out as possible. He intends to go on a diet by wiping out all his expenses and debts through severe restructuring.
Lastly, the railroad companies that have been on such a diet are woven into an exclusive trust to increase their size.
‘In the end it fails though.’
The monopoly was somehow woven together, but in the end, it was torn to pieces by Theodore Roosevelt’s anti-monopoly mace before it even started properly.
“James. Recite the list of railroad companies managed by JP Morgan Bank.”
“You have voting rights in approximately 8,800 km of railway companies, including Erie Railway, Chesapeake-Ohio, Philadelphia-Ladding, Santa Fe, Northern Pacific, Great Northern, New York Central, Lehigh Valley, Jersey Central, Southern Railway, etc.”
“…you’ve done a lot.”
I looked at Veyron, and he opened his mouth.
“Director, this is a whopping 100 million dollars worth of accounting fraud. If people let it go, the New York Stock Exchange may collapse.”
“That’s right. More than 50% of the companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange are railway companies, and trust companies are deeply involved in the New York Stock Exchange through trust funds.”
“We need to scale it down and announce it.”
Veyron added with a firm expression.
“Or there will be Panic.”
“Huh, the US stock market is way too backwards than I thought it would be. It’s barbaric. It’s amazing how the New York stock market is being maintained in a place like this.
I sighed and shook my head.
That’s why JP Morgan shakes his head as soon as he gets profits from debt restructuring and leaves the railroad companies in bankruptcy.
This didn’t even have an answer.
“For now, select only a few big ones and reduce the size. We only need to open a scandal-sized gate.”
“I will immediately join the accounting team to sort out big issues.”
“Yes. But there are conditions.”
“Is it a condition?”
Veyron tilted his head suspiciously.
“Please select only issues that can pressurize the railroad companies by saying, ‘I know you have a $100 million hammock’.”
“……Yes!”
There was a reason why I entrusted this job to Veyron, a native of the slum. There was also James’s evaluation of him, and as he was from where he came from, he will prepare the best awl to hive the opponent’s weakness.
Veyron slowly rolled up the corners of his mouth and ran straight to the accounting team.
“Bocchan. Do you plan to expose fraudulent accounting all over New York and Washington DC through newspapers, and make profits by short selling when the stock price plummets?”
“right.”
“But if you’re thinking of short selling, I’d like to get rid of it. Aren’t the individual investors who make up the majority of the New York Stock Exchange not good at short selling?”
“……right.”
I had the same concerns about James’ concerns.
This novel was posted at https://readwn.com
Only institutions can make short sales. Individual investors were not able to sell short.
No, I didn’t.
James added further.
“I can’t help but hate it. They invested in stocks that are going up, but wouldn’t it be cool if the institution lowered the price with a large-scale short sale? Short selling is a game that starts by throwing away public opinion.”
“Haha. Rejoice with peace of mind, James. I have a way.”
Druck-
I opened the drawer and pulled out a plan.
“Do you know the ‘real’ reason why individual investors hate short selling?”
“Yes?”
“It’s unfortunate that you can’t sell short on your own. So, if resentment has accumulated, wouldn’t it be relieved if you make it possible to short sell?”
“That word…”
“It’s a D-class fund. It’s called a Doom fund. The detailed plan is written here, so read it.”
James was handed the proposal with questionable eyes.
To make it possible for individual investors to short-sell, this is not the sound of a pounding at night.
However, as James read the Class D plan, his expression gradually became more and more startled.
“…is it a public fund dedicated to short selling?”
“Yeah, if individual investors want to short-sell, they can join our fund. Then, as an institution, we, as an institution, can hit short-selling on behalf of individual investors.”
The end of the 19th century was a time when laissez-faire dominated the American economy. There’s never been a better time to circumvent the rules by creating a new fund.
“Let’s show individual investors the taste of short selling. How sweet and attractive short selling is. Then the public opinion of individual investors will definitely turn to our side. Because their bankbook is at stake.”
In fact, the risk risk of short selling is higher than that of leverage.
However, it is safe to ignore in a situation where a crash is certain like this one.
More importantly, another issue remains.
“Master, however, no matter how much we make alliances with newspapers, conduct a war of revelations, and attract ordinary investors through short selling … the most important thing is that there is no backbone.”
James pierced the core like an awl.
In this plan, there was no backbone to serve as our exit strategy. Offensive without an exit strategy is similar to a kind of kamikaze, in which the strategy of retreat is abandoned.
means suicide.
I sighed a little.
“…For now, I have an idea. I have an idea, but I need some more time to think.”
“……!”
As I woke up, James’ eyes widened as if he had realized the identity of the rear stomach I was thinking of.
But when I quietly beckoned to the door, James bowed quietly and walked away.
“after……”
I looked out the window.
If I want that person to be my back, I also have to eat well in my heart. As soon as he backs up on my back, one mistake can put my neck in a noose.
rumbling-
“Well?”
I woke up from my deep thoughts to the sudden ringing of the phone. When I turned my head, the phone on my desk was ringing loudly.
“Who is it?”
Click.
I picked up the receiver.
“Yes, I’m Morgan’s director at the hedge fund. Who are you?”
– Oh, I got it. do you remember me We met at the White House charity party, Colonel Sampson of the Navy. Do you have time now?
***
profit-
I spilled Coca-Cola into the glass. Others drink caffeinated coffee when they are tired, but I drink Coke.
The cold carbonic acid that burned the throat flashed his tired mind.
“Huh, drinking Coca-Cola will make me buy some.”
– Haha, do you know why our navy is upset because they can’t drink Coca-Cola? When it’s gone, it’s a riot. And at the vanguard, I’ll be waving a flag.
Colonel Sampson burst into tears at my Coca-Cola command and increased the praise of Coke. It must be because of my mood that something feels like the madness of an opiate.
“What did you call for?”
– Oh yeah. I have to start with that story. Are there any businesses that you are currently doing that are illegal or that you will be f*cked if caught?
“Yes?”
Are all naval ships like this? I was taken aback by Colonel Sampson’s sudden intuition, but I desperately shook my head, presuming there must be a reason.
‘The only illegal business I’ve taken on is the Irish arms smuggling business…’
In fact, this was also a way to circumvent overseas, so it was not an illegal business, but a barely legal business. Of course, it was an absolute secret that he poured a huge amount of lobbying money into the judicial and political circles.
However, my conscience did not convince me because I wanted to support Ireland the most rather than take this reading privately.
“There is not.”
– Whoops, that’s good. Then don’t you ever need guards or bodyguards or mercenaries?
“……!”
smell of money.
Suddenly, there was a strange smell of money. Why does money smell like this? I cleared my voice and asked Colonel Sampson a question.
“What’s going on?”
– Actually…
Colonel Sampson’s words were simple.
At the Naval Department’s regular meeting, Assistant Secretary Roosevelt brought up an agenda regarding the treatment of Civil War veterans and retired naval servicemen, but when no one came up with a solution, Roosevelt’s decree fell…
‘Well, Theodore Roosevelt was foaming at the mouth when it came to monopolies and Pinkerton.’
Theodore Roosevelt, who would later become president, was responsible for dismantling Rockefeller’s monopoly, Standard Oil, into 34.
However, it was natural for Roosevelt to lift his crane and vomit rage close to madness to hear that the navy soldiers walked into Pinkerton’s grasp with their own feet.
Because that was his vice.
“Are you saying that the treatment of soldiers in the private sector is poor, so they need to be hired?
– How can I?
I kept my poker face at Colonel Sampson’s impatient prompting, but inside I burst into cheers and toasts.
‘What kind of honey is this?’
At the same time, hedge funds and The Wall Street Journal were in need of large-scale security personnel and security personnel.
We had to stop the railroad company’s ruthless violence and terrorist attacks, but these high-class personnel in the Navy must have been playing in vain.
Just good.
But I didn’t reveal my secret. There was one condition that the Navy had to accept with this as an excuse.
“It is possible.”
– Really?!
“Yes. There is only one condition.”
– Just talk. I had no intention of gushing with my bare mouth either.
I put an hour down at Colonel Sampson’s words.
I was worried that Colonel Sampson would confiscate his face and hang up the phone, but it seems he was.
Because what I will ask him from now on is probably the most important thing in this accounting fraudulent operation.
I calmly opened my mouth, calming my beating heart.
“Do you know anything about the USS main ship?”
– USS Maine? Now in our Navy Department, nobody knows his name. Morgan.
“I will.”
USS main ship.
Due to the recent war of independence in Cuba, the USS Maine was dispatched to the Cuban port of Havana in the name of protecting its interests.
‘Three important issues.’
Recently, diplomatic relations between the United States and Spain are running toward a point of urgency.
The United States is always ready to go to war.
And given that the Spanish Empire is collapsing, the USS Main has emerged as a hot potato in the US federal government, including the Navy, War Department, and State Department.
But that’s not all that’s important to me.
‘At the end of the day, with the sinking of the USS main ship, the United States and Spain enter a wartime system.’
A few days later, the USS main was sunk in Havana, Cuba for reasons of ‘unknown cause’.
However, the yellow press is driving public opinion by claiming that the sinking of the USS Maine is the work of the Spanish Empire, and the American public is also burning with a sense of mission to make Cuba independent from Spanish oppression with the logic of the free camp that Cuba should be independent.
Thus, the US-Spanish war begins.
‘I have to take advantage of the current situation of the USS main ship to take advantage of the position.’
This is the best card that can wipe out railway companies and trust companies that have no idea about the sinking of the main ship at once.
However, since I was involved in the original history, I could not guarantee when the main ship would explode. So, I had to figure out when the main box would explode before anyone else.
I took a deep breath.
And the number of wins was lifted.
“I’d like a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) naval correspondent to ride on that USS main ship, except, of course, all reporters from other newspapers.”
– ……
Silence continued over the phone.
< Shadow of Panic. (2) > end